Norway supports educational work at the memorial site

The Norwegian Ambassador to Poland, Anders Eide, visited the memorial and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum on 11 November. During the visit, a cooperation agreement was signed between the Norwegian side, the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation and the Auschwitz Museum.

The agreement concerns cooperation to strengthen the mission of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial by promoting the education of future generations and preserving the memory of the victims and survivors of the German Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. The cooperation will be implemented as part of the programme "Educational Strategy for the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum with the Use of Innovative Technologies". The project is financed by funds from the European Economic Area (EEA) and Norway.

During his visit to the memorial, Ambassador Eide and his family toured the former camp grounds. The ambassador laid a wreath at the death wall in the courtyard of Block 11, the site of the first shooting 80 years ago, on 11 November 1941, in memory of all the victims of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp. He then visited the headquarters of the International Centre for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust and took part in a meeting on the challenges of educational work at the memorial site. He also signed the museum's guest book.

"I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau today with my family and embassy staff. I am also deeply grateful and honoured that Norway, through EEA and Norwegian funding, is able to support the indispensable work of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation in preserving the memory of the victims and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum," Ambassador Eide wrote.

"Education at the memorial site has been, is and will remain of utmost importance." A visit to an authentic site is a unique experience for every visitor, no matter where they come from. "However, in view of the various restrictions, we are working intensively to develop various forms of distance learning in order to convey the authentic memorial site as closely as possible," said ICEAH Director Andrzej Kacorzyk.

"The foundation and the memorial are adapting to the new circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. The nature of visits will change. We are seeing growing interest in exploring the memorial with the help of the internet and new technologies," said Wojciech Soczewica, Director General of the foundation.

"It is therefore crucial that Norway was one of the first countries to decide to support museum educators and guides and to provide funding for this. I hope that other countries will follow Norway's example. However, the foundation's task will be to raise funds for the educational projects carried out by the museum team," emphasised Soczewica.

The programme "Educational Strategy for the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum with the Use of Innovative Technologies" is being implemented in cooperation with the Norwegian Centre for Holocaust and Minority Studies and the SWPS University in Warsaw.