Yad Vashem’s Shalev named deputy chair of International Auschwitz Council

Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev was appointed a deputy chairman of the International Auschwitz Council.

The appointment by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was announced by Yad Vashem on Tuesday.

The International Auschwitz Council, which was established by Poland in 2000, is an advisory body to the Polish prime minister on issues related to the preservation and functioning of the Auschwitz site and other Holocaust memorials.

Its chairman is Wladyslaw Bartoszewski, named by Yad Vashem a Righteous Among the Nations, as well as a historian, writer and former foreign minister of Poland.

The council is comprised of 21 members from Poland, Israel, the United States, France, Germany and the United Kingdom who serve six years terms. Shalev joins Polish Holocaust historian Dr. Barbara Engelking. as a deputy chairman.

“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,” Shalev said. “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.”