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HomePlaces We VisitAuschwitz Birkeneau

Auschwitz Birkeneau

All over the world, Auschwitz has become a symbol of terror, genocide, and the Holocaust. It was established by Germans in 1940, in the suburbs of Oswiecim, a Polish city that was annexed to the Third Reich by the Nazis. Its name was changed to Auschwitz, which also became the name of Konzentrationslager Auschwitz.

MOTL Students at Auschwitz Birkeneau
MOTL teens in Auschwitz
MOTL New England students visit the Auschwitz death camp.
MOTL New England students visit the Auschwitz death camp.
MOTL New England students visit the Auschwitz death camp.
MOTL New England students visit the Auschwitz death camp.
MOTL New England students visit the Auschwitz death camp.
MOTL trip to Auschwitz Birkeneau
2018 Marchers boarding the bus from Aaron kischel's house
AuschwitzMarch2013
Today We Remember
Start of adult March of the Living from Auschwitz, led by survivor Sid Handler
Reunion at Auschwitz
Teenagers at Birkenau
Treblinka Concentration Camp Poland
March to Birkenau
Participants in Treblinka from 2018 March of the Living trip
Survivor surrounded by marchers at Auschwitz
Marchers at Auschwitz
Marchers at Auschwitz
RI Poland March
The March of the Living is an annual educational program, which brings students from all over the world to Poland, in order to study the history of the Holocaust and to examine the roots of prejudice, intolerance and hate.
Train tracks at Treblinka
Marchers staging at Auschwitz
Killing field at Majdenak
The March from Auschwitz to Birkenau on Yom Hashoah.
New England teen delegation at Auschwitz
Resting at Auschwitz
New England teen delegation at Auschwitz
New England delegation at Auschwitz
Inside Birkenau concentration camp
On the road to Birkenau
2016 Adult Marchers
Crematoria in Auschwitz
2016 New England Teen Marchers
2016 Teens at Birkenau
Irv Kempner with Ron Prosor, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations at march
Mel Mann with Chief Rabbi of Israel Lau at march
Adult marchers at Warsaw ghetto memorial
Children of survivors at Auschwitz
Israeli soldier marching at Auschwitz
Survivor with Israeli soldier at Auschwitz
Irv Kempner on March of the Living to Auschwitz
March to Auschwitz
Jonathan Dorfman and IDF pilot

The direct reason for the establishment of the camp was the fact that mass arrests of Poles were increasing beyond the capacity of existing “local” prisons. The first transport of Poles reached KL Auschwitz from Tarnów prison on June 14, 1940. Initially, Auschwitz was to be one more concentration camp of the type that the Nazis had been setting up since the early 1930s. It functioned in this role throughout its existence, even when, beginning in 1942, it also became the largest of the death camps.

Auschwitz II-Birkenau

Birkenau was the largest of the more than 40 camps and sub-camps that made up the Auschwitz complex. During its three years of operation, it had a range of functions. When construction began in October 1941, it was supposed to be a camp for 125 thousand prisoners of war. It opened as a branch of Auschwitz in March 1942, and served at the same time as a center for the extermination of the Jews. In its final phase, from 1944, it also became a place where prisoners were concentrated before being transferred to labor in German industry in the depths of the Third Reich.

The majority—probably about 90%—of the victims of Auschwitz Concentration Camp died in Birkenau. This means approximately a million people. The majority, more than nine out of every ten, were Jews. A large proportion of the more than 70 thousand Poles who died or were killed in the Auschwitz complex perished in Birkenau. So did approximately 20 thousand Gypsies, in addition to Soviet POWs and prisoners of other nationalities.


Support March of the Living

To donate to The New England Friends of MOTL Teen Scholarship Fund,
Write a check (made payable to The New England Friends of March of the Living) and
Mail it to:
The New England Friends of March of the Living
100 Pond Street
Sharon, MA 02067

Apply to Join the March!

Join the International March of the Living to travel to Poland and Israel, in order to study the history of the Holocaust and to examine the roots of prejudice, intolerance and hate.
Apply Now
For More Information Contact:
Adult Trip - Mel Mann friendsmarchoftheliving@gmail.com or (305) 338-6697
Teen Trip - Aaron Kischel Kischel7241@gmail.com or (781) 799-4765
Major Gifts - Jim Slovin jim@motlnewengland.org
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