"On Auschwitz (71): Testimonies about expulsions of the local population in connection with the expansion of KL Auschwitz

About this episode

The episode shares testimonies about the expulsions of the local population during the expansion of KL Auschwitz.

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…

Topics covered

• expulsions
• testimonies
• Auschwitz
• Oświęcim
• World War II
• local population
• historical accounts

Keywords

• Auschwitz
• Oświęcim
• expulsions
• testimonies
• World War II
• Poles
• Jews
• historical accounts

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Oświęcim, Auschwitz

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