194 CENTRAL EASTERN EUROPE
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp218–21 and pp222–5
For most people, Auschwitz represents the ultimate
horror of the Holocaust. The Nazis began the first mass
transportation of European Jews to Auschwitz in 1942
and it soon became the centre of extermination. Over
the next three years, more than one and a half million
people, a quarter of those who died in the Holocaust,
were killed at Auschwitz and the neigh bouring Birkenau
camp (see pp196–7), also known as Auschwitz II. Today,
Auschwitz is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the
camp has been preserved as a poignant memorial. The
prison blocks have been turned into a museum charting
the his tory of the camps and of persecution in Poland.
Gas Chambers and Crematoria
The entire Auschwitz complex
had seven gas chambers and five
crematoria. Four of the gas chambers
were in Birkenau but the first was at
Auschwitz, operating from 1941.
THE CAMP
Auschwitz I opened in 1940 on the site of
former Polish Army barracks. Originally built
to incarcerate only Polish political prisoners,
further buildings were added in the
spring of 1941 as the number of
prisoners drastically increased. Camp
administration was also based here.
THE TWO CAMPS
Although part of the same camp complex, Auschwitz
and Birkenau are in fact 3 km (2 miles) apart. The
small Polish town
of Oświęcim was
commandeered
by the Nazis and
renamed Auschwitz.
Birkenau was
opened in March 1942
in the village
of Brzezinka, where
the residents were
evicted to make
way for the camp.
There were an
additional 47 sub-
camps in the
surrounding area.“Arbeit Macht Frei” Entrance
The infamous words above the
entrance to Auschwitz translate as
“Work makes you free”. This was
certainly not the case for the
prisoners transported here, who
were often worked to death.Exhibitions
The daily horrors of life in the
camp are displayed in some
of the barracks.Guard house
and office of
the camp
supervisorAerial view of Auschwitz I and
Birkenau taken by the Allies in 1944Auschwitz I r
Oświęcim