Oświęcim, an industrial town of around 40,000 inhabitants, has a fascinating history extending far beyond the familiar image of the former Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. The camp was established on the outskirts and bears the German form of the town’s name. Although Oświęcim has an 800-year history and was once the capital of an independent medieval duchy, its complex past has been overshadowed by the camp since the Second World War.
A visit to Oświęcim nevertheless offers many valuable and powerful perspectives that meaningfully complement a visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial:
- In 1939, approximately 12,000 people lived in the town, half of whom were Jewish. The fate of Oświęcim’s Jewish community is representative of the history of Eastern European Jews. The Jewish Centre, located beside the former Chewra Lomdei Misznajot Synagogue, offers visitors detailed insight into the community’s life. Films about the town and its Jewish residents can be viewed there in several languages. A noteworthy Jewish cemetery has also survived and preserves the memory of the community.
- During the occupation, Nazi Germany planned to transform Auschwitz into an important industrial centre. IG Farben constructed a large chemical plant on the outskirts to produce synthetic rubber and fuel using local coal deposits. It became known as the Buna Works at Auschwitz. Auschwitz III-Monowitz was established specifically for the plant’s construction, and prisoners were forced to work there in inhumane conditions. Their story is a powerful example of the Nazi policy of “extermination through labour”. The extensive site of the former IG Farben plant is now used by the chemical company Synthos. Few traces of the camp remain, but a nearby monument commemorates its victims.
- The German occupiers also planned to expel the Polish population and establish Oświęcim as a settlement for ethnic Germans from the Soviet Union and other occupied territories of Eastern Europe. During the war, a residential estate was built for German specialists and labourers involved in constructing the Buna Works. It was intended to form the basis of a future model town inhabited exclusively by Germans.
- Present-day Oświęcim is a typical small Polish industrial town. A walk through the historic centre, pre-war districts and newer residential areas offers revealing insight into everyday life in provincial Poland. The stories told here extend far beyond the memorial: they include the fate of the Jewish community, post-war reconstruction and industrialisation, population resettlement caused by the upheavals of war and the struggle to build a parish church during a period dominated by atheist ideology. These aspects reflect the immediate consequences of the Second World War. The town’s more recent history following the political transformation is also noteworthy and illustrates the challenges and achievements experienced by many Polish towns during the transition to a new political and economic system.
Guided Tours of Oświęcim
To enhance your visit with a guided tour of the town, please contact the Cracovia Reisen office for reservations and further information.
