Auschwitz-Birkenau is a former German Nazi concentration and death camp, located in Oświęcim, Poland. It's one of the most significant Memorial Sites in Poland. Today, the campsite houses a Museum, which since 1947 has been the custodian of the post-camp relics. These include collections, archives, and a scientific, conservation and publishing centre.
Auschwitz was the largest of the German Nazi concentration camps and extermination centres. Over 1.1 million men, women, and children lost their lives here. The second camp of the Auschwitz KL complex quickly became primarily a place of mass extermination, the largest German death camp. It was here that the majority of Auschwitz KL victims - over a million people - perished. There were specially designed and erected complexes of gas chambers with crematoria.
AUSCHWITZ 1
Within the Auschwitz I camp, the Nazis established the first camp for both men and women. It was here that the first experiments of extermination using Cyclone B took place. In addition, the first criminal experiments on prisoners were carried out here. Most of the executions by shooting were also performed here. Auschwitz 1 also housed the central camp prison in block no. 11 for prisoners from all parts of the camp complex, as well as the camp commandant's office and most of the SS offices. From this place, the camp authorities supervised the further expansion of the camp complex.
BIRKENAU
In the Birkenau camp, the Nazis built most of the mass extermination facilities, in which about a million Jews were murdered. Birkenau was also the largest concentration camp (with nearly 300 primitive, mostly wooden barracks), where in 1944 over 100,000 prisoners: Jews, Poles, Roma, and others were held. On nearly 200 hectares, there are ruins of gas chambers and places filled with human ashes, primitive prisoner barracks, and kilometres of camp fencing and roads. These places are open to visitors. It is recommended to prepare for a visit to these places, both substantively and emotionally.
