Archival Records:

Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum (Panstwowe Auschwitz-Birkenau)

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Title
Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum (Panstwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau)

Description
The State Museum of Auschwitz-Birkenau was established in 1947 on the site of the former concentration and extermination camp. The archival collections consist of original camp documents of German provenance, copies of documents obtained from other institutions in Poland and abroad, and post-war primary sources (altogether 200 metres of shelf space). Furthermore the archives hold microfilms, documentary films and various other materials.

The most important archival holdings are:

Auschwitz "Death Book", containing nearly 70,000 death certificates, 48 vols.
A search function is available at: http://www.auschwitz.org.pl/szukaj/index.php?language=EN

Personal prisoner files, 16 vols.

Accounts and recollections of former prisoners, 223 vols. and 2,000 audio tapes

Documents from the SS Central Building Administration (Zentralbauleitung), 248 vols.

Documents from the SS Hygiene Institute (Hygiene Institut), 64 vols.

Depositions of former prisoners, 152 vols.

8,000 letters and postcards sent from the camp by prisoners

Files of trials of camp staff, including the Höss trial (1947) and the Frankfurt Auschwitz trial (1963-67)

Materials of the camp resistance movement

Photolibrary

  • 39,000 photographic negatives of newly arrived prisoners, in the majority Polish political  prisoners, taken until 1942. It should be noted that no photographs were taken of those deportees who were immediately selected and gassed on arrival.

  • Photographs taken by the SS of the selection of Jews deported to Auschwitz from Hungary in   1944, as well as photographs of the camp, clandestine photographs taken by the Sonderkommando in the vicinity of the gas chambers, aerial reconnaissance of the camp taken by American aviators in 1944, and photographs of the buildings and grounds of Auschwitz concentration camp taken after liberation.
  • 2,400 private photographs brought to Auschwitz by deportees from neighbouring ghettos.

    The Auschwitz Museum is currently engaged in a number of initiatives designed to supplement and enhance the existing collection. These include the creation of an integrated database of prisoners; detailed surveys, with questions addressed to both former prisoners and their families; and the interviewing of survivors, an ongoing project since the 1950s.

    Contact Information
    The State Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau
    ul. Wiezniow Oswiecimia 20
    32 603 Oswiecim
    Poland
    Tel.: +48 33 43 2022
    Fax: +48 33 43 1934
    Email: lmuzeum@auschwitz-muzeum.oswiecim.pl
    www.auschwitz-muzeum.oswiecim.pl
    Director: Jerzy Wroblewski
    Archivist: Barbara Jarosz

    Opening Times:
    Monday to Sunday
    8.00-15.00 (16 December through February)
    8.00-16.00 (March, November, and 1-15 December)
    8.00-17.00 (April and October)
    8.00-18.00 (May and September)
    8.00-19.00 (June, July and August)


    Access Conditions
    Archival materials can be made available to researchers after prior notification of the research subject and date of arrival. Persons affiliated to institutions or associations, university students, and other interested persons are required to submit a letter of recommendation. When a legitimate need is demonstrated, the Archives will make copies or photographs of materials, for a fee.

    Source
    Guide européen des sources d'archives sur la Shoah
    <http://www.memorial-cdjc.org/fr/guide/poland.htm>, accessed 4 March 2004

    Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau
    <http://www.auschwitz-muzeum.oswiecim.pl/html/eng/start/index.php>, accessed 4 March 2004

    Archival Collections at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, by Teresa Swiebocka <http://www.rtrfoundation.org/webart/chappolteresa.pdf>, accessed 4 March 2004

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