Auschwitz became a museum because Auschwitz survivors made sure it was. Survivors fought to preserve it and created what we see today. Otherwise it would long have been paved. It’s a place to remember the victims but also the atrocities commited there.

It’s not so much a tourist attraction, rather a monument to warn about fascism. It’s very different to visit than to just read about it in a book. Also, it’s not for-profit. It’s publicly funded.