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Winners of the Memorial Award for Volunteers: "If not for those ten...".

On the 77th anniversary of the creation of the Museum on the site of the former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz, the Director's Award of the Museum "If There Were Not Ten..." was presented. The recipients are volunteers, interns, volunteer coordinators, and institutions supporting volunteers at the Memorial.

 

The awards were presented by Andrzej Kacorzyk, Director of the International Center for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust, and Katarzyna Marcak, head of the Volunteer Office at the ICEAH.

"This special day allows us to express our deepest gratitude for the extraordinary commitment, kindness, energy, and dedication of our volunteers and interns. It is thanks to them that we are able to conduct our educational activities more fully and broadly, preserve the authenticity of the site and objects, and protect through our conservation efforts, the invaluable material traces of the Victims," said Andrzej Kacorzyk.

"The individuals we honor today belong to those who strive towards a world of responsibility for oneself and others, and who are aware of the importance of their decisions and attitudes. Thanks to such attitudes, it is evident that the memory of the Victims has a real impact on our current obligations and challenges," emphasized Andrzej Kacorzyk.

The laureates also received a replica of the tiny shoes that Batsheva Dagan received in the camp. Her fellow prisoner friend, under inhumane camp conditions, found the material, time, and opportunity to prepare this small gift. Similarly, Museum volunteers, amid the many responsibilities of daily life, find the time, opportunity, and above all, the willingness to care for the legacy of the Survivors.

"Activity of volunteers for the Memorial Site, engaging in various tasks arising from the daily work of the Museum as well as organized events and ceremonies, is a special form of commemorating the victims of the German Auschwitz camp. Throughout the year, we receive help and support from at least 500 people from around the world, who engage in many areas of the Museum's activities and implement the volunteer program, both onsite and online," said Katarzyna Marcak.

 

The winners of the "If There Were Not Ten..." in 2024:

Martyna Białek

A volunteer since the autumn of 2022, the participant in the first edition of the "Volunteer Academy," after which she continued her volunteering. She assists both online by performing necessary transcriptions and onsite during commemorations and significant educational events.

Silvia Bencini

A volunteer in the Collections; she participated in the verification of original objects as part of the children’s shoes conservation project—remnants of the camp victims—and in the digitization of archival documentation of the Collections.

Joanna Dorywalska

A volunteer at the L. Kruczkowski High School in Tychy, she helps the Museum both online (within the project "Restoring the Identity of Those Deported and Imprisoned in KL Auschwitz…") and onsite during various commemoration events.

Agnieszka Fuczik

A volunteer since October 2022; cooperating among others with the Bureau for Former Prisoners on the project "Restoring the Identity of Those Deported and Imprisoned in KL Auschwitz…" and during various commemoration event.

Adrian Heritage

A long-time supervisor of student groups from TH Köln, carrying out internships in the Museum Conservation Laboratories.

Aaron Jolley

An intern in the Bureau for Former Prisoners as part of the project "Restoring the Identity of Those Deported and Imprisoned in KL Auschwitz…"; he also participated in the creation of index cards from surveys as part of the post-war materials collected in the Archives.

Eileen Lyon

A volunteer since November 2022, cooperating with the Bureau for Former Prisoners on the project "Restoring the Identity of Those Deported and Imprisoned in KL Auschwitz…".

Dorota Tutka

Coordinator of student internships at the Małopolska State University in Oświęcim since 2007.

Karina Zander

An intern in the Bureau for Former Prisoners as part of the project "Restoring the Identity of Those Deported and Imprisoned in KL Auschwitz…"; she also handled the scanning and naming of surveys for digitization. She continues her cooperation through volunteering.

Suzana Nahum Zilberberg

An intern in the ICEAH Educational Projects in 2023. She translated workshops into Hebrew and also supported the team in substantive activities.