January 27, 1945 was the date the Soviet army liberated Auschwitz camp in Oswiecim, Poland. Auschwitz-Birkenau are two separate concentration camps in close proximity to each other, where an estimated 1.1 million prisoners died. While this camp is probably the most infamous of the Nazi concentration and extermination camps, there were several other extermination camps established to methodically and efficiently murder prisoners within hours of their arrival.
The smaller Auschwitz camp remains mostly intact and was turned into a museum for remembrance of the atrocities and horror of World War II for Poles, Jews, Soviet POWs and others who were designated undesirables in the Nazi-controlled German Reich and occupied lands.
In July 2018, I visited Oswiecim, Poland with a two night stay at Hampton Inn Oswiecim (Loyalty Traveler review) and a day tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Auschwitz-Birkenau tour in photos (Aug 2, 2018) – This article is about the actual logistics of the Auschwitz tour covering tickets, layout and buildings seen in guided tour and buildings not seen.
Tour of Auschwitz slideshow video is a non-narrated video I put together with some annotated photos and informational slides using about 125 photos from our day trip.
Since visiting Auschwitz in July 2018 I read The Holocaust by Laurence Rees, an in depth examination of the development of the internment and extermination camp system within the Nazi Third Reich.
Treblinka’s Last Witness is a 2014 full length film about the lesser known Treblinka extermination camp, located about 50 miles northeast of Warsaw. In the short time span of 15 months from July 1942 to September 1943 an estimated 900,000 Jewish prisoners were murdered with such thoroughness that only about 100 prisoners are known to have survived the camp. Samuel Willenberg was the last known living survivor of Treblinka. He died in 2016. Samuel Willenberg’s life as a Jewish prisoner of the Treblinka death camp provides a descriptive and moving first-person account of his experiences in World War II and later life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCkDBGVDtAU
A story in The Guardian this weekend cites recent survey data across several countries like USA, UK, France and Austria indicating 9% to 20% of people aged 18-34 are unaware of the systematic mass extermination of millions of Europeans by the Nazi regime during World War II.
One in 20 Britons does not believe Holocaust took place, poll finds (Sunday, January 27, 2019).
January 27, 2019 is the 74th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Berkinau.
January 27th is International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
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