Global Communication and Education Program Announced by USC Shoah Foundation and Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum

Auschwitz: The Past is Present will support official activities of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp.

USC Shoah Foundation - The Institute for Visual History and Education and the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum announce Auschwitz: The Past is Present, a global communications and education program that will support the official observance of the 70^th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz on January 27, 2015.

As part of Auschwitz: The Past is Present, USC Shoah Foundation is partnering with Discovery Education and the World Jewish Congress to develop four days of programming from January 24-27, 2015, that will run in concert with official activities commemorating the anniversary. Auschwitz: The Past is Present will be a valuable resource at a time when the world’s attention is focused on commemorating the liberation of the Nazi German concentration and extermination camp. It is aimed at engaging a new generation in awareness, remembrance and community building. Information on these programs will be announced soon.

Auschwitz: The Past is Present is part of a multi-tier effort to honor the anniversary, which 10 years ago became International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

During the official commemoration, the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation will announce the success of the effort to build an Endowment Fund that will secure Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial for future generations. The Foundation will thank the partnering countries that joined this unique project, as well as private donors who supported the cause through the “18 Pillars” campaign – a combined effort of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation, the World Jewish Congress and USC Shoah Foundation to find philanthropists interested in saving this special place. The Foundation and the Museum want to ensure the survivors, guests of honor of the commemoration, that the Memorial is safe and will be protected for generations to come.