Auschwitz-Birkenau
Auschwitz-Birkenau is the generic name given to the cluster of concentration, labour and extermination camps established by the Nazis during the Second World War and located near the towns of Oświęcim and Brzezinka in southern Poland, some 60 km from Kraków. The camps have become a place of pilgrimage for survivors, their families and all who wish to travel to remember the Holocaust.
As of 2017, Auschwitz I has a lot of exhibitions in the historical buildings - many hours are required to see it all. Auschwitz II has a bigger area, but a much smaller amount of historical information. It is possible to do justice to both camps in one very long and difficult day.
Understand
Although not the first or only Nazi concentration and extermination camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau has become a widespread symbol of terror, genocide and the Holocaust in the global consciousness.
A concentration camp was established by the Nazis in the suburbs of the Polish towns of Oświęcim and Brzezinka which - like the rest of Poland - were occupied by the Germans from the beginning of the Second World War (1939) till it was liberated in 1945 near the war's end. The name of the city of Oświęcim was changed ('germanized') to Auschwitz, as well as the name of Brzezinka - Birkenau; which became the name of the camp as well.
The camp was continually expanded over the next five years and ultimately consisted of three main parts: Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II-Birkenau, and Auschwitz III-Monowitz. Auschwitz-Birkenau also had over 40 sub-camps in the neighboring cities and in the surrounding area. Initially, only Poles and Jews were imprisoned, enslaved and murdered in the camp. Subsequently, Soviet prisoners of war (POWs), Romani/Sinti (Gypsies), and prisoners of other nationalities and minorities were also incarcerated, enslaved and murdered there.
From 1942 onwards, the camp became the site of one of the greatest mass murders in the history of humanity, committed against the European Jews as part of Hitler's plan for the complete destruction of that people (the Final Solution). An estimated 1.1 million people were killed or died at Auschwitz-Birkenau, the vast majority of whom were Jewish men, women and children deported from their homes all over occupied Europe. They were transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau in overcrowded cattle wagons, and upon arrival sent immediately to their deaths in the Birkenau gas chambers. Their bodies were afterwards cremated in industrial furnaces in the crematoria.
At the end of the war, in an effort to remove the traces of the crimes they had committed, the SS began dismantling and razing the gas chambers, crematoria, and other buildings, as well as burning documents. Prisoners capable of marching were evacuated into the depths of the German Reich, and thousands of marchers died of hunger, exhaustion and exposure. Those who remained behind in the camp and survived long enough were liberated by Red Army soldiers on 27 January 1945.
A 2 July 1947 Act of the post-war Polish Parliament established the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum on the grounds of the two extant parts of the camp, Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau.
The site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979.
Get in
By bus
There are quite frequent and inexpensive buses (14 złoty each way) to and from the main bus station in Kraków and minibuses (12 zł each way) that depart from the basement level of the main bus station. The bus takes about one and a half hours; it is usually busy and stops locally along the way.
Please take into consideration that the last bus returns at 19:45 to Kraków. Trains also stop running early. If you plan to stay until closing time make arrangements regarding your return beforehand.
By car
Driving from Kraków takes about one hour and you have to leave the A4 motorway at the Oświęcim/Balin exit. There is a big parking lot in Auschwitz I that costs 8 zł for the whole day. 200 metres from Auschwitz II there is another parking lot that costs 2 zł per hour, but also free space for around 40 cars near the main door. As of 2017, it is possible to find legal free parking within 1 km from Auschwitz I.
By train
The train station of Oświęcim is about 2 km from the museum and there are public town buses connecting them (2.70 zł). There are several local trains each day, both from Kraków and from Katowice, about each 1.5-2 hours. The trip to or from Kraków central station takes a leisurely 2 hours, as the train goes slowly and stops frequently. It costs 9.50 zł.
Organized tours
Several companies provide tours from Kraków for around 100 zł. They advertise heavily so you'll have no problem finding one. These tours involve a minibus pick-up from anywhere in Kraków, and a few hours' guided tour.
Entrance
Entrance is free, without a ticket, though donations are encouraged. Because of the large numbers of visitors entry to the Auschwitz-I site is exclusively on a guided group basis during the middle part of the day - as of 2019, between 10am and 12pm during December, between 10am and 1pm in November, January, February and March, between 10am and 4pm in April, May, September and October, and between 9am and 5pm in June, July and August.
You can visit the site on your own (highly recommended because you can go at your own pace, see what you want to see and have a much more meaningful experience) if you arrive before the guided tours start. Another option is to visit the Auschwitz II-Birkenau site first and then return after the guided tours finish to the first camp to avoid having to use the tour. The Auschwitz II-Birkenau site is open for visitors without the guide during the opening hours of the Memorial.
For Auschwitz I, a ticket (even the free ones) must be booked in advance - there is no admission without one, and admission is only possible around the listed time (up to 30 minutes before the listed time could be possible). Auschwitz II can be visited at any time without booking a ticket.
Opening hours
The museum is open all year long, seven days a week, except January 1, December 25, and Easter Sunday. The museum is open during the following hours:
- 8AM–3PM December through February
- 8AM–4PM March, November
- 8AM–5PM April, October
- 8AM–6PM May, September
- 8AM–7PM June, July, August
Visitors may stay for 90 minutes on the site after the closing time.
Get around
The Auschwitz Memorial and Museum is easily navigated on foot. In order to acquire a proper sense of the place it is essential to visit both parts of the camp.
Tours provided by the museum in various languages cost 40 zł (discounted price for students up to 24 years of age is 30 zł) and are recommended if you want a deeper understanding of the site, but they are unfortunately somewhat rushed, and you can get a pretty good feel by buying a guidebook and map (small simple guide costs 5 zł) and wandering around on your own.
Each exhibit is described in Polish with other language translations. The scope of the evil and terror that occurred here is almost unimaginable and a guide can help to put in context what a room full of human hair or what a thousand pairs of infant shoes means. They'll also tell you about former prisoners who have returned to see the museum.
There are toilets at the Auschwitz-I site which cost 2.0 zł to use (as of 2017-12). At Auschwitz II-Birkenau, the toilets at the entrance cost 1.5 zł (as of 2017-07). There are free toilets at the back of the camp.
Between camps
- There is a free shuttle bus between Auschwitz and Birkenau. In the summer, it runs every 10 minutes, and during winter, every 20 minutes.
- You can just walk the 2.2 km (1.4 miles) between the camp entrances (although it isn't a very nice walk as it is along the roads).
- A taxi between the sites will cost about 15 zł.
See
- 🌍
Auschwitz I. The first camp to be used (therefore called Stammlager, 'main camp' in German). It is in a far more complete state than Birkenau, but is also much smaller. The camp consists of former Polish military barracks, which were requisitioned by the Nazis in 1940. Near the entrance, you will see the wrought iron gate bearing the infamous and mocking camp slogan, Arbeit macht frei - "work sets you free." Inside some of them you will find information material, boards, photos and personal belongings to illustrate the life and cruelties of this camp. The only remaining gas chamber is here. As indicated in the chamber, it was reconstructed to its wartime layout after the war. Other sights include solitary confinement cells used as punishment, the death wall memorial where several thousands of people were shot by firing squad, and a reconstruction of the gallows used in 1947 to execute camp commandant Rudolf Höss, on the site of the camp's Gestapo office.
- 🌍 Main Building. The entrance to Auschwitz I has a museum with a cinema where a 15-minute film is shown, shot by Ukrainian troops the day after the camp was liberated. It's too graphic for children (if indeed you bring them to Auschwitz-Birkenau at all), and costs 3.5 zł, included in the price of a guided tour. Showings between 11AM and 5PM, in English on the hour and Polish on the half hour. Informative and disturbing. The bookstores and public conveniences are here. Consider buying a 5 zł guidebook or 5 zł map.
- 🌍
Auschwitz II-Birkenau.
Do
- Participate in one of the guided tours of the site
- Visit on your own a day or two after a guided tour. A guided tour may be a bit rushed to fully experience the emotions of the place.
Events
- March of the Living — Silent march of thousands of people from around the world from Auschwitz to Birkenau each year on Holocaust Memorial Day (Yom HaShoah, after Passover).
- Anniversary of Liberation of Auschwitz. January 27 (International Holocaust Remembrance Day). Official commemoration with Auschwitz survivors and Israeli, Polish and other officials.
Eat
There's a basic cafe and cafeteria in the main visitors' centre of Auschwitz I and a coffee machine in the bookshop at Birkenau. More options are in a commercial complex across the street from Auschwitz I, although the quality of one (the Art Hamburger) is rather poor, but a cheap and quick eat. There are hot dog stalls and similar outlets outside the main museum at the end of the bus/car park, with food and drink combinations costing 10-12 zł. The car park outside Auschwitz I also has picnic tables for visitors.
Sleep
The closest accommodation options are in Oświęcim, though most visitors are based in Kraków, which is a sizeable city with a well-developed tourism sector.
Respect
Please remember that you are essentially visiting a mass grave site, as well as a site that has an almost incalculable meaning to a significant portion of the world's population. There are still many men and women alive who survived their time here, and many more who had loved ones who were murdered or worked to death there, Jews and non-Jews alike. Please treat the site with all of the dignity, solemnity and respect it deserves. Do not make jokes about the Holocaust or Nazis. Do not deface the site by marking or scratching graffiti into structures. Do not take anything from the camp area with you "as a souvenir", and do not make Nazi salutes, even jokingly — these are considered offences under Polish law, and if you commit them, you will be placed before the court and could be subjected to a prison sentence of up to two years for propagating fascism. Pictures are permitted in outdoor areas, but remember this is a memorial rather than a tourist attraction, and there will undoubtedly be visitors who have a personal connection with the camps, so be discreet with cameras.