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Volkswagen Donates a New Van to the Museum
Volkswagen, thanks to help from Christoph Heubner, the Vice-Chairman of the International Auschwitz Committee, has donated a new T5 model van to the Museum. The Museum has cooperated with the German company for more than a decade, above all in educational ventures. Volkswagen trainees come to Oświęcim each year to learn about the history of the Memorial and also perform chores at the Auschwitz site.
Dr. Horst Neumann of the Volkswagen board handed the keys to the new van to Museum deputy director Krystyna Oleksy on June 16. Members of Volkswagen management accompanied him to Oświęcim and spent several days at the International Youth Meeting House, attending a seminar on the history of the camp. They joined a group of young Volkswagen trainees (who were working at the Museum) and Museum staff in paying tribute to the victims. They placed floral tributes and lighted candles at the Death Wall in the courtyard of block 11.
“Material support is very important to us, of course, and we are happy that Volkswagen helps in this way. This is the third vehicle they have donated. This donation also has symbolic and moral significance for us. It indicates Volkswagen’s interest in educational matters,” she said. “We have been cooperating for more than a dozen years, and four groups of young people in training at the company’s factories come here each year for two-week seminars. At the moment, these young people are helping our preservationists carry out work on the camp fence.”
“Volkswagen is a large German company. We are conscious of our history. We want to make our young workers aware of this. We are very happy that many of our trainees and future managers come to this place,” said Neumann, who is responsible for human resources on the Volkswagen board of directors. “The van, as a practical aid, will surely be helpful in the everyday work of the Museum, and I hope that it will remain in service a very long time,” he continued. “The most important thing, however, is that our young employees can come here to learn about the history of this place.”
The Museum and the International Youth Meeting House in Oświęcim cooperate to put on the seminars about the history of the Third Reich and Auschwitz, which are attended jointly by young people from Volkswagen in Wolfsburg and from the Technical and Commercial School Complex in Bielsko-Biała. The pedagogical aim of the program is to maintain the memory of the things that happened in the past and to make young people aware of the dangers to democracy and human rights that exist today.
