Oswiecim Travel Guide

  Birkenau -the end of life.
by breughel
 
  • Birkenau -the end of life.
      Birkenau -the end of life.
    by breughel
  • Auschwitz gates
      Auschwitz gates
    by t_cinanni
  • Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland
      Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland
    by jumpingnorman
  • Haunting photos of Auschwitz prisoners
      Haunting photos of Auschwitz prisoners
    by chizz
  • The famous entrance to Auschwitz - Poland
      The famous entrance to Auschwitz -...
    by chizz
 

Pro

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 Historic, educational, and true eye opener 


Con

Toshioohsako profile photo

 sometimes too crowded, certain things are hard to see 


In a nutshell

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 Preserved death camps of Nazi genocide 

 

Explore Oswiecim

Things to Do  

Auschwitz Concentration Camp

Auschwitz Concentration Camp, Oswiecim

 ZEESHANA Says:  There are 2 main sites: -Auschwitz I - located in the town of Oœwiêcim.Auschwitz II (Birkenau) - located in the village of Brzezinka. Ideally, both should be seen together to get a true understanding of the place in general. I'd recommend a full day at least, depending on... 

Individual visit or guided tour?

Individual visit or guided tour?, Oswiecim

 breughel Says:  If you are well aware of what happened under the Nazi regime in the countries invaded by Germany you might opt for an individual visit. Just buy a small booklet with the maps of the blocks-barracks to visit in Auschwitz I and in Birkenau. The summary description of this 24... 

The Permanent exhibition - Auschwitz I & II

The Permanent exhibition - Auschwitz I & II, Oswiecim

 breughel Says:  From the 28 one store brick buildings five have been transformed in museums with a permanent exhibition with photographs, photocopies of documents, historical exhibits including prisoner garments, bunks and other furnishings from prisoner rooms, and items seized from Jewish... 

Auschwitz Concentration Camp

Auschwitz Concentration Camp, Oswiecim

 iblatt Says:  The Auschwitz (Oswiecim) Concentration Camp is definitely one of the most impressive, chilling and thought provoking sites you can imagine. Auschwitz-1 was a forced-labor concentration camp, where sadistic "medical experiments" in human prisoners were also performed. It is... 

The national exhibitions.

The national exhibitions., Oswiecim

 breughel Says:  Aside from the permanent exhibitions there are in blocks 13 - 21 & 27 at KL Auschwitz I permanent displays known as the national exhibitions.These are from countries occupied by the Germans whose citizens were deported and died in Auschwitz. These exhibitions show the... 

Things not to do.

Things not to do., Oswiecim

 breughel Says:  From the official website: "Taking pictures on the grounds of the State Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau in Oœwiêcim for own purposes, without use of a flash and stands, is allowed for exceptions of hall with the hairs of Victims (block nr 4) and the basements of block nr 11."That... 

Not a Polish concentration camp!

Not a Polish concentration camp!, Oswiecim

 breughel Says:  All concentration camps in Poland where build and ruled by the Germans so that it came as a shock for Poland (and lead to a international petition* of protest with 230000 signatures) when in the U.S.A. some news media used the historically erroneous terms "Polish... 

Auschwitz II Birkenau

Auschwitz II Birkenau, Oswiecim

 alancollins Says:  At Auschwitz I people died in their thousands, at Auschwitz II Birkenau people died in their millions. Most visitor travel to Auschwitz I unaware that the real horror of the Nazis' final solution took place at Auschwitz II Birkenau, which is located 3km away. This was the... 

Auschwitz I Concentration Camp

Auschwitz I Concentration Camp, Oswiecim

 alancollins Says:  The camp was originally an army barracks consisting of 20 buildings, 14 were a single storey and 6 had a second floor. Between 1941-42, 8 more buildings were constructed and a second storey was added to the single storey buildings. The inmates were used to construct the... 

Auschwitz I

Auschwitz I, Oswiecim

 Bavavia Says:  Auschwitz Museum as it is called, is a very moving place to visit. You go here and think of the horrible tragedies these people endured......it makes you think of the people......and their suffering. The museum is very well organized and really, no tour is needed. I took a... 

adminstration building

adminstration building, Oswiecim

 doug48 Says:  pictured is the auschwitz I admistration building. today it houses the state museum visitor center. here you can arrange a tour of the camp or purchase a guide book for a self guided tour. at the visitor center they also run a movie about the camp. admission to... 

auschwitz barrack

auschwitz barrack, Oswiecim

 doug48 Says:  pictured is one of twenty eight brick buildings that housed the imates at auschwitz I. twenty of these buildings were originally part of a polish army base. in 1942 over 20,000 inmates were housed in auschwitz I. 

Hotels  

Hotel Galicja

 2 Reviews and 73 Opinions  I booked one night and was put in a very nice new room in the newer section of hotel. Then i added... 

Hotel Glob

 4 Reviews and 6 Opinions  There´s absolutely no need to sleep in Oswiecim to visit the camp. The town is easily accessed by... 

Restaurants  

Not sure but its the only little hut i saw: Little hut as you approach entrance to Auschwitz

Not sure but its the only little hut i saw: Little hut as you approach entrance to Auschwitz, Oswiecim

 Bavavia Says:  Cheap and a good selection of items......i just needed something to eat because it was around 3:00 pm and i had not eaten anything yet that day, so i just got a soda and some pretzels and that held me over until around 6:00 when i was able to get a nice dinner inside... 

Transportation  

Krakow to Birkenau - Auschwitz by taxi.

Krakow to Birkenau - Auschwitz by taxi., Oswiecim

 breughel Says:  As we wanted to save our forces for the long individual visit of Birkenau first and then (after 15 h) for Auschwitz we made an arrangement with City Taxi Krakow; also for our transfers to the Krakow airport. I had already used this taxi company for the VT meet of 2010.The... 

Oświęcim Station

Oświęcim Station, Oswiecim

 budapest8 Says:  The town of Oświęcim lies on the intersection of road 44 and road 933 and is at the northern extremity of road 948 if you are driving there. Oświęcim's old town is located east of the River Soła, with the Main Market Square (Rynek Główny) at its... 

Local Customs  

Showing your Respect

Showing your Respect, Oswiecim

 ZEESHANA Says:  The thing with Auschwitz is, its essentially a gravesite; MILLIONS of people died here. You would never think to desecrate a grave or show disrespect, and yet on many occasions I encountered people who really didnt GET what this place was all about. This ranged from the... 

PHOTOS AT AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU

PHOTOS AT AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU, Oswiecim

 DAO Says:  This can be a bit confusing and I am sure, like me, you do not want to offend. Auschwitz-Birkenau is a mass grave. In fact the whole area is. This is because the ashes from the crematoria (plural) were spread on fields as fertiliser during the war. My Tour Guide pointed out... 

Warnings and Dangers  

Photos.

Photos., Oswiecim

 breughel Says:  There is here some confusion about taking photos or not. This is the text from the official website (June 2011):"Taking pictures on the grounds of the State Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau in Oœwiêcim for own purposes, without use of a flash and stands, is allowed for exceptions... 

Photos only outdoors

Photos only outdoors, Oswiecim

 Mikebond Says:  In the Auschwitz concentration camp it is allowed to take photos only outdoors. This is meant to respect the death of so many people. Auschwitz is a sacred place, although it is not a church or a synagogue.Please, do respect this prohibition! It is very disturbing to see... 

Tourist Traps  

Non museum guides......

Non museum guides......, Oswiecim

 Bavavia Says:  As you initially enter Auschwitz, some guys may approach you asking if you want a tour. Not sure if these guys are good or not. I have heard mixed reviews.......but you really do not need any guide at all inside Auschwitz I or II because its very self explanatory. 

Comments

Map of Oswiecim