Mission Statement

Mission: Remembrance – Awareness – Responsibility

The International Center for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust was created by a decision of the Polish government in June 2005. Five months earlier, on January 27, 2005, during commemorations marking the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the camp, two former prisoners of Auschwitz, Władysław Bartoszewski and Simone Veil, signed the Act of Foundation on behalf of all former prisoners. During the ceremonial launch of the Center, delegations from over 40 countries were in attendance, including presidents, prime ministers, as well as members of royal families. The Act of Foundation has been signed by two hundred more former prisoners expressing their support for the idea of creating this educational center in Oświęcim.

The mission of the International Center for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust is to provide a learning experience, which is dedicated to the tragedy of the Victims as well as the history of the last well preserved of the vast extermination centers. The authenticity of the Auschwitz-Birkenau site and the testimony of survivors are to further a deeper understanding of the origins of intolerance, racism, and anti-Semitism. Education at the Memorial is meant to foster reflection about the meaning of personal responsibility today, in Europe and beyond.