Auschwitz II-Birkenau: International Monument to the Victims of Fascism in Auschwitz-Birkenau at Birkenau, Poland. 295-Edita
The Polish government began planning a museum and memorial at Auschwitz almost immediately after the war ended. The Polish parliament passed an act creating the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum on July, 2, 1947. The first exhibition opened in that same year in Auschwitz I. The initial exhibit was expanded in 1950, and a new exhibition was installed in 1955. This latter exhibition is still on display today, though it has been modified and revised. The museum has undergone many changes marking sites in the camp to better illustrate the complexities of the victimization of Jews and others at Auschwitz.
The Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial, located today on the site of the former Birkenau death camp, was a difficult project.
The unveiling of the International Monument to the Victims of Fascism in Birkenau, as the memorial was originally called, occurred in 1967 with approximately 200,000 people in attendance. Polish state officials, prisoners' organizations from many countries, the Israeli welfare minister, the East German and Italian foreign ministers, and numerous ambassadors and journalists were present. The memorial, too, has changed throughout the years. The plaques indicating that "4 million people" were killed at Auschwitz were removed in 1990. They were replaced with plaques stating the more accurate figure of “one and a half million.”
Birkenau was the largest of the more than 40 camps and sub-camps that made up the Auschwitz complex. During its three years of operation, it had a range of functions. When construction began in October 1941, it was supposed to be a camp for 125 thousand prisoners of war. It opened as a branch of Auschwitz in March 1942, and served at the same time as a center for the extermination of the Jews. In its final phase, from 1944, it also became a place where prisoners were concentrated before being transferred to labor in German industry in the depths of the Third Reich.
The majority—probably about 90%—of the victims of Auschwitz Concentration Camp died in Birkenau. This means approximately a million people. The majority, more than nine out of every ten, were Jews. A large proportion of the more than 70 thousand Poles who died or were killed in the Auschwitz complex perished in Birkenau. So did approximately 20 thousand Roma and Sinti, in addition to Soviet POWs and prisoners of other nationalities.
Auschwitz II-Birkenau: International Monument to the Victims of Fascism in Auschwitz-Birkenau at Birkenau, Poland. 295-Edita
The Polish government began planning a museum and memorial at Auschwitz almost immediately after the war ended. The Polish parliament passed an act creating the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum on July, 2, 1947. The first exhibition opened in that same year in Auschwitz I. The initial exhibit was expanded in 1950, and a new exhibition was installed in 1955. This latter exhibition is still on display today, though it has been modified and revised. The museum has undergone many changes marking sites in the camp to better illustrate the complexities of the victimization of Jews and others at Auschwitz.
The Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial, located today on the site of the former Birkenau death camp, was a difficult project.
The unveiling of the International Monument to the Victims of Fascism in Birkenau, as the memorial was originally called, occurred in 1967 with approximately 200,000 people in attendance. Polish state officials, prisoners' organizations from many countries, the Israeli welfare minister, the East German and Italian foreign ministers, and numerous ambassadors and journalists were present. The memorial, too, has changed throughout the years. The plaques indicating that "4 million people" were killed at Auschwitz were removed in 1990. They were replaced with plaques stating the more accurate figure of “one and a half million.”
Birkenau was the largest of the more than 40 camps and sub-camps that made up the Auschwitz complex. During its three years of operation, it had a range of functions. When construction began in October 1941, it was supposed to be a camp for 125 thousand prisoners of war. It opened as a branch of Auschwitz in March 1942, and served at the same time as a center for the extermination of the Jews. In its final phase, from 1944, it also became a place where prisoners were concentrated before being transferred to labor in German industry in the depths of the Third Reich.
The majority—probably about 90%—of the victims of Auschwitz Concentration Camp died in Birkenau. This means approximately a million people. The majority, more than nine out of every ten, were Jews. A large proportion of the more than 70 thousand Poles who died or were killed in the Auschwitz complex perished in Birkenau. So did approximately 20 thousand Roma and Sinti, in addition to Soviet POWs and prisoners of other nationalities.