Yad Vashem Chair Named to Auschwitz Council
The chairman of Yad Vashem has been appointed the deputy chairman of the International Auschwitz Council.
The appointment of Avner Shalev by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was announced by Yad Vashem on Tuesday.
The International Auschwitz Council was established by Poland in 2000. It is an advisory body to the prime minister on issued related to the preservation and functioning of the Auschwitz site and other Holocaust memorials. Council chairman is Prof. Wladyslaw Bartoszewski, a Righteous Among the Nations, historian and writer, and former Foreign Minister of Poland. The Council is made up of 21 members from Poland, Israel, the United States, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, who serve six years terms. There are two deputy chairmen: Shalev, and Polish Holocaust historian Dr. Barbara Engelking.
“As the events of the Holocaust recede into history, there are growing challenges in preserving the authentic sites of the Holocaust, where the murders took place,” said Shalev. “This is especially so if these sites are to serve as tools in meaningful Holocaust remembrance and education and in shaping Holocaust remembrance in future generations.”
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