Auschwitz-Birkenau

Historic Site in Kraków

Auschwitz-Birkenau was the largest and most notorious of the Nazi concentration and extermination camps during World War II. Located in occupied Poland, it was originally established in 1940 as a concentration camp for political prisoners. By 1942, it expanded into a complex of camps, including Auschwitz I (the main camp), Auschwitz II-Birkenau (the extermination camp), and Auschwitz III-Monowitz (a labor camp). Under the command of the SS, it became the central site of the Holocaust, where over 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, were murdered.

Auschwitz-Birkenau symbolizes the industrial scale and brutal efficiency of the Nazi genocide. Victims were transported there from across Europe in crowded cattle cars, often unaware of their fate. Upon arrival, many were immediately selected for death in gas chambers using Zyklon B, while others were subjected to forced labor, starvation, inhumane medical experiments, and systematic abuse. The camp was equipped with four gas chambers and crematoria to dispose of bodies, making it a central mechanism in Hitler’s “Final Solution.”

The conditions in the camp were horrific. Prisoners lived in overcrowded and unsanitary barracks, received minimal food, and were constantly subjected to physical abuse and dehumanization. Diseases like typhus spread rapidly, and survival was often dependent on luck, strength, and arbitrary SS decisions. The infamous selection process, where SS doctors decided who would live or die upon arrival, became one of the defining atrocities of the Holocaust.

Today, Auschwitz-Birkenau stands as a memorial and museum, preserved to ensure the world never forgets the horrors that occurred there. It serves as a powerful reminder of the consequences of hatred, racism, and totalitarianism. Millions of visitors from around the world come each year to pay their respects, learn about the Holocaust, and confront the darkest chapter in human history. The site is a testament to the resilience of survivors and a call to remember those who perished.

The Auschwitz-Birkenau appears in our Complete Guide to Visiting Kraków!

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Visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau

Hours:

December – entry from 07:30, final admission 14:00–14:30

January, November – entry until 15:00

February – entry until 16:00

March, October – entry until 17:00

April, May, September – entry until 18:00

June, July, August – entry until 19:00,

Price:

Free (you must get pass from website)

Address: Auschwitz-Birkenau, Ofiar Faszyzmu, Brzezinka, Poland

Official Website