Google will support the development of the "Auschwitz in Front of Your Eyes" project, enabling people from around the world to visit the former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau with a live guide in an online format. Through $1M in funding and support from Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, the Memorial will expand education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust to reach people everywhere, including making it accessible to people with disabilities, those in remote areas and unable to travel there.

Google's support will help evolve the technological platform and its accessibility, including introducing live captioning, AI-based translation into multiple languages, and the digitization of Survivors' testimonies, which will be used during the tours. It will also include extensive training for guides and expanding the reach of this unique form of visits to multiple communities worldwide, including partnering with schools to increase access for students.

This builds on the long-standing partnership with Google, when the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum worked with Google Arts & Culture to bring important stories of Auschwitz online along with over 700 artifacts from its archive.

The “Auschwitz in Front of Your Eyes” project was developed over three years as a cooperation between the Museum, the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation, and companies such as AppsFlyer, DISKIN, and Orange. In January of this year, visitors began to use the platform.

On 13 May in Warsaw, a discussion took place with the participation of Rowan Barnett, Director of Google.org for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński, Director of the Auschwitz Museum, and Wojciech Soczewica, Director General of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation. A special guest at the event was Auschwitz Survivor Bogdan Bartnikowski.

“I am very pleased that the Museum managed to create this special program. Three years ago, I observed its beginnings and was very curious to see how it would be realized in the end. It is extremely important that people from many countries and different continents can, thanks to modern technology, see what Auschwitz looked like without coming to the Museum,” said Bogdan Bartnikowski.

Bogdan Bartnikowski emphasized the role of showing the authentic place, recalling a recent training organized for Museum guides, during which he shared his story: "I must say that in a sense, I am immune due to frequent visits to the Memorial. You could say that I have become accustomed to this place. But when I sat in front of a group of guides in the barracks where I was held, it was a huge experience for me. I could point out where the three-level bunk bed I slept on stood, and there, on the other side, about two hundred young Jewish men were imprisoned in the middle of the barracks, likely selected for further work in German industry and mining. And here, against the barrack wall, I remember seeing a pile of bodies of murdered, tormented prisoners who were waiting their turn to be taken to the crematorium."

Attendees of the meeting also had the opportunity to see the "Auschwitz in Front of Your Eyes" platform in action during a live guided tour organized as part of the event.

"As we approach the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, it is extremely important to enable as many people as possible from around the world to learn about this place and its history. Especially considering how difficult and unpredictable our world has become today, with the outbreak of successive wars and the increasing dehumanization, terrorism, and xenophobia. These times require an increase in responsibility, which can develop most fully based on truth and memory," said Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński, Director of the Auschwitz Museum.

"Online tours of the Auschwitz Memorial arose from the need to provide access to all those who, for various reasons, cannot make a personal journey to the Museum. This was a great challenge, also on a technological level. Google's decision to join this coalition and contribute its experience to the development of technology that makes access to the history of Auschwitz and the Holocaust more widespread is of immense significance," emphasized Wojciech Soczewica.

“Making the experience and history of Auschwitz accessible to everyone, everywhere, is key to preserving the memory of the Holocaust, and technology can be a powerful tool for promoting education and remembrance. Our $1 million in funding will enable the Auschwitz-Birkenau  Memorial and Museum to expand their live online tours to new languages, enhance accessibility, and digitize survivor testimonies to ensure their stories are heard by future generations, and never forgotten," said Rowan Barnett, Director Google.org, Europe, Middle East and Africa

"The involvement of global entities in actions supporting the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum is of particular value. Together, we demonstrate how one can effectively strengthen the memory of history to counteract indifference or attempts to distort and instrumentalize history in contemporary times," added Wojciech Soczewica.

The online tour of the Memorial Site lasts approximately 2 hours and is divided into two parts: Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau. The guide's narration is conducted live. Additionally, the educator uses multimedia materials, archival photographs, artworks, documents, and Survivors' testimonies. The application also allows for interaction with the guide and asking questions.