The Foundation for Polish-German Reconciliation (polish: Fundacja „Polsko-Niemieckie Pojednanie“, German: Stiftung „Polnisch-Deutsche Aussöhnung“) is a Foundation according to Polish law and has its seat in the Polish capital

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. It was founded in 1992 with the intention to establish an institution for ensuring efficient humanitarian aid to Polish victims of the Nazi-occupation and terror-rule. For these activities the foundation could use a financial budget pieced by different reparation payments to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, mainly form institutions financed by the German government and industry but also from Austria and various

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

s. These humanitarian aids financed by the reparation-budget were mainly paid out during the period from 1992-2005. Since that time the Foundation has permanently widened its activities. Currently there are four major fields of work: *Humanitarian aid, including medical support for victims of Nazi-crimes during the occupation of Poland in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

*Historical education to improve the public knowledge about

, slave and forced labour (

unfree labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms o ...

) and the German occupation of Polish soil. Within this workfield, the foundation also organises permanent and non-permanent exhibitions in Germany and Poland. The foundation raised funds for the visitor centre at the

Sobibór Museum The Sobibór Museum or the Museum of the Former Sobibór Nazi Death Camp (), is a Polish state-owned museum devoted to remembering the atrocities committed at the former Sobibor extermination camp located on the outskirts of Sobibór, Lublin Voivo ...

. *Encounter-programs that give students in Germany and Poland the opportunity to meet contemporary witnesses of the Nazi-period (During the summer-vacations groups from the USA join, too) *A volunteer-program that allows volunteers from Germany and Poland to support the activities of the foundation, also in personal contact with victims by helping them in everyday life.

References

External links

Official website of the foundation
(German/Polish) {{Authority control Foundations based in Poland Organisations based in Warsaw Germany–Poland relations