News
Museum Council Session Held
At a meeting in Oświęcim, the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum Council unanimously approved a report on the work of the institution in 2009 and its plans for 2010. The meeting also devoted a great of time to discussing ways to protect the Museum from the threat of floods.
The session opened with a minute of silence for Andrzej Przewoźnik, a member of the council who was also chairman of the Polish Board for the Protection of Monuments of Combat and Martyrdom, who was killed in the air disaster on April 10.
The director of the Museum reported to the Council on the year 2009, and discussed the most important plans for 2010 and after. The subjects touched upon included the high level of attendance and the associated challenges, conservation work that is underway or scheduled, the preparation of the new main exhibition, and the budget and functioning of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation. Krystyna Oleksy reported on the work of the Center for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust, of which she is the director.
The recent floods and the issue of protecting the Memorial from high waters figured prominently at the session. The situation is particularly acute at the Auschwitz II-Birkenau site. “Great efforts by Brzezinka residents, firefighters, and Museum employees who reinforced the flood barriers made it possible to save the Birkenau grounds,” said Museum Director Dr. Piotr M.A. Cywiński. “This year’s lessons have shown that the duty to protect the remains of the camp on the flood plain means that the barriers must unquestionably be extended and made higher.”
The Council decided to petition the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, the Wojewoda of Małopolska, and the Marshal of the Małopolska Sejmik to assign priority to completing the plans for the reinforcement of the flood barriers in the vicinity of the site of the Birkenau camp. “The protection of a world cultural heritage site should take precedence over the protection of some kind of plant life. I think that this would be the proper order in the hierarchy of values. After all, this is not only a matter of safeguarding the site of the camp, but also of hundreds, or perhaps even thousands of local residents,” said the wojt of the commune of Oświęcim, Andrzej Bibrzycki.
There was also discussion during the meeting of projects for the development of the Museum, including the transformation of the adjacent PKSiS bus garage into a visitor service center. “After months of delays, the case was put before the Local Government Appeals Court, which overturned in its entirety the decision by Oświęcim Mayor Janusz Marszałek, which was blocking the project, and we have at long last obtained conditional permission for this construction project. At the moment, the lawyers are analyzing the contents of the document,” said the Museum director.
“I hope that the documents will come into force and that the problems surrounding this project will finally be solved so that we can put the obstacles behind us once and for all. This is of course important to the Museum, but also to the PKSiS staff, who want to invest the money in a new garage facility of a size that will be appropriate for them,” said Piotr Kućka, the chairman of Oświęcim City Council.
