Government to donate £1m for preservation of Auschwitz-Birkenau
Announcement on Holocaust memorial day marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the former Nazi death camp
The Government is donating £1 million for the preservation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp.
Announced on Holocaust Memorial Day, the money – from the Foreign Office and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government – will support the long-term maintenance of the historical sites.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: “I remember as a young boy the regular heartrending 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, who attended the World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem last week, said: “The UK stands shoulder to shoulder with our Jewish countrymen and women.”
He added: “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.”
Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl thanked the government, saying: She said: “We welcome Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab’s commitment to additional funding for the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation. It is all of our duty to remember and the Government’s commitment of public funds to preserve the memory is very fitting.”
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