Warsaw - The newly-formed Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation met for the first time Wednesday as Polish officials hoped to raise some 120 million euros (166 million dollars) for conservation work at the former Nazi death camp.

The foundation was created after the Auschwitz museum said it lacked funds for needed renovations and called on the international community for help.

"Will something be left after us, or will there be nothing?" said Wladyslaw Bartoszewski, the foundation's founder and Auschwitz survivor.

Bartoszewski said while Hungarian Jews were the largest group of Auschwitz's victims, it would be hard to pressure Hungary for aid now as the country battles the financial crisis.

Bartoszewski appealed to Europe for help, and called the camp a "symbol for mankind" that was "part of Europe's history," and not only Polish or Jewish heritage.

Funds were needed for conserving buildings and ruins of the camp, which include 200 hectares, 155 buildings and some 100,000 objects such as suitcases of former prisoners, according to museum officials.

Priorities include conserving brick and stone barracks, and remodeling the camp's former kitchen to host an exhibit of former prisoners' art.

The museum is mainly funded by Polish tax payers, who contribute some 10 million zloty a year, while tours and parking fees offer additional funds. International donors contribute another 600,000 zloty.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk recently called on leaders of some 40 nations to support the newly-established foundation.

At least 1.1 million people were killed at Auschwitz-Birkenau, including Jews along with Poles, gypsies and Soviet prisoners. The camp operated from 1940 until its liberation by the Soviet Union in 1945.

Some 430,000 Hungarian Jews were imprisoned at the camp, most of them killed shortly after their arrival. (dpa)