Private guide in Auschwitz-Birkenau, guided tours in Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland

Auschwitz-Birkenau
Poland

Information about Auschwitz-Birkenau

Located in southern Poland just a few miles west of Krakow, the ancient town of Oswiecim will forever be known for being the site of the most infamous atrocity in world history. Translated into German, the name Oswiecim is Auschwitz. Between the years of 1940-1945 the area surrounding Oswiecim and nearby Birkenau became the location of a group of prison camps called the Auschwitz-Birkenau German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp.

Today Auschwitz-Birkenau is operated by the World Cultural Heritage organization, and is a museum and “area of remembrance” honoring the victims of the Holocaust. More than 25 million visitors have made a pilgrimage to learn about the Holocaust and to pay respects to those who were sent to Auschwitz, the victims and the survivors. Visitors will see the train debarkation stop and the gas chambers. For 35 years the museum was run by one of the surviving inmates, Kazimierz Smolen.