Google supports online tours of the Auschwitz memorial site

Google is supporting the development of the project "Auschwitz. In Front of your Eyes." This will enable people worldwide to visit the former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau online with a live guide. Thanks to a $1 million grant from Google.org, Google's non-profit organisation, the memorial will expand education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust worldwide and improve access for people with disabilities, people in remote areas and those who are unable to travel.

Google's support will contribute to the further development of the technological platform and its accessibility. This includes the introduction of live captioning, AI-assisted translation into multiple languages, and the digitisation of survivor testimonies used in the tours. In addition, the guides will receive comprehensive training and the reach of this unique form of visit will be expanded worldwide. This includes working with schools to improve access for students.

This builds on the long-standing partnership with Google, when the memorial and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum, together with Google Arts & Culture, made important stories from Auschwitz and over 700 artefacts from their archives accessible online.

The "Auschwitz. In front of your eyes" project was developed over three years in cooperation between the museum, the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation and companies such as AppsFlyer, DISKIN and Orange. Visitors have been able to use the platform since January this year.

On 13 May, a panel discussion was held in Warsaw with Rowan Barnett, Director of Google.org for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński, Director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum, and Wojciech Soczewica, Director General of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation. Auschwitz survivor Bogdan Bartnikowski was present as a guest of honour.

"I am very pleased that the museum was able to launch this special programme. Three years ago, I witnessed its beginnings and was very excited to see how it would ultimately develop. It is extremely important that people from many countries and continents can see what Auschwitz looked like thanks to modern technology, without having to visit the museum," said Bogdan Bartnikowski.

Bogdan Bartnikowski emphasised the importance of authentic representation of the site and recalled a recent training session for museum guides, during which he told his story: "I must say that my frequent visits to the memorial have made me somewhat immune. You could say I've become accustomed to this place. But when I sat in front of a group of guides in the barracks where I was imprisoned, it was an overwhelming experience for me. I was able to show exactly where the three-tiered bunk bed I had slept in had stood, and there, on the other side, about two hundred young Jewish men were locked up in the middle of the barracks, presumably selected for further work in German industry and mining. And here, against the wall of the barracks, I saw a pile of corpses of murdered, tortured prisoners waiting to be cremated."

Participants in the meeting also had the opportunity to experience the "Auschwitz. In Front of your Eyes" platform in action during a live tour offered as part of the event.

"With the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz approaching, it is of utmost importance to give as many people as possible around the world the opportunity to learn about this place and its history. This is especially true given the difficult and unpredictable situation in our world today, with the outbreak of successive wars and increasing dehumanisation, terrorism and xenophobia. In these times, a heightened sense of responsibility is needed, which can best be developed on the basis of truth and remembrance," said Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński, Director of the Auschwitz Museum.

"The online tours of the Auschwitz Memorial arose from the need to provide access to all those who, for various reasons, cannot travel to the museum in person. This was a major challenge, including on a technological level. Google's decision to join this coalition and contribute its expertise to the development of technologies that expand access to the history of Auschwitz and the Holocaust is of immense importance," emphasised Wojciech Soczewica.

Making the history and experiences of Auschwitz accessible to all people worldwide is crucial to preserving the memory of the Holocaust. Technology can be a powerful tool for promoting education and remembrance. Our $1 million grant will enable the memorial and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum to expand their online tours to additional languages, improve accessibility, and digitise survivors' testimonies so that their stories can be told to future generations and never be forgotten," said Rowan Barnett, Director of Google.org for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

"The commitment of international organisations to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum is particularly valuable. Together, we are showing how to effectively strengthen the memory of history in order to counteract indifference or attempts to distort and instrumentalise history in the present," added Wojciech Soczewica.

The online tour of the memorial takes about two hours and is divided into two parts: Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau. The tour is broadcast live. In addition, multimedia materials, archive photos, works of art, documents and survivor testimonies are used. The app also allows users to interact with the tour and ask questions.