News
Auschwitz in the context of the prevention of crimes of genocide
22-11-2012
Nearly 50 diplomats and representatives of the governments from around the world took part in the Raphael Lemkin Seminar which was organised by the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (AIPR) in collaboration with the International Centre for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust and the United Nations.
“Bene Merito” for Piotr M.A. Cywiński
16-11-2012
The director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum was awarded the “Bene Merito” Medal of Honour, which is granted by the Minster of Foreign Affairs to the outstanding individuals in recognition of the activities strengthening the position of Poland on the international scene. Radosław Sikorski presented the Medal in the presence of President Bronisław Komorowski. The ceremony took place at the Belvedere on the occasion of the Day of Foreign Service of the Republic of Poland. “This is an excellent opportunity to highlight the role of citizens and friends of Poland in the shaping of the position and image of our country,” stressed the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Camp letters and striped garment gifted to the Auschwitz Memorial Site
14-11-2012
Zofia Banaszczyk, former prisoner of the German Nazi concentration camps of Auschwitz, Ravensbrück and Helmbrechts, donated a set of camp letters to the Auschwitz Memorial Site. “This is definitely the best and most worthy place for such memorabilia. This correspondence, which I have decided to give in its entirety, is my greatest treasure. Of course I hesitated, because I have children and grandchildren, but a lot of young people come here, and it certainly is a place where these items will be respected in the way in which they should be respected,” she pointed out when providing these precious documents to the head of the Archives, Wojciech Płosa.
Conservation of the five barracks at the Birkenau camp completed
25-10-2012
A three-year project entitled, "The Conservation of Five Wooden Barracks at the Former Auschwitz II–Birkenau Concentration Camp" has come to an end. This was the first such a large and complex conservation project carried out by the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum which was financed from the founds of the EU.
Legion of Honour for former director of the Auschwitz Museum
18-10-2012
Jerzy Wróblewski, who was for many years the director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, has been awarded the Legion of Honour. In handing him the highest French decoration, , Ambassador of France in Poland, highlighted his contribution to preserving the memory of Auschwitz: “Being a guard of the authenticity in the Museum for many years you have managed to reach an increasing number of visitors from all over the world. For being faithful to the memory in this special place, with respect to which no European or citizen of the world can be neutral, France has awarded you with the order of the Legion of Honour,” the ambassador summed up.