OSWIECIM, Poland — A newly established U.S. organization is transforming the residence of Auschwitz’s commandant Rudolf Höss into a research facility dedicated to combating extremist ideologies, unveiling this development on the 80th anniversary of Auschwitz’s liberation.

The property, originally owned by a Polish military family prior to the invasion by Nazi Germany, is located adjacent to the notorious former death camp, which has since become the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.

Mark Wallace, the CEO of the Counter Extremism Project, expressed his vision for the center, stating, “My dream, and those of our colleagues, is that every visitor, every fellow, every academic that comes here takes action to fight extremism and antisemitism wherever they come from.”

The Counter Extremism Project purchased the house from a private family and is in the process of establishing the Auschwitz Center on Hate, Extremism, and Radicalization within the space. Reporters were granted access on the eve of the significant anniversary, witnessing the ongoing renovations within the three-story building.

This initiative is being implemented alongside the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and has garnered the patronage of UNESCO. Notable architect Daniel Libeskind is also intricately involved in the project.

The house has been portrayed in the acclaimed film “The Zone of Interest,” which illustrates the life of Höss, his spouse Hedwig, and their five children living just steps away from the concentration camp grounds.

As the commandant from 1940 to 1944, Höss was instrumental in the large-scale extermination that occurred at the camp, employing gas chambers for mass murders of Jewish individuals. Following the war, he was tried by a Polish court and subsequently executed by hanging at the concentration camp site in 1947.

On Monday, the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum is hosting memorial events to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the camp’s liberation by Soviet forces.