Memorial sites play an important role as elements of historical education and a warning against horrific crimes committed by totalitarian regimes. However, for the warning to be loud and clear, these sites must be preserved and managed well. They also must fulfill their educational role. To safeguard the crucial social values, memorial sites require significant financial resources. On April 16, 2018 SWPS University hosted the 1st Expert Panel on the Economics of Memorial Sites organized by Professor Adam Szpaderski, Head of the Center for Research on the Economics of Memorial Sites.
The majority of memorial sites face considerable financial and organizational difficulties, although some of them fulfill their social mission very effectively and develop best management, fundraising, and commemoration standards.
The economic aspect of preserving the sites of crimes against humanity, though crucial for societies, has not been researched before. There are no studies that would integrate and analyze best practice and no research focused on the requirements and the measurements of the preservation and organization of memorial sites.
Therefore, SWPS University’s Center for Research on the Economics of Memorial Sites organized the 1st Expert Panel on the Economics of Memorial Sites.
The main goal of the panel, comprised of the leading represetatives of the memorial site institutions, was to discuss the key aspects of a comprehensive strategy, including the paneuropean comparative research on the economics of memorial sites related to the Nazi German camp system, with the focus on the selected areas, which will be the subject of comparative studies conducted in Europe.
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During the meeting, the panel developed a plan for a research program on the economics of memorial sites, discussed key aspects of an international congress on the economics of memorial sites and signed cooperation agreements with institutions that are crucial for the development of the Center for Research on the Economics of Memorial Sites, including:
- Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum
- Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation
- Gross-Rosen Museum in Rogoźnica
- The Historical Museum of the City of Kraków, including its KL Plaszow branch
- The State Museum at Majdanek, including its following branches: Museum – Memorial Site in Bełżec and Museum of the Former Death Camp in Sobibór
- Museum Stutthof in Sztutowo
- Muzeum Martyrologiczne w Żabikowie (Memorial and Museum in Żabikowo), incluidng its branch: Museum of the Former German Kulmhof Death Camp in Chełmno on Ner
The agreements will facilitate cooperation of all parties related to the development of research on to the economics of memorial sites, which will include sets of best practices and measure of effectiveness related to the economic, financial and management aspects of the development, preservation, commemoration and functioning of memorial sites. The Center for Research on the Economics of Memorial Sites at SWPS University will coordinate the projects, which are the subject of the signed cooperation agreements.
Host and Organizer
Adam Szpaderski, Associate Professor of Management at SWPS University – Head of the Center for Research on the Economics of Memorial Sites and the Secretary of the Program Committee of the Center for Research on the Economics of Memorial Sites, at SWPS University. His research interests include the essence and the nature of leadership and management, including business management, and the methodology of management studies. Author of the praxeological concept of management based on reciprocity, sources of power, and managerial functions. Additionally, he proposed the concept of management integration and solution for solving the problem of theoretical fragmentation in management studies. His current work focuses on the economics of memorial sites. In collaboration with national institutions, directors, fundraisers, donors, and curators, he is creating a scientific doctrine of the economics of memorial sites, which will provide a set of best practices and measures of effectiveness, related to the economic, financial and management aspects of the development, preservation, commemoration and functioning of memorial sites. This work involves research and promotion of the standards of management and commemoration of memorial sites developed in Poland according to the recommendations of the Wannsee Memorandum. From 2014 to 2016, Professor Szpaderski was the Leading Investigator of the research project focused on the Conditions for Imparting Dynamism to Innovation in the Polish Industrial Enterprises (funded by a grant from the National Science Centre). He is Editor in Chief of Journal of Leadership and Management and President of the Institute of Management and Leadership. Professor Szpaderski has received numerous awards, including the Chairman’s Award of Freedom for an outstanding monograph, granted by Freedom Focused – The Center for Self-Action Leadership (USA) and the President’s Award for Research, granted by the Praxis Foundation. At SWPS University, he teaches courses on Advanced Business Development, Leadership and Communication, and Resolving Conflicts and Disputes.
The main goal of the Center for Research on the Economics of Memorial Sites is the development of scientific doctrine of the economics of memorial sites, which will provide a set of best practices and measures of effectiveness, related to the economic, financial and management aspects of the development, preservation, commemoration and functioning of memorial sites.
Professor Adam Szpaderski, the Head of the Center for Research on the Economics of Memorial Sites