"On Auschwitz (71): Testimonies about expulsions of the local population in connection with the expansion of KL Auschwitz
On AuschwitzShow Notes
Before the war, Oświęcim was a town inhabited mainly by Poles and Jews. During the Second World War it was annexed to Germany and the name of the town was changedto Auschwitz. At the end of 1939 the town had a population of over 12,500 people, about half of whom were Jews. Near Oświęcim there were several villages, which in December of 1939 were incorporated into the German administrative unitof Stadtbezirk Auschwitz. About 13,000 people lived in thesevillages. Due to the establishment and expansion of the Auschwitz camp, several thousand Polish and Jewish residents of Oświęcim and nearby villages were forced to leave their homes. In the “On Auschwitz” podcast, we share fragments oftestimonies from witnesses and their relatives about these events. ===== The podcast features material from the collections of: The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum Archives: - account by Zofia Przybyłowska - account by Piotr Bielenin - account by Marian Górnicki - account by Sylwester Szałaśny - account by Krystyna Szałaśny - account by Sabina Rosenbach (transcribed, read by a narrator) - account by Helena Mataniak (written down, read by a narrator) - account by Helena Hoła (written down, read by a narrator)
Museum of Remembrance of the Residents of the Oświęcim Region: - account by Helena Grzesło - account by Aleksander Karkoszka - account by Józefa Handzlik - account by Wanda Saternus - account by Maria Gawron - account by Janina Stawowy - account by Wanda Patyna - account by Henryk Kuczek - account by Maria Jurczyk - account by Tadeusz Firczyk
Jewish Museum in Oświęcim: - account by Abraham and Jerzy Feiner - account by Lola Bodner
The Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw: - account by Ewa Neiger (written down, read by a narrator) - account by Sylwia Bachner (written down, read by a narrator) - account by Anna Hönig (written down, read by a narrator) - account by Tauba Grünn (written down, read by a narrator) ===== Voiceover: Therese McLaughlin, Mike Skagerlind
More from On Auschwitz
A collection of letters and documents related to Jan Nowak, a physician from Kraków who, as a prisoner of German Nazi concentration camps, worked in camp hospitals and helped other prisoners, has been donated to the Auschwitz Museum Archives. The documents, including a letter sent from the camp and seven letters sent to the camp by his relatives, were donated to the Archives by Marek Trybulski, owner of the Kraków Numismatic Salon. We invite you to listen to a conversation with the donor and Dr Wojciech Płosa, head of the Auschwitz Museum Archives. ===== Voiceovers: Mike Skagerlind, Grey Stafford and Michael Takiff
A special group of prisoners in the Auschwitz camp were prisoner functionaries, responsible, among other things, for maintaining discipline among prisoners, keeping order in the blocks, and supervising the work being carried out. Dr Wojciech Płosa, Head of the Auschwitz Museum Archive, talks about the first thirty functionary prisoners – Germans brought to Auschwitz on 20 May 1940 and assigned numbers from 1 to 30. ===== Voiceovers: Kate Weinrieb, Tom Vamos
Over the nearly five years of the operation of the Auschwitz camp, around 8,200 SS men and 200 SS female overseers served there. Dr Agnieszka Kita, Deputy Head of theAuschwitz Museum Archive, talks about what their leisure time looked like, what they did after duty, when they returned to the barracks, and what their days off looked like. =====Voiceovers: Sarah Edwards Weinstein, Kate Weinrieb
Among the unique artifacts held in the collections of the Auschwitz Memorial are fairy tales created while the camp was in operation. Crafted out of a heartfelt need, and in the hope of leaving behind a trace of their authors, these stories were smuggled out the camp. Their creators were prisoners employed in the camp’s Construction Office. With the help of people on the outside, they passed these fairy tales on to their loved ones. The story behind the fairy tales from Auschwitz is told by Jadwiga Kulasza, a retired employee of the Memorial Archives, as well as family members of the authors: Felicjan Świerczyna, son of Bernard Świerczyna, and Andrzej Czulda, son of Henryk Czulda.=====Voiceovers: Greg Littlefield, Michael Takiff, Kate Weinrieb
We discussed the group of functionary prisoners at Auschwitz in one of our previous podcasts. You can find it at: podcast.auschwitz.org. In this episode Dr. Wojciech Płosa, the head of the Auschwitz Museum Archives will talk about the post war fates of some of the functionary prisoners. ===== Artwork: Mieczysław Kościelniak, Praca przy walcu (Working on the roller), Auschwitz Memorial Collectons. ===== Voiceover: Therese Mc Laughlin, Mike Skagerlind