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Volunteer Academy for participants from all over the world. For the first time on-site.
Fourteen individuals from Australia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States participated in the Volunteer Academy at the Auschwitz Museum. Organized by the International Center for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust and the Museum's Archive, the project was conducted in an on-site format for the first time and attracted significant interest. Participants were among the first groups to use the newly opened Museum hostel located adjacent to the Memorial Site.
“In previous years, the Academy was held online. We found that the first in-person edition at the Museum attracted more interest than we could accommodate, prompting us to expand the planned group size,” explained Katarzyna Marcak, who oversees Volunteering and Internships at the ICEAH.
From September 28 to October 5, volunteers assisted in the project "Restoring the Identities of Those Deported and Imprisoned in KL Auschwitz," conducted in the Archive by the Archival Analysis and Information Section. Their tasks included data entry and indexing part of a reconstructed transport list, specifically a list of 750 prisoners transferred on August 25, 1944, from KL Auschwitz to KL Neuengamme. The transport mainly included electricians, locksmiths, and drivers who, after being transferred to KL Neuengamme, were predominantly employed in assembling engines and tracks for military vehicles.
“At the end of their involvement, participants were asked to prepare a brief presentation on an individual from the documents they worked with. It was profoundly moving that from the basic data found in post-camp documents, participants managed to construct detailed biographies of specific individuals imprisoned in the camp,” highlighted Marcak.
“I think this really has been one of the most interesting and incredible experience of my life. I have learnt so much about myself, the victims of Auschwitz, and current research efforts to keep their memory alive. I am very proud to have been involved in such a project and sad that it has to end so soon. Seeing how the archives work behind the scenes has been a real treasure for me, and researching specific victims as part of the project has made this experience feel even more personal, now being familiar with names I will never forget,” said Eilidh Bowen.
“As a student of history in the Master's level program at Villanova University in the United States, the experience was profound on several levels. It enabled me to learn about the Holocaust and the inner workings of a major museum from experts in the field, conduct research at an internationally recognized institution, interact with history where it happened, and gain valuable perspectives from fellow volunteers from around the world. A combination of experiences that cannot be duplicated in any classroom” stated Allen Christopher Rosso.
“The volunteer work on the database of the Neuengamme transport opened my eyes to many aspects of the history of Auschwitz that I wasn't aware of. I acquired skills that I will be able to use every day in my scholarly life, and what is the most important, now I understand more about the life of prisoners, the inhumane conditions among they lived. During the volunteer work we were guided through the process of getting to know more about a prisoner's life, based on merely on the documents available at the archives. We learnt how to give the prisoners face, at the end of the process our relationship to them is not just about numbers, it is personal,” said Veronika Kuroli.
“I am so honored to be able to be a part of this volunteer project and I really hope that I can volunteer for projects in the future, in person or via internet. The staff are all so pleasant and knowledgeable. You can tell how passionate everyone is about their jobs here and that makes the experience even more enjoyable.,” mentioned Jan Flynn.
“The presence of volunteers on-site gave them entirely different opportunities from working solely in a virtual workshop. They were able to independently conduct queries. They also learned what work in the Archival Analysis and Information Section entails and how to create a description of a person's fate in the camp based on data from documents. During the work, volunteers processed over 800 documents related to the group of 750 people transferred from KL Auschwitz to KL Neuengamme,” said Anna Jawień from the Archival Analysis and Information Section.
“Often in their searches, participants went further, trying to find as much information as possible about the post-war fates of the Survivors. This shows their great commitment. Importantly, some have expressed a desire to continue volunteering remotely,” added Marcak.
During the Academy, participants not only performed volunteer activities but also expanded their knowledge of the history of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz, as well as learned about the work and challenges of some parts of the Museum, such as the Archives, Collections, or Conservation Laboratories.
Participants of the Volunteer Academy were among the first groups to benefit from the new Museum hostel. “This gives us the ability not only to stay overnight right next to the Museum entrance. It is also a comfortable place for group work, which is extremely important in the context of future ICEAH projects,” stated Katarzyna Marcak.
The hostel is intended primarily for volunteers and participants in educational projects conducted at the Museum by the International Center for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust.
