Foundation to preserve the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp site
Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation, created in 2009 by Wladyslaw Bartoszewski, aims to gather and manage an endowment from which income shall finance the long-term, global preservation program of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Site.
Aim and objectives.
The main objective of the foundation is "to look after the Memorial Site – the grounds and remnants of the former concentration camp KL Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II Birkenau concentration camp - supervised by the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Oświęcim (...), as well as to support the museum's mission".
The aim is to be accomplished primarily by collecting funds for conservation and financing the conservation works. The funds are collected for the foundation's Perpetual Fund. According to the objectives of the foundation, the annual interest (approximately 4-5 million) from the fund of 120 million EUR, would allow for planned and systematic conservation work.
World reactions.
The foundation was registered in Warsaw, Poland in April 2009, but already 2 months earlier, the Polish prime minister Donald Tusk sent letters to dozens of countries requesting assistance in the construction of a proposed endowment fund of 120 million EUR.
On December 16, 2009, Germany took a joint federal-"länder" decision to donate to the fund 60 million EUR in five equal installments from 2011 to 2015. However, in June 2010, Germany decided to send additional 120,000 EUR to cover the costs of running the foundation's office. At a 2019 ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany announced another 60 million EUR donation to help preserve the site.
In February 2010, Austria announced a payment of 6,000,000 EUR. In July 2010, United States pledged 15,000,000 USD (approximately 12.2 million EUR).
In July 2010, United States of America declared donation of 15 million USD (about 12.2 million EUR).
In May 2011 Great Britain declared support of the fund in the amount of 2.15 million GBP (about 2.41 million EUR).
On October 5, 2011 the president of Poland, Bronisław Komorowski, signed a special act (supported earlier by all parliamentary clubs of the lower and higher chambers of Polish Parliament) according to which Poland supported the fund in the amount of 10 million EUR (which is about 8% of the whole fund).
The prime minister of Israel, Benyamin Netanyahu, declared support of 3.6 million NIS (about 715,000 EUR).
In December 2011 the prime minister of France declared 5 million EUR of support for the fund.
Smaller amounts have been donated by Australia, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Hungary, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Switzerland, Sweden, Turkey and the Vatican. as well as by the cities of Paris (France), Boulogne-Billancourt (France) and Kołobrzeg (Poland).
Foundation's authorities.
Four separate bodies of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation (the council, the international committee, the management board and the Financial Commission) ensure the transparency, efficiency, and accountability of their respective work, all of which are of crucial importance to the foundation. The foundation's statutes regulate the structural and functional integrity of the process behind the creation and management of the perpetual fund. Moreover, the foundation has established a professional relationship with two renowned companies that advise it on legal matters, accounting and bookkeeping. All of these factors emphasize the foundation's primary objective of securing the safety of the perpetual fund and guaranteeing transparency with respect to the disposal of funds.
Current president of the management board of the foundation is Piotr Cywiński, PhD. Łukasz Rozdeiczer serves as vice-president, Wojciech Soczewica as director general, and Elwir Świętochowski as a member of the board and financial director of the foundation.
On the foundation's council sit: Marek Zając - council's chairman and founder, Marcin Barcz, Daniel Benjamin, Eleonora Bergman, Piotr Kadlčik, Jacek Kastelaniec, Serge Klarsfeld, Edward Kosakowski, Paweł Machcewicz, Zbigniew Nosowski, abp Grzegorz Ryś, Jürgen Rüttgers, and Józef Wancer.
The work of the foundation's is being supervised by the international committee, composed by representatives of countries whose governments have donated for the Perpetual Fund of the foundation. So far, these countries are: Germany, Austria, the United States. And also: Czech Republic, the Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Norway, the Swiss Confederation and the Republic of Estonia.
Council.
The foundation's council is the decision-making, supervisory and opinion forming body. The tasks of the council include appointing and recalling members of the foundation's management board, supervising its decisions and defining the main aims of the foundation's activities.
Members of the council.
As council members serve the following experts:
Former members of the council.
In the past, also Agnieszka Magdziak-Miszewska – former consul-general of the Republic of Poland in New York, the ambassador of the Republic of Poland in Israel, former member of the International Auschwitz Council, served as council member.
International committee.
The statutes allow an international committee to ensure that the functioning of the foundation is completely transparent to the public and to its benefactors. The members of the Committee come from countries and institutions which contributed to the creation of the Perpetual Capital Fund. The international committee has constant access to information about the work of the foundation, and assesses the work of the foundation and examines its plans at special sessions. No changes to the foundation's statutes will be possible without first consulting with the Committee.
As per 2021, the international committee members were delegates (mostly in the rank of ambassadors) of the following countries (in the alphabetical order): Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom, and USA.
Management board.
The management board manages the foundation's activities and represents it externally. It consists of one to six members appointed by the foundation's council for three-year terms of office. Currently, it consists of the following four members:
Former members of the management board.
Rafał Pióro– deputy director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum responsible for the preservation of the site, collections and archives; former head of the Preservation Department at the museum; and creator of the conservation workshops and laboratories at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.
Financial committee.
The financial committee, consisting of renowned experts in the field of safe fund investing, advises the foundation's management board on fund investing strategy. The objective of the commission's members is to: coordinate and oversee the financial work of the Auschwitz—Birkenau Foundation; selectively choose the appropriate banking institution in which the endowment fund shall be deposited; develop recommendations for investing the Perpetual Capital; cooperate with companies that specialize in such investments.
Chairman: Józef Wancer.
Members:
References.
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