OśWIęCIM.- In 2018, 2 million 152 thousand people from all over the world visited the sites of the former Auschwitz and Auschwitz II-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp preserved by the Museum. It is about 50,000 more than in the record-breaking 2017. As many as 80% of them got to know the history of the German Nazi camp with one of over 320 guides-educators of the Museum conducting guided tours in 20 languages.

"Such a high percentage of those who choose to learn the history of Auschwitz in guided groups is of great significance. It is the most valuable educational form, which does not only provide more in-depth knowledge and understanding but also allows visitors to engage in a dialogue and ask questions about selected aspects of this tragic history. No automatism, no printed form or electronic equipment can substitute this human interaction during the visit that is difficult, both in terms of the amount of factual information and emotions," said Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński, the director of the Auschwitz Museum.

The top ten visiting countries include: Poland (405,000), Great Britain (281,000), USA (136,000), Italy (116,000), Spain (95,000), Germany (76,000), France (69,000), Israel (65,000), the Czech Republic (45,000) and Sweden (42,000).

In 2018, the number of visitors from Portugal increased significantly (by 36%). However, the number of visitors from the following countries dropped: China (by 23%), Israel (by 21% - concerns mainly individual visitors) and Poland (by 19%).

A great number of individual visitors to the Museum also decide to tour the Memorial Site with a guide. Last year, over 346,000 people were guided in specially organised groups in 9 languages.

The so-called study tour is also popular among visitors. It's an in-depth tour for individual visitors extended to include among others, reserve Blocks 2 and 3 at the former Auschwitz I camp as well as the building so-called Sauna and area of the ruins of gas chambers and crematoria IV and V at the former Auschwitz II-Birkenau.

Numerous groups of organised youth decide to explore its history as part of study visits. They include not only a guided tour at the Memorial in many specialised variants, but also educational activities, lectures or workshops organised by the International Centrer for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust. More than 80% of participants of study visits are from abroad.

In addition to guiding a considerable number of visitors, an essential part of the Museum’s educational activities are specialised educational projects. In 2018, more than 17,000 participants attended all programmes of the ICEAH. The Center also coordinated the activities of over 450 volunteers, trainees and interns from all over the world who learn about the Memorial and its history by assisting in the daily work of the Museum.

Guides of the Memorial continually improve their knowledge by participating in many training programmes. In 2018, a specialised study trips were organised for them in Belgium, the Netherlands, Israel, Lithuania, Germany and Poland.

Given the considerable interest, we encourage all those who wish to visit the Memorial to make reservations in advance - both for a tour with an educator, or a free tour without an educator - at the website: visit.auschwitz.org.

Social media with their growing influence on communication are also a vital part of direct messaging through which historical information, photographs, descriptions of the most important events at the Memorial appear on the virtual space every day. Over 275,000 follow the Museum’s profile on Twitter, more than 265,000 use the Museum’s profile on Facebook, and 44,000 on Instagram. In 2018, the website: www.auschwitz.org recorded over 27 million page views.