Auschwitz Birkenau
German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp (1940-1945)

a) Lack of management plan;

b) Slow process of consultation with local communities.

Total amount provided to the property: USD 10,000 from Israel

The State Party provided a report on 28 January 2009 in response to the World Heritage Committee’s decision 32 COM 7B.102 including on the following issues.

Status of the management plan for the World Heritage property and its surroundings: The reported noted that the draft management plan, formally adopted by the Ministry of Culture had been provided to the World Heritage Centre in April 2007. The coordination of its implementation was entrusted to the National Heritage Board of Poland. As the authorities of Oswiecim objected to the document, it was decided to prepare a summary of the draft management plan and review areas of greatest concerns and reservations by stakeholders of Oswiecim and Brzezinka. Advice was sought by international experts and a meeting was held in May 2008 in Kraków and Oswiecim, which provided a detailed report for further action.

Despite the lack of an agreed and adopted version of the management plan, work continues, including on the preparation of a conservation strategy, to include principles of the protection and conservation of the World Heritage property and its surroundings on the basis of the valorization of structures and the landscape of historic significance; on the preparation of a comprehensive tourism management plan; and on areas of agreement and for building confidence among the stakeholders responsible for the protection, conservation and presentation of the World Heritage property and its surroundings. Efforts have been undertaken for the development of a new web-site, a monthly magazine, TV information programmes and local cultural and educational activities. The establishment of a good collaboration between the conservator and local authorities and inhabitants has to be noted with a number of meetings held in September, October and November 2008. Negotiations with the Mayor also took place in December on procedures to enter further monuments into the register of monuments including preparatory activities for the potato and cabbage warehouses, the Birkenau railway siding and other areas. Work is in progress on the preparing of record cards for structures and sites based on the conservation strategy. The site contains 155 brick and wooden buildings and about 300 permanent ruins.

The presentation of this site is important, as the property was visited in 2008 by 1.1 million people. An international consultative group was established to set up a new exhibition, and to create on introductory exhibition as well as an art exhibition. A 3,5 ha area of a bus depot adjacent to the site was purchased for visitor services and a new car parking system will be established. Numerous educational and publication projects are under way, in particular by the Auschwitz Museum.

Concerning the construction of an expressway near the property, which was of concern to the international expert group of May 2008, the views were taken into account and a new variant of the expressway has been prepared (variant VI of S1) which would have little impact on the property.