Group set up by German soccer stars donates $80,000 to Auschwitz museum

BERLIN, GERMANY – JULY 04: Joshua Kimmich (L) and Leon Goretzka of FC Bayern Muenchen pose with the trophy in celebration after the DFB Cup final match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and FC Bayern Muenchen at Olympiastadion on July 04, 2020 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

(JTA) — A German organization that two professional soccer players established to fight the coronavirus has donated approximately $80,000 to the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Poland.

The WeKickCorona Initiative, established this year by Bayern Munich players Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich, gave the money after the museum asked for public contributions in the wake of the pandemic, which has paralyzed tourism.

“Auschwitz is part of our history and its memory is omnipresent 75 years after the end of the war. We are all challenged to ensure that one of the darkest chapters in human history does not repeat itself. It is a matter close to our hearts to help ensure that the culture of remembrance is upheld even in the corona pandemic,” the WeKickCorona Initiative said in a statement.

Kimmich and Goretzka, both 25, each play for the German national team as well.

More than 1.5 million people, most of them Jews, were murdered at Auschwitz, a concentration and labor camp that the Nazis built in occupied Poland.

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