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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.

In 2023, the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation (ABF) donated a record sum of PLN 27.5 million to the museum for conservation work. The total support provided by the ABF to date amounted to almost PLN 126 million, and the value of the foundation's endowment fund exceeded EUR 177 million in 2023.

"The Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation provides almost all of the funding for conservation measures at the memorial site. The establishment of a stable, long-term financing mechanism has enabled the formation of a competent team of experts, the implementation of measures on an unprecedented scale, and the launch of the master plan for preservation," said the president of the foundation and director of the Auschwitz State Museum, Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński.

Among the most significant works completed in 2023 were the conservation of two brick barracks, a kitchen and a latrine on the Birkenau site; work on the ruins of the gas chamber and crematorium III, focusing on the underground parts of the facility and the parts of the reinforced concrete structure preserved in the former furnace room; the conservation of 50 suitcases, 1,200 shoes, 800 enamel items, 30 textile objects and 2,000 archaeological artefacts, as well as the conservation of selected layers of paint in blocks 11, 15 and 18 in Auschwitz I.

Conservation measures were initiated for the brick building of the former bathhouse in the Birkenau women's camp. As part of Building Information Modelling (BIM), models for 45 brick barracks in the BI area of the former Birkenau camp were developed. A Geographic Information System (GIS) was developed to simplify the creation, exchange and management of maps, applications and geodata.

In 2023, the Foundation initiated additional funding for a project to preserve 8,000 shoes belonging to the youngest victims of Auschwitz. This was done in collaboration with the International March of the Living, the Next Generation Foundation and various private donors.

The Foundation also signed an agreement with Taiwan to continue a special scholarship programme for female restorers from Ukraine in 2024. These women were forced to leave their homes due to Russian aggression against their country and have since found employment at the museum.

"Now that the conservation work has reached the desired pace, the foundation has launched additional fundraising campaigns to support educational projects. The funds for this do not come from the foundation's endowment," explained the foundation's director general, Wojciech Soczewica.

One of the first educational programmes financed by the ABF is the development of the "Auschwitz. In Front of Your Eyes" platform, which offers guided live online tours of the memorial site.

Taiwan will allocate 50,000 US dollars to fund a special scholarship program for Ukrainian women conservators carried out by the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation and the Auschwitz Museum. These conservators were forced to escape from their country.

This project was launched in March 2022 when hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian citizens were fleeing to Poland due to the Russian aggression.

The MoU regarding this matter was signed on 14 December 2023 in Warsaw by Sharon S. N. Wu, Head of the Taipei Representative Office, Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński, the President of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation, and Wojciech Soczewica, the General Director of the Foundation.

"Although geographically distant, Taiwan, Poland and Ukraine share a profound connection through our commitment to education, democracy and pursuit of a bright future,” emphasized Sharon S. N. Wu.

Ukrainian women conservators work at the Museum, preserving the remains of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz. The program also provides professional training and integration into the labor market.

Previously, Germany also gave the support to the scholarship project.

Preserving the authenticity of the Auschwitz Memorial is the main task of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation.

The Israeli company AppsFlyer, that together with the Museum and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation creates the platform for online live guided tours of the Memorial, has received this year's Global AWS Partner Award for Partner of the Year in the field of social impact.

The award was presented at this year's Amazon Web Services re:Invent 2023 gala held in Las Vegas from November 27 to December 1.

‘Our “Auschwitz. In Front of your Eyes" project, in cooperation with the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation, offers an immersive educational experience through live remote-guided tours of the Museum and Memorial. Through achieving the AWS Social Impact of the Year AWS Award, AppsFlyer is demonstrating a force for positive change in the world. It is an incredibly proud moment for our team,’ said AppsFlyer CEO Oren Kaniel.

‘The Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation is proud to be partnering with AppsFlyer, Diskin and the Auschwitz Memorial in the production of this groundbreaking technology. The annual AWS Award is proof that together we are making a meaningful contribution to the global education about the history of Auschwitz and the Holocaust,’ emphasized Director General of the Foundation Wojciech Soczewica.

The AWS Social Partner of the Year is awarded to companies that engage in giving back to society through their staff, resources, and technology and lead initiatives aimed at making our world a better place.Thanks to the "Auschwitz. In Front of your Eyes" platform, millions of people will have access to education from the authentic Memorial Site. The project will serve people from around the world to visit the site of the former German Nazi camp Auschwitz with a guide online. Reservations will be possible later this year.

The narration will be conducted live, but educators will also use multimedia materials, archival photographs, artworks, documents, and testimonies of Survivors.The project is being developed in cooperation between the Museum, the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation, Israeli companies AppsFlyer and Diskin, with the support of specialized companies such as Orange, and also thanks to the involvement of many private donors and foundations.

On the occasion of the 80th anniversary commemorating the outbreak of the uprising in the Białystok ghetto, the U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, announced U.S. support for the development of a virtual online tour of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial.

“The United States will always be your partner in keeping this history alive," said Secretary Blinken. "We’re taking another step in that effort, by working with our Congress to invest $1 million to help create a virtual tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau, so that more people who can’t visit can experience the indelible impact of seeing that site," he announced.

“The Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation, from the very beginning of its existence, was focused on preserving the Memorial for future generations. Today, however, Foundation is also more and more involved in educational projects. Creating a special platform, thanks to which people from all over the world, will be able to visit online the grounds of the Museum, with additional support from the US, will be crucial for the development of this unique and innovative concept.“, said the president of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation and the Director of the Auschwitz Museum, Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński.

“None of the educational activities at the Museum, supported by the foundation, is financed from the endowment fund, which was created specifically to preserve the Memorial.“, added Cywiński. The innovative "Auschwitz. In Front of your Eyes" application, through which millions of people will gain access to education directly from the authentic Memorial Site, will be used by people from all over the world to visit the site of the former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau with an online guide. The narration will be conducted live, and the educator will also use multimedia materials, archival photographs, artistic works, documents, and testimonies of survivors.

U.S. Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski said, “The United States’ contribution demonstrates our commitment to action in ensuring Never Again means Never Again. US Mission Poland is anti-Antisemitism. We are honored to partner with the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation and Memorial on this critical and innovative educational effort which will reach people across the globe.”

“The development of this technology and the use of the platform for educational purposes will allow us to jointly preserve the tragic experiences of the victims and Survivors of Auschwitz and disseminate them on a global scale. I hope other countries will soon join the United States, Monaco, and Malta in contributing to this effort. In the era of polarization and growing social tensions, the use of instruments that will allow us to reach an increasingly wider audience seems to be a necessity. The excellent cooperation of the Foundation, the Museum, and global technological leaders on the platform contributes to the implementation of our mission.“, said Wojciech Soczewica, General Director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation.

The design of this special platform, dedicated to the Memorial, was created in cooperation with the Museum, the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation, Israeli companies AppsFlyer and Diskin, and thanks to the support of specialist companies, such as Orange, which provided stable and fast wireless Internet access throughout the Memorial, and thanks to the involvement of many private donors and foundations.