Auschwitz I crematorium, Historical crematorium at the Auschwitz I concentration camp, Poland

Crematorium I is a converted munitions bunker at Auschwitz I, fitted with ovens supplied by the German firm J. A. Topf und Söhne. Its mortuary room was rebuilt as a gas chamber, and after the war two of the three incineration ovens were reinstalled in 1955 and the chimney rebuilt. A new doorway now links the oven room and the gas chamber.

The bunker served as an ammunition store for the former barracks before being converted into a crematorium with a gas chamber. The German firm J. A. Topf und Söhne supplied the incineration ovens. In December 1941 the first large gassing took place here, killing about nine hundred Soviet prisoners of war with Zyklon B. The gas chamber remained in use until May 1942, and the crematorium until the end of July 1943.

The gas chamber stayed in use until May 1942, when an estimated 10,000 people, mostly Jews, were killed there; the crematorium itself operated until the end of July 1943. After the war, in 1955, two of the three original furnaces were reinstalled and the chimney rebuilt as part of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. A new doorway now links the furnace room and the gas chamber.

Access is through the Auschwitz Museum, where visitors can obtain information and guided tours. The site is accessible year-round, and a guide is recommended to better understand the content.

After the war, two of the three original furnaces were reinstalled in 1955 and the chimney rebuilt; several Zyklon B introduction holes in the roof were reopened, and a new doorway was cut between the furnace room and the gas chamber.