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European Funds for the Auschwitz Museum

The Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum has signed an agreement with the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage for funding the project “Increasing access to cultural resources through the conservation and protection of historic structures and the renovation and expansion of the infrastructure of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum.” The entire undertaking is being carried out under the European Funds for Infrastructure, Climate and Environment 2021–2027 programme (FENIKS).

This is an exceptionally demanding, interdisciplinary undertaking that will have a significant impact on the protection of historic structures and the development of educational activities.

The total value of the project is PLN 66,945,351.31, of which PLN 36,783,648.30 is funding, including as much as PLN 29,244,858.16 from European funds.

By securing further historic structures of the former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz, the project will support the preservation of the Memorial for future generations. It will also increase access to unique cultural assets and enable the development of the Museum’s educational activities, with particular emphasis on the requirements of inclusivity and digital transformation.

“This is the largest and most multifaceted project carried out at the Museum to date. Its unique character is also reflected in the fact that it is highly interdisciplinary, bringing together different areas of the Museum’s work that are carried out on a daily basis by separate teams, including the Master Plan for Conservation, the Conservation Laboratories, the Educational Projects team of the International Center for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust, and the Investment Department, which is also responsible for managing the project,” said Deputy Director of the Museum Rafał Pióro, who is responsible for preserving the authenticity of the Memorial.

“The strength of this project lies in the Museum team, which has been consistently developed over the years to meet the diverse challenges arising from the mission of our institution. Thanks to the cooperation of experienced specialists from various fields, the team has a wide range of competences. These include the ability to effectively obtain and account for EU funds, efficiently manage investment processes, and carry out comprehensive conservation work in unique structures with highly complex requirements. Using this specialist potential in the Museum’s educational role will also allow us to respond effectively to new challenges,” Rafał Pióro emphasized.

The planned works include a range of construction, conservation and educational tasks. The most important of these include conservation and construction work in the historic brick prisoner barrack no. 21 in sector BIb of the former Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp, which has so far been inaccessible to visitors, as well as the reconstruction and adaptation of the historic building known as Potato Storage I, located in the immediate vicinity of the Museum. This building will provide technical facilities for conservation work on the grounds of the former Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp, as well as a new educational space.

The project also includes the renovation of the historic drainage ditches on the grounds of the former Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp and the purchase of modern equipment. It will be complemented by specialist training for staff, pro-environmental activities and international cooperation with Heritage Malta.

The result of the project will be not only new infrastructure made available to visitors from all over the world, but also cooperation with partners planned for at least five years, including the Faculty of Conservation and Restoration of Works of Art at the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. As part of this cooperation, a new educational programme will be implemented, expanded to include conservation-related issues.

According to Dorota Dzidek, who was responsible for preparing the funding application in line with the Museum’s needs and the conditions of the competition, bringing so many diverse areas together into one coherent application was an enormous challenge.

“The FENIKS programme sets extremely high requirements, especially in the fields of innovation, accessibility and ecology. The success of this application and the acquisition of such significant funding prove that we are able to translate the Museum’s complex and interdisciplinary conservation and educational needs into the precise language of demanding competition procedures,” Dorota Dzidek stressed.

The project is planned to be completed in 2029. Its implementation will require close cooperation between many teams, as well as the involvement of a foreign partner.

“This is a large-scale and complex undertaking. It is both an organizational challenge and a unique opportunity to leave a lasting result for the protection of cultural heritage,” said Katarzyna Oboza-Ziarko, Project Manager.

EU funds obtained under the FENIKS programme have once again given the Museum an opportunity to carry out projects that are crucial for the Memorial. In the past, we successfully obtained European funds under the Infrastructure and Environment Operational Programme for 2007–2013, and twice under the 2014–2020 edition. Securing further European funding not only allows the Museum to fulfill its mission on an even larger scale, but also confirms the need for continued support for the role played by the Museum and Memorial in shaping awareness and moral responsibility, which the memory of the tragic history of Auschwitz brings to the contemporary world.

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