C O N T E X T 1 0 8 : M A R C H 2 0 0 9 23 Concentration and Extermination Camp (1940–1945). ‘At the centre of a huge landscape of human exploitation and suffering, the remains of the two camps of Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau, as well as its protective zone were placed on the world heritage list as evidence of this inhumane, cruel and methodical effort to deny human dignity to groups considered inferior, leading to their systematic murder. The camps are a vivid testimony to the murderous nature of the anti-Semitic and racist Nazi policy that brought about the annihilation of more than 1.2 million people in the crematoria, 90 per cent of whom were Jews’ (from the Auschwitz-BirkenauWorld Heritage Site Statement of Significance).The protected structures include 150 buildings, about 300 ruins and vestiges of the original camp, including the ruins of the four gas chambers and crematoria in Birkenau.There is more than 13km of fencing, with 3,600 concrete fence posts. The 200 hectares of grounds also contain roads, ditches, railway tracks and sidings, sewage treatment plants and reservoirs. Visitors who are not part of guided tours may wander around as they wish.There are sequences of chronology and theme which guided tours follow. The packages and tours stride purposefully around the site keeping to their itinerary. The participants meandering around drift between solemnity and a chat about what is for lunch. To stand and watch these groups of half-day trippers doing as they are bidden and being marched around a preconceived route presents a harrowing image: a metaphor of which they seem unaware. ‘The site is a key place of memory for the whole of humankind for the holocaust, racist policies and barbarism; it is a place of our collective memory of this dark chapter in the history of humanity, of transmission to younger generations and a sign of warning of the many threats and tragic consequences of extreme ideologies and denial of human dignity’ (from the Auschwitz-Birkenau World Heritage Site Statement of Significance). Many commentators have attempted to analyse the museumisation of Auschwitz and the creation of tourist spectacle rather than the retention of history. It has been dubbed ‘Auschwitzland’. It has been called a ‘Hall of Mirrors, a half-world between history and art where the attempt to halt time…, to sidestep the processes of decay and dilapidation, involves the artful and conscious construction of illusion, the elaboration of mimetic effects which are designed to conceal themselves, in a discourse, certainly of aesthetics, and in some cases also of ethics’ (Keil 2005). More than a million people visit Auschwitz every year. Sixty years of climatic extremes have taken their toll on what were intended often as temporary structures. Extensive, continuing conservation work has been carried out. From the end of the war a cycle of repair and replacement has meant that timber barrack buildings have been dismantled and rebuilt regularly. The current priorities for conservation include conserving and protecting the ruins of the gas chambers and crematoria, and a variety of wooden and brick barracks at Auschwitz-Birkenau. It is proposed that 11 barrack blocks will house a new main exhibition, with five blocks left in an unaltered condition. A space for art exhibitions will be created in the kitchen area of Auschwitz I. Work has already been carried out to stabilise the gas chambers, using micropiles as the ruins had eroded and deteriorated due to ground water conditions, structural ground pressures and visitor damage. ‘Preserving authenticity is an absolute priority... The lack of permanent funding for preservation could have unimaginable consequences’ (from the Auschwitz-Birkenau Annual Report 2008). The establishment in 2008 of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation aims to create a perpetual fund to preserve the Auschwitz Memorial and implement long-term conservation proposals. The costs of maintaining the site are spiralling out of Polish control. The Polish government contributes around £2 million a year, while a further £2 million is earned from the sales, tours and parking. The museum has applied for European Union funding of almost £5 million to support 85 per cent of the cost of major conservation projects. But it is estimated that the long-term work needed could be in excess of £50 million. Pleas have been made to the wider international community to support its preservation. But in December 2004 the Independent reported that a survey by the BBC had found that 60 per cent of people under the age of 35 had never heard of Auschwitz, and 45 per cent of all British adults did not recognise the name. References Charlesworth, A and Addis, M (2002) ‘Memorialisation and the ecological landscapes of Holocaust sites: the cases of Plaszów and Auschwitz-Birkenau’ Landscape Research 27 Cole T (1999) Selling the Holocaust, from Auschwitz to Schindler: how history is bought, packaged and sold, Routledge Crowe, D M (2007) Oskar Schindler: the untold account of his life, wartime activities, and the true story behind the list, Perseus Keneally,T (1982) Schindler’s Ark, Hodder and Stoughton Keil C (2005) ‘Sightseeing in the mansions of the dead’, Social and Cultural Geography,Vol 6, No 4, August 2005 Kugelmass, J (1994) ‘Why we go to Poland: Holocaust tourism as secular ritual’, inYoung, J (ed) The Art of Memory: Holocaust memorials in history. Prestel-Verlag Memorial AuschwitzBirkenau Report 2008 (www.auschwitz.org.pl) Fiona Newton, IHBC projects officer, projects@ ihbc.org.uk Left:‘Arbeit macht frei’ (work brings freedom). The gates of Auschwitz I and the original brick barrack buildings of the first site.The camps and 39 sub-camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau covered 15 square miles. Right:The partially destroyed gas chambers of Birkenau have required substantial stabilisation work to alleviate damage due to ground water conditions, structural ground pressures and a million visitors a year.
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