The Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation Committee.

Mr. Ronald S. Lauder has supported preservation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Site for over 30 years. He is a chairman and founder of the The Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation Committee — a group of historically minded individuals who support the cause and believe that the existence of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial, its authenticity, and its message will help prevent a reemergence of hatred, racism, antisemitism, and xenophobia that led to the Holocaust.

In 1986, Mr. Lauder visited Auschwitz-Birkenau for the first time and was shocked to see that the camp had fallen into a terrible state of disrepair. Worried that the artifacts were disintegrating and would not be available for future generations to see, he immediately brought conservators from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to help preserve these historic objects.

In the 90’s, Mr. Lauder spearheaded the international campaign that raised $40M for the preservation of the remaining barracks of Birkenau, as well as the mountains of shoes, suitcases, eyeglasses and other personal items that the Nazis took from Jewish inmates before they murdered them. Mr. Lauder believes that this effort is of utmost importance in an age of Holocaust deniers and growing anti-Semitism throughout the world. Soon, the last eye-witnesses of the Holocaust will no longer be with us and the camp will stand as the only testament to what took place. For all these reasons, Mr. Lauder believes the integrity of the camp must always be maintained.