The Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland is in urgent need of a huge restoration fund to prevent the landmark holocaust site from crumbling into the ground.

A Foundation was established in January to campaign leaders in Europe to donate money towards a 120m euro (£110m) Perpetual Fund to help conserve the WWII memorial to human tragedy for the education of future generations.

The capital will be invested and ring-fenced by the Foundation, while the 5m euro (£4.6m) accrued in annual interest will help pay for essential preservation work of the 200-hectare site.

A team of professional conservation experts will restore the 155 buildings, including blocks, barracks and guard towers, as well as the 300 ruins, such as the infamous gas chambers and crematoria, from soil erosion and water damage caused by the marshy land.

The SS archives and the museum collection — which includes shoes, hair and glasses taken from the 1.1 million people who died in the death camp between 1940 and 1945 — will also undergo conservation.

To date, Poland has financed all site maintenance, with the help of visitor ticket fees and five per cent in foreign donations, primarily contributed by the US-based Ronald S. Lauder Foundation.

Museum director Dr Piotr M. A. Cywiński said: “The Polish government has taken continuous responsibility for this place since World War II, but the clock is running increasingly quickly for these ruins and buildings. If we do not find a way of permanently financing an overall conservation plan, many of these objects will face accelerated natural erosion and deterioration, until the point at which the situation becomes irreversible.

“This is why the Polish premier has sent letters addressed to a wide range of recipients, including the European countries, urging them to support the plans for setting up a Perpetual Fund to maintain the authenticity of Auschwitz-Birkenau.”

In response to the call for capital, Germany has already promised 1m euro (£919,600) and plans to contribute a larger donation next year.

It is hoped that the increasing number of visitors to the camp will continue to grow, having tripled in recent years.