News
A Small Matter of 200 Million Złoty ($100 Million)
The preservation of the objects at the Auschwitz Museum consumes vast sums of money. There are always shortfalls. Auschwitz Museum director Piotr Cywiński warns that "the historical buildings will collapse" if funding cannot be found. From the beginning, the Polish government has covered most of the Museum's costs. But these are bare-bones appropriations. The Museum is therefore attempting to win support from other countries and international institutions. "Auschwitz is a global symbol, after all," says Cywiński.
"It would seem that the European Union, in particular, should adopt an overall strategy for this unique place. Compared with the scale of expectations, short-term programs accomplish nothing," Cywiński adds.
The extent of the essential conservation tasks at the Birkenau site in Brzezinka is vast. This 170-hectare part of the Museum is regarded as a place of contemplation and stillness. “We try to maintain the remains of Birkenau in as unchanged a condition as possible. The state of the brick buildings is our biggest worry. The ground is marshy here, and that means that it is unstable,” says Cywiński.
The buildings require structural reinforcement. Otherwise, they will collapse. The cost of safeguarding them is estimated at about 40 million zloty ($20 million). The conservation of the wooden barracks will consume further millions. Securing the remains of the wooden barracks that are no longer standing involves additional expense. “These remains, such as the extant floors or the chimneys that caved in over the last few decades, require urgent conservation to prevent further deterioration. This will require about 20 million złoty,” Cywiński estimates.
The preservation tasks at the Auschwitz I site in Oświęcim are somewhat different. This part of the Museum is also an educational facility. Preparing a new main exhibition means that the Museum must carry out the conservation of 11 brick blocks, at a cost of 45 million złoty ($22.5 million), in the immediate future.
The main exhibition, with its millions of visitors, also cries out for an introductory exhibition to accompany it. “Young people arrive too quickly at the Arbeit macht frei gate. They are unprepared,” Cywiński observes. “For them, the history of World War II is no longer their own history. Their fathers and grandfathers cannot tell them about it. For me, to take one example, regular searches by the communist secret police because of my father’s opposition activities are intimate history of this kind. But not the Treaty of Versailles, for instance.”
That is why an introductory exhibition is planned to explain to young people how World War II began. The adaptation of the building, which now houses the main Museum reception center, will consume approximately 16.5 million złoty ($8.2 million). Cywiński notes that the last eyewitnesses to the events, the ex-prisoners, are passing away. He asks, “When they are gone, who will tell about the fear, the terror, the hopelessness, the hunger, and the longing?” An exhibition of art created in the camp, or afterwards by victims who spent their lives pursuing the subject, is intended to depict these elementary human feelings. The works will be displayed in the former camp kitchen. The cost of the adaptation will amount to some 15 million złoty.
The Museum also needs approximately 17 million złoty ($8.5 million) to adapt the so-called Old Theater for use by the International Education Center. This will make it possible for study groups from all over the world to participate in educational sessions lasting several days at a time. “An unfathomable bureaucratic standoff has gone on for several years,” Cywiński remarks, “making it impossible to carry out this essential task that will benefit everyone.”
In the perspective of the next few years, or perhaps a decade or two, there will also be a need for a special storage facility, located in Oświęcim or within a radius of 30 or so kilometers, to house such original camp items as the prisoners’ suitcases and shoes. This will cost a further 50 million złoty ($25 million).
“We estimate our total needs at over 200 million złoty ($100 million),” says Cywiński. “These are real requirements.”
There is no doubt that Poland has made the biggest contribution to maintaining the Memorial. “No other government has helped as much,” Cywiński exclaims.
The Auschwitz Museum administration is now appealing for significantly increased involvement on the part of the international community.
