Auschwitz II-Birkenau concentration camp, Memorial and open-air museum in Brzezinka, Poland.
Auschwitz II-Birkenau is an open-air museum in Brzezinka, Poland, that covers a large area with preserved barracks, railway tracks and ruins of extermination facilities. The entrance area with its gatehouse leads into several sectors lined with wooden barracks and barbed-wire fencing.
German occupation forces built this camp starting in October 1941 as part of their systematic extermination program. More than one million people died here before liberation in January 1945.
The site hosts national exhibitions from different countries, displaying photographs, personal items and documents that belonged to victims. School groups and visitors often gather at the memorial to participate in public remembrance ceremonies.
Visitors must reserve entry passes through the official website in advance and should plan at least three hours to tour both sections. The grounds are large and walking on unpaved paths can be difficult in wet weather.
The Auschwitz Album, about 200 photographs taken by an SS man in May and June 1944, records the selection of deportees on the ramp at Birkenau; the series is held today at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.
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