Germany is reportedly going to allocate one million euros for the preservation of the memorial in Auschwitz

Berlin - Germany will allocate one million euros (28 million crowns) for the preservation of the former Nazi concentration and extermination camp in Auschwitz. This was stated today by German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, according to the AP agency, in response to a recent request from the Polish government for a contribution towards the restoration of this historical monument. Warsaw estimates the costs for the museum's preservation at 100 million euros (2.8 billion crowns).
    Steinmeier also promised, according to AP, that the Berlin government would provide more funds from the next budget for the reconstruction of the memorial and would urge German companies and private foundations to contribute to the preservation of the camp, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
    The museum's budget last year was 27 million zlotys (164 million crowns), of which the Polish Ministry of Culture contributed 12.7 million zlotys (77 million crowns). The rest consisted of own revenue and assistance from foreign foundations.
    The memorial to the suffering of millions of people covers an area of 190 hectares. The complex contains 155 buildings and 300 ruins. According to the museum's management, about 50 structures are at risk of collapse, along with the remnants of gas chambers and crematoria. Additionally, the roofs of buildings are collapsing, wooden floors are rotting, and several walls need to be supported. The memorial's staff is also conserving 39,000 documents from the so-called "SS Hygiene Institute," prisoner bunks, and luggage belonging to inmates.
    After the German occupation of Poland, the Nazis transformed the former stables of the Polish cavalry regiment in Auschwitz into a concentration camp, which soon expanded manifold and was converted into an extermination facility with the construction of gas chambers and crematoria. The camp was used for the mass extermination of opponents of Nazism and, above all, Jews from all corners of occupied Europe. The Nazi Holocaust claimed the lives of around six million Jews.