Footsteps of WWII · Poland
Auschwitz I (main camp), Oświęcim
Camp memorial · Jun 1940 – 27 Jan 1945
The story
The Germans turned a former Polish army barracks at Oświęcim, renamed Auschwitz, into a concentration camp in 1940. The first mass transport, 728 Polish political prisoners from Tarnów, arrived on 14 June 1940, and Poles were the main prisoners in the early years. In August and September 1941 the SS first tested Zyklon B on Soviet prisoners of war and sick inmates in the cellars of Block 11 and in the old crematorium. Auschwitz I remained the administrative centre of a complex that grew to include Birkenau and Monowitz. The Red Army's 1st Ukrainian Front liberated the camps on 27 January 1945.
What to look for
Brick blocks behind the 'Arbeit macht frei' gate. The national exhibitions in the blocks hold piles of victims' shoes, suitcases and hair. See Block 11, the 'death block', the execution wall in its yard, and the gas chamber and crematorium beside the SS hospital.
Plan your visit
Grounds free, but a named entry card is required, booked only online at visit.auschwitz.org; none are sold on site. At most times entry is only with a paid guide (about 3.5 hours, Auschwitz I then Birkenau). Closed 1 Jan, 25 Dec, Easter Sunday. Check the website before you go.
Things change, so check opening times before you travel.
Nearby sites
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Footsteps of WWII: Europe 1939–1945
A free field guide for your phone: the route, the maps and the stories built in, even with no signal. The whole Second World War in Europe, from the first shots at Westerplatte on 1 September 1939 to the German surrender in May 1945: Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, Normandy, Arnhem, Bastogne, Stalingrad, Berlin and the camps, in 15 areas from Britain to Russia.
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