AUSCHWITZ- -BIRKENAU

22 AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU MEMORIAL AND MUSEUM A B R I E F H I S T O R Y A N D B A S I C F A C T S 23
The web site attracts hundreds
of thousands of browsers worldwide,
who are interested in the history
of Auschwitz
Each year the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial
is visited by more than 500,000 people from
all over the world. Qualified Museum guides
can be booked for visiting the two former
camps, and it is obligatory in the case
of large organised groups
Photograph: International Youth Meeting Centre in Oświęcim
The Centre organises, among others:
- Post-graduate Study course on “Totalitarianism, Nazism and the
Holocaust”
This study course concentrates on the history of World War II, with particular
focus on the Holocaust, and the reasons underlying the origins of
totalitarianism, Nazism, racism, and antisemitism. The course also concentrates
on chosen topics concerning the life and culture of pre-war
Jews. An integral part of this programme of studies is the presence of the
Holocaust and World War II in art and literature.
- “Auschwitz – History and Symbolism” Seminars
Meetings lasting a number of days with form teachers and high school
teachers specialising in the humanities, arts, and religion are organised
in order to better prepare young people for their visit to the Museum.
These meetings include lectures on specific national and religious groups
at KL Auschwitz-Birkenau. Documentaries are shown about Auschwitz
and the Holocaust, talks are given in the Archives and Collection Section,
and there are in-depth visits to the former concentration camp itself.
- Special Subject Conferences
One-day special subject conferences are dedicated to the most important
events in the history of KL Auschwitz. These are aimed at teachers
who are graduates of Education Centre training, interested in increasing
their knowledge on Auschwitz, the Holocaust, and World War II. These
conferences offer extra detail on topics already referred to in seminars
and post-graduate study courses. They are also a good opportunity to
exchange views on educating youth.
- Seminars and study tours for Polish and foreign teachers and
young people
Seminars and study tours offer participants the opportunity to gain
knowledge of the history of Auschwitz in the context of the German occupation
of Poland and Europe. Depending on age, interest and requirement
each group of participants is offered an individual set of topics.
Education (Other Sections)
Other sections of the Museum are also engaged in educational activities.
These invite Polish and foreign study and seminar groups and organise
talks and lectures.
VISITING THE FORMER CAMP
NUMBER OF VISITORS
Almost 30 million people worldwide have visited
the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and Memorial.
Plan of the former Auschwitz I camp
Plan of the former
Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp
So far, almost 30 million people from all over the world have visited
the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and Memorial. Since the 1990s, about
500,000 people visit the Museum each year. Those who are mostly represented
are Poles, as well as Americans, British, French, Germans, Israelis,
and Italians.
OPENING HOURS
The Museum is open seven days a week as follows:
8 am – 3 pm December – February
8 am – 4 pm March, November
8 am – 5 pm April, October
8 am – 6 pm May, September
8 am – 7 pm June – August
The above opening hours are for visiting the former concentration camp.
The Former Prisoner Information Office, the Archives, the Collections
Section, the Library, the administrative offices, and other sections are
open (national holidays excepted) from Monday to Friday between 7 am
and 3 pm. Though the Museum remains open it is not possible to book
a guide on mass manifestation days as announced by the press, radio,
and television. The Museum is closed on 1st January, 25 December, and
Easter Monday.
VISITORS
Entrance to the Memorial is free of charge. It is possible to visit the exhibitions
and some original structures of both former camps, Auschwitz I
and Auschwitz II-Birkenau. In Auschwitz I, some of the Blocks cannot be
accessed (for example, the administrative areas), whilst at Auschwitz II-
-Birkenau virtually all of the barracks are open to visitors.
The amount of time spent at the camp depends on individual interest
and need, but it is estimated that a minimum of one and a half hours
is required for Auschwitz I and its exhibitions, whilst at least the same
again is required for Birkenau.
In order to become appropriately acquainted with the place that came
to symbolise the Holocaust, it is necessary to visit both Birkenau and
Auschwitz.
The former camp at Auschwitz I
At the site of Auschwitz I, the Nazis set up the first camp for men and
women. It was here that the first experiments on killing human beings
with Zyklone B took place, that the first groups of deported Jews were
murdered en masse, that the first criminal experiments on prisoners were
carried out, that the majority of people were executed by being shot,
that the central camp detention area – Block 11 – for prisoners from the
entire camp complex was located, and that the headquarters and the
majority of SS offices were placed. From here, the camp authorities managed
the expansion of the entire camp.
The former camp at Auschwitz II-Birkenau
At Birkenau, everything took place on a multiple scale. Here the Nazis
built most of their equipment for mass extermination of human beings.
About a million European Jews were murdered. Birkenau was also the
largest concentration camp, with about 300 primitive, mainly wooden,