window woodwork in Block 11 at the Auschwitz I site, the conservation of the ruins of the crematoria and brick buildings at the Auschwitz II-Birkenau site, and the forthcoming opening of a new microbiology laboratory at the Museum Conservation Laboratories. The director also stated that due to the necessary renovation of the post-war roof structure of the historic sauna building at the Auschwitz II-Birkenau site, the building would be closed to visitors for an extended period.
Furthermore, the IAC members listened to a presentation by Director Piotr Tarnowski on the operation of the Memorial at the site of the former German concentration camp Stutthof.
Director Tarnowski identified the creation of a new permanent exhibition - the concept of which he presented to the IAC members - along with the development of appropriate infrastructure to accommodate the demands of the increasing number of visitors as the most critical challenges.
Teresa Patsidis, deputy director of the Stutthof Museum, spoke on the activities of the Piaśnica Museum in Wejherowo (a branch of the Stutthof Museum overseen by her).
After the deliberations, the Council members also visited the main exhibition of the Second World War Museum and participated in the re-unveiling ceremony of the Kindertransport Monument in front of the Main Railway Station in Gdańsk, commemorating the rescue transport of Jewish children to the UK before the Second World War from German-occupied areas. The statue by Frank Meisler was unveiled in May 2019, but had to be dismantled a few months later due to the renovation of the railway station building.
On the second day of the meeting, the IAC members visited the site of the former German Nazi concentration camp Stutthof.
The Council also accepted the following resolutions:
Resolution 1
The International Auschwitz Council expresses its gratitude to the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Oświęcim for its immediate and proper response in the face of instrumentalization of the tragedy of those who suffered and perished in the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp. The Council strongly reaffirms that the misuse of images, symbols, associations, and facts about Auschwitz and the Holocaust, by any side in the political dispute, is derogatory to the Victims and undermines the foundations of Remembrance. We call on all participants involved in public life to be particularly sensitive, reliable, and responsible when addressing issues related to the Holocaust and all other instances of German genocide during World War II.
Resolution 2
In the past, the International Auschwitz Council received assurances from the Polish Government of its willingness to hand over to the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum all the areas located between the so-called decompressive road in Brzezinka and the boundaries of the Memorial Site. However, this was not implemented – as announced – as part of the Oświęcim Strategic Government Program. The reprehensible situation of setting up an ice cream booth almost at the threshold of the Auschwitz II-Birkenau protection zone indicates that the above-mentioned areas should be handed over to the Museum as soon as possible and the Museum should be financially supported in order to complete the visible separation of areas protected by this institution from all external areas subject to standard legal regulations. The Council asks all appropriate governmental and local authorities to cooperate for this purpose. In the Council's view, this is the only solution to avoid a potentially conflict-evoking extension of the existing protection zone.
Resolution 3
The International Auschwitz Council recalls that freedom of research and scholarly expression - including on Auschwitz and the Holocaust - is an indispensable condition for the pursuit of truth. In this pursuit, in turn, we fulfill one of our key commitments – dignified commemoration of Victims. The Council categorically opposes any attempts to restrict the freedom of such research, particularly condemning the outrageous use of violence. The only basis for resolving disputes about the past is a free, mutually respectful and reliable debate between scholars, to which the Council calls on researchers of the Holocaust and World War II.