News

The 64th anniversary of the liquidation of the so-called "Gypsy family camp" in Birkenau. A ceremony at the Auschwitz II-Birkenau site marked Romani Holocaust Remembrance Day on the 64th anniversary of the liquidation of the so-called "Gypsy family camp" in the Birkenau camp. Some 300 people attended, including Roma from Poland and other countries, former Auschwitz prisoners, government officials from Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary, members of the diplomatic corps, representatives of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum administration, and local officials.

A ceremony at the Auschwitz II-Birkenau site marked Romani Holocaust Remembrance Day on the 64th anniversary of the liquidation of the so-called "Gypsy family camp" in the Birkenau camp. Some 300 people attended, including Roma from Poland and other countries, former Auschwitz prisoners, government officials from Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary, members of the diplomatic corps, representatives of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum administration, and local officials.

Kuchino, Perm Krai, Russian Federation. A notorious Gulag called Perm-36 existed for decades on the outskirts of this village at the foot of the Urals, thousands of kilometers from Oświęcim.

Former Auschwitz prisoner Henryk Mandelbaum, the last member of the camp Sonderkommando living in Poland, died on June 17 at the age of 85. The Sonderkommando was a group of prisoners forced by the Germans to work in the crematoria and gas chambers.

Volkswagen, thanks to help from Christoph Heubner, the Vice-Chairman of the International Auschwitz Committee, has donated a new T5 model van to the Museum. The Museum has cooperated with the German company for more than a decade, above all in educational ventures. Volkswagen trainees come to Oświęcim each year to learn about the history of the Memorial and also perform chores at the Auschwitz site.

The first seminar organized by the Raphael Lemkin Center for Genocide Prevention and the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum will take place in Oświęcim from May 12 to 19. The participants from over a dozen states, including Argentina, Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burundi, Cambodia, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Latvia, and the USA will discuss about issues of genocide prevention. Lecturers will include some of the best-known researchers in the field of genocide and associated areas: Israel Charny, Barbara Harff, Ted Gurr, Gregory H. Stanton, and Philip Zimbardo. The seminar will be officially inaugurated by professor Władysław Bartoszewski, the chairman of the International Auschwitz Council.