News

70 years ago, on January 17, 1945 the final evacuation of 56,000 prisoners of the Nazi German Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp began. Between 9 and 15 thousand people died during the so-called Death Marches.

Prayer by Christians and Jews at the monument in Birkenau commemorating victims of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp, inaugurated the formal celebration of the XVIII Day of Judaism at the Roman Catholic Church which is being held this year at the premises of Bielsko-Żywiec diocese.

The Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation announced that it has raised €108 of its €120 million euros (US $140m of approximately US $156m) campaign goal with help from six leading philanthropists and their families. They will be recognized at the 70th anniversary ceremonies of the liberation of the Nazi German concentration and extermination camp on January 27.

The director of the Auschwitz Memorial Dr. Piotr M.A. Cywiński received the Knight's Cross of the French Ordre des Palmes Académiques. It has been awarded by the French Prime Minister Manuel Valls after the decision of the minister of education, higher education and research Najat Vallaud-Belkacem.

1,534,000 people visited the grounds of the former Nazi German Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp in 2014. Never before in the space of a single year have so many people familiarized themselves at first hand with the original grounds. This is also the highest attendance in the history of European memorial sites.

Due to the upcoming 70th anniversary of the liberation of the camp and the great interest from the global media the Auschwitz Memorial has prepared, for the convenience of journalists, a set of basic, although not always universally known facts regarding Auschwitz. They are to help prepare information materials and to avoid discrediting slip-ups, such as using the term “Polish death camps”.