Museum Director Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński stated that due to the ongoing pandemic, the number of visitors during the week has been rather low all through last autumn and February of this year. Since most schools and universities are operating remotely and cross-border traffic is extremely difficult, the pandemic puts the Memorial and Museum in a tough financial situation which is unfortunately only expected to get worse over time. Moreover, to ensure the safety of visitors as well as the safety of the historic site, Memorial and Museum deployed a sizable team of employees whose number cannot be reduced for a variety of reasons. Therefore, the restriction of opening days had to be implemented.
According to Andrzej Kacorzyk, director of the International Centre for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust. By analyzing the attendance of the Memorial, it was noticed that visitation was higher on weekends in comparison to that of a week. By limiting the opening days, the Memorial and the Museum will be able to plan accordingly with the new situation in order to maintain the attendance to the fullest and provide the best possible service at all times. Kacorzyk added that they are treating the restriction of opening days as an exceptional and temporary solution. With the possible signs of an increase in the attendance of the Memorial and Museum, opening days will be reverted to full-week availability.
During the ongoing pandemic, one of the most important tasks of the Memorial and Museum is to ensure the safety of the visitors and employees by adapting the new sanitary requirements and visiting regulations. Due to the new regulations’ entry to both parts of the camp, Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II – Birkenau will only be available through Entry Passes. Reservations for the desired tour will be available online at visit.auschwitz.org. Any unreserved entry passes will still be available at the Museum on the visiting days, although we cannot guarantee entry to the Memorial and Museum without reservation.
Educator-guided tours for individual visitors will take place in smaller groups of up to 15 people with the general number of people on site also minimized. Regulations implementing the usage of facial masks both indoors and outdoors apply in the premises of the Museum in the same way as in the rest of Poland. Visitors have to pay attention to the safe interpersonal distance both before and upon entering the Museum as per social distance regulations. Special sanitation gates have been placed in front of the entrance of the Memorial and Museum, as well as multiple contactless hand sanitation devices throughout the Museum, body temperature will also be measured upon entering.
Tour routes have been changed in a way that minimizes the number of sites where Museum visitors can come in contact with each other. A one-way route is implemented for movement inside the buildings and larger space was created by removing horizontal showcases to ensure that safe distance can be maintained during the tour. Outdoor exhibition boards have been installed throughout Auschwitz I and interior exhibitions temporarily excluded, such as underground of block 11. Moreover, Museum guides will be equipped with face masks during the entire tour, audio equipment used during tours meets all sanitary requirements. Visitors are also able to use their own headphones.