Auschwitz (city)

According to 2002, Auschwitz covered an area of ​​30.3 km², including:

• cultivated land - 34%
• forests - 1%

The size of the city is 7.46% of the district.

• The coat of arms of Auschwitz - the historical coat of arms of the city is described as follows: in an azure field there is a silver tower with five teeth with a scarlet roof; on the sides of the tower half of the golden eagles.
• Flag of Auschwitz - the flag of the city is made in the form of a rectangular cloth of blue fabric with a 5: 8 aspect ratio. In the middle of the flag is the coat of arms of Auschwitz without frame. The height of the emblem is half the length of the short side of the flag.
• The emblem of Auschwitz - in 2002, the city government decided to create the emblem of the city, which was supposed to have the logo "Miasto Oświęcim" (Auschwitz City) and a graphic symbol. However, the emblem created received the logo “Oświęcim - Miasto Pokoju” (Auschwitz - City of the World) and a graphic sign depicting a white dove bird flying (symbol of peace). In the background are two human figures symbolizing the unity of the races. ^[one]

The city has almost 800 years of history and is one of the oldest cities in Poland. It was first mentioned in 1179 as a settlement distant from Krakow . In 1241 it was completely destroyed during the Mongol-Tatar invasion. In 1272, the newly restored Auschwitz received city status.

At the end of the XIII century , the first Germans settled in the city, and at the beginning of the XVI century - the Jews . Over the centuries, the city changed its political affiliation. In 1348, the city ​​became part of the Holy Roman Empire . During this period, the German language began to prevail over Polish .

In 1655 the city ​​was again destroyed by the Swedes . As a result of the “ Flood of Sweden ” the city completely lost its significance, and in 1772 joined Austria .

After the end of the First World War in 1918, the city ​​again became the territory of Poland . Before the beginning of World War II , there were about 8,000 Jews in the city.

World War II

September 4, 1939 the city ​​was occupied by the German Wehrmacht , then by decree of A. Hitler was annexed to the territory of the Third Reich .

During the Second World War , there was a German concentration camp in the city, consisting of three complexes, which became the site of the most mass murder in the whole history of mankind. Of the total number of victims of this camp, 90% were Jews.

Camp Auschwitz occupied an area of ​​4,675 hectares, in which there were 40 camps. In the six hundred and twenty barracks of the Auschwitz camps, there were constantly between 180,000 and 250,000 prisoners. Above the entrance to the camp of Auschwitz I hung the slogan: " Arbeit macht frei " ("Labor frees").

The first prisoners appeared in Auschwitz in 1940 . Of the 728 residents of Krakow who arrived at the camp then, no one survived. On September 3, 1941, 600 Soviet prisoners of war were brought to Auschwitz I, who were killed along with Polish prisoners (250 people) in the underground chambers of Unit 11 (Death Block) using the cyclone B pesticide . It was the first Nazi experiment on the mass extermination of people "Cyclone B".

The mass destruction of prisoners in the gas chambers of the Auschwitz II concentration camp (built on the site of the Polish village of Brzezinka, the German name Birkenau) began in the spring of 1942. Hundreds of thousands of Jews from European countries and the Soviet Union, occupied by Germany, were brought to the camp for death by trainloads. In total, according to modern estimates, from 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 people died in the Auschwitz concentration camp, including over 1,100,000 Jews, 150,000 Poles, 20,000 Roma, tens of thousands of Russians. During the Soviet offensive on January 18, 1945, 58,000 able-bodied prisoners were hijacked to Germany. Most of them died in the Sachsenhausen , Bergen-Belsen and others camps ^[2] .

Liberation of the city

On January 27, 1945, at about 3 pm, the 100th Rifle Division of General F. M. Krasavin liberated Auschwitz and Birkenau. The assault squad of the 106th Rifle Corps under the command of Major Anatoly Shapiro burst into the city and into the camp first. It was his detachment that cleared the approaches to the camp, after which the major personally opened the gates of the camp of Auschwitz I and participated in the suppression of the SS resistance ^[3] .

Post-war time

In the liberated camp of the NKVD created a place for the detention of German prisoners of war. The camp functioned until the autumn of 1945 , and the second one, built in the building of the former Auschwitz II camp , until the spring of 1946 . About 15,000 people were in the camps, the commandant was a Soviet colonel Masloboev.

In addition, the Ministry of Public Security functioned in the city, the main building of which was located close to the Auschwitz railway station. In the buildings of the former camp, the ministry contained prisoners suspected of having links with the Nazi Party , the Hitler Youth and the SNM . The camp was closed in March 1946 ^[4] .

In 1947, the concentration camp was converted into a museum, and in 1979 it was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List . About one million tourists from all over the world visit the museum annually ^[5] .

After the war, new micro-districts and buildings were built in the city, the chemical industry became the main activity.

In 1952, the Auschwitz County was created, which, after administrative reform, became part of the Belsky Voivodeship. In 1979, the post of mayor of the city was established, and in 1999, as a result of a new administrative reform, the city became part of the Małopolska voivodeship

On May 28, 2006, the city ​​was visited by Pope Benedict XVI .

The first Jews arrived in Auschwitz in the middle of the XVI century , and in 1563 a decree was issued regulating the number of Jews in the city. In 1588, there was a synagogue and a Jewish cemetery in Auschwitz. In 1666, the Jews in the city owned 20 buildings. In the second half of the XIX century began a significant influx of Hasidim . In 1765, there were 133 Jews living in the city, in 1910 about 3,000, and in 1921 4,950 people (40% of the population).

During World War II, the Jews of Auschwitz were imprisoned in ghettos in the cities of Chrzanow , Bedzin and Sosnowiec , later the Nazis transferred them to a concentration camp and killed almost all of them.

After the war, some Jews returned to Auschwitz. In 1946, 186 Jews lived in the city, but until 1955 all Jews emigrated . In 1962, Szymon Kluger returned to the city, who died on May 26, 2000 and was buried in a local Jewish cemetery. He became the last Jew who lived in Auschwitz.

Auschwitz is a Polish name with 800 years of history. The name of the city has a Slavic origin ^[7] . Of the surviving sources, the name Auschwitz is present in different languages, Polish , Czech , German and Latin , for example: (Ospenchin ( 1217 ), Osvencin ( 1280 ), Hospencin ( 1283 ), Osswetem ( 1290 ), Uspencin ( 1297 ), Oswentim ( 1302 ), Wswencim ( 1304 ), Auswintzen ( 1312 ), Oswiecim ( 1314 ), Oswencin ( 1327 ), Auswieczin ( 1372 ), Awswiczin ( 1372 ), Uswiczin ( 1400 ).

There are also other names: Ossvancin, Osvencim, Osvenczyn, Osvacim, Osswanczyn, Ossvijancin, Osswancin, Oswęcim, sometimes Ossvencim. In Latin, the name was recorded as: Osswencimen or Osviecimensis.

Auschwitz was an important trading center, German merchants and settlers gave it its name - Auswintz, which is first found in documents of the XIV century . And already in the XV century , the name Auswintz began to appear in German geographical maps, dictionaries and books. After the city entered the Third Reich, the invaders changed the Polish name Oświęcim to German Auswitz. Immediately after the liberation of the city by the troops of the Red Army (January 27, 1945), the city returned its former name.

• State Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau
• Shimon Kluger's House (now the Auschwitz Jewish Museum ) ^[8]
• Castle
• Tunnels
• Chapel of sv. Jack's
• Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
• Church of Our Lady of Remembrance of the Faithful
• Church of the Nativity of the Virgin and Sorrow
• Market Square
• Town hall
• Houses with interesting architecture
• Parish Cemetery
• Active synagogue
• Jewish cemetery
• Matrimonial Palace
• Historical and ethnographic collections

Auschwitz is located at the intersection of many roads, such as:

• National highway No. 44 Gliwice - Tychy - Krakow
• Local road no. 933 Wodzislaw Slaski - Pszczyna - Chrzanow
• Local route No. 948 Oswiecim - Kety - Zywiec

In addition, Auschwitz is an important railway junction, with national and international connections:

• Czechowice-Dziedzice
• Katowice
• Krakow
• Trzebinia
• Prague
• Vein
• Zilina

The nearest airports are:

• National Airport of John Paul II Krakow-Balice - approx. 60 km
• Katowice International Airport in Pyrzowice - approx. 75 km

The city operates:

• City Department of Transport in Oswiecim - 9 city and 16 suburban lines, 50 buses
• The company of motor transport and communications covers the cities of: Krakow , Bielsko-Biala , Kety , Libyonzh , Zator , Tychy , Wadowice , Wilamowice , Wola, Osijek (Oswiecim County), Polyanka Velka .

Auschwitz has direct rail connections with cities: Krakow , Katowice , Czechowice-Dziedzice , Trzebinia , Prague , Vienna , Budapest , Zilina ,

The city has no direct connection with Warsaw , which facilitates the access of tourists to the concentration camps Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II - Birkenau .

The city has cultural and educational institutions. Their task is to create the image of Auschwitz as the city of the world. There are:

• National Music School
• Auschwitz Cultural Center
• Amateur film club "Chemist" ("Chemik") at the Auschwitz Cultural Center
• City Public Library
• Youth House of Culture
• State Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau
• International House of the Youth Conference in Auschwitz

State Higher Vocational School in Auschwitz

Municipal sports and recreation

• Indoor swimming pool, Chemików street 2
• Ice Rink, Chemików Street 4
• Football stadiums
• "Hotel Olympic"

Sports Clubs

• Hockey club
• Swimming club
• Figure Skating Club
• Student hockey club
• Women's hockey club
• Basketball Club
• Football club
• Volleyball club
• Tennis Club
• Archery Club

• Shimon Kluger (1925-2000) - the last Jew who lived in Auschwitz.
• Jacques, Jadwiga Carolina - one of 11 martyrs of Novogrudok
• Urbaniak, Urshula - the director.

•   Kerpen
•   Sambir

• Auschwitz // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : 86 t. (82 t. And 4 extra.). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
•   Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oświęcim