Monaco attends Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation summit

The International Committee of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation has held its 9th annual meeting in Poland at the Auschwitz II-Birkenau Memorial.

Members of the International Committee of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation. © DR

The meeting, which normally takes place in Warsaw every autumn, was changed this year to coincide with the grand opening of a newly renovated brick barrack on the site on 18th June.

The barrack is a painstaking restoration of the original structure, the first in a massive preservation project dedicated to ensuring future generations will be able to visit this former Nazi death camp.

The camp, which technically is two separate camps located three kilometres apart, was built in 1940 and saw the extermination of nearly 1.1 million people, mainly Jews. The Auschwitz camp was purpose built as a concentration camp, while the older Birkenau camp formerly served as military barracks.

 Monaco, who has been part of the Foundation since 2012, has contributed annually to the funding that went toward preserving the building, as well as assisting in other projects to maintain the camp.

Monaco will also send a delegation to mark the impending 75th anniversary of the camp’s liberation in January 2020.