The International Auschwitz Committee unites Auschwitz survivors and their organizations from 19 countries, carrying out commemorative and educational work. The International Youth Meeting Center in Oświęcim/Auschwitz is an educational institution founded by the Action Reconciliation Service for Peace and the city of Oświęcim with the support of former prisoners of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Thomas Schäfer, member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, Brand Group Core and CEO Volkswagen Brand, commented: “We cannot remain indifferent to what we are seeing today – growing hatred, marginalization and historical amnesia. For years, we at Volkswagen have supported the work of the International Auschwitz Committee and the International Youth Meeting Center in Oświęcim. Our trainees show huge commitment in their work there. They listen, ask questions and tell others about what they have learned. These experiences leave a mark and show how important remembrance, education and stance are – particularly in this day and age.”
Daniela Cavallo, Chairwoman of the General and Group Works Council, said: “People at Volkswagen have been committed to fostering a strong culture of remembrance in our company for decades. The commitment of our trainees in Auschwitz is one example; another is the permanent exhibition “Memorial to Forced Labor on the Wolfsburg Factory Site”. The Group Works Council initiated many of the remembrance projects or supported them from an early stage. Given the increasing polarization and racism in society, we are delighted that Volkswagen has now decided to provide support to the IAC and the IYMC, which aims to help counteract this disastrous trend.”
Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, explained: “Especially in these turbulent and worrying times, when we are seeing new anti-Semitic riots and right-wing extremist threats in many countries across Europe, the Volkswagen Group’s stance and financial backing for the IAC and Holocaust survivors is a recognition of its commitment and a signal of solidarity that is helpful and important to them.”
The Volkswagen Group has had close ties with the International Auschwitz Committee and concentration camp survivors for decades through its work at the memorial site in Auschwitz. The first joint project in Auschwitz involving Volkswagen trainees from Germany was launched in 1987. The projects have been bringing trainees from Germany and Poland together at the site since 1989. To date, more than 3,600 trainees, 740 managers and many other Volkswagen employees have visited the former concentration camp to participate in the projects.
Volkswagenwerk GmbH was established in 1937 as a company of the German Labor Front (DAF), the largest National Socialist organization in the Third Reich. Instead of producing cars for the planned mass motorization of Germany, the company became part of the armaments industry of the National Socialist state after the outbreak of war in 1939. Military vehicles and other armaments were manufactured with massive use of forced labor. Against this historical backdrop, Volkswagen AG today boasts an active and diverse culture of remembrance that has become an integral part of its corporate culture.