Fondation Auschwitz / Auschwitz Stichting
- Auschwitz Foundation
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History
The Auschwitz Foundation was founded in 1980 by the Belgian Association of former political prisoners in Auschwitz-Birkenau and Silesian Camps and Prisons. Its main aim was to study the history and remembrance of Holocaust and Nazi terror, increase awareness of them, and aid in the transmission of their memory and the preservation of related archives. In order to achieve its goals, the Foundation set up a non-profit-making Study and Documentation Center, Remembrance of Auschwitz. The two institutions work together to promote scientific research and multidisciplinary publications with a view to broadening the understanding of the historical processes which led to the coming to power of the Third Reich, to the Holocaust and Nazi terror, while also developing teaching projects intended for the various education sectors in particular, and for society in general.
On 1 April 2010 the Foundation became a Resource Center under the terms of the "Memory" Decree. Both Institutions possess important archival materials, a well-stocked library, and a vast range of audiovisual documentation which is available to the public, particularly to researchers, teachers, students and the young in general.
They carry out their work and projects in a framework which is resolutely multidisciplinary, encompassing all mass crimes committed in the past or in contemporary history.
Archival and Other Holdings
The Auschwitz Foundation has six archive collections:
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Archives of the Belgian Association of former political prisoners in Auschwitz-Birkenau and Silesian camps and prisons
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Personal papers of victims of Nazi crimes and genocides
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Archives of the International Auschwitz Committee (IAC)
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Audio recordings of testimony by camp survivors
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Audiovisual testimony by Nazi concentration and extermination camp survivors
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Photo collection
Further information on these various collections can be found here:
http://83.169.42.184/index.php/en/paper-material-audio-audiovisual-photo-collection
Finding Aids, Guides, and Publication
Some of the Auschwitz Foundation's collections have paper and/or digital inventories, while inventories for others are still works in progress.
Opening Times
Only by appointment Monday to Friday, from 09:30 to 16:00.
Conditions of Access
Consultations are subject to an individual authorisation delivered by the Auschwitz Foundation. Authorisations for students and other researchers are granted subject to a written request by the supervisor of the research, specifying the scope and subject matter of the research and its objective.
The Auschwitz Foundation reserves the right to refuse authorisation to consult its archives.
An 'Application to consult the archives' form can be downloaded here:
http://83.169.42.184/images/_archives/archives-application.pdf
Research Services
The door is open to everyone: students, teachers, researchers, PhDs and professors and interested parties.
The Auschwitz Foundation offers working resources and guidance on the theoretical and practical aspects of remembrance education. It has a well-stocked library and various archive funds. The non-profit organisation then has specialised staff who can help you develop a scientific or pedagogical project, whether or not within a school context. They have more than thirty years of experience in study days, exhibitions and study trips.
Reproduction Services
Conditions for the use and reproduction of the Foundation's collections are as follows:
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The texts, sound and images stored in the archives may only be used, in whole or in part, in accordance with the respect due to the memories of the survivors and to remembrance of the deportation.
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The use of archive texts, sound and images must respect copyright and related intellectual property rights, the data protection rules and the right to privacy, as well as the individual rights of third parties. Only the person who requested the use of the materials will be liable if these rights are not respected.
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Those using archive texts, sound or images in publications or elsewhere must clearly specify in the appropriate language that the materials in question are held in the archives of the Auschwitz Foundation.
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Archive texts, sound and images may only be reproduced at the discretion of the Auschwitz Foundation, subject to a personal authorization delivered by the Foundation. Authorizations for students and other researchers are granted subject to a written request by the supervisor of the research, specifying the scope and subject matter of the research and its objective. The Auschwitz Foundation reserves the right to refuse authorization to reproduce the materials held in its archives.
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Under no circumstances may the surnames or first names of survivors of Nazi concentration and extermination camps whose written, audio or audiovisual testimony is held in the archives be reproduced. The use of pseudonyms is recommended, with a reference to the archives of the Auschwitz Foundation.
Reproductions authorized by the Auschwitz Foundation may in no case be reproduced or communicated to a third party without the prior individual authorization of the Auschwitz Foundation.
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The Auschwitz Foundation reserves the right to delete the names of private individuals from copies of the documents it holds.
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All those authorized to reproduce materials from the archives must lodge a copy of each publication or other support in which those materials are used with the Foundation.
Sources
Mémorial/ClaimsCon'06
Auschwitz Foundation website last consulted on 03/06/2022 in Dutch and English
Pierre-Alain Tallier (dir.), Gertjan Desmet & Pascale Falek-Alhadeff, Sources pour l'histoire des populations juives et du judaïsme en Belgique/Bronnen voor de geschiedenis van de Joden en het Jodendom in België, 19de-21ste eeuw, Brussel, ARA-AGR/Avant-Propos, 2016, 1,328 p.