On Auschwitz

Latest Episodes:

"On Auschwitz" (11): Sport and sportspeople in Auschwitz Oct 30, 2021

Show notes

The term "sport" in KL Auschwitz was distorted by using it to refer to the exhausting exercises combined with the drill and singing applied on a mass scale. This form of sport, referred to after the war as pseudo-sport, was usually a way of enforcing discipline and punishing prisoners.

However, among people deported by the Germans to Auschwitz, there were pre-war sportsmen and sportswomen: Olympians and national champions. Some prisoners had also the opportunity to practice some sports in the camp. These included wrestling and boxing, as well as games such as soccer, volleyball, and basketball. Mind sports were also popular among prisoners, particularly chess, but also card games.

Renata Koszyk, an educator at the Auschwitz Memorial and curator of the exhibition dedicated to this topic, talks about sport and sportspeople in Auschwitz.

"On Auschwitz" (10): Living and sanitary conditions as well as camp clothing at Auschwitz Oct 06, 2021

Show notes

The horrible living conditions created by the SS authorities in the block and barracks in all parts of the Auschwitz complex as well as the appalling sanitary conditions contributed to the exhaustion and death of many prisoners. The clothing which was completely inadequate for the weather conditions also had negative effect on the condition and health of the prisoners.

Dr. Jacek Lachendro of the Auschwitz Memorial Research Center talks about the living and sanitary conditions and types of camp clothing.

"On Auschwitz" (9): Auschwitz III-Monowitz camp Sep 22, 2021

Show notes

The Auschwitz III-Monowitz camp was established in October 1942 on the site of the displaced and expelled Polish village of Monowice, located 6 km from the Auschwitz I camp. It was connected with the construction of the synthetic rubber and fuel plant by a German chemical company IG Farbenindustrie.

Dr. Piotr Setkiewicz, head of the Memorial Research Center, talks about the history of the third part of the Auschwitz camp complex.
You can also listen to "On Auschwitz" (4) that explains the role of the German company IG Farbenindustrie in the expansion of Auschwitz, creation of Birkenau & why in March 1942 the concentration camp became also an extermination center for Jewish people: https://anchor.fm/auschwitz-memorial/episodes/On-Auschwitz-4-Transformation-of-Auschwitz-concentration-camp-into-an-extermination-center-e13bat2

"On Auschwitz" (8): Children at Auschwitz Sep 04, 2021

Show notes

Using only estimates based on the examination of the existing incomplete documentation, it can only be acknowledged that there were around 232,000 children aged under 15 and youth aged under 18 among the at least 1.3 million people deported to the German Nazi Auschwitz camp during the almost 5-year period of its operation. This number includes around 216,000 children and youth of Jewish origin, 11,000 Roma and Sinti, at least 3000 Polish, and over 1000 Belarusian, Russian, Ukrainian and other children and youth. The number of children registered as prisoners in the first years of operation of Auschwitz was low, but it steadily increased to reach a maximum in the latter half of 1944.

Dr Wanda Witek Malicka from the Memorial’s Research Center talks about the fate of children in Auschwitz.

"On Auschwitz" (7): the fate of Roma and Sinti in Auschwitz Aug 09, 2021

Show notes

At least 23,000 Roma and Sinti people - including 11 thousand children were deported by the Nazi German regime to Auschwitz. After the Jews and Poles they are the third largest groups of the victims of the camp.

The vast majority lost their lives as a result of hunger, brutal treatment, pseudo-medical experiments or were murdered in gas chambers. According to the documentation over 91 percent of the Roma deported to Auschwitz were murdered in the camp

I spoke to Teresa Wontor Cichy from the Research Center of the Memorial about the fate of Roma and Sinti in Auschwitz.

"On Auschwitz" (6): the first crematorium and the Sonderkommando in Auschwitz Jul 22, 2021

Show notes

From the beginning of the existence of the German Auschwitz camp, the bodies of murdered prisoners were incinerated. The first crematorium on the grounds of the camp was opened in August 1940 and, of course, prisoners of the camp had to work there. The situation of this work group changed when the killing of people in gas chambers began in the camp. The Sonderkommando was then formed. Paweł Sawicki spoke to Dr. Igor Bartosik of the Memorial Research Centre about the beginnings of this special work unit.

"On Auschwitz" (5): Criminal medical experiments in Auschwitz Jul 08, 2021

Show notes

A particularly drastic example of betrayal of medical ethics is the participation of many German doctors in the criminal pseudo-medical experiments carried out on concentration camp prisoners. Paweł Sawicki spoke to Teresa Wontor-Cichy from the Memorial Research Centre about the experiments conducted in Auschwitz.

"On Auschwitz" (4): Transformation of Auschwitz concentration camp into an extermination center Jun 24, 2021

Show notes

In planning the construction of Auschwitz, the Germans assumed that the camp would eventually hold some 30,000 prisoners. As late as the beginning of 1941, there were no indications that, over the next few months, both the plans for employment and the number of prisoners, as well as the function of the camp itself, would change dramatically. In this podcast we talk about the role played by the German chemical company IG Farbenindustrie in the expansion of the camp, why the Auschwitz II-Birkenau and Auschwitz III-Monowitz camps were established and why the expanding Auschwitz concentration camp also became an extermination camp for Jews in March 1942.

"On Auschwitz" (3): What to read? Literature based on the history of the camp. May 23, 2021

Show notes

Recent years have seen an increased interest among writers in the subject of Auschwitz. Their books are set in the realities of the camp - with very mixed results. Agnieszka Juskowiak-Sawicka talks to Wanda Witek-Malicka from the Research Center of the Memorial about whether it is worth reaching for these books and how to distinguish between valuable and less valuable literature.

"On Auschwitz" (2): Medicine in Auschwitz May 20, 2021

Show notes

The Auschwitz camp complex had an extensive organizational structure, which also included a separate department responsible for protecting the health of both the SS garrison and - at least in theory - the prisoners of the camp. Paweł Sawicki talks about medicine in Auschwitz with Teresa Wontor-Cichy, a historian at the Research Center of the Auschwitz Memorial.

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