5 Sights in Oświęcim, Poland (with Map and Images)

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Explore interesting sights in Oświęcim, Poland. Click on a marker on the map to view details about it. Underneath is an overview of the sights with images. A total of 5 sights are available in Oświęcim, Poland.

1. Execution wall

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Execution wall

At Auschwitz's main concentration camp, a bullet trap "made of black insulating panels", known in camp language as the Black Wall, sits on a stone wall in the courtyard between Buildings 10 and 11 (the concentration camp prison). The first execution on the Black Wall was on April 11. On November 15th, 1941, 151 prisoners were shot dead by SS members. Thousands of executions were carried out in front of the Black Wall, especially against Polish civilians, resistance fighters and prisoners in concentration camps who had been sentenced to death for anti-occupation activities. Some of the death sentences were handed down by a court of the Katowice Police Court in Auschwitz. This court has met every four to six weeks since January 1943, holding one-day meetings and often handing out more than 100 judgments; Most of them are death sentences. Among the sentenced persons are minors and the elderly. Once the death sentence was announced, he was shot in front of the black wall. In December 1943, Schwarze Wand was demolished under camp commander Arthur Liebehenschel and executions continued at the fourth crematorium. Before the Black Wall was built, the first executions were carried out in gravel pits near Auschwitz concentration camp. In Auschwitz, about 20,000 people were shot at the Black Wall. The biggest execution in front of the Black Wall took place on the 28th. On October 22, 1942, about 200 prisoners were shot dead in "revenge" for Polish resistance near Lublin.

Wikipedia: Schwarze Wand (KZ Auschwitz) (DE)

2. German Nazi Concentration Camp Auschwitz (Auschwitz I)

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German Nazi Concentration Camp Auschwitz (Auschwitz I) xiquinhosilva / CC BY 2.0

Auschwitz concentration camp was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschwitz I, the main camp (Stammlager) in Oświęcim; Auschwitz II-Birkenau, a concentration and extermination camp with gas chambers; Auschwitz III-Monowitz, a labor camp for the chemical conglomerate IG Farben; and dozens of subcamps. The camps became a major site of the Nazis' final solution to the Jewish question.

Wikipedia: Auschwitz I (EN)

3. Kościół pw. Matki Bożej Wspomożenia Wiernych w Oświęcimiu

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Church of Our Lady Help of Christians in Oświęcim – located about 100 m south of the town square at Władysława Jagiełły Street. The church was built in the first half of the fourteenth century for the Dominicans brought here probably by the prince of Cieszyn, Mieszko. The construction of the monastery was continued by the prince of Oświęcim Władysław and his wife Euphrosyne.

Wikipedia: Kościół Matki Bożej Wspomożenia Wiernych w Oświęcimiu (PL), Website

4. Block 11 Inner prison Block of death

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Block 11 Inner prison Block of death Anneli Salo / CC BY-SA 3.0

Block 11 was the name of a brick building in Auschwitz I, the Stammlager or main camp of the Auschwitz concentration camp network. This block was used for executions and torture. Between Block 10 and Block 11 stood the "Death Wall" where thousands of prisoners were lined up for execution by firing squad.

Wikipedia: Block 11 (EN)

5. Jewish Center

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Jewish Center Andrzej Rudiak / CC BY-SA 4.0

The Auschwitz Jewish Center is a non-governmental organization whose mission is to preserve the memory of the Jewish community of the city of Oświęcim and educate about the dangers of anti-Semitism, racism and other prejudices and intolerance.

Wikipedia: Auschwitz Jewish Center in Oświęcim (EN), Website

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Disclaimer Please be aware of your surroundings and do not enter private property. We are not liable for any damages that occur during the tours.