News

A municipal visitors information point, to serve people from outside the city of Oświęcim, will open at the Museum (Main Parking Lot) in June. This has been made possible through an agreement between the Musuem administration and the Oświęcim city government. As a result, visitors to the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum will have access to full information on the sightseeing and cultural attractions in the city and the surrounding area, as well as the overnight accommodations and restaurants available there.

The Sybilla 2001 statuettes—for the best museum events of the year—were awarded on Saturday at the Royal Palace in Warsaw. For several years now, the awards have been made on May 18, International Museum Day.

"Safeguarding the memory of the victims of the Auschwitz camp is one of the major tasks before us. We should all learn the history of this place and convey the knowledge we acquire to the succeeding generations. No one can ever fully recompense the victims for their agony and suffering. All we can do is to safeguard the memory of them, a memory that constitutes the basis for the posthumous restoration of their personhood, a memory that acts on our emotions and reason and that compels us to draw the appropriate conclusions.

The governor of Malopolska province has issued approval for the operation of a tourist services center within the 100-meter buffer zone around the site of the camp. This marks the end of the series of hearings, appeals, and controversy over the project by the Maja Corporation.

The fifth setting of the International Auschwitz Council was held in Oświęcim on April 15-16. The Council was convened by the Polish prime minister to advise on museums and monuments at the Holocaust and concentration camp sites in Poland.

The lack of a response from the Malopolska provincial monuments officer is delaying the start of production in the buildings that used to belong to the now-bankrupt Oświęcim Vehicle Repair Factory, which were purchased last September by an Italian firm that plans to employ up to 300 people there.