Auschwitz - UNESCO World Heritage Site in Poland
Oswiecim is a small town in Poland, near the Vistula River, between Katowice and Krakow, an industrial region, a barely visible dot on the map, seemingly without any special characteristics. Seemingly... Auschwitz, added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979, is synonymous worldwide with the greatest crime in human history.
On January 20, 1942, what was probably the most inhumane conference of all time took place in an SS villa on Berlin's Wannsee: Reinhard Heydrich, head of the German Security Police and Security Service (SD), had invited 15 men from the top echelons of the Nazi administration and SS to the meeting, which was to be followed by breakfast. The only item on the agenda: How should the “Final Solution to the Jewish Question” be organized and implemented? The Wannsee Conference established the murder of all Jews in Europe as a written goal of German government policy.
At this point, the long-decided extermination of all Jews was already in full swing. In Auschwitz-Birkenau, the world's most notorious site of systematic mass murder, four gas chambers with crematoria had already been built in the fall of 1941 on the orders of Heinrich Himmler. Construction of the camp began in 1941 as part of the so-called “Final Solution.” In order to build the camp, the Nazis forced the residents of Oswiecim to leave their homes. The camp was approximately 2.5 by 2 km in size and held up to 100,000 inmates. The main purpose of the camp was the systematic and mass extermination of people. Within 24 hours, 4,756 bodies could be cremated. The number of Jews murdered in Auschwitz-Birkenau is now estimated at 1.5 million.
At the Auschwitz Memorial, the unimaginable becomes real, the incomprehensible is documented in shocking horror, and the deepest abysses of human barbarism are manifested in a unique collection of inhuman reminiscences. Thousands of preserved objects, exhibits, photographs, and works of art give visitors a comprehensive insight into the events, the history, and the inextricably linked fates of the countless victims of the SS state, many of whom remain nameless to this day.
“Death is a master from Germany” – this quote from Paul Celan must never again become reality. Auschwitz-Birkenau is both a memorial and a warning to future generations. Especially today, when even heads of government are once again being led to declaring the eradication of Israel from the map a national goal, where neo-Nazi publications are allowed to cast doubt on the actual existence of the concentration camps without contradiction, where the term “Auschwitz lie” has already become a bon mot in certain circles, it is more important than ever to reflect on the irrefutable evidence of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
I have only very limited faith in the human ability to learn from the historical mistakes of previous generations. However, I do believe that the permanent presence of history as an active counterweight to the often overwhelming power of human repression can be an essential feature of positive human decision-making. Auschwitz-Birkenau is rightly included in the UNESCO World Heritage List: as a reminder, a warning, a deterrent, and for the sake of truth.
For Polish Radio International, 2012