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44th Session of the International Auschwitz Council
On 21 October 2026, the 44th meeting of the International Auschwitz Council was held at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister in Warsaw. Among those attending was Minister of Culture and National Heritage Marta Cienkowska. The meeting was chaired by Prof. Dariusz Stola.
Dr Piotr M. A. Cywiński, Director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, presented the Council members with a report on the most important events and activities carried out at the Memorial since the previous meeting.
Among the significant events, he mentioned the commemoration of the 86th anniversary of the deportation of the first Poles to Auschwitz, which on 14 June was disrupted by individuals attempting to turn the ceremony into a political demonstration. As a result, the Museum is considering changes to the organization of future commemorations in order to ensure that they proceed in a dignified and safe manner.
The Director also spoke about the anniversary of the liquidation by the Germans of the family camp for Roma and Sinti in Auschwitz II-Birkenau. “These commemorations are becoming increasingly extensive. We can see that more and more young people are taking part, and that representatives of increasingly high political rank are also attending. It has taken years, indeed decades, for participation in these commemorations to become a permanent part of the calendar of important remembrance events,” he emphasized.
An important theme of his presentation was the protection of historical documents connected with German Nazi concentration camps and the Holocaust. The Director recalled the actions taken following an attempt to auction in Germany a collection of more than 700 documents from the Second World War. Thanks to cooperation between the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation, German institutions and donors, a significant part of the collection was secured. Documents relating to other camps, ghettos and sites of persecution are to be transferred free of charge to the appropriate memorial institutions.
“If a document ends up in private hands, then in reality that person and their fate are placed outside the broader history. In a sense, it is as if the person were being put away in a drawer. I believe that situations in which we can show just how much these documents enrich the archives of memorial institutions should be publicized strongly, so as to help create a certain ethical imperative among as many people as possible,” Piotr Cywiński said.
One of the issues presented during the meeting concerned seven watercolor representation of faces of Roma and Sinti created in Auschwitz by prisoner Dina Gottliebová-Babbitt on the orders of SS physician Josef Mengele. According to media reports, the daughters of the late Survivor have brought legal action in California seeking the return of the original works. The Museum is preparing for legal proceedings, stressing that the portraits constitute unique documentation of crimes committed in the camp.
“Very few documents concerning the tragedy of the Roma family camp have survived. These portraits are among the most important of them,” the Director emphasized. He also recalled that the International Auschwitz Council had already adopted an unequivocal position on the matter in 2001. He pointed to the particular authority of the Council at that time, which included numerous Auschwitz Survivors.
Speaking about contemporary challenges connected with the protection of memory, the Director drew attention to growing concerns among many European memorial sites about their future, particularly in the context of political change and possible funding restrictions.
“In some countries, there is growing fear that what we have managed to build since the 1990s, a certain coherent narrative, a policy of cooperation and joint action, may change as a result of these political developments. We also wanted to give a voice to smaller memorial sites that do not have the same influence on public opinion,” Director Cywiński said. “The fact that remembrance and commemorative policy developed differently in different countries does not change the fact that this is part of the same history. We cannot allow politics to divide us now,” he added.
The Director also presented the results of the “Picture from Auschwitz” project, whose aim is to make a digital reconstruction of the authentic space of the former camp available to filmmakers, while maintaining the principles of protecting the Memorial and historical accuracy. The first production made using this solution is the feature film Block 10, presented in July at the Munich Film Festival.
Among archival projects, Piotr Cywiński mentioned work begun in cooperation with Google and other partners on the digitization of testimonies by Auschwitz Survivors. In cooperation with Google, work is also underway on the digital documentation of more than four thousand works of art held in the Museum collections. High-resolution scans will enable detailed research and broader access.
A substantial part of the report was devoted to preservation work. The Director presented, among other things, progress in safeguarding historic brick barracks at the former Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp. Around one third of the barracks in the area of the former women’s camp have already undergone preservation work or are currently being treated. Another stage of work to secure the ruins of the gas chambers and crematoria in Birkenau has also been completed, including the installation of new support structures for surviving fragments of reinforced-concrete ceilings. Work is also underway on historic buildings at Auschwitz I, including the roof of the former main guardhouse.
Among the next investments, the Director mentioned the planned reconstruction of the historic former potato storage building near Birkenau, co-financed by the European Union. The building will retain its historic external form, while its interior will house storage facilities, workshops and support spaces for conservation staff. This will make it possible to relocate part of the technical infrastructure from the grounds of the former camp to a suitably adapted building.
At the end of his report, Director Cywiński spoke about the forthcoming presentation of the exhibition Auschwitz. Not Long Ago. Not Far Away. at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. The exhibition, prepared by the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum in cooperation with the Spanish company Musealia, will be presented at the American museum from the beginning of 2027, during the period in which its permanent exhibition is being changed.
“For me, this is a truly important and quite moving moment. The fact that our exhibition will be there and will serve our friends in Washington is a testimony to the closeness of our cooperation,” Piotr Cywiński emphasized.
Following the discussion, the International Auschwitz Council adopted a resolution confirming the conclusion of its position from September 2001, according to which the watercolors created in the camp by Dina Gottliebová-Babbitt are the property of the Auschwitz Museum and should remain in its Collections.
The Council also discussed educational activities connected with the exhibition The Extermination of the European Roma in Block 13 on the grounds of the former Auschwitz I camp. The debate resulted in the unanimous adoption of a resolution emphasizing the importance of education about the genocide of the Roma and Sinti.
Members of the International Auschwitz Council were also presented with the concept for the new permanent exhibition of the Treblinka Museum, prepared by a team from the Jewish Historical Institute, as well as information on the progress of work on its implementation. The main assumptions of the exhibition were outlined. It is intended to tell the story primarily through the fates of its victims and the testimonies of Survivors. It will also include a space for the presentation of sculptures by Treblinka Survivor Samuel Willenberg.
The discussion addressed, among other issues, the historical narrative, the relationship between the exhibition and the authentic Memorial Site, as well as the schedule for further work and cooperation among the institutions involved in the project.
Minister of Culture and National Heritage Marta Cienkowska emphasized her readiness to continue supporting its implementation. “I would like to warmly congratulate the Jewish Historical Institute, because the exhibition project looks very impressive. It seems to me that the proposed exhibition, the way it is to be constructed, and the way the narrative is to be developed are definitely appropriate for this place. I would like to declare our full cooperation and full support. It is very important to us that the permanent exhibition be completed as quickly as possible.”
Council Secretary Marek Zając drew attention to the need to overcome difficulties in cooperation among the institutions involved in the project. He also recalled the words of Ada Willenberg, who expressed the hope that she would live to see the new commemoration and exhibition in Treblinka.
“We are dealing with a very serious impasse concerning Treblinka. This is the moment to begin truly constructive work and dialogue. If we do not reach an agreement that respects the dignity of the victims, historical truth, and the other values important to us, everyone will lose,” Marek Zając stressed.
Before the meeting, members of the International Auschwitz Council visited the construction site of the Warsaw Ghetto Museum. In the evening, they attended a gala at the National Philharmonic in tribute to the Righteous Among the Nations, during which medals awarded by Yad Vashem to people who rescued Jews during the German occupation were also presented.
