Other transferred materials document, among other things, everyday life in ghettos, the fate of families separated by persecution and forced labour, and attempts to maintain contact with relatives. The Jewish Historical Institute received, among other items, a collection of 85 postcards belonging to the Markowicz family from Wieruszów. Their correspondence from 1941–1943 documents the fate of family members sent to various forced-labour camps. The State Archive in Łódź, in turn, received documents relating to deportations from the Łódź ghetto and the functioning of its administration.
The ceremony in Warsaw marked the symbolic conclusion of a process that began in November last year, when more than 600 original documents from concentration camps, ghettos and other sites connected with German crimes during the Second World War were due to be auctioned by an auction house in Neuss, Germany. They included prisoners’ letters and postcards, administrative documents and personal testimonies of persecution. International protests led to the cancellation of the auction.
Thanks to cooperation between the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation, the authorities of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, German memorial institutions and private donors, more than 600 historical documents were secured. The first 433 of them were entrusted to the Foundation during a ceremony at the Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia on 30 January 2026. Some of the collections had already been transferred earlier to memorial institutions in Germany.
The operation to secure the archival materials, halt the auction and carry out the fundraising effort would not have been possible without the personal involvement of partners from North Rhine-Westphalia, who supported the Foundation pro bono. Particular thanks and recognition are due to Matthias Schreiber of the Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ekkehardt Thiesler, Chairman of KD-Bank, and notary Klaus Oertel. Their professional advice, expert knowledge and organizational support at every stage were invaluable to the success of this sensitive mission.
“When news emerged last year that an auction house near Düsseldorf intended to put hundreds of objects connected with the Holocaust up for auction, it provoked widespread outrage. That outrage was heard particularly strongly in Poland, here, where the German perpetrators committed most of their crimes. And rightly so, because it is difficult to accept that mementos of Holocaust victims, letters from concentration camps, or yellow stars should now become objects of trade and collectors’ items. History is not a commodity. History is a responsibility we carry,” said Minister Nathanael Liminski.
The preservation of these documents was made possible through the involvement of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation. As Wojciech Soczewica, Director General of the Foundation, emphasized, the decision to begin purchasing documents from the private market was not an easy one, as the Foundation had not previously engaged in such activity.
“The Foundation’s actions had a universal dimension, because they concerned the protection of heritage connected with many memorial sites across Europe. At the same time, it was important for us to secure documents showing the fate of Polish victims, both those imprisoned in camps and those murdered in the East. We are pleased that we were able to ensure that these priceless testimonies would be transferred to Polish state institutions and serve future generations,” Wojciech Soczewica said.
An important element of the entire process was also the establishment of cooperation with the Yad Ezer L’Haver association in Haifa. When some of the documents reached Israel after the auction was cancelled, the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation began efforts to recover these authentic testimonies of crime.
“This success was achieved thanks to the support of partners in Israel and Germany, private individuals who, in coordination with the Foundation, took the initiative and helped build crucial bridges of dialogue. As a result of these efforts, the Yad Ezer L’Haver association transferred three valuable objects to the Foundation free of charge: the manuscript of commandant Arthur Liebehenschel and correspondence concerning the Katyn crime. This gesture became the beginning of close cooperation aimed at protecting the heritage of Nazi and Soviet crimes. We are grateful to the association for this meaningful gesture,” Soczewica emphasized.
In June, the Foundation launched the international fundraising campaign “Camp Mail – Purchase of Documents”, aimed at raising funds to rescue further documents. By mid-October, approximately EUR 140,000 had been raised.
Purchased and secured documents are transferred free of charge to the appropriate memorial institutions, where they can undergo professional conservation and scholarly study, be made available to researchers, and be used for educational purposes.
The Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation’s efforts are also intended to draw attention to the broader problem of trading in authentic evidence of Nazi crimes and the risk of such materials becoming dispersed in private collections.
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