On Auschwitz Auschwitz Memorial

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 committees, 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 power over the prisoners. Sometimes the functionary prisoner became the master of life and death.

Dr. Piotr Setkiewicz, the head of the Auschwitz Muzeum Research Centre, talks about the complex history of this group of prisoners at Auschwitz.

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.

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 inmates. He wrote reports in which he described the camp terror and the tragic fate of the prisoners, as well as the progressive development of the extermination of the Jewish people in Auschwitz.

Dr. Adam Cyra, the author of his biography, talks about the life, work, and tragic death of Witold Pilecki.

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 Chris Oddy, and producers Jim Wilson, Ewa Puszczynska, and Bartosz Rainski participated in the post-screening discussion moderated by the director of the Auschwitz Museum Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński..

We invite you to listen to extensive fragments of the meeting. 



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We wish to thank Kate Weinrieb who recorded the women's voiceover in the podcast.

The Auschwitz camp was established in June 1940 for male prisoners. The first groups of women were incarcerated by the Germans more than a year and a half later - at the end of March 1942. Dr. Wanda Witek-Malicka and Teresa Wontor-Cichy of the Museum Research Centre talk about the reasons for the creation of the women's camp in Auschwitz and the circumstances surrounding it.



We wish to thank Jonathan Jetter from the Right Angle Productions & Brooke Stocken as well as Kate Weinrieb for their help in production of the English version of the podcast.

The Auschwitz camp was liberated on January 27, 1945, by soldiers of the Red Army. Well-known are the scenes captured by Soviet cameramen, which, although not showing the exact moment of liberation, are important documents revealing the crimes committed by the Germans in Auschwitz.

It is essential to remember that some of the film material was created for propaganda purposes. Edyta Chowaniec from the Film Archive of the Museum explains the circumstances of the creation of the so-called Auschwitz Liberation Chronicle

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We wish to thank Jonathan Jetter from the Right Angle Productions & Brooke Stocken for their help in production of the English version of the podcast.