Conservation project completed on Auschwitz blocks 2 and 3

WARSAW, Poland (JTA) — A conservation project to preserve blocks 2 and 3 at the site of the former Auschwitz death camp has been completed.

As part of a three-year project, the blocks have been preserved in an unaltered state. They were not rebuilt after World War II and in the future will be available to tourists.

“Auschwitz original objects are today for the world not only unique, material evidence of the German Nazi crimes, but also a symbol of the atrocities of war, terror, the Shoah and the genocidal, racist policy. They are a clear sign for next generations,” said Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum Director Piotr Cywinski said on Wednesday at a conference to unveil the conservation work.

“What in every other historic building would have been replaced with new parts, here is meticulously preserved. They are as authentic as it was possible to keep them,” said Malgorzata Omilanowska, Polish deputy minister of Culture and National Heritage.

The total cost of the restoration, which began in 2010, was $5.6 million. The project was financed by the Auschwitz- Birkenau Museum, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, and the European Regional Development Fund.