68th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz

The Speech by Bogdan Zdrojewski, Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage

We meet here today, on the 68th Anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi German camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau, in order to open the new permanent exhibition entitled “Tragedy. Valour. Liberation”. Just as every year, our presence here is intended above all to honour the memory of those murdered in the camp. The immensity of the wrongs suffered by the prisoners of Auschwitz-Birkenau cannot be described in words.

Over a million people perished. Those who survived that devastating stay in the camp, now and forever, have to live with these traumatic experiences that cannot be forgotten. As we know, their children, and even grandchildren, experience anew the events that forever left a mark on the fate of their families.

We remember the Holocaust of the Jews, the suffering and extermination of Poles, Russians, Roma, Byelorussians, Ukrainians and citizens of almost all the countries of Europe. Their memory, their fate - it is our legacy.

Our role and commitment is to honour the memory of those events, which do not have the right to be repeated. Not only for the sake of the victims of the Holocaust, but also for the sake of present and future generations, for which knowledge of the past must constitute as a memento.

The Polish state has taken on the commitment of caring for the memory of the Nazi crimes carried out in the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp. The Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation set up the Perpetual Fund, whose means allow for the continuous implementation of conservation works at the Auschwitz Memorial Site.

Today, thanks to donations and declarations of payments coming from countries around the world, we are on the way to achieving our goal. Half a year ago, in this same place, the work of the Global Conservation Plan was inaugurated, the effects of which are already starting to be seen.

Today, allow me to express my gratification with the presence of our Russian guests, for whom World War II is the bloodiest period experienced in the history of Russia. The permanent exhibition “Tragedy. Valour. Liberation” was prepared by the Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War in Moscow in cooperation with the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.

At this time, I would like to thank the employees of both museums and all those involved in preparing the exhibition for their efforts.

I wish to express my satisfaction, which comes from the fact that these many years of Polish-Russian co-operation have ended in success. I also hope that this will not be a one-off collaboration, but that it will become symbol of mutual understanding and a good example of a concerted effort to preserve the memory and historical truth.