Poland Seeks Help To Renovate Auschwitz Museum
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has appealed to EU countries for much needed help in maintaining the museums of the former Nazi death camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau.
Many of the memorial exhibits are outdated and fraying, whilst certain barrack buildings and structures have been closed off to the public, for fear of collapse.
Auschwitz was originally set up by the Nazis in May 1940 as a holding camp for members of the Polish intelligentsia. The camp was located on the fringe of the Polish town of Oswiecim. The Birkenau camp was soon raised nearby, and both were "liberated" by the Soviets in January 1945.
It is estimated that 1.2 million people perished at the Auschwitz-Birkenau complexes. About 90% of these were Jews. Other key victims of the extermination policies were the Polish intelligentsia, Europe's Roma community and Soviet prisoners of war.
This month, Germany was one of the first to respond to Prime Minister Tusk's plea for help. "Germany will not shirk from its responsibility," foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told the Associated Press.
Prime Minister Tusk suggested that 120 million euro were needed to maintain the sites, which are spread across 200 hectares.