Footsteps of WWII · Poland
Auschwitz II-Birkenau
Camp memorial · Oct 1941 – 27 Jan 1945
The story
Construction of Birkenau began in October 1941 at Brzezinka, about 3 km from the main camp. It became the main killing centre of the Holocaust: by June 1943 crematoria II–V were working, with gas chambers in II and III. Most of the roughly 1.1 million people murdered at Auschwitz, about 90 per cent of them Jews, died here. In May 1944 a rail spur and ramp were completed inside the camp for the deportation of Hungary's Jews, who arrived from May to early July. On 7 October 1944 the Sonderkommando rose in revolt and destroyed Crematorium IV. The SS blew up the remaining crematoria before evacuating the camp in January 1945.
What to look for
Enter through the brick gatehouse, the 'Gate of Death', and see how vast the camp is. Follow the rails to the unloading ramp, then to the ruins of crematoria II and III and the International Monument. Wooden and brick barracks survive; elsewhere only chimneys remain.
Plan your visit
Same entry card as Auschwitz I, booked online only at visit.auschwitz.org; guided tours continue here from Auschwitz I. A free shuttle bus links the two sites. Mostly outdoors and exposed: dress for the weather. 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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