News
The attendance record — 1,3 million visitors at Auschwitz Memorial in 2009
1,3 million people from all around the world have visited the Auschwitz Memorial in 2009. This is the record in the 62-year history of the Museum. It’s very important that the majority of visitors are young people—pupils and students. There were over 821 thousand of them—that is 120 thousand more than in 2008. Auschwitz Memorial have been the most visited Museum in Poland for a number of years.
“The importance of this place in the history of the world cannot be overestimated. It is difficult to understand the Europe today without a thorough knowledge of Auschwitz history. It is also difficult to understand our own contemporary responsibility, if we do not listen to the tragedy of the Holocaust and prisoners of the concentration camp. That is why I do appreciate the increase of the number of young visitors. The future of our world is in their hands”—said the Museum Director Dr. Piotr M.A. Cywiński.
The secretary of the International Auschwitz Council Marek Zając believes that the record number of visitors gives us a powerful hope. “It is the hope that the tragedy of the concentration and extermination camps will continue to force us to ask the fundamental questions, that it will shape the attitude of resistance against evil and the need to be good in next generations”—he said.
The list of top ten countries from which visitors come has not changed much. “We must certainly notice the increase of the number of visitors from Poland—compared to 2008 it is over 140 thousand more. There were also more visitors from Israel (18 thousand more), Italy (20 thousand more) as well as from France, Norway and our southern neighbors from the Czech Republic and Slovakia”—said Andrzej Kacorzyk, the head of the Visitors Services Section.
“The statistics from non-European countries are also interesting. Probably due to the economic crisis and the depreciation of the dollar, we had less visitors from the American continent, but there is a constant growth of the number of visitors from Asia. In 2009 the Auschwitz Memorial was visited by 35 thousand people from South Korea, 8 thousand from Japan, 5,6 thousand from China and 4,8 thousand from Singapore”—added Andrzej Kacorzyk.
Due to the huge interest in the summer months the organization of the visits at the Memorial was changed temporarily at the former Auschwitz I camp, where the main exhibition is located. During the peak hours only groups with a guide could enter the site—including the groups made up of individual visitors.
“The solution that in certain hours the site of Auschwitz I camp could be visited only by guided groups worked really well. We will probably act similarly in the peak months of 2010, since such a system means greater comfort for visitors. However, we must be aware that if the attendance would increase in the future by i.e. half a million people, we will have to introduce a completely new system. It's not just because of the protection of authentic site of the former camp, but also because of the safety of our visitors”—said director Cywiński.
“We should be grateful to all the people who take care of the Memorial. Without the daily involvement of the Museum staff, so many people from around the world would not understand this symbol of the atrocities of the 20th century. It is worth remembering that the most visited museum in Poland is also a world leading exemplary institution in terms of education activities and preservation”—said Marek Zając.
Visitors at Auschwitz Memorial in 2009 by country
Poland – 553,000
United Kingdom – 75,000
Italy – 63,900
Israel – 62,400
Germany – 57,900
Francja – 48,3 tys.
Czech Republic – 43,500
Slovakia – 42,900
Norway – 40,300
USA – 39,800
South Korea – 35,400
Sweden – 27,100
Spain – 26,700
Hungary – 18,200
Australia – 13,500
Netherlands – 11,700
Ireland – 11,000
Belgium – 10,000
Japan - 8,200
Danemark - 6,600
Canada – 6,600
China – 5,600
Singapour – 4,800
Austria – 4,400
Slovenia – 4,000
Finland – 3,700
Greece – 3,700
Chroatia – 3,400
Romania – 3,100
Portugal - 3,000
Other countries – 66,100
