News

Because of the large numbers of visitors to the Auschwitz Memorial, entry to the Auschwitz I site will be exclusively on a guided, group basis from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. during the period from August 3 to September 30, 2009. For individuals, we are offering a special opportunity to join others in “tours” of the Memorial during these hours. There will be no change to the way organized groups visit the Museum. These changes do not apply to the Auschwitz II-Birkenau site.

A European Union summit of delegations from 46 counties, including non-members, has been held in Prague as part of the Czech presidency. The conference was devoted to the problem of property plundered during the Holocaust and World War II. The final declaration, as approved, took particular note of the integrity and authenticity of Memorials. The Polish delegation included the director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński.

The educational program for prisoners incarcerated in Małopolska correctional institutions is gathering pace. The aim of establishing the joint program with Auschwitz museum and the regional prison service is to develop appropriate moral and social attitudes through education of what Auschwitz was. It is the hope of the project’s authors that the project will be helpful in rehabilitation of inmates.

The 14-member Council of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation convened for the first time at the Chancellery of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers in Warsaw on June 17.

Minister of Culture and National Heritage Bogdan Zdrojewski and Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński have signed an agreement in Warsaw that will serve as the basis for the financing of conservation work at the Auschwitz site with European funds. The total amount of the grant is 19 million zloty. The applications submitted by the Museum received high marks—52 out of a possible 62 points—and ranked second in the category “The Protection and Preservation of Cultural Heritage of Super-Regional Significance.”

A settlement has been reached to end a lawsuit in a Paris court over a suitcase from the collections of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Oświęcim. The suitcase was loaned to the Shoah Memorial Museum in Paris in 2005.