Auschwitz-Birkenau Guide

Auschwitz-Birkenau, situated 70km (46 miles) west of Krakow, is the most infamous and the largest of the Nazi death camps. It saw the cruel death of an estimated one million European Jews. Today, the camp is a museum dedicated to the memory of those who suffered and perished there. The forbidding entrance gate, surrounded by barbed wire, still bears the words Arbeit Macht Frei (Work Brings Freedom) and the railway and gas chambers remain as they were when the camp was liberated by Soviet troops in May 1945. The Museum of Martyrdom shows a film depicting the nature of the atrocities, and there are further displays of photos and personal articles, such as children’s shoes, women’s hair and toothbrushes, that were taken from the victims.

Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, ulica WiêŸniów Oœwiêcimia 20, 32-620 Oœwiêcim, Poland
Tel: (033) 843 2022
Website: www.auschwitz.org.pl

Air: Krakow-Balice John Paul II International Airport. Rail: Train: Oswiecim Station. Road: Bus: Services to the museum (from Oswiecim). A shuttle bus runs between the two sites, Auschwitz I and Birkenau.

Polska Organizacja Turystyczna (Polish Tourism Organisation)
4-6 Chalubínskiejo Street, 00-928 Warsaw, Poland
Tel: (022) 630 1747/8. Fax: (022) 630 1719. E-mail: pot@pot.gov.pl
Website: www.infolinia.pl
Polish National Tourist Office
First Floor, Remo House, 310-312 Regent Street, London W1B 3AX, UK
Tel: (020) 7580 8811 (tourist enquiries and brochure request line) or 7580 6688 (trade and press only). Fax: (020) 7580 8866. E-mail: info@visitpoland.org
Website: www.visitpoland.org

Poland