Auschwitz-Birkenau (camp)
See also: Auschwitz (exhibition)
See also: Birkenau (plaque)
See also: Birkenau (memorial)
See also: Birkenau (Czech stele)
See also: Birkenau (stele at Crematorium V)
Historical background
The Auschwitz-Birkenau camp in Oświęcim is a global symbol of the martyrdom of people condemned to extermination by German Nazism. Just like for Jews, Poles or other nations whose representatives suffered and died here – it is a special place for the Roma. In this largest extermination camp, the Germans organised a special, separate camp for Gypsies / Roma – Zigeunerlager (BIIe) on the site of the second construction section in Birkenau. Its construction was started by the Germans at the end of 1942. It was a so-called family camp (Familienager), in which the Roma were imprisoned with entire families. Their first transports arrived in Birkenau on February 26, 1943. In over 62% they were Roma from Germany and Austria, 22% – from Bohemia and Moravia, the others came from occupied Poland. In total, nearly 23,000 Roma passed through the camp, of whom about 20,000 lost their lives here, the others were transferred to other camps in the spring of 1944. The imprisoned Roma, especially Roma twins, were subject to criminal medical experiments under the direction of Dr. Josef Mengele. The final liquidation of Zigeunerlager, in which about 3,000 Roma remained, took place on the night of 2/3 August 1944. They were killed in gas chambers within a few hours.
The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum is was created on the site of the former camp as early as 1947. In 1967, the central memorial was unveiled. First it was called the International Memorial to the Victims of Fascism, later it changed its name to the International Memorial to Martyrdom, and then to the International Memorial to the Victims of the Camp.
Address
Państwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau [State Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum]
ul. Więźniów Oświęcimia 20
32-603 Oświęcim, Polska [Poland]
http://auschwitz.org
Location
50°01’38.6″N 19°12’07.1″E
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Materials
The Roma in KL Auschwitz – lesson: http://lekcja.auschwitz.org/7_zag_rom/story.html
The Auschwitz Museum online exhibitions – http://auschwitz.org/zwiedzanie/wystawy-on-line/
Sławomir Kapralski, Maria Martyniak, Joanna Talewicz-Kwiatkowska, Głosy Pamięci 7. Romowie w KL Auschwitz [The Roma in KL Auschwitz]: http://auschwitz.org/ksiegarniaprodukty/karta-produktu/glosy-pamieci-7-romowie-w-kl-auschwitz,192.html#1
Piotr Kosiewski, W miejscach Zagłady [In the sites of the Genocide], „Tygodnik Powszechny”, April 12, 2013, on-line: https://www.tygodnikpowszechny.pl/w-miejscach-zaglady-19141
Gallery
Virtual sightseeing of the State Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum: http://panorama.auschwitz.org/
