UK gov't to provide £1 million in funding to Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation
The Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation mission, accordingly, is to support the "consolidation, restoration and long-term maintenance of the Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps."
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF‘March of the Living’ participants leave notes on the tracks leading to the former German Nazi Auschwitz concentration camp near Oswiecim, Poland, May 2, 2019.(photo credit: REUTERS/KACPER PEMPEL)
The British government will be providing funding, totaling £1 million, to help preserve the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp and devote part of the funding to lessons on the topic of the Holocaust, according to a press report released by the British Embassy in Israel.The funding will be derived from the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, which was confirmed by the heads of both ministries, Dominic Raab and Robert Jenrick.The announcement to provide funding comes following a speech by Foreign Secretary Raab at a Holocaust Memorial event last Wednesday, in which he remarked on the importance of Holocaust remembrance and education as a vehicle for ensuring that similar atrocities will never happen again.A representative of the British Communities Secretary also attended the recent World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem last Thursday, which hosted leaders from over 50 countries around the world to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.The Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation mission, accordingly, is to support the "consolidation, restoration and long-term maintenance of the Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps."Remarking on the decision, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said that "[he] remember[s] as a young boy the regular heart-rending laments by my grandmother for the family lost to Auschwitz and the other death camps. The government is supporting the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation, because we must never forget history’s darkest moment, and we must educate future generations so it can never be repeated."Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick also said that "[he] was honoured to attend the World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem last week. It was heartening to see leaders of all faiths and nations come together to remember the Holocaust and renew our promise to the victims and survivors. This £1 million funding for the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation is part of delivering on that promise. Today on Holocaust Memorial Day and the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the camps, the UK stands shoulder to shoulder with our Jewish countrymen and women. As the father of children whose great-grandparents endured and survived the concentration camps of the Holocaust, I know how important it is that future generations are aware of the stories of survivors. This donation will help to support the preservation of the site so that we can never forget the horror of the Holocaust. We cannot, and will not, let such evil happen again."
