On Auschwitz

Nov 29 2024 56 ep. 32 mins 725

On Auschwitz Podcast artwork

The official podcast of the Auschwitz Memorial. The history of Auschwitz is exceptionally complex. It combined two functions: a concentration camp and an extermination center. Nazi Germany persecuted various groups of people there, and the camp complex continually expanded and transformed itself. In the podcast "On Auschwitz," we discuss the details of the history of the camp as well as our contemporary memory of this important and special place. We kindly ask you to support our mission and share our podcast in social media. Online lessons: http://lesson.auschwitz.org

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"On Auschwitz" (52): Doctor Josef Mengele and his experiments in the camp

Nov 29 2024 39 mins

Josef Mengele was a doctor of medicine and philosophy, an assistant to Prof. Otmar von Verschuer in the Institute for Hereditary Biology and Racial Hygiene in Frankfurt, member of the Nazi Party and the SS. In Auschwitz, he was the chief physician in the Roma and Sinti Family Camp in Birkenau, and from August to December 1944, he was also the chief physician of the entire Birkenau

"On Auschwitz" (51): Illegal letters sent by Auschwitz prisoners

Oct 31 2024 19 mins

Prisoners of Auschwitz were able to send various types of illegal messages—both within the camp and outside the barbed wire fences. Some were short letters addressed to family members; others were messages and reports for underground resistance organizations. Dr. Wojciech Płosa, the head of the Auschwitz Museum Archives, discusses this unique collection of documents.

"On Auschwitz" (50): Official correspondence of prisoners of Auschwitz

Sep 15 2024 25 mins

Nazi Germany deported some 1,3 million people to Auschwitz. Only a little above 400 thousand were registered in the camp as prisoners. Some could conduct correspondence with the outside world, however it had a unique character. Dr. Wojciech Płosa, the head of the Archives of the Museum talks about official prisoners’ correspondence: letters and postcards sent out from the camp

"On Auschwitz": Interview with Auschwitz Survivor Bogdan Bartnikowski on the 80th anniversary of his deportation to the camp.

Aug 12 2024 49 mins

Bogdan Bartnikowski was born in Warsaw in 1932. During the Warsaw Uprising, he and his mother were expelled from their home. The Germans initially sent them to a transit camp in Pruszków, and then deported them to Auschwitz where they were separated. On January 11, 1945, both were evacuated to Berlin-Blankenburg, where they were imprisoned until their liberation on April 22, 1945.

"On Auschwitz" (49): Deportations of Polish people from the uprising Warsaw to Auschwitz

Aug 01 2024 51 mins

In August and September 1944 - after the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising - almost 13,000 inhabitants of the occupied capital city and surrounding towns: men, women, the elderly, children, even infants, were deported to Auschwitz by the German authorities. Dr. Wanda Witek-Malicka of the Auschwitz Museum Research Centre talks about their fate in the camp. --- We wish to thank Kate W

"On Auschwitz" (48): Good examples of literature dedicated to the history of Auschwitz camp.

Jul 22 2024 54 mins

The first publications about Auschwitz were published during the war, while the camp was still in operation. The immediate postwar years also abounded in numerous publications by witnesses-Survivors of those events. Dr. Wanda Witek-Malicka of the Auschwitz Museum Research Center discusses the advantages of literature written by direct witnesses over literary fiction inspired by the

"On Auschwitz" (47): Functionary prisoners at Auschwitz

Jun 22 2024 48 mins

In the German concentration camps, including Auschwitz, there was a group of so-called ‘functionary’ prisoners, responsible for supervising other prisoners. They were mainly in charge of supervising the work units, keeping order in the blocks or barracks, but also distributing food among the prisoners. Being a lageraeltester, a block leader, or a kapo meant almost unlimited po

On Auschwitz (46): Tattooing numbers at Auschwitz

May 26 2024 53 mins

Auschwitz was the only German concentration camp where tattooing of numbers was applied to prisoners. Dr. Wanda Witek-Malicka of the Auschwitz Museum Research Center talks about why and when such a system was introduced, and whether all prisoners of Auschwitz were tattooed. We wish to thank Kate Weinrieb for her help in the production of the English version of the podcast.

"On Auschwitz" (45): The story of Witold Pilecki, co-founder of resistance in Auschwitz

Apr 26 2024 33 mins

Polish soldier, Witold Pilecki was imprisoned in Auschwitz on 22 September 1940. Pilecki undertook the mission to infiltrate the camp in order to create a conspiracy network there, organize communications, send reliable data about German crimes in the camp, and possibly prepare the camp's prisoners for a possible fight. In April 1943, Witold Pilecki escaped with two fellow inm

"The Zone of Interest" - discussion with the filmmakers

Mar 28 2024 32 mins

On 15 February 2024, the Polish premiere of the film 'The Zone of Interest,' directed and written by Jonathan Glazer, was held at the Auschwitz Museum. The film, depicting the family life of Auschwitz camp commandant Rudolf Höss, was awarded the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival last year. It also received two Oscars. Director Jonathan Glazer, production designer Chri