News
They won't be dancing. Discotheque ruled illegal
The governor of Małopolska province yesterday withdrew permission for the construction and use of the discotheque that was set up last August on the site of the Oświęcim tannery where prisoners from the Nazi Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp labored and were killed during the war (for the Museum's opinion on the matter, see "August" in "Latest News 2000.").
The ruling by governor (wojewoda) Ryszard Masłowski is a result of an appeal by the Foundation for the International Youth Meeting House, which stands adjacent to the discotheque. After examining the matter, the governor overturned decisions by the Oświęcim local government that granted permission for the construction and the operation of the discotheque. "The construction permit was not accompanied by the issuance of conditions for the construction and use of the land, which was necessary in view of the fact that it [the permit] altered the use of the former tannery building," explained the director of the Architectural Department in the Małopolska Governor's Office. "Local officials also failed to take under consideration the fact that the International Youth Meeting House foundation had the status of a party to the proceedings and should have been included in them. The permit was therefore granted with legal irregularities."
This means that the discotheque owner achieved nothing by dividing the tannery premises in such a way that a separate property stood between the discotheque and the Youth Meeting House. This was done in an effort to show that the Youth Meeting House was not adjacent to the discotheque, and therefore had no basis for an appeal to the governor.