Museum · Poland · Lesser Poland
Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum
The preserved site of the largest Nazi German concentration and extermination camp, now a memorial and museum.
For storytellers
Why Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum matters
This is not a tourist attraction in the usual sense, but a place of remembrance. More than a million people, the great majority of them Jews, were murdered here during the Second World War. The memorial preserves the original camp buildings, rooms of personal belongings and the vast Birkenau site nearby, so that the history is not forgotten. Visit quietly and respectfully, plan a half-day or more, and be prepared for a difficult experience.
Talking points
- The site is preserved as a memorial and museum, and is recognised by UNESCO.
- It is about an hour and a half from Kraków by road.
- Visitors are asked to behave with respect and not to photograph in certain areas.
Free to read aloud or adapt in your video. Check facts that matter to you against an official source before you publish.
Good to know: Entry passes are timed, so reserve ahead, especially in summer.