Auschwitz concentration camp I

After Germany's occupation of Poland in 1939, the area around Oświęcim was annexed. In May 1940, German occupiers began converting a former Polish barracks on the western outskirts of Oświęcim into a concentration camp. Initially planned as a quarantine and transit camp for Polish forced laborers, Auschwitz I quickly evolved into a concentration and labor camp. The first prisoners, German convicts, arrived in May 1940, followed by Polish political prisoners in June of the same year. The camp was continuously expanded, and by 1944, its area had quadrupled. It was part of a larger system that also included the extermination camp Auschwitz II–Birkenau and the forced labor camp Auschwitz III–Monowitz. During its existence, an estimated 60,000 to 70,000 people died here due to malnutrition, disease, forced labor, and abuse. The camp also served as an execution site where Polish resistance fighters and other victims were killed. Various methods of killing, including shootings and gassings with Zyklon B, were tested and implemented here.

KZ Auschwitz I is located in Oświęcim (Auschwitz) in the Małopolskie Voivodeship (Lesser Poland) in southern Poland, at an elevation of approximately 227 m above sea level.

Today, the former KZ Auschwitz I is a Polish state memorial and museum. Visitors can explore the preserved barracks, the crematorium, and other facilities that serve as a reminder of the crimes of Nazism. The site is publicly accessible and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage list.

• KZ Auschwitz-Birkenau (Military Structures), approx. 2.0 km away
• Lipowiec Castle Ruin (Castle), approx. 18.2 km away
• Gliwice Castle (Castle), approx. 48.5 km away
• Mirów Castle Ruin (Castle), approx. 68.2 km away