News
Escape from our present day responsibility. Auschwitz Memorial Report 2018
Polish-English report summarizing the year 2018 at the Auschwitz Museum and Memorial was published. In his introduction, Director Piotr M. A. Cywiński emphasized how important it is to face in the context of the history of Auschwitz our modern responsibility.
“– Young people must visit this Place for their world to look different in the future! – What will happen upon the passing away of the last Survivor??? Both sentences unceasingly reoccur, in almost every conversation. I am worried”, wrote Piotr Cywiński.
“One is the figure of the future and the other—much more of the past. Meanwhile the problem lies within the present day. These two most frequent statements are escapes from our present day responsibility. An attempt to shift responsibility to the past and future, so it does not undermine our here and now. This does not augur well”, he emphasized.
DOWNLOAD THE REPORT (PDF)
80 pages of this Polish-English publication include the information on the most important events which took place last year at the Museum, the analysis of attendance of the Memorial, which was last year visited by over 2 million 152 thousand visitors. We can read that “As many as 82 per cent of them learned about the history of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau from one of over 320 Museum guides and educators speaking 20 languages”.
A lot of attention was devoted to educational programs as well as to the activity of the International Center of Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust. We can also read that “The goal of education about Auschwitz is not only to learn about facts from the past, but also to build references to today’s threats and challenges, and to reflect on our contemporary, active responsibility for the world”.
The most important project for the education conducted at the Memorial Site consists in the adaptation of so called Old Theatre, a historical building situated in the immediate vicinity of the former Auschwitz I camp, into the future ICEAH seat. This undertaking is possible thanks to the support of the European Union as well as the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
Other subjects treated in the publication are conservation works conducted at the Memorial Site as well as activities of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation, collecting funds for the financing of these works, new publications – including Polish-English online magazine “Memoria”, directions of scientific works, new exhibitions and exhibitions which are being developed as well as new items in Museum Archives and Collections.
Financial statement and the list of donors who supported the Museum constitute another crucial element. The texts are accompanied by photographs presenting the most important events at the Memorial Site together with the reproductions of artefacts and archival documents.
The report is going to be published two days before the 74th anniversary of the liberation of German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz.
