News
Polish Television will broadcast the commemorations of the liberation of Auschwitz for the next five years.
Polish Television will produce the television signal and broadcast the commemorations of the upcoming anniversaries of the liberation of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz in the years 2026–2030. The agreement was signed on 19 November by Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński, Director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, and Tomasz Sygut, Director General of TVP. The signing took place at the Auschwitz Museum during a session of the International Auschwitz Council, in the presence of Deputy Minister of Culture and National Heritage Marek Krawczyk.
The broadcast of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz produced this year by Polish Television, along with all related coverage, including the first international TV studio, proved to be both a reputational and viewership success. TVP broadcasts on 27 January 2025 reached 4.9 million people in Poland alone. Since dozens of television stations around the world used the Polish Television signal, the total audience can be estimated in the hundreds of millions.
Under the new agreement, an international TV studio will become an integral part of the broadcasts in 2026–2030. The studio will host figures from Poland and abroad engaged in shaping the memory of Auschwitz. The signal produced by Polish Television will be made available free of charge online and via satellite.
“The most recent commemoration of the liberation of Auschwitz, produced by us in cooperation with the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, was both a reputational and a viewership success. Our joint international television studio became a unique space for a global discussion on the meaning of memory of Auschwitz. The commitment of TVP producers, editors, journalists, and production teams was of the highest level and proved that our work has tremendous value. Stations from all over the world used our signal. This is public service in its purest form. We want the memory of the Survivors to remain alive. Above all today, we must remind the world—with even greater force—where hatred can lead,” said Tomasz Sygut, Director General of the Polish Television.
“Thanks to the television broadcast, these most important commemorations of the entire year can reach a vast audience. After our very positive experience of cooperating with Polish Television for the 80th anniversary, we want to professionalize this message even further. The commentary and reflections from the special studio—where our guests will discuss the most important topics related to the history of Auschwitz and the Holocaust—will certainly help journalists and viewers around the world to build memory and to draw personal conclusions that emerge from this tragic past,” said Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński, Director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.
“I deeply hope that this innovative tool will strengthen global reflection on memory. I believe that this long-term media partnership between the Museum and the Polish Television will enable everyone to experience the anniversaries of 27 January more fully,” added Piotr Cywiński.
The broadcast of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and the international TV studio can be found at 80.auschwitz.org.
