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Recognition for Google for Supporting Education at the Auschwitz Memorial
Google, a technological partner of the Auschwitz Museum and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation, has been recognized as one of the benefactors supporting the educational mission of the Memorial.
A ceremony unveiling a special plaque at the International Center for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust took place on January 27, on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz.
Among those in attendance were Ruth Porat, President and Chief Investment Officer of Alphabet and Google; Rowan Barnett, Director of Google.org for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński, Director of the Auschwitz Museum; and Wojciech Soczewica, Director General of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation.
“The message of Memory must reach all corners of the world. To support the work of researchers, it’s very important to translate into English the Survivors’ testimonies, which were recorded in so many different languages. Their drawings and artworks can also be made more widely accessible. In many areas, cooperation with Google can only enhance the awareness of new generations growing up in an increasingly digital world,” emphasized Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński.
“Preserving the memory of the victims of the Holocaust and helping to tell the stories of survivors has never been more crucial – and technology can play an important role in this effort,” wrote Ruth Porat.
Google and the Auschwitz Museum have worked together for a decade. Exhibitions on the history of Auschwitz are displayed on the Google Arts & Culture platform. This year, the cooperation will be expanded to include assistance with digitization.
“Today we are publishing a selection of previously unseen artworks created in secret by prisoners like Halina Ołomucka and Jerzy Zieleziński that document the unimaginable suffering, but also reveal hope and resilience. This is the first step in a project to digitize thousands of artifacts that tell the devastating experiences of those who suffered in Auschwitz,” wrote Rowan Barnett.
“Written, audio, or video accounts by Survivors need digitizing so that they can be widely accessed. Construction of a new exhibition of camp art will also soon begin. Both projects, carried out in partnership with Google, will help even better demonstrate the intensely personal dimension of human suffering in Auschwitz,” said Wojciech Soczewica, Director General of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation.
Google has also donated one million dollars to develop the live, guided online tour project ‘Auschwitz in Front of Your Eyes.’ This will help increase its accessibility by introducing live subtitles and translations into multiple languages and working with schools to improve student access to the project.
On the anniversary day, Rowan Barnett was also a guest on a special international television program organized jointly by the Museum and Polish Television. A recording of the broadcast, as well as of the main anniversary commemoration, is available on the Museum’s YouTube channel.
