The Auschwitz-Birkenau Death Camp Victims Foundation The Foundation was established in 1990. The goals of the Foundation are encapsulated in five points: preserving, maintaining, and conserving the buildings, documents, and archives of the former Nazi camp, promoting knowledge about the Nazi crime of genocide, in particular as it was committed on the grounds of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, carrying out research and publishing activity and supporting artistic expression on camp themes, as well as subjects associated with genocide and the camps, raising funds and generating income for the above-mentioned aims, cooperating with groups and institutions in Poland and abroad which are interested in honoring the memory of the victims of Auschwitz concentration camp. The bylaws of the Foundation were approved by the Polish Minister of Culture and Arts, who oversees the activities of the Foundation. The Minister of Culture and Arts and the Vice-Minister of Finance approved and signed the Foundation Statutes on October 15, 1990. The Statute states that the Foundation is a corporation and operates under the 1984 law on foundations. The Foundation began operations in 1991. A court decision specifies the above-named goals of the Foundation, the fact of its establishment on May 31, 1990, the names of the founders, and the fact that oversight is exercised by the Minister of Culture and Arts who, in cooperation with the Minister of Finance, approved the statute of the Foundation on October 15, 1990, as well as stating that the Foundation is administered by a council and board, the competence and members of which are specified. The board of the Foundation included its founders, and Jerzy Wroblewski, founding member of the Foundation and director of the Auschwitz Museum, was chosen as chairman. Under its statutory competence, the board directs the activities of the Foundation, administers its property, represents it, decides on the employment and dismissal of office employees, and forms special and advisory committees and administrative groups. The members of the council serve open-ended terms. Members of the council choose a president and vice president from among their members for a period of three years. An executive board is also elected for a term of three years. The headquarters of the Foundation under the statute is the city of Oswiecim, and specifically the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, where the Foundation office is located. The close association between the Foundation and the Museum is deliberate and beneficial to both sides. The Foundation was established in order to give material and informational support to the Museum in its efforts to maintain, preserve, and fix in the public consciousness and pass on to future generations the testimony of the truth about the painful human experience represented by the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi death camp. In its endeavors to achieve these goals, the Foundation seeks the cooperation of individuals and institutions in Poland and abroad. It appreciates every act of support, understanding, and good will. The names of donors are inscribed in a special book that is gradually being filled and that represents a valuable testimony to human solidarity and memory. Words of empathy and encouragement, as well as concrete financial and technical aid from governments, allied foundations in numerous countries, museums, radio and television stations, and the press are accepted with joy and gratitude. Thanks to this chain of people of good will, the Foundation obtains voluntary donations that it tries to use thriftily and reasonably in the most urgent causes. From the moment that the Foundation was established, the circle of its friends and supporters has grown. This makes it possible to hope that the tragic heritage of the twentieth century will serve, thanks to shared efforts, as a warning for posterity.