A BIT OF HISTORY:
I. Why was the Camp created ?
One of the main reasons behind setting up the camp of Auschwitz and Birkenau by German Nazis, was the problem of increasing numbers of citizens of occupied countries arrested by Gestapo. Initially, the camp was suppoused to be only a concentration camp but, unfortunately, with the passage of time it became the centre of holocaust. German Nazis simply took advantege of the convenient location of Oświęcim town, which is placed almost in the middle of Europe and at that time in the middle of the occupied lands.
Between 1940 and 1941 German Nazis dislodged the inhabitants of one of the Oświęcim districts as well as the residents of the surrounding other villages. Almost 1,2 thousands of houses were demolished in order to organize the Camp and its facilities. At that time 60% of Oświęcim population (Jews) were send to various gettos while most of Polish residents of Oświęcim were send to Germany to perform forced labour.
At the beginning, the Camp consisted of only three main parts but with time, another 50 smaller sub-camps and commands were created.. The first and the oldest part of the Camp is Auschwitz 1, where the number of prisoners was between 12-20 thousands. The buildings and most of facilities located there was rebuilded and reconstructed from pre-war Polish military barracs. |The second main camp was called Auschwitz II- Birkenau, where in 1944 almost 90 thousnads of prisoners were kept. This actually was the biggest camp of all those three main ones. Birkenau ( pl. Brzezinka) is infamously known as the place where the biggest tools for holocauste – gas chambers were installed. In this particular place, Nazis murdered most of deported Jews. The last one of those main camps was called – Auschwitz III – Monowitz and was located in Monowice (6km away from Oświęcim). Next to the camp a German company IG Farbenindustrie placed its petrol and synthetic rubber manufactures. The other sub-camps and commands (50 of them) were fully dependent on those three main camps and they were located mainly in industrial and agricultural regions.
II. Victims of KL Auschwitz
According to the estimated data of The Auschwitz- Birkenau Museum and Memorial Site, throughout the period of Camp exploitation nearly 1.3 milions of people were imprisoned there, while approximately 1.1 milion of them died or were murdered. Among the nations, which suffered the most are Jews, Poles and Romanies.
III. Currently
Nowadays, every year milions of people from all around the world, come to the former Nazi concentration and extermination Camp to pay respect to those who suffered and died in the Camp during the WWII. Every year, thousends of tourists, during the 3,5 hours of a quided tour have an opportunity to reflect on how horrible WWII was. In 2019, the number of visitors in the Memorial Site reached more than 2,3 milions (auschwitz.org).
We highly recommend visiting the Memorial Site of Auschwitz- Birkenua. As a company that has been organizing such tours for a long time, we are aware of the demand on such tours. Our tours are always thoughtfully planned and organized. Check for our offer here: Tour to Auschwitz & Birkenau
Sources:
1. Świebocka, Teresa; Jadwiga Pinderska-Lerch and Jarko Mensfelt. Auschwitz- Birkenau, The Past and The Presnent. Państwowe Muzeum Auschwitz and Birkenau, 2019.