AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU

THE PAST AND THE PRESENT

- 1 - CONTENTS:

BEFORE AUSCHWITZ 3 NAZI IDEOLOGY 3 OUTBREAK OF WORLD WAR II 3 NAZI CONCENTRATION CAMPS 4 AUSCHWITZ 1940-1945. AN OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE CAMP 4 ESTABLISHMENT 4 EVICTION OF THE LOCAL POPULATION 5 EXPANSION 6 AUSCHWITZ SUB-CAMPS 7 CUT OFF FROM THE OUTSIDE WORLD 7 RESISTANCE IN THE CAMP AND ITS ENVIRONS 7 AUSCHWITZ AS A CONCENTRATION CAMP 8 AUSCHWITZ AND THE EXTERMINATION OF JEWS 9 LIBERATION 12 VICTIMS OF KL AUSCHWITZ (FIGURES AND NATIONALITIES) 12 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL 13 BEGINNINGS 13 CALLED INTO BEING 13 MUSEUM SURFACE AREA 14 FINANCIAL SUPPORT 14 INTERNATIONAL AUSCHWITZ COUNCIL 15 PROGRAMME COUNCIL OF THE INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR EDUCATION ABOUT AUSCHWITZ AND THE HOLOCAUST 15 MUSEUM ACTIVITIES 16 COLLECTIONS 17 ARCHIVES 17 CONTACT WITH FORMER PRISONERS 18 DIGITAL REPOSITORY 19 LIBRARY 19 PRESERVING THE COLLECTIONS AND MUSEUM STRUCTURES 20 CONSERVATION STUDIO 20 RESEARCH AND WORK ON THE HISTORY OF AUSCHWITZ 20 EXHIBITIONS AND MEMORY 22 MAIN EXHIBITION AT FORMER KL AUSCHWITZ I 22 COMMEMORATING BIRKENAU 23 NATIONAL EXHIBITIONS 23 TEMPORARY AND TOURING EXHIBITIONS 24 PUBLISHING 24 INTERNET 25 EDUCATION 25 INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR EDUCATION ABOUT AUSCHWITZ AND THE HOLOCAUST (ICEAH) 25 VISITING THE FORMER EXTERMINATION CAMP 26 OPENING HOURS 27 VISITORS – GENERAL COMMENTS 27 FORMER CAMP AT AUSCHWITZ I 28 FORMER CAMP AT AUSCHWITZ II-BIRKENAU 28 EDUCATORS 28 GUIDEBOOKS 28 DOCUMENTARY FILM 29 MOVING BETWEEN THE FORMER CAMPS 29 MUSEUM ADDRESS 29 HISTORY OF AUSCHWITZ – CALENDAR 30

- 2 - BEFORE AUSCHWITZ

“JEWS ARE A RACE THAT MUST BE TOTALLY EXTERMINATED”. Hans Frank, Governor General of occupied Poland.

“WE MUST FREE THE GERMAN NATION OF POLES, RUSSIANS, JEWS AND GYPSIES”. Otto Thierack, Reich Minister of Justice.

“THE MOST IMPORTANT TASK IS TO ROOT OUT ALL POLISH LEADERS [...] IN ORDER TO RENDER THEM HARMLESS. [...] ALL SPECIALISTS OF POLISH DECENT WILL BE EXPLOITED FOR THE NEEDS OF OUR WAR INDUSTRY. AND THEN ALL POLES WILL DISAPPEAR FROM THE FACE OF THE EARTH”. Heinrich Himmler, Reichsführer SS.

NAZI IDEOLOGY

The basic elements of Nazi ideolo- War II was the Nazi ambition to gain gy were: hatred of Communism, Jews new territory on which Germans were Photo: Heinrich Hoffman and democracy, and the conviction expected to settle. In November 1937 Nazi Party Convention that the German nation was superior Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Third in Nuremberg in 1937. to all other nations. In their attempt to Reich and the founder of the Nazi Members of the Hitlerjugend greet Adolf Hitler, who addresses create a “racially pure” society the Na- Party (NSDAP) which gained power them as follows: “We will educate zis planned the extermination of Jews, in Germany in 1933, summed up war our young so that the entire as well as Slavs, Gypsies (Romanies), objectives in the following manner: “In world will shake in front of them. and others. our case it is not a matter of vanquish- I want the young to be capable One of the reasons behind German ing people, but of exclusively gaining of violence, imperious, aggression and the outbreak of World space for agricultural purposes.” indomitable, cruel.” OUTBREAK OF WORLD WAR II

After the German invasion of Poland aged by the Nazi administrative and po- countries, which led to the majority on 1 September 1939, and the occupa- lice apparatus. The territory to the east, of Europe being occupied by Germa- tion of the country by German soldiers, in accordance with the German-Soviet ny. In April 1940 the German army followed by the Soviet invasion of 17 treaty of August 1939, was incorporat- attacked and occupied Denmark and September, Poland was divided. One ed into the Soviet Union. It was only in Norway, in May 1940 it attacked part, Oświęcim and its surroundings, June 1941, after the German invasion Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg was incorporated into the Third Reich. of the Soviet Union, that these lands and then started occupying France. In The central part of Poland became the were occupied by the Germans. April 1941 it turned on Yugoslavia and so-called Generalgouvernement, totally The occupation of Poland was fol- Greece. In June 1941 it struck its ally – controlled by the Germans and man- lowed by aggression against other the Soviet Union.

- 3 - Auschwitz was located almost in the heart of occupied Europe. The Third Reich and the satellite countries were marked black, the wartime occupied or controlled territories were marked grey. State borders prior to 1939. NAZI CONCENTRATION CAMPS

The Germans started creating con- tration camps in other countries they the SS Central Economic-Administra- centration camps in Germany in 1933. occupied. tive Office (Wirtschaftsverwaltung- The political opponents of the Nazi Konzentrationslager (KL) Auschwitz, shauptamt, WVHA) whilst human regime, people seen as “undesirable much the same as other Nazi concen- deportation to the camp and exter- elements”, and Jews were imprisoned. tration camps, was a state institution, mination was the responsibility of the After the outbreak of World War II managed by the German state cen- Reich Security Main Office (Reichs- the Germans started opening concen- tral authorities. It was run directly by sicherheits-hauptamt, RSHA). AUSCHWITZ 1940-1945 AN OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE CAMP ESTABLISHMENT

The world has come to associate The immediate reason for creating KL Auschwitz personnel comprised the Nazi German concentration camp the camp was the growing number of SS members (Schutzstaffeln). These Auschwitz as the symbol of the Holo- Poles arrested by the German police, units were created to act as an elitist caust, of genocide and terror. It was set which lead to prisons becoming over- guard, whose initial task was to offer up by the German occupying forces in crowded. At first, this was to be yet an- protection at NSDAP assemblies. Over mid-1940 in the suburbs of Oświęcim, other concentration camp, created as the years the meaning of the SS in the a Polish town that the Nazis incorporat- part of the Nazi terror machine active Third Reich grew immensely; the organ- ed into the Third Reich. Its name was since the early 1930s. This was indeed ization took over many state adminis- changed to “Auschwitz”, which also be- the function of the camp throughout its tration functions, as well as the role of came the name of the camp: Konzentra- existence, even when – from 1942 on- the police and army. SS units also acted tionslager Auschwitz. wards – it started becoming the largest as personnel at concentration camps. centre of mass murder of Jews.

- 4 - AUSCHWITZ WAS SET UP BY THE GERMANS IN THE SUBURBS OF OŚWIĘCIM, A POLISH TOWN THAT THE NAZIS INCORPORATED INTO THE THIRD REICH. ITS NAME WAS CHANGED TO AUSCHWITZ WHICH ALSO BECAME THE NAME OF THE CAMP: KONZENTRATIONSLAGER AUSCHWITZ. Photo: SS SS camp staff. During its existence the camp saw more than 8,000 members of the SS.

The SS acted as camp management called Volksdeutsche, i.e. citizens of oth- and guard authorities, and also partici- er states with proof of German descent pated in the mass extermination of Jews who had signed the Volksliste. Through- and in executions. Initially only Ger- out the existence of KL Auschwitz the mans and Austrians were members of camp saw more than 8,000 SS male the SS. Later on recruits included the so- and 200 female supervisors.

EVICTION OF THE LOCAL POPULATION Tarnów. Polish political prisoners guarded by the Germans prior to being deported to In 1940-1941, the Germans evict- buildings, left behind by the evict- KL Auschwitz. The first transport arrived ed the inhabitants of one of the dis- ed, were occupied by SS officers and at the camp from the prison in Tarnów tricts of Oświęcim where the camp NCOs employed at the camp, many on 14 June 1940. was set up as well as the local popu- of whom resided there with their lation of eight villages in its vicinity. families. Other buildings were allo- All the Jews, who constituted about cated to German families of re-set- 60% of pre-war Oświęcim, were also tlers, clerks, and policemen. The evicted and sent to ghettos, whilst Germans took over pre-war local in- many Poles were deported to Germa- dustrial plants, some of which they ny and submitted to forced labour. expanded, whilst others they closed Unknown photographer Unknown photographer One thousand two hundred hous- down in order to create new space es were demolished in the town and for the Third Reich war production. the surrounding area. The immedi- These factories, particularly the huge ate surroundings were developed as IG Farbenindustrie chemical plant, the camp’s technical support sector were filled by 11,000 forced labour with workshops, warehouses, offices workers, mainly Poles, Russians and Uprooting the Polish population from and barracks for the SS. Part of the French. areas around the camp. Wartime photograph.

- 5 - EXPANSION

The location of the camp – almost The Polish population was expelled in the centre of German-occupied Eu- from the village and its houses were rope – and its good communication demolished. In Birkenau, the Nazis

Unknown photographer routes led to the German authorities built their largest installations of April 1941. expanding it on a massive scale and mass murder in occupied Europe – Germans displacing Jews from Oświęcim. deporting people to it from virtual- the gas chambers – and exterminat- Before the War this town of 12,000 ly the whole of Europe. At its peak, ed the majority of Jews deported to was inhabited by 7,000 Jews. KL Auschwitz comprised three main the camp; sections: – the third part was Auschwitz III- – the first and oldest was Auschwitz I, -Monowitz (also called Buna; in the so-called Stammlager (the num- the summer of 1944 it held more ber of prisoners here was between than 11,000 prisoners). Initially it

Photo: SS, 1943 12,000 and 20,000), created in was an Auschwitz sub-camp. It was mid-1940 in pre-war Polish barracks set up in 1942, in Monowice, six which was gradually expanded ac- kilometres away from Oswięcim, cording to the needs of the camp; next to the Buna-Werke synthet- ic rubber and fuel factory, built – the second part was Auschwitz II- during the war by the German IG -Birkenau (in 1944 the camp had Farbenindustrie concern. In No- more than 90,000 prisoners). This vember 1944, the Buna sub-camp The building of a camp bath. was the largest in the complex. The became independent, and was In the background Gas Chambers Nazis started building it in the au- called KL Monowitz. Most of the and Crematoria Nos. IV and V tumn of 1941 in Brzezinka, a vil- other Auschwitz sub-camps were (amongst the trees). lage 3 kilometres from Oświęcim. controlled by it.

Aerial photograph taken by the Allies in 1944. The photograph includes Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II-Birkenau, Auschwitz III-Monowitz, and the IG Farben chemical plants. National Archives in Washington National Archives

Arbeitslager Trzebinia. One of dozens of Auschwitz sub-camps. Unknown photographer

- 6 - AUSCHWITZ SUB-CAMPS

In 1942-1944 a total of close to established mainly in the vicinity of 50 KL Auschwitz sub-camps and ex- German coal mines, steelworks, and ternal commands were established, other industrial plants in Upper Silesia using prisoner slave labour. They were and near stock and crop raising farms.

IN 1943 THE AUSCHWITZ CAMP COMPLEX COMPRISED THREE LARGE CAMPS: AUSCHWITZ I, AUSCHWITZ II-BIRKENAU, AUSCHWITZ III-MONOWITZ AS WELL AS DOZENS OF SMALLER SUB-CAMPS.

CUT OFF FROM THE OUTSIDE WORLD

The Germans isolated all Auschwitz rimeter. It occupied approximately complex camps and sub-camps from a further 40 square kilometres (the so- Photographs of prisoners registered in the outside world and surrounded called Interessengebiet – zone of in- the camp: a Jewish boy, a young Gypsy them with towers and barbed-wire terest), extending around Auschwitz I woman and a Polish girl. fencing. All contact by prisoners with and Auschwitz II-Birkenau. Further- the outside world was strictly forbid- more, dozens of sub-camps, some Personal Card of a Polish prisoner den. However, the area managed by of which were located at a consider- arrested for helping Jews. the Commandant and controlled by able distance from the main camp, KL Auschwitz SS personnel went be- were subject to Auschwitz administra- yond the fenced-off barbed wire pe- tion. RESISTANCE IN THE CAMP AND ITS ENVIRONS

Despite the difficult conditions in the cil was called into being. Its objectives State Museum ArchivesAuschwitz-Birkenau Photo: SS camp and the constant terror prisoners included the preparation of an armed tried to maintain their human dignity. uprising. One example of this was the resistance An important aspect of camp re- movement, which was either spontane- sistance activities involved inform- Witold Pilecki, a Polish political prisoner, one ous or organized. Camp prisoners main- ing the world about Nazi atrocities in of the instigators and leaders of the resistance ly concentrated on saving their fellow Auschwitz. This was possible thanks movement at the camp, responsible for secret comrades from death. There were vari- to contacts with the active resistance dispatches sent outside the camp. ous forms of resistance, such as military, movement alongside the camp. This political, cultural and religious. movement participated in transferring The first camp resistance organiza- to the outside world information gath- tions started forming in the latter half ered in the camp. of 1940. These were mainly founded From the beginning of the existence by Poles, who were the largest group of the camp the Polish population of of prisoners at the time. Irrespective of Oświęcim and its surroundings em- the Polish groups in late 1942 and early ployed every method, and even risked 1942 Stanisław Gutkiewicz. Auschwitz, 1943 other nationality prisoner organi- their lives, to help prisoners by provid- zations were also created. In 1944 the ing them with food, medicine and or- international Auschwitz Military Coun- ganizing escapes.

- 7 - AUSCHWITZ AS A CONCENTRATION CAMP

Throughout its existence, Auschwitz the intelligentsia, representatives of in Auschwitz. During selection by SS always functioned as a concentration culture and science, people in the re- doctors, those classified as fit to work camp. With time, it became the larg- sistance and officers. or selected to undergo criminal medi- est German Konzentrationslager. Ini- The first transport of Polish polit- cal experiments, were registered in the tially, mainly Poles were sent there by ical prisoners, 728 prisoners in total, camp. the occupiers. The Nazis chose those arrived at the camp from the prison in Of at least 1.3 million people de- whom they regarded as a particular Tarnów on 14 June 1940. It is regard- ported to Auschwitz, around 400,000 threat: members of the Polish elite, ed that the camp started operating people were registered and placed political, social and spiritual leaders, from this date on. The Nazis sent Poles at the camp: approx. 200,000 Jews, to the camp throughout its existence. around 140,000 Poles, approx. Among them were also people round- 21,000 Romanies (Gypsies), approx. ed up and taken to the camp during 12,000 Soviet POWs and 25,000 pris- Photo: SS street raids or during operations to oners belonging to other nationalities. remove people from their homes, in- More than 50% died in Auschwitz of cluding entire families from locations hunger, excessive forced labour prac- earmarked for German settlement such tices, terror, executions, appalling con- as the Zamość area and from Warsaw ditions, illness and epidemics, punish- Zofia Stępień-Bator. Auschwitz, 1944 Auschwitz, Zofia Stępień-Bator. during the 1944 uprising. ment, torture and criminal medical With time, the German authorities experiments. Almost 200,000 prison- also started deporting groups of pris- ers were transferred by the Germans Edward Galiński (a Polish political prisoner) oners from other occupied countries as to other concentration camps, where and Mala Zimetbaum (a Jewish woman from well as Romanies (Gypsies) and Soviet a significant number of them died. Belgium) escaped from Auschwitz during the POWs. They were registered and giv- At the time of liberation, there were summer of 1944. Two weeks later the young couple who were in love with one another were en a number. From 1942, Jews were about 7,500 people still in the camp. caught and sentenced to death by the Gestapo. transported en masse to be executed

CATEGORIES AND MARKING OF PRISONERS AT KL AUSCHWITZ

– from 1942 they were the most numerous group of prisoners in the camp. About 200,000 were Jews registered.

– Most of these were Poles arrested during various repressive operations, or for their activities in the Political prisoners resistance movement.

Asocial prisoners – this category mainly included registered Romanies (Gypsies) – around 21,000.

SU Soviet POWs – 12,000 were registered.

– imprisoned for real or alleged breach of discipline at work. They are estimated to number of around EH Correctional prisoners 11,000. – these were exclusively Poles. They were not formal KL Auschwitz prisoners. As a result of the nearby Gestapo prisons in Katowice and Mysłowice becoming overcrowded these prisoners were directed to PH Police prisoners the camp, where they were tried by summary court and usually sentenced to death by shooting. Their number is estimated at several thousands.

– primarily with German nationality. The camp authorities frequently chose from among them functionary Criminal prisoners prisoners to help the SS maintain order at the camp.

– these were imprisoned in the camp for their religious behaviour and attitudes. There were more than Jehovah’s Witnesses 100 Jehovah’s Witnesses, mainly of German origin, registered in this category.

Homosexuals – at least a few dozen prisoners, mainly of German origin.

- 8 - Photo: SS KL Auschwitz II-Birkenau. Jews from Hungary on the unloading ramp. The gas chambers and crematoria can be seen in the background. AUSCHWITZ AND THE EXTERMINATION OF JEWS

In 1942, the camp was given of their age, sex, profession, citizen- These included the ill, the elderly, a second role – it became the centre ship, or political convictions. After pregnant women, and children. These of extermination for European Jews. selection most of the new arrivals were never recorded in the camp as The only reason that they died was classed by SS doctors as unfit for work they were never registered and given because they were Jews, irrespective were murdered in the gas chambers. numbers. Photo: SS Photo: Ryszard Domasik Photo: Ryszard

An empty Cyclone B canister and clods of diatomaceous earth The furnace hall area in the Gas Chamber and Crematorium No. II building in Birkenau. from which gas was released.

- 9 - IN 1944 THE NAZIS DEPORTED TO AUSCHWITZ ALMOST 430,000 JEWS FROM HUNGARY. DURING THIS PERIOD GERMAN PHOTOGRAPHERS TOOK ALMOST 200 PHOTOGRAPHS AT AUSCHWITZ II-BIRKENAU. THESE PHOTOGRAPHS INCLUDE IMAGES OF THE SS CARRYING OUT SELECTIONS ON NEW ARRIVALS, PEOPLE GOING TO THE GAS CHAMBERS OR AWAITING DEATH, AS WELL AS THE SORTING OF THINGS WHICH BELONGED TO THE MURDERED.

- 10 - COUNTRYa LIST OF JEWS TRANSPORTED TO AUSCHWITZ Hungary 430,000b Poland 300,000 France 69,000 Holland 60,000 Greece 55,000 Bohemia and Moravia – Theresienstadt 46,000 Slovakia 27,000b Belgium 25,000 Germany and Austria 23,000 Yugoslavia 10,000 Italy 7,500 Norway 690 Concentration camps and unknown locations 34,000 Total: 1,100,000 a pre-war borders Prepared by Franciszek Piper b borders during the war

- 11 - LIBERATION

Towards the end of 1944, in the ated between 17 and 23 January face of the Red Army offensive, the 1945, deep into the Third Reich. camp authorities decided to cover At this time, Soviet soldiers were up all traces of crime. Documents just 70 kilometres from the camp, were destroyed, some buildings liberating Cracow. About 7,500 were demolished, whilst others were prisoners were liberated by the Red burnt or blown up. Those prisoners Army on 27 January 1945. capable of marching were evacu-

VICTIMS OF KL AUSCHWITZ (ESTIMATED DATA)

No. No. Nationality of deportees murdered

Jews 1.1 million 1 million

The photograph was taken illegally by the Sonderkommando in the summer of 1944 illegally by the Sonderkommando The photograph was taken movement. resistance and smuggled out of the camp by Polish Birkenau. The corpses of Jews gassed to death. They were later burnt in the open air.

Poles 140,000 -150,000 70,000 -75,000 Romanies 23,000 21,000 (Gypsies)

Soviet POWs 15,000 14,000

Others 25,000 10,000 -15,000 Total Approx. 1.3 million Approx. 1.1 million

by Soviet cameramen. Prepared by Franciszek Piper A scene from a film shot after liberation A scene from

Liberated prisoners leaving Birkenau. by Soviet cameramen. A scene from a film shot after liberation A scene from Amongst the 7,500 Auschwitz prisoners liberated on 27 January 1945 there were almost 500 children.

- 12 - ESTABLISHMENT OF THE AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL A scene from a film shot after liberation A scene from by Soviet cameramen. BEGINNINGS Mass grave of Nazis’ last victims

A few months after the end of the Prior to the official opening of the war and the liberation of the Nazi Museum, former prisoners prepared an camps, a group of former Polish pris- exhibition on its premises. The exhibi- oners started publicly propagating the tion opened on 14 June 1947. About idea of commemorating the victims of 50,000 people participated in the Auschwitz. As soon as it was possible, opening ceremony, including former a number of them arrived at the former prisoners, relatives of the murdered, camp in order to protect the remaining pilgrims from almost every corner of buildings and ruins. They organized the Poland, official Polish delegates, repre- so-called Auschwitz Permanent Protec- sentatives of the Supreme Commission tion Scheme and looked after the thou- for the Investigation of Nazi Crimes, the sands who came flooding in soon after Central Jewish Historical Committee, the end of the war in order to search for and delegates from the British, Czecho- traces of close ones, to pray, and to pay slovak and French Embassies A scene from a film shot after liberation A scene from by Soviet cameramen. homage to those murdered. Funeral of those who died in the last few days of the camp.

CALLED INTO BEING THE MUSEUM WAS CALLED On 2 July 1947, the Polish Parlia- Oświęcim-Brzezinka State Museum. INTO BEING IN JULY 1947. ment passed an Act on the preserva- This name was changed in 1999 into IT COMPRISES THE TWO tion “for All Time of the Site of the For- the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum FORMER CONCENTRATION mer Camp” and called into being the in Oświęcim. CAMPS: AUSCHWITZ I AND AUSCHWITZ II-BIRKENAU, MUSEUM OR MEMORIAL? WITH A TOTAL AREA OF 191 HECTARES. IN 1979 IN KEEPING WITH THE ACT PASSED BY THE POLISH PARLIAMENT IN 1947, THE TASK OF THE MUSEUM WAS TO SAFEGUARD THE FORMER CAMP, ITS BUILDING ON POLISH APPLICATION, AND ENVIRONS, TO GATHER EVIDENCE AND MATERIALS CONCERNING GER- THE AREA OF THE FORMER MAN ATROCITIES COMMITTED AT AUSCHWITZ, TO SUBJECT THEM TO SCIENTIFIC SCRUTINY AND TO MAKE THEM PUBLICLY AVAILABLE. CAMP WAS ENTERED ONTO THE DESPITE THIS, THERE IS STILL MUCH DEBATE AMONGST FORMER PRISONERS, UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE LIST. MUSEUM EXPERTS, CONSERVATIONISTS, HISTORIANS, TEACHERS AND THE MASS MEDIA ON HOW TO ORGANIZE, MANAGE AND DEVELOP THE MUSEUM. EVEN BEFORE THE MUSEUM WAS OPENED, PEOPLE WONDERED WHETHER IT SHOULD LIMIT ITSELF TO RECONSTRUCTING HISTORY, OR RATHER EXPLAINING Shoes of those who died in AND CLARIFYING THE PRINCIPAL MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THE CRIMINAL Auschwitz, found after liberation SYSTEM. VIEWS ON THE MATTER DIFFERED RADICALLY: SOME BELIEVED THAT (fragment of the exhibition). THE SITE SHOULD BE PLOUGHED OVER, OTHERS DEMANDED THAT EVERY SINGLE OBJECT BE RETAINED AND PROTECTED. THE VERY WORD “MUSEUM” IS ALSO A TOPIC FOR DEBATE. NOT EVERYONE AC- CEPTS THE NAME “AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU STATE MUSEUM”. SOME BELIEVE THAT THE FORMER CAMP IS A CEMETERY, OTHERS THAT IT IS A PLACE OF MEMORY, A MONUMENT, OTHERS STILL REGARD IT AS A MEMORIAL INSTITUTE, A RESE- ARCH AND EDUCATION CENTRE ON THOSE WHO WERE KILLED. THE MUSEUM Zieliński Photo: Wiesław IN FACT FULFILS ALL OF THESE FUNCTIONS, AS THEY DO NOT CANCEL OUT, BUT RATHER COMPLEMENT ONE ANOTHER.

- 13 - MUSEUM SURFACE AREA

The Museum comprises two parts every item of equipment used for the camp. Some structures were disman- of the KL Auschwitz complex – the mass murder of Jews. It also included tled or destroyed in 1944 and Janu- main camp (Auschwitz I) in Oświęcim more than 150 different types of orig- ary 1945, when the camp was being and the Birkenau camp (Auschwitz II) inal camp structures, such as blocks, closed down and the SS were covering in Brzezinka. prisoner barracks, latrines, camp ad- up their crimes. Some of the wooden The actual surface area of the Mu- ministrative and management build- barracks were dismantled after libera- seum and how much it should cover ings, SS guardhouses, buildings for the tion. caused heated discussion in Poland in intake of new prisoners, watchtowers, In 2002, the Museum extended the latter half of the 1940s. Various camp gates, several kilometres of camp the site to include the location of the Auschwitz sub-camps were located doz- fencing and in-camp roads, as well as first gas chamber in Birkenau, the so- ens of kilometres from the main camp. the rail ramp in Birkenau. The Museum called Little Red House. In 2004 it fur- It was finally decided to place under also includes a mass grave of hundreds ther included the so-called Old Theatre protection Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II- of prisoners, who died before the Red building (where the camp stores were -Birkenau, covering 191 hectares of Army marched in or who died after the located during the war) and the sur- land. camp had been liberated. rounding area (the former Gravel Pit, Finally established, the Museum A large number of structures were the location of inhumane labour and occupied an area that included almost destroyed before the liberation of the the site of frequent executions).

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

The Museum is run under the au- ald S. Lauder Foundation the Museum private individuals has facilitated con- thority of the Polish Ministry of Culture was able to open its professional con- servation work on a selection of items and National Heritage and is support- servation workshops. Support offered requiring repair and projects commem- ed by Poland. It was only in the 1990s by Germany, other states, a number of orating victims. that international financial support associations – including the French Fon- 2008 saw the founding of the started coming in: thanks to the Ron- dation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah – and Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation. The objective of the Foundation is to guar- antee resources for the conservation Contemporary aerial photograph of the former Auschwitz I camp. of the Museum and Memorial so as to permit future generations visiting the re- mains of Auschwitz to witness with their own eyes this place of crimes perpetrat- ed by the Nazis during World War II. It will be possible to carry out the

Photo: Wojciech Gorgolewski Photo: Wojciech above objective thanks to the special establishment of the Perpetual Fund which should amount to 120 million euros. By gathering this amount at one time it will be possible to maintain the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and Me- morial for future generations. These re- sources will constitute an inviolable and secure deposit of capital, whilst profits will permit necessary conservation work to be carried out each year. It will be possible to embark on a comprehensive

- 14 - conservation programme on the follow- spread over an area of 200 hectares, ing as well as other post-camp elements ing post-camp remains: 155 structures 300 ruins (including the ruins of gas of infrastructure, archive documents (including barracks and watch towers) chambers), kilometres of road and fenc- and objects comprising the collections.

INTERNATIONAL AUSCHWITZ COUNCIL

In 1990, the Polish Minister of Museum itself, but widely commented and advisory body of the Council of Culture and Art called into being the on in Poland and abroad (for example Ministers in matters concerning the International Council of the Muse- the proposed construction of the su- conservation and management of not um. The Council comprises former permarket, the Carmelite Convent and only the former concentration camp KL Auschwitz prisoners, historians, the crosses on the Gravel Pit). at Auschwitz, but also of other Mon- and experts from various countries. In 2000, the Prime Minister of uments of Extermination throughout The Council acts as an advisory and Poland announced the creation of Poland. opinion-making body. The Museum the International Auschwitz Council In 2006 a new Council was ap- consults the Council on important de- whose term lasts 6 years, and which pointed, comprising members from cisions concerning the functioning of took over from the previous Council. France, Germany, Great Britain, Israel, the Memorial and on controversial The role of this Council was different Poland, Ukraine and the USA. matters not directly relating to the in that it became the opinion-making

PROGRAMME COUNCIL OF THE INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR EDUCATION ABOUT AUSCHWITZ AND THE HOLOCAUST

In 2005 the Polish Minister of Cul- Holocaust which was established in younger generation about Auschwitz ture called into being the Programme the same year as part of the Museum. and the Holocaust and maintaining the Council of the International Centre for The Council supports the Centre which memory of those who died. Education about Auschwitz and the mainly concentrates on informing the Contemporary aerial photograph of the former Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp. Photo: Wojciech Gorgolewski Photo: Wojciech

- 15 - MUSEUM ACTIVITIES

THE STATUTORY DUTIES OF THE MUSEUM ARE TO GATHER, STORE AND PRESERVE MUSEUM COLLECTIONS AND STRUCTURES, TO PREPARE THEM AND TO MAKE THEM AVAILABLE.

Following liberation, thousands of ings and graphics produced by former objects belonging to Jews deported for prisoners in the immediate years after extermination were found in the camp liberation. These works show scenes of and its environs, including suitcases camp life and are like a report drawn (some bearing names and address- up by those who survived. The majori- es of those murdered), Jewish prayer ty of works were painted by artists who shawls, artificial limbs, glasses, shoes were engaged in establishing the Mu- etc. Currently, these objects constitute seum and who were its first designers. a fundamental part of the Museum’s In addition, the Museum gathers

The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum Collection. The Auschwitz-Birkenau collections. Many of these objects can Nazi documents and materials gener- Franciszek Jaźwiecki, Self-portrait. be seen in camp blocks at Auschwitz I, ated during the existence of the camp where there is also a general exhibition (including those produced by the re- depicting the history of events at the sistance movement in the camp and in camp. its vicinity), as well as post-war mate- Museum exhibits include docu- rials. These include accounts and testi- ments, photographs, and works of art monies of former prisoners, as well as – some prepared illegally by prisoners statements made during the trials of during the camp’s existence, and some Nazis in a variety of countries. There is after liberation. Of considerable im- also a rich collection of world literature Suitcases, the property of Jews portance is the rich collection of paint- on KL Auschwitz and the Nazis. deported to Auschwitz. Photo: Magda Emilewicz-Pióro Photo: Ryszard Domasik Photo: Ryszard The Collections Section contains almost 4,500 works of art, of which 2,000 were made prisoners.

- 16 - COLLECTIONS

The Collections Section mainly gath- - 375 items of camp clothing, the so- ers and stores camp-related items as called “striped” clothing of concen- well as objects stolen from deportees tration camp prisoners; and the murdered, found in the camp - 246 prayer shawls (talliths); or near it after liberation. In addition, - 40 m3 of melted metal objects from the Museum receives exhibits in the the “Canada” warehouses in Birkenau form of gifts and donations. (where items stolen from the victims The Museum collections include: of mass extermination were kept); Photo: Henryk Makarewicz - around 110,000 shoes; - around 4,500 pieces of art (including Burning camp stores, - around 3,800 suitcases, of which approx. 2,000 items made by prison- set on fire in January 1945 by 2,100 are labelled; ers). the Germans retreating under attack from - more than 12,000 pots; the Soviet army. Despite their efforts - around 40 kg of spectacles; The Museum also houses almost the Nazis were not able to destroy all - almost 470 prostheses and orthope- two tons of human hair shaven from the evidence of crimes committed dic braces; women deported to the camp. in Auschwitz.

ARCHIVES

THE ARCHIVES INCLUDE SURVIVING CAMP DOCUMENTS, AROUND 39,000 NEGATIVES OF PHOTOGRAPHS OF NEWLY ARRIVED PRISONERS, AND ALMOST 2,500 FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHS BROUGHT TO AUSCHWITZ BY JEWS, MAINLY FROM THE BĘDZIN AND SOSNOWIEC GHETTOS.

The Archives contain original camp tation of Jews from Hungary in 1944, documents of German origin, copies a number of photographs taken of documents obtained from Polish illegally by members of the Sonder- and foreign institutes, case documents kommando near the gas chambers concerning Nazi perpetrators, wartime of Birkenau, around 500 photo- documents generated by the resistance graphs of different structures and movement in the camp and in its vicin- KL Auschwitz taken by the SS when ity, post-war source materials (mem- the camp was still operating, almost oirs and accounts of former prisoners 2,500 family photographs brought and other persons), photographs, by persons deported to Auschwitz microfilms, negatives, documentaries (mainly by Jews from the Będzin and State Museum Archives Auschwitz-Birkenau and archival films, studies, reviews, Sosnowiec Ghettos), several doz- List of prisoners who arrived at the camp papers, exhibition and film scenarios, en aerial view photographs of the in Auschwitz on 26 September 1941. and inquiries. camp area taken by American pilots in 1944, as well as photographs tak- - 248 volumes of documents of the The present collection includes the fol- en after liberation by Museum em- Central Construction Board of the lowing items ployees and other persons; Waffen SS and Police in Auschwitz - about 39,000 negatives of photo- - camp documents and documents (Zentralbauleitung der Waffen SS graphs of newly arrived prisoners, related to the camp, including: und Polizei Auschwitz), containing taken by the camp authorities prior - 48 camp volumes of “Death technical and design documents to the introduction of tattooing as Books”, containing almost referring to the building and ex- a means of identifying prisoners; 70,000 death certificates of those pansion of the camp, its infra- - about 200 photographs taken by who died or were murdered in structure and reconstruction plans the SS in Birkenau during the depor- Auschwitz; concerning the town of Oświęcim;

- 17 - - 64 volumes of SS Hygiene Institute than 30,000 pages; documents; - 279 volumes of “Recollections”, - 16 volumes of personal data docu- containing the recollections of for- ments on prisoners; mer concentration camp prisoners, - 12,000 letters and postcards sent forced labour workers and inhabit- out from the camp by prisoners; ants of the Oświęcim region etc., to- - around 800,000 microfilm stills talling more than 45,000 pages; (mainly copies of camp documents - 78 volumes of trial documents Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum Archives Auschwitz-Birkenau or documents obtained from other concerning the camp Commandant sources); Rudolf Höss and KL Auschwitz per- - more than 2,000 audio-video re- sonnel, totalling more than 16,000 cordings containing accounts and pages; testimonies of former prisoners; - 196 volumes of “Questionnaires” - more than 1,100 documentaries filled in by former prisoners; about the camp and the war; - 27 volumes of topic question- - around 130 short and feature naires, filled in by former prisoners, films about the camp and the war; approx. 8,000 pages; - 166 volumes of “Statements”, - 7 volumes of documents and rec- containing the statements of former ollections concerning the evacu- concentration camp prisoners, forced ation of KL Auschwitz prisoners in labour workers and inhabitants of the 1945, more than 1,000 pages. Oświęcim region etc., totalling more The Archives include original camp documents: (from the top) registration card of a Polish prisoner arrested for activities in the resistance movement; fragment of a dead prisoner register from the so-called Auschwitz Daily Prisoner Count Books (Stärkebücher). CONTACT WITH FORMER PRISONERS

GATHERING INFORMATION ABOUT FORMER PRISONERS

The Former Prisoners Relations Sec- Fragment of a secret message, dated tion establishes and maintains contact 4 September 1944, addressed to with former prisoners; it also gathers the Polish resistance movement in Cracow, and draws up documentation about in which the authors – Józef Cyrankiewicz Archiwum Państwowego Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau Państwowego Archiwum them. Section employees also prepare and Stanisław Kłodziński – inform about surname and number lists of former “gas campaign” photographs being sent and prisoners on the basis of post-war ar- the possibility of taking more photographs. chive materials (accounts, recollec- tions, testimonies etc.). In addition, they note down the accounts of for- mer prisoners and persons involved in helping camp prisoners; they carry out preliminary archival inspections, R & D and educational activities. Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum Archives State Museum Archives Auschwitz-Birkenau

- 18 - INFORMATION ABOUT FORMER PRISONERS

It is possible to obtain informa- cerning a vast number of Auschwitz tion about former KL Auschwitz pris- victims – most of the documentation oners. Information can be obtained was destroyed by the Germans before personally or by letter by contacting the liberation of the camp and the the Former Prisoners Information Of- majority of those deported were nev- State Museum Archives Auschwitz-Birkenau fice. Office employees answer with er registered. This mainly concerns the support of surviving camp docu- Jews directed by the SS during selec- ments. Unfortunately, there are virtu- tion to the gas chambers immediately After the war wartime notes were found ally no traces left in written form con- on arrival at the camp. at the camp by Sonderkommando Jewish prisoners, forced to incinerate in the crematoria the corpses of those DIGITAL REPOSITORY murdered. Apart from prisoner statements these documents constitute important proof The setting up of a KL Auschwitz more than half a million entries with of Nazi crimes. The photograph depicts prisoner database is of fundamental information from 56 camp document a handwritten fragment by an unknown importance in commemorating those collections. Electronic storage offers author. Written in Yiddish the manuscript was dug up near the ruins of Gas Chamber who were imprisoned and murdered quick access to information and per- No. III in 1952. It includes a description of at the camp. Currently, the constantly mits the analysis of source material the extermination process of Jews in the gas developed digital databases contain on the computer screen. chambers.

LIBRARY The Digital Repository Team generates digital The library collection reflects the cals. The Special Collection comprises databases about KL Auschwitz prisoners and overall character of the Museum. The books and periodicals published in deportees. Library mainly contains publications the Third Reich. on World War II, the Holocaust, pris- ons and concentration camps with particular emphasis on KL Auschwitz, anti-Semitism and racism. a consider- able part of the collection, compris- ing more than 30 thousand volumes, includes publications on the World War II resistance movement, the histo- ry of the Third Reich, and neo-Nazism. There is also an abundant collection of books on the history and traditions of the Jewish nation. Apart from documentary litera- ture and research works the library collection also contains belles-lettres (memoirs, novels, short stories, poet- ry, and drama), maps, atlases, ency- clopaedias, dictionaries and periodi-

- 19 - PRESERVING THE COLLECTIONS AND MUSEUM STRUCTURES

THE CONSERVATION SECTION IS IN CHARGE OF MORE THAN 150 STRUCTURES, AROUND 300 RUINS, INCLUDING THE REMAINS OF THE FOUR GAS CHAMBERS AND CREMATORIA IN BIRKENAU, MORE THAN 13 KM OF FENCING WITH 3,600 CONCRETE POSTS, AND A WIDE VARIETY OF ADDITIONAL ITEMS OF EQUIPMENT.

The Conservation Section is in roads, drainage ditches, railway tracks 4.500 works of art which are succesive- charge of more than 150 structures with sidings and unloading ramps, ly restored. (e.g. blocks, barracks, camp buildings), two camp sewage-treatment plants, Cooperation with higher institutes around 300 ruins and camp traces, and fire service and water tanks etc. of education (The Nicolaus Coperni- including of particular historical sig- Furthermore, low-lying vegetation, cus University in Toruń, The Academies nificance for the history of Auschwitz historical and post-war wooded areas of Fine Art in Cracow and Warsaw, – the ruins of four gas chambers and (including about 20 hectares of forest) Fachhochschule in Cologne, Germany, crematoria in Birkenau, more than 13 are protected and managed on a per- The Silesian University of Technology, km of fencing with 3,600 concrete manent basis. The Kielce University of Technology, posts, and a wide variety of addi- Conservation work is also carried Warsaw Agricultural University) per- tional items of equipment. In an area out on archived documents, objects of mits the elaboration of innovative res- covering almost 200 hectares, there everyday use, photographs and works toration projects and the organization are many kilometres of hard-surface of art. The Museum contains about of student practical training. CONSERVATION STUDIO

The Conservation Studio, opened parts of the crematoria in Birkenau; in 2002, is one of the most mod- conservation of the gynaecological ern and best equipped preservation chair from the research laboratory of studios in the country. The Studio the German doctor Clauberg, dozens has already carried out a number of of suitcases, drawings, graphics and important tasks. These include the pictures, some of which can now be cleaning and safeguarding of more viewed at exhibitions in Poland and than 100,000 shoes, confiscated by abroad. Some original documents the SS from Auschwitz deportees; housed in the Museum Archives were conservation of the remaining metal also preserved. Photo: Ryszard Domasik Photo: Ryszard One of the camp watch towers. The Preservation Studio protects RESEARCH AND WORK and preserves the site, as well as post-camp structures. ON THE HISTORY OF AUSCHWITZ Historians at the Museum carry unknown areas concerning specific out research on the history of the parts of the camp and SS structures camp in Auschwitz. Currently they are related to Auschwitz; working on three topics: – a source publication on the history – identifying victims; of Auschwitz. – exploring the hitherto relatively Conservation work carried out at one of the barracks at Birkenau. Conservation Laboratory. Photo: Mieczysław Stec Photo: Nel Jastrzębiowska

- 20 - Research was begun in the mid- transports and camp fatalities but also – 1950s. At first, publications concentrat- wherever possible – attempts were made ed on basic historical sources about the to establish the identities of victims. camp, prisoner recollections and topics a similar approach was adopted in the relating to Auschwitz. One of the first case of a collective work entitled Ludzie important works, written by Danuta dobrej woli. Księga Pamięci mieszkańców Czech, was Kalendarz wydarzeń w obo- Ziemi Oświęcimskiej niosących pomoc zie koncentracyjnym Oświęcim-Brzezinka więźniom KL Auschwitz [People of Good (Auschwitz Chronicle). This work, re- Will: Memorial Book of Oświęcim Land vised and supplemented, was published Residents Who Aided Auschwitz Con- independently in Germany in 1989 and centration Camp Prisoners] (ed. Henryk later in Poland (1992) and the United Świebocki), and two albums: a compila- States (1997). tion entitled Zanim odeszli (Before They Perished) dedicated to Jews from Będzin, In the latter half of the 1960s and and a work by Helena Kubica dedicat- One of the most important works on the in the 1970s, research focused on ed to children entitled Nie wolno o nich history of KL Auschwitz is Kalendarz wydarzeń KL Auschwitz sub-camps, the resistance zapomnieć. Najmłodsze ofiary KL Auschwitz w KL Auschwitz (Auschwitz Chronicle) by movement at the camp and the camp (We Should Never Forget Them: the Danuta Czech, Museum historian. at Birkenau. At the same time research Youngest Victims of Auschwitz). concentrated on other fields, such as the employment of KL Auschwitz prisoners Other important topics researched (Franciszek Piper), and the evacuation, by Museum historians include: the death liquidation and liberation of the camp toll at KL Auschwitz (Franciszek Piper), (Andrzej Strzelecki). KL Auschwitz escapee reports (Henryk In later years, research shifted to new- Świebocki), the resistance movement in er fields such as the general history of the the camp and its vicinity (Henryk Świe- camp, but also to more specific topics. bocki), plundering the property of vic- This research resulted in an abundance tims (Andrzej Strzelecki), Buna sub-camp of publications: Księgi zgonów z Auschwitz and the history of IG Farbenindustrie (Auschwitz Death Books), Księga Pamięci. (Piotr Setkiewicz), criminal medical ex- Cyganie w obozie koncentracyjnym Au- periments (Irena Strzelecka), the history schwitz-Birkenau (Memorial Book: Gypsies of specific sections of the camp (Irena at Auschwitz-Birkenau) and three inde- Strzelecka), the fate of Jews deported pendent Memorial Books, dedicated to from Łódź Ghetto to KL Auschwitz (An- Poles: Księga Pamięci. Transporty Polaków drzej Strzelecki), the extermination in z Warszawy do KL Auschwitz 1940-1944 Auschwitz of Poles expelled from the (Memorial Book: the Transports of Poles Zamość Region in 1942-1943 (Helena from Warsaw to KL Auschwitz 1940- Kubica), the fate of Gypsies (Romanies) 1944), Księga Pamięci. Transporty Polaków in Nazi occupied Europe and their ex- do KL Auschwitz z Krakowa i innych mie- termination in Auschwitz (Wacław jscowości Polski południowej 1940-1944 Długoborski), Jehovah’s Witnesses at KL Auschwitz (Teresa Wontor-Cichy), and (Memorial Book: the Transports of Poles After many years of research the historian the biographies of resistance movement to KL Auschwitz from Cracow and Other Helena Kubica publishes her album, members, including the figure of Cavalry Parts of Southern Poland 1940-1944) and entitled: Nie wolno o nich zapomnieć Księga Pamięci. Transporty Polaków do KL Captain Witold Pilecki and Second Lieu- (We Should Never Forget Them), Auschwitz z Radomia i innych miejscowości tenant Stefan Jasieński (Adam Cyra). dedicated to the memory of children Kielecczyzny 1940-1944 (Memorial Book: The fruit of many years of research deported to KL Auschwitz. the Transports of Poles to KL Auschwitz at the Museum was the comprehen- The majority of them were murdered by from Radom and other Parts of the Kielce sive five-volume publication, availa- the Nazis upon arrival at the camp. Region 1940-1944). ble in a number of languages, entitled In the Memorial Books analysis was Auschwitz 1940-1945: Central Issues in the carried out not only on the number of History of the Camp.

- 21 - EXHIBITIONS AND MEMORY Photo: Lidia Foryciarz

SPECIFIC CHARACTER OF THE MUSEUM THE ORIGINAL AREA INCLUDING THE BUILDINGS, RUINS AND TRACES OF THE HOLOCAUST AND GENOCIDE POINT AT THE UNIQUENESS OF THE PLACE. IT CONTAINS AREAS WITH HUMAN ASH, THE RUINS OF GAS CHAMBERS AND CREMATORIA, Photographs of Jews deported to Auschwitz, PLACES WERE SS DOCTORS CARRIED OUT SELECTIONS, found at the camp after liberation. THE ROUTES ALONG WHICH PEOPLE WERE LED TO THE GAS CHAMBERS, Fragment of the exhibition in the building PLACES WHERE ENTIRE FAMILIES AWAITED DEATH, containing the former baths at Birkenau. PLACES OF PRISONER MUTINY AND PLACES OF EXECUTIONS.

THE MAIN EXHIBITION AT FORMER KL AUSCHWITZ I

In 1947, the first permanent exhi- The exhibition depicts the two bition was opened in the former prison basic functions of KL Auschwitz: the blocks of Auschwitz I. In 1955 it was concentration camp for prisoners of Photo: Ryszard Domasik Photo: Ryszard replaced by a new exhibition which various nationalities and the largest continues to exist with only minor centre for the mass extermination changes. of European Jews.

THE CONCENTRATION CAMP

The Museum exhibits one of the most shocking – the exhibition shows the living the camp. This Block also contains ex- images of crime – almost 2 tons conditions offered to Auschwitz pris- hibitions dedicated to the resistance of hair shaven from victims. oners, who died in the camp as a re- movement at the camp, punishments sult of torturous hard labour, hunger, and executions as well as the fate of disease, experiments, executions and the police prisoners. In the punish- a range of punishments and torture. It ment cells located in the cellar, the SS is here that the photographs of prison- put prisoners who were found guilty ers who died in the camp, documents, of violating the camp regulations. In and works of art depicting life at the 1941, those sentenced to death by camp can also be seen. The Block starvation were put there. In the cel- which has been opened to the pub- lar of this Block the Polish monk Mak-

Photo: Stanisław Momot lic and which served as a camp arrest symilian Maria Kolbe died. It was he area depicts the original rooms and who exchanged places to save a pris- cells, where prisoners were held as oner, putting himself in the group of well as others from outside the camp, those sentenced to death by starva- arrested for attempting to help the tion. In the basement of this building imprisoned. Some of the walls, doors in the autumn of 1941 the SS carried Gas Chamber No. I at Auschwitz I. and window sills contain drawings and out the first attempt of mass killing of Its present appearance. inscriptions dating back to the time of people by means of Cyclone B gas.

- 22 - CENTRE FOR THE MASS EXTERMINATION OF EUROPEAN JEWS

– the exhibition illustrates the after liberation and include talliths, extermination process, starting with spectacles, suitcases with names and the arrival of Jews on the unloading addresses of victims, shoes, artificial ramp, through selection by SS doctors limbs, children’s clothes, bowls and and death in the gas chambers. One other items. These objects are just of the most shocking examples of a small part of the belongings which these crimes is almost 2 tons of hair the German camp authorities did not Mensfelt Photo: Jarko cut from the heads of victims. Equal- manage to send deep into the Third Birkenau. The ruins of Gas Chamber ly moving are the original belong- Reich or destroy before the evacua- and Crematorium No. III. ings of deportees. These were found tion of Auschwitz. COMMEMORATING BIRKENAU

IN CONSIDERATION OF THE FACT THAT THE MAJORITY OF AUSCHWITZ VICTIMS WERE MURDERED IN BIRKENAU, IT WAS DECIDED NOT TO CREATE A MUSEUM EXHIBITION THERE AND TO LEAVE THE AREA UNTOUCHED.

The only existing exhibition at Birk- nected with the history of deportation enau was opened in 2001 in the so- and extermination, were commemo- called Sauna building. It was here that rated: new camp arrivals were registered and – the location of the first gas chamber, disinfected. One can learn about the started up by the Germans in the function and history of these premises spring of 1942, in the vicinity of the Mensfelt Photo: Jarko Birkenau. A memorial plaque by walking from one room to the next camp at Birkenau, known as the Lit- at the ramp, where trains stopped in exactly the same order as once the tle Red House; with camp deportees. In the foreground victims were forced to do. The final – the siding located between Auschwitz German wartime photographs. room contains about 2,000 photo- and Birkenau (the so-called Juden- graphs, found after the liberation of rampe), where between the spring of the camp. These were brought by Jews 1942 and May 1944 transports with deported to Auschwitz. deported Jews, Poles and Romanies Birkenau contains a monument arrived. At the Judenrampe the new- commemorating camp victims. ly-arrived Jews were subjected to se- In 2005 two tragic locations, con- lections by SS doctors. NATIONAL EXHIBITIONS The former Auschwitz I camp also The first such exhibition was organ- contains other permanent exhibitions, ized in 1960. Over the decades, some Domasik Photo: Ryszard the so-called national exhibitions, set of the exhibitions were closed down, up initially by former prisoners from some were partly or entirely modified, a number of countries and associated and new ones were mounted. These ex- under the International Auschwitz Com- hibitions are the work of teams of spe- mittee. The purpose of these exhibitions cialists, appointed by various countries is to spread knowledge about Nazi oc- whose citizens fell victim at Auschwitz. cupation of the countries from which They are prepared in cooperation with people were deported to Auschwitz and the Museum and approved by the In- The Wall of Death where the Nazis executed to present the fate of the citizens. ternational Auschwitz Council. thousands of people by shooting.

- 23 - At present, the following exhibitions are open to the public: - “Shoah” (exhibition prepared by the Yad Vashem Institute in Jerusalem); - “Tragedy. Valour. Liberation” (exhibition prepared by Russian Federation); - “The Struggle and Martyrdom of the Polish Nation, 1939-1945”; - “Extermination of European Roma”; Photo: Wiesław Zieliński Photo: Wiesław - “The Tragedy of Slovak Jews”; - “Prisoners from Bohemia at KL Auschwitz”; - “The Citizen Betrayed. To the Memory of Holocaust Victims from Hungary”; - “People Deported from France to KL Auschwitz”; - “Belgium 1940-1944. Occupation and Deportation to KL Auschwitz”; - “Persecution and Deportation of Jews from Holland in 1940-1945”

Fragment of the former Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp. Barracks in TEMPORARY the quarantine section and the remnants of other prisoner barracks can be seen. AND TOURING EXHIBITIONS

In its almost 70 year history the tria, (former) Czechoslovakia, Ger- Museum has organized almost 400 many, Great Britain, Netherlands, temporary and touring exhibitions. Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, (former) Apart from Poland the exhibitions Soviet Union, Sweden, Switzerland, have also been presented in e.g. Aus- and the USA. Photo: Jarko Mensfelt Photo: Jarko

PUBLISHING

THE PUBLISHING HOUSE HAS PRINTED HUNDREDS OF ITEMS WITH A TOTAL PRINT RUN OF AROUND 8 MILLION. Fragment of the exhibition entitled: “The Citizen Betrayed. To the Memory of The main aim of the Publishers is The research periodical Zeszyty Holocaust Victims from Hungary”. to commemorate camp victims, to doc- Oświęcimskie (published in Polish and ument the Holocaust and the crimes German) has been published since perpetrated in the camp by the Nazis 1957. The publication contains findings and to widely circulate topics relating to of Museum research staff and other re- Auschwitz. searchers on aspects of camp history. Publications are in a number of lan- The information bulletin PRO ME- Photo: Tomasz Pielesz Photo: Tomasz guages and they include academic and MORIA has been published since 1994. popular research, belles-lettres, mem- The purpose of the periodical is to offer oirs, albums, catalogues, guidebooks, comprehensive information on Museum poetry, posters and documentaries on activities from a research, political, and the history of the camp. social point of view. As opposed to the The most important publications academic character of Zeszyty Oświęcim- include the Kalendarz wydarzeń w KL skie, the bulletin targets as wide a read- Auschwitz (Auschwitz Chronicle) by Danu- ership as possible: from researchers to ta Czech and a five-volume joint history high school students. The main objective of the Publishers of the camp entitled Auschwitz 1940- All of the above publications is to pay homage to those who died 1945. Węzłowe zagadnienia z dziejów KL can be bought on site in the sales at the camp, to document the Holocaust, Auschwitz (Auschwitz 1940-1945: Central points, located on Museum premis- the atrocities committed by Issues in the History of the Camp). This es. They can also be purchased online the Nazis and to disseminate information key work on the history of KL Auschwitz is (www.auschwitz.org). about Auschwitz. published in a number of languages.

- 24 - VISITOR NUMBERS IN 2018 INTERNET ACCORDING TO CONTINENT The Museum’s website (www. auschwitz.org) allows visitors to ac- quaint themselves with the history of KL Auschwitz and gives access to achieve materials containing the names of al- most 100,000 prisoners murdered at Europe with Russia and Israel 1 788 235 KL Auschwitz. The Museum can also North America 204 645 be contacted via e-mail (muzeum@ Asia (without Russia and Israel) auschwitz.org). The website may also 99 020 Africa be used to prepare visits – it contains 6 460 useful information on how to get to the South Museum, prices, booking a guide and America 24 330 accommodation in Oświęcim. Australia and Oceania The website also contains infor- 29 920 mation on the International Centre for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust and the things that the Cen- tre offers. Additionally, there is access to information on the most important events at the Memorial, the structure of the Museum and the way its various sections function. There is also a gallery of old and modern photographs. EDUCATION INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR EDUCATION ABOUT AUSCHWITZ AND THE HOLOCAUST (ICEAH) The website is visited by hundreds of thousands from all over the world, THE INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR EDUCATION ABOUT AUSCHWITZ interested in learning more about AND THE HOLOCAUST (ICEAH) ORGANIZES POST-GRADUATE STUDIES, the history of Auschwitz. SEMINARS, SPECIAL TOPIC CONFERENCES, STUDY TOURS AND TRAVEL, WORKSHOPS AND SYMPOSIA FOR TEACHERS AND YOUNG PEOPLE FROM The Centre of Education is actively POLAND AND ABROAD. LECTURES AND CLASSES ARE GIVEN BY MUSEUM interested in the younger generation. RESEARCH STAFF AND TUTORS AT HIGHER INSTITUTES OF EDUCATION. Pupils from Moscow at an exhibition THE CENTRE ALSO HELPS IN THE ORGANIZATION OF VISITS. dedicated to the Romanies.

On 27 January 2005 during the people and teachers from Poland and 60th Anniversary of the liberation of abroad, as well as with Polish and for- KL Auschwitz several hundred former eign research institutes. prisoners singed the founding act of As part of its educational activities the International Centre of Education the Centre organizes lectures, talks,

for Auschwitz and the Holocaust, of- lessons at the Museum, workshops, Photo: School No. 653 in Moscow ficially called into being by the Polish conferences for teachers, symposia, Minister of Culture in May 2005. the screening of films, drawing compe- One of the basic activities of the titions, and essay competitions for the Centre involves cooperation with young best piece of writing about the camp.

- 25 - THE ICEAH ORGANIZES: – POST-DIPLOMA STUDIES concepts of racism, anti-Semitism and – SPECIAL TOPIC CONFERENCES Tri-semester post-graduate studies intolerance. It considers crucial aspects One-day special topic conferences for teachers, recognized by the educa- of World War II and its impact; it con- are dedicated to the most important tional authorities, are organized jointly siders the culture of the Jewish nation events in the history of KL Auschwitz. with the Academy of Pedagogics. An and its role in literature, art and phi- These are designed for teachers who are interdisciplinary approach is adopted losophy. graduates of ICEAH, interested in in- towards camp and prisoner topics in Well-known historians, sociologists, creasing their knowledge on Auschwitz, the broad context of Nazi terror and specialists in literature as well as oth- the Holocaust and World War II. These genocide, particularly concerning Jews, er scholars and Museum research staff conferences offer extra detail on top- but also Poles, Romanies (Gypsies) and give classes. ics already referred to in seminars and other victims. This course of study re- – SEMINARS post-graduate study courses. They are lates to the origins and development Meetings lasting a number of days also a good opportunity to exchange of totalitarian systems and considers with secondary and high school teach- views on how to educate the younger ers specializing in the humanities, arts, generation. and religion are organized in order to – SEMINARS AND STUDY TOURS better prepare young people for their FOR POLISH AND FOREIGN visit at the Museum. These meetings TEACHERS AND YOUNG PEOPLE contain lectures on specific national Seminars and study tours allow Photo: Bartosz Bartyzel and religious groups at KL Auschwitz- participants to learn about the histo- -Birkenau. Documentaries are shown ry of Auschwitz in the context of the about Auschwitz and the Holocaust, German occupation of Poland and talks are given in the Archives and Col- Europe. Depending on age, interests lections Section, and there are in-depth and expectations each group of par- visits to the former concentration camp ticipants is offered an individual set of International seminar for European teachers. itself. topics. VISITING THE FORMER EXTERMINATION CAMP AUSCHWITZ – AN IMPORTANT PLACE FOR THE MODERN WORLD

SO FAR MORE THAN 30 MILLION PEOPLE WORLDWIDE HAVE VISITED THE MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL.

Not long after liberation Auschwitz Ever since the 1990s the number of Homage is paid by numerous became a particularly important Me- visitors has been constantly growing. politicians and heads of state, who morial for the modern world. This is Currently, over one million people vis- regard it their moral duty to visit the borne out by the constantly growing it the Museum each year from more former camp. This place is seen as one number of visitors. Hitherto the Mu- than 100 countries. Visitors are main- of the strongest warnings for human- seum and Auschwitz-Birkenau Memo- ly Poles, but there are also Americans, ity. Władysław Bartoszewski, a for- rial have been visited by more than 30 British, Italians, Germans, Italians, mer Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs million people from all over the world. French and Israelis. and camp survivor, had this to say: “Auschwitz is the world’s largest ever Each year the Auschwitz-Birkenau cemetery without graves, where it is Memorial is visited by more than impossible to place a stone or flower one million people from all over the to commemorate an individual. It is

Centre in OświęcimCentre world. In order to visit the two camps a cemetery without graves because one may seek the assistance of a qualified the corpses have been scattered by the Museum guide. smoke in the sky. And this is binding...” Photo: International Youth Meeting Youth Photo: International

- 26 - OPENING HOURS The Museum is open seven days a week: 7:30 am – 2 pm December 7:30 am – 3 pm January, November 7:30 am – 4 pm February 7:30 am – 5 pm March, October 7:30 am – 6 pm April, May, September 7:30 am – 7 pm June – August The above opening hours are for visiting the former concentration camp. The Former Prisoner Information Office, the Archives, the Collections Section, the Li- brary, the Administrative Offices, and other sections are open (national holidays excepted) from Monday to Friday between 7 am and 3 pm. The Museum is closed on 1st January, 25th December and Easter Sunday. VISITORS – GENERAL COMMENTS Former Auschwitz I camp.

EACH VISITOR DECIDES HOW MUCH TIME HE WANTS TO SPEND AT THE CAMP, BUT IT IS ESTIMATED THAT APPROXIMATELY THREE AND A HALF HOURS ARE REQUIRED TO VISIT THE AREA AND THE TWO FORMER CAMPS. GUIDED TOURS CAN BE GENERAL (APPROX. THREE AND A HALF HOURS), SPECIALIST (APPROXIMATELY 6 HOURS) OR CAN EVEN TAKE TWO DAYS.

Entrance to the Memorial is free – the location of the first gas chamber of charge. It is possible to visit the ex- in Birkenau, the so-called Little Red hibitions and some original structures House (a few hundred metres to the of both former camps, Auschwitz I and north of Birkenau); Auschwitz II-Birkenau. In Auschwitz I, – the location of the second gas cham- there is no access to some of the Blocks ber in Birkenau, the so-called Little (for example, the administrative areas), White House (a few hundred metres Former Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp. whilst most of the barracks at Auschwitz to the west of Birkenau); II-Birkenau are open to visitors. – the siding, the so-called Judenrampe, approx. 1.5 km from the camps); One should remember the four where between the spring of 1942 – mass grave of prisoners who died just important places of commemoration and May 1944 Jews, Poles and Ro- before and just after the liberation of which are located at some distance from manies were deported to the camp Auschwitz. the camp: (between Auschwitz and Birkenau,

Sites managed by the Museum, located at some distance from Auschwitz I (A) and Auschwitz II-Birkenau (B): • place where the first two gas chambers of Birkenau were located (1, 3); • the siding where deportees arrived (4); • a memorial obelisk commemorating murdered Soviet POWs (2); • mass grave of prisoners who died just before and just after the liberation of Auschwitz (5).

- 27 - FORMER CAMP AT AUSCHWITZ I On the site of Auschwitz I, the SS the majority of people were execut- set up the first camp for men (1940) ed by being shot, that the central and women (1942). It was here camp detention area for prisoners that the first experiments on killing from the entire camp complex was human beings with Cyclone B took located, and that the headquarters place, that the first groups of de- and the majority of SS offices were Photo: Jarko Mensfelt Photo: Jarko ported Jews were murdered, that the placed. From here, the camp author- Jewish prayer shawls. Fragment of the first criminal medical experiments ities managed the further expansion exhibition at the former Auschwitz I camp. on prisoners were carried out, that of the site. FORMER CAMP AT AUSCHWITZ II-BIRKENAU

At Birkenau the Nazis built most ash and many post-camp remains. The interior of a brick residential of their equipment for mass exter- The vast open space, dozens barracks in Birkenau. mination. About a million European of primitive prisoner barracks and Jews were murdered. Birkenau was hundreds of remnants, more than also the largest concentration camp, 13 kilometres of camp fencing, 10 (with more than 300 primitive, main- kilometres of camp roads and more ly wooden, barracks), in which in than 2 kilometres of rail track all ful- 1944 more than 90,000 Jews, Poles, ly encapsulate the specific camp ar-

Photo: Wiesław Zieliński Photo: Wiesław Romanies, Soviet citizens and others chitecture of Auschwitz designed for were kept. There are certain areas of one sole purpose: the extermination the former camp that contain human of humans. EDUCATORS Engaging the services of a Museum the best route through the exhibitions. educator while touring the grounds of There are educators to guide visitors in the two former camps is highly recom- English as well as Dutch, Croatian, Czech, mended (and is obligatory for organized French, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Birkenau. International Monument of groups). The educators have a full com- Italian, Japanese, Polish, Russian, Serbi- the Camp Victims. mand of the historical facts and know an, Slovakian, Spanish, and Swedish.

Educator services may be reserved - online (visit.auschwitz.org); - at the Visitor Reception Point at the Museum, where all the requisite formal- ities can be arranged on the spot. Photo: Ryszard Domasik Photo: Ryszard Because of the great interest and high number of visitors, we recommend making reservations in advance. There is a charge for the services of an educator. During the period of the peak number of visitors, from April 1 to October 31, admission to the Museum grounds between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM is possible only when accompanied by an educator. Individual visitors may join guided tours in English, French, German, Italian, Polish, and Spanish during this period. GUIDEBOOKS Before starting the visit, you may brief description of the camp objects, purchase the Museum guidebook writ- exhibitions, and maps of Auschwitz ten in several languages, containing a and Birkenau with a marked visit route.

- 28 - DOCUMENTARY FILM “MILLIONS OF PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD Before or after visiting the site terials filmed by Red Army camera- KNOW WHAT AUSCHWITZ WAS of the former camp it is possible to men and which depicts the liberation watch a 15-minute documentary film of the camp by Soviet soldiers, survi- BUT IT IS BASIC THAT (subject to the purchase of a ticket), vors and the uncovering of evidence WE RETAIN IN OUR MINDS which contains a fragment of the ma- of crime. AND MEMORIES AWARENESS THAT IT IS HUMANS MOVING BETWEEN WHO DECIDE WHETHER SUCH THE FORMER CAMPS A TRAGEDY WILL EVER TAKE The distance of three kilometres be- ramps can be seen here. This is where PLACE AGAIN. tween Auschwitz and Birkenau can be the trains arrived with camp deportees. THIS IS THE WORK OF HUMANS covered on foot by walking across the It was here also that SS doctors em- AND IT IS HUMANS ALONE camp premises which during the war barked on the selection process. There were occupied by German industrial is a car park not far from the two former WHO CAN PREVENT plants, workshops, store rooms, offices camps. This permits those with their ANY SUCH RETURN.” and the camp’s technical support – the own means of transport to move about. place where prisoners worked and died. Those who do not arrive by car may use (PROFESSOR WŁADYSŁAW BARTOSZEWSKI, The remains of a number of sidings and the Auschwitz-Birkenau shuttle bus. A FORMER AUSCHWITZ PRISONER). Photo: Jarko Mensfelt Photo: Jarko

Interest in the tragic history of Auschwitz continues irrespective of the passage of time. Photo: Lidia Foryciarz

Prepared by: Teresa Świebocka, Jadwiga Pinderska-Lech, Jarko Mensfelt MUSEUM Translated by: Adam Czasak Graphics: Agnieszka Matuła ADDRESS: Graphics used in the folder: Auschwitz-Birkenau. The Past and the Present comes from the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum; some materials were made available thanks to the kindness of Bartosz Bartyzel, Ryszard Domasik, Lidia Foryciarz, Wojciech Gorgolewski, Nel Jastrzębiowska, Henryk Makarewicz, PAŃSTWOWE MUZEUM Jarko Mensfelt, Stanisław Momot, Rafał Pióro, Mieczysław Stec, AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU Wiesław Zieliński and the International Youth Meeting Centre in Oświęcim ul. Więźniów Oświęcimia 20 and School No. 653 in Moscow 32-603 Oświęcim, Polska tel. (+48) 33 844 80 03 fax (+48) 33 843 18 62 © 2019 Państwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau www.auschwitz.org e-mail: [email protected]

- 29 - HISTORY OF AUSCHWITZ – CALENDAR

• 6 July – First prisoner, Tadeusz 1939 Wiejowski, escapes. Throughout 1942 • 1 September – Nazi Germany the history of the camp, out of • Beginning of the year – Start of attacks Poland. The outbreak of a total of more than one million mass extermination of Jews in the World War II. deportees, a few hundred pris- gas chambers. • End 1939 – Resulting from the oners attempt to escape. These • March – Start of deportation to mass arrests of Poles and prisons were mainly Poles, Soviets and Auschwitz of 27,000 Jews from becoming overcrowded in Upper Jews. More than 190 prisoners Slovakia and 69,000 Jews from Silesia and Zagłębie Dąbrowskie managed to escape. France. the Higher Office of the SS and • Autumn – Polish resistance in- • March – Auschwitz II-Birkenau Police Commander in Wrocław forms the Polish Government in starts functioning. decides to draw up a project of exile in London about the camp. • 26 March – First 2,000 women a concentration camp for Poles. • 22 November – The first exe- arrive in Auschwitz (out of about cution through firing squad. 40 130,000 registered in the camp to 1940 Poles were executed. the end of its existence). • 27 April – Following a number • March-July – Start-up of tem- of inspections at various sites, porary gas chambers alongside Heinrich Himmler, Commander 1941 Auschwitz II-Birkenau. of the SS, gives out the order to • 1 March – Commander of the • Spring – So-called Judenrampe, establish a concentration camp SS, Heinrich Himmler, pays his located between Auschwitz I and in the former artillery barracks in first inspection visit to Auschwitz. Auschwitz II-Birkenau starts func- Oświęcim, known at the time as His gives out orders to expand tioning. It was here that trans- Auschwitz. the camp and to supply IG Farbe- ports to Auschwitz arrived with • 14 June – German authorities nindustrie with 10,000 prisoners Jews, as well as Poles, Romanies direct the first transport of po- to build industrial plants. (Gypsies) and prisoners of other litical prisoners to Auschwitz • 23 April – In reprisal for an es- nationalities. – 728 Poles, including a small caped prisoner the camp Com- • May – Start of deportation to group of Polish Jews. This day is mandant, Rudolf Höss, for the Auschwitz of 300,000 Jews from recognized as the day the camp first time sentences 10 prisoners Poland and 23,000 Jews from started functioning. In the period to death by starvation. Germany and Austria. 1940-1945 about 405,000 pris- • 6 June – First transport of Czech • 4 May – SS carry out the first se- oners are registered at the camp, political prisoners. The start of lection at the camp in Birkenau. of which 270,000 were men. deportation to Auschwitz of Selected prisoners are murdered • 19 June – First relocation of lo- non-Polish prisoners. in the gas chamber. cal people in order to prevent • 3 September – First mass mur- • 10 June – Mutiny and an attempt them from witnessing the crimes, der of people with the use of at mass escape of about 50 Polish contacting prisoners and helping Cyclone B. About 600 Soviet and prisoners from the penal compa- them escape. The next waves of 250 Polish prisoners die. ny in Birkenau. 7 managed to es- relocation were connected with • Autumn – Camp authorities start cape. plans to develop Auschwitz. In operating the first gas chamber in • July – Start of deportation to total, the Germans moved at least Auschwitz I. Auschwitz of 60,000 Jews from 8,000 Poles from Oświęcim and • October – Establishment of a So- Holland. its nearby villages. In addition, viet POWs camp in Auschwitz I. • July – Start-up of Golleschau sub- they deported to nearby ghettos – Work starts on building the second camp near the cement works of the entire Jewish population of part of the camp, Auschwitz II- Goleszów near Cieszyn – the first of Oświęcim (approx. 7,000). Eight -Birkenau, in place of the demol- almost 50 Auschwitz sub-camps. villages are destroyed and more ished village of Brzezinka. • 29 July – Edward Schulte, Ger- than a hundred buildings demol- • 11 November – In the first ex- man industrialist and anti-Nazi, ished, located in Oświęcim and ecution at the Wall of Death the informs the Allies that Himmler the direct vicinity of the camp. Nazis shoot 151 Polish prisoners. was present in Auschwitz in July

- 30 - at the murder of 499 Jews with male and female prisoners. to be transported directly to Cyclone B in so-called Bunker No. Gas Chambers Nos. II and III at 2. This was the first item of in- 1943 Auschwitz II-Birkenau. The start formation from a German source • 26 February – Setting up in Birk- of deportation to Auschwitz of which was so specific about the enau of the so-called family Gyp- almost 430,000 Jews from Hun- extermination of Jews in the gas sy camp for Romanies. gary. chambers of Auschwitz. From the • March – Start of deportation of • 10–12 July – Liquidation of the autumn of 1940 the Allies were 55,000 Jews from Greece. so-called Theresienstadt family regularly informed about what • 22 March – 25 June – Camp au- camp. The Nazis murder about was happening in Auschwitz. thorities start up four crematoria 7,000 Jews in the gas chambers. They were mainly informed by with gas chambers at Auschwitz II- • August – Start of deportation the Polish Government in exile in -Birkenau. to Auschwitz of 67,000 Jews London, which was in constant • 7 June – Civilian workers of from the ghetto in Litzmannstadt contact with the Polish resist- Krupps Establishments start as- (Łódź). ance, active both inside the camp sembling machinery on the shop • 2 August – Liquidation of the and in its vicinity. floor leased out by the camp “family Gypsy camp” – the SS • August – Start of deportation to authorities. Hundreds of Ger- murder more than 3,000 Ro- Auschwitz of 25,000 Jews from man companies were involved manies (Gypsies) in the gas cham- Belgium and 10,000 Jews from in the building of the camp in bers. Yugoslavia. Auschwitz. Many of these, as e.g. • 12 August – Start of depor- • 30 October – Synthetic rubber IG Farbenindustrie or Siemens tation to Auschwitz of 13,000 factory built by IG Farbenindus- drew extra benefits by availing Poles, arrested en masse after trie gave rise to Buna sub-camp, themselves of camp slave labour. the start of the Warsaw Uprising. later renamed as Auschwitz III- • 19 July – Largest public execu- • 7 October – Sonderkomman- -Monowitz. In 1942-1944 a total tion in Auschwitz I. As a reprisal do Mutiny. During the mutiny of close to 50 KL Auschwitz sub- for the escape of a handful of 3 members of the SS die as well camps and external work squads prisoners and for contacting the as 450 Sonderkommando pris- came into being. The prison- civilian population the SS hang oners, Jewish prisoners forced ers who occupied these mainly 12 Polish prisoners on the gal- to incinerate in the crematoria worked at German industrial en- lows. corpses of the murdered. terprises. • 9 September – Establishment at • November – Mass murder of • October – Start of deportation to Birkenau of the so-called There- Jews in the gas chambers is Auschwitz of 46,000 Jews from sienstadt camp for Jews arriving stopped. the Protectorate of Bohemia and from the ghetto in Terezín. Moravia. • October – Start of deportation 1945 • December – First transport of to Auschwitz of 7,500 Jews from • 6 January – Last execution of Jews from Norway. In total, al- Italy. about 70 Poles sentenced to most 700 people arrive in two death by a German summary transports. 1944 court. Four Jewish women, sen- • 13 December – First transport • May – First Ally planes flying tenced for helping to prepare of Poles evicted from the Zamość over Auschwitz take aerial pho- the Sonderkommando Mutiny, region as part of Hitler’s “Gener- tographs, which show the gas are hanged on the gallows at the alplan Ost” (General Plan East) chambers and smoke from the last public execution. – the eviction and extermination burning pits. Three months lat- • 17 January – Start of the Death of about 50 million Slavs (Poles, er American and British planes Marches – the SS evacuate al- Russians, Byelorussians, Ukraini- start bombing the synthetic rub- most 60,000 KL Auschwitz pris- ans and others) and the coloniza- ber and liquid fuel plant of the oners. tion by German settlers of Central German concern IG Farbenin- • 20-26 January – Germans blow and Eastern Europe, with Poland dustrie, located just a few kilo- up the gas chambers and crema- being the first territories to be oc- metres from Birkenau. toria in Birkenau. cupied. • 16 May – Siding which is locat- • 27 January – 7,500 prisoners live • End of the year – SS doctors ed inside the camp is released to see the liberation of Auschwitz start sterilization experiments on for use. It permits deportees by units of the Soviet army.

- 31 - PLEASE HELP MAINTAIN THE AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL

Auschwitz is forever a painful expression of the world’s bad conscience. The remains of the Nazi death camp reminds us of the darkest moments of human history.

It was here between 1940 and 1945 that the Nazis murdered more than a million Jews, as well as tens of thousands of Poles, Romanies and Sinti, Soviet POWs and other innocent people.

We count on your help to support the site of Auschwitz, its buildings and many remains and, by this virtue, the memory of those that died.

Donations might be made via the website www.auschwitz.org

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

ISBN 978-83-7704-152-9 - 32 -