Marek Zajac serves as the secretary for the International Auschwitz Council. He is 31 years-old. He has a mission. While the site has been visited by almost a million and a half people in 2010 – triple the average annual number – Zajac believes that original educational mission of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum must change. Originally, the site served the purpose of validating facts and providing information. It is also true that many who came have learned much. Some have been emotionally moved as well. But Zajac is quick to add: “Empathy is noble; but not enough.” What he aims to do is find ways to engage young people “so they leave feeling responsibility to the present.” While maintaining the site is a debt to the victims, it must also be the platform for changing lives and making each generation responsible, caring, and ethical. He concludes: “In the kingdom of death you can find the meaning of life.”
