Finances

The preservation of authenticity, education and other elements of the Memorial’s mission require financial outlays beyond the Museum’s capacity. Thus, in addition to its revenues and a subsidy from the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage (MKiDN), funds provided, among others, by the Auschwitz‑Birkenau Foundation and the European Union are of great significance.

 

In 2022, earmarked funds from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage amounting to PLN 7.9 million were allocated to the following projects: PLN 5.4 million for the subsequent stages of the construction of the Visitor Services Center; PLN 0.9 million for the New Polish Exhibition project; PLN 0.6 million for the New Main Exhibition project; PLN 0.6 million for the creation of a research laboratory for the Conservation Laboratories; PLN 0.1 million for a Polish‑Israeli educational project; PLN 65,000 for the educational project “United by Independence. Citizens of the Second Polish Republic in KL Auschwitz”. Funds transferred from the Auschwitz‑Birkenau Foundation in the amount of PLN 22.2 million were allocated for the implementation of conservation tasks carried out in 2022 at the site of the former Auschwitz II‑Birkenau camp, as well as the ongoing conservation of movable objects in the project carried out in the Conservation Laboratories: “Conservation of suitcases, shoes, brushes, enamelware, textile objects, Zyklon B cans, archaeological artefacts and camp letters; digitalisation of documents and plans of the Zentralbauleitung staff”. In addition, archaeological object registration cards were also compiled, as well as the conservation of the painted wall layers in the blocks of the former Auschwitz I site. Two executory contracts were completed as part of the implementation of BIM. Furthermore, BIM models of the preservation and as‑built status of one of the brick barracks were developed. Work is also underway to implement a GIS system to create, share and manage maps, applications and spatial data. A concept for a Spatial Information System is under development.

 

Funds from the Foundation have also been used to finance work on one of the post‑camp roads at the Auschwitz II-Birkenau site and laser scanning of four brick barracks. Furthermore, funding was provided for the digitisation and microfilming of the library collection and the safety project at the Auschwitz II-Birkenau site.

 

The European Union, through the European Regional Development Fund and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, are co‑financing the project “Increasing access to cultural resources by expanding the tour routes of the Auschwitz‑Birkenau State Museum to include the post‑camp space of the Schlachthaus and Molkerei buildings and the reconstruction of the cinema hall”. The project’s implementation in 2022 was financed to the tune of PLN 5.2 million from EU funds and PLN 3.5 million from funds from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.