Home Page - Museum arrow Foundation
Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation | Print |
Article Index
Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation
Reactions of the world so far
 In order for future generations visiting the remains of the Auschwitz Nazi German concentration camp to be able to see with their own eyes the authentic site of the crimes that the Nazis committed during the Second World War, Professor Władysław Bartoszewski has established the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation.

The task of the Foundation is to amass a sum of €120 million for the Perpetual Fund. Prof. Władysław BartoszewskiThe annual interest of €4-5 million will make it possible to plan and systematically carry out essential conservation work. Thus, for the first time in its history, the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial has a real chance of creating an ongoing, long-term conservation program that will make it possible to safeguard the remains of the camp for future generations.
For Donors in the USA: The Friends of Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation has been formed to suport the mission of the Foundation in the United States. Its mission is to make it easier for private individuals in the USA to contribute. The FOABF is currently applying for 501(C)(3) status as a tax-exempt non-profit.

Account # 4973926836
Bank: Citi
Account Title: Friends of Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation
Address: 380 Rector Place Apt 12F
New York, NY 10280

Brick barracks and ruins at the former Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp. Photo: Paweł Sawicki The Memorial is almost 200 hectares of grounds, 155 buildings, and 300 ruins, including the ruins of the gas chambers and crematoria, as well as over 100 thousand personal items that belonged to the people who were killed, other items, archival documents, and works of art by prisoners. For these ruins and buildings, the clock is running faster and faster. If we do not find a way today to underwrite a comprehensive plan for conservation on a permanent basis, we will never manage to catch up with the natural erosion and deterioration of many buildings and other objects. Until now, the entire burden of maintaining this place has fallen on Poland, which will continue to finance the ongoing operation of the Museum.
ImageImage Download the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation folder "The Preservation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Our Responsibility for Future Generations"





News:

Switzerland essentialy increased its support to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation (May 2013)
Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation ranks among the best (September 2012)
Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation Council meets for the fourth time (June 2012)
Global Preservation Plan has started (June 2012)
Canadian support for the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation (May 2012)
France supports the Fund for Auschwitz (December 2011)
Israeli Prime Minister announced 1 million dollars support to the Foundation (September 2011)
New Zealand supports the Foundation (September 2011)
Poland will support the Perpetual Fund with 10 million euro (September 2011)
Family Support for the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation (April 2011)
The Kingdom of the Netherlands donated 400 thousand Euro to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation (February 2011)
United States Contributes $15 Million to Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation (July 2010)
Additional German Support for the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation (June 2010)
The First Year of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation (June 2010)
€6 million for the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation from Austria (February 2010)
€60 Million for Preserving Auschwitz (December 2009)
Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation Council convened for the first time (June 2009)
We will save from forgetting, what they wanted to destroy (April 2009)
The Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation established (January 2009)

Museum director Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński speaking about the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation and its importance for preserving the Auschwitz Memorial:

Dr. Piotr M.A. CywińskiToday, the situation at the Auschwitz site is still under control. The Polish government has taken continuous responsibility for this place since World War II, but the clock is running increasingly quickly for these ruins and buildings. If we do not find a way of permanently financing an overall conservation plan today, many of these objects will face accelerated natural erosion and deterioration, until the point at which the situation becomes irreversible. This is why the Polish premier has sent letters addressed to a wide range of recipients, including the European countries, urging them to support the plans for setting up a Perpetual Fund to maintain the authenticity of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

So far, Poland has carried almost the entire burden of preserving this site. Poland will, furthermore, continue to maintain the Museum. The appeal for funding applies exclusively to the cost of conserving the original camp objects—the scores of blocks, barracks, guard towers, ruins, crematoria, and fences, as well as the objects safeguarded in the collections. Support from abroad has not exceeded 3-5% in recent years, the majority donated by the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation. These contributions have made it possible to open the up-to-date conservation workshop and laboratories. Today, we are closer to preserving the authenticity of this place than ever before. The only thing we need now is money.

This place is necessary to all of us. This is where we can most fully understand the tragedy of a Europe plunged into war and mutual hatred. Here, too, the younger generation can best understand how much we must preserve in order for the future to be different. Auschwitz was both a concentration camp and a killing center. It is the only place of its kind entered on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Over the last seven years, the number of visitors has tripled. This is a sign of great hope. I am personally convinced that this is a place of fundamental significance to our entire European civilization—a place where we can grapple most fully with questions of overriding importance about man, society, and the poisoned fruits of anti-Semitism, race hatred, and contempt for others.

It is also the place where we can most clearly see the sense of many postwar phenomena and movements to create a world free of such tragedies. I am thinking of the creation of the UN and the International Court of Justice, the concept of crimes against humanity, and finally the whole effort to build a communitarian Europe as a way of averting the calamities of war and the spread of ideologies of hatred.  

Auschwitz remains the most comprehensible explanation of the postwar struggle for human rights. I believe that, today, every mature democracy depends on educating its young people in such a way that they understand the profound correctness of international and state efforts to build a different world. It might not always be a success, and it might not be completely ideal, but it will be different.  

That is why I think that, at the moment when the last eyewitnesses to those tragic times are passing away, the preservation of Auschwitz is becoming a genuinely shared responsibility.


 


Sitemap - MuseumContactsVolunteersDownloadCopyrightPublic InformationLinksRSS
Facebook   YouTube   World Heritage    |   Copyright ©1999-2013 Państwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau w Oświęcimiu