Krakow day 4 – 29th April 2011: Auschwitz – Birkenau tour PART I

Auschwitz – Birkenau is the world’s biggest concentration camp established by the Nazis during World War II in Poland. Currently, the site it the world-known symbol of the Holocaust, and the erected museum enables the visitor to encounter the former site of mass extermination. 

Auschwitz Camp was established in 1940. It initially served as a concentration camp and as a place of deportation of Poles, alongside Soviet prisoners. In 1942 it also became the biggest camp of immediate and mass extermination of Jews, Poles, Roma people and representatives of other nations and ethnic groups.

As a result of rapid expansion of Auschwitz, new camp were introduced into the complex. In 1941, the Nazis created a camp in Brzexinka, a village situated close to Auschwitz. It was supposed to be a place of detention of war prisoners but gas chambers were erected as soon as 1942. Auschwitz II Birkenau, soon became the place of the biggest mass murder, its is estimated that 90% of Auschwitz victims were exterminated in this camp only.

The plan of liberating the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp by the Red army was devised in 1944, and its ultimate liberation took place in January 27, 1945. The number of Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp victims is estimated at 1.1 million, including 960,000 Jews, p to 75,000 Poles, 21,000 Roma people, 15,000 Soviet war prisoners and up to 15,000 people of other nations and ethnicities.

In 1947, the National Museum was established on the area of the liberated camp, and in 1979, the facility was included in the UNESCO world Heritage site as the only concentration camp in the world. In 1999, the museum changed its name to Auschwitz – Birkenau state museum, and is currently a place visited by 600,000 people a year.

PART A – Auschwitz I

Entrance gate to Auschwitz I – with the inscription “work will make you free”, before the war the Polish Army barracks stood here. The SS decided to set up a concentration camp for Polish political prisoners here in the mid-1940 because the buildings could be used to house the growing number of Poles being detained.

 

Double layer electric fence – on the entrance to the camp and surrounding the whole area

Camp buildings – around 26 blocks were present to hold the prisoners.

Exhibitions – the daily horror of life in the camp are today displayed in some of the barracks, as well as belongs left at the day of liberation

 

Empty Zyklon-B canisters – found on the grounds of the camp after liberation, usedas a regular mean of mass extermination.

The “wall of death” – this is a reconstruction of the wall near block 11 used for the summary executions carried out by the firing squad. Usually covered in flowers, it now serves as a place of remberance.

Roll call square – roll call took place up to three times a day and could last for hours. Eventually, due to the increasing number of prisoners, roll call was taken in front of individual barracks.

Gas chamber – the entire Auschwitz complex had seven gas chambers, and five crematoria, the first and only remaining one is located at Auschwitz I.