Auschwitz Camp

The Auschwitz Concentration Camp Museum – a Somber Reflection of History

Not all aspects of our world’s history are pleasant, and the happenings at Auschwitz are one of the many tragic events of times past. However, unlike other atrocities — the events of World War II, specifically in Nazi-controlled Germany, have affected many of us — our family members, our friends, and even ourselves. While there are many who would like nothing more than to completely forget about the 1930’s and 1940’s and all the history that this era created, there are some of us who want to remember, those of us who want to study, understand, and pay respects to those who suffered at the hands of the Nazi regime. For those who want to remember, the Auschwitz Concentration Camp Museum offers an up-close and unforgettable glimpse into that part of history.

The Auschwitz Concentration Camp Museum is not like any other, arguably on the face of the planet. Most experts agree that between 1.1 million and 1.5 million people lost their lives in Auschwitz’s three camps in a few short years — many of them in horrific ways. While some of Auschwitz’s structures were destroyed in early 1945, just before the Russians took command and freed the captives, Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau have been turned into a memorial, museum, and learning center for those who want to better- understand the era and all that transpired during it.

If you want to visit the Auschwitz Concentration Camp Museum by yourself, or maybe with a family member or two — admission is free. However, if you want a guided tour of the facilities, there are nominal fees for the tours, and those rates depend on the type of guided tour that you choose, and how many people are joining you. To get a better understanding of the concentration camp, the people who controlled it, and those who worked, lived, and died there, though — you should at least consider one of the many tours that the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum offers — it will be well worth the small price.

Whether you are just on holiday in the area, or whether you are making a special trip to Poland to visit the memorial — the Auschwitz Concentration Camp Museum offers an unforgettable glimpse into our world’s history.

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Auschwitz.

The events surrounding perhaps the worst disaster known to mankind – World War II, are many and varied, not the least of which was the Holocaust by the German people on the various minorities that they deemed unsuitable for the purposes of their country. Many people forget the fact that not only the Jewish people were condemned, tortured, and subjected to many horrific phenomenon. However some of the facts in particular are in dispute, or rather not everyone agrees on just how many people died or in what fashion. No one argues that the events were horrific and demeaning, but what are the actual statistics regarding the deaths at concentration camps such as infamous Auschwitz?

If we take the Red Cross as a valid and legitimate source for all things Holocaust and statistical, certain facts emerge. For instance, according to Charles Biedermann of the Red Cross, the amount of names and death certificates for all the various individuals who died at Auschwitz add up to a number roughly lower than that of 400,000. Almost seventy five percent of these people were between the ages of 20 and 50. However, according to other sources there may have been anywhere from one million to the exceedingly large number of four million. The commander and authority in charge of the camp, Rudolf Höss admits to the deaths of at least two and a half million people.

The most disturbing lack of consistency in the statics of this massive failure of humanity is in the statistics that the Soviet government gathered on Auschwitz. According to Soviet sources, the numbers lower, in the realm of anywhere from seven thousand to ten thousand total deaths. As a wise man once said, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics.”

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Auschwitz.

Just hearing the name itself brings thoughts of genocide and atrocities that the Nazi Germans were accused of in WWII.

But the camp did not begin as a concentration camp. It was originally built in 1916 for migratory workers on their way to seasonal work. From 1919 to 1939 Germany was divided into two sections- Germany and German-occupied Poland. During WWI the Polish used the camp as a military garrison. In 1939 Poland was annexed by the Greater German Reich when Nazi and Soviet troops defeated Poland. Because the camp was conveniently located near a railroad, centrally located in Europe, and had usable military buildings already available, it was chosen to be the first concentration camp in WWII, although Germany had already been employing concentration camps for seven years. On June 14, 1940 Auschwitz received the first prisoners: men of Polish political standing.

At the same time Auschwitz was made a concentration camp, a company called I.G. Farben also chose this site for a new chemical factory. On January 20, 1942 the Wannsee Conference was held, and plans were made for the “Final Solution to the Jewish Question,” which ultimately resulted in the deaths of some 6 million Jews. In October 1941, Auschwitz II was formed 3 kilometers from the original camp. Auschwitz III was opened in a factory complex constructed by the I.G. Farben company. On January 27, 1945 Auschwitz was liberated.

Today Auschwitz is known as the place of the greatest mass murder of all time. In 1947 parts of Auschwitz I and II were preserved and converted to the Auschwitz Museum by Poland. It is visited by people from all over the world today who want to see the infamous Auschwitz. The iron gates that receive the visitors is crowned with the words “Arbeit macht frei,” or Work brings freedom.

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