Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and Memorial Tour from Krakow

Every year, millions of visitors from around the world walk through the gate bearing a fallacious inscription: ‘Arbeit macht frei’. Walking the same path as prisoners from over half a century ago.

The program of the visit includes introduction to the origins of the camp, its history and the everyday life of its prisoners. The Auschwitz-Birkenau complex was established in 1940 and throughout the five years of its inglorious operation over 1.5 million Jews, Poles, Italians and Frenchman perished here.

The museum was founded in 1947, combining the area of KL Auschwitz (Auschwitz I) in Oswiecim and the Birkenau camp (Auschwitz II) in Brzezinka. It comprises approximately 150 buildings and 300 ruins. The original roads, fences, watchtowers and railway ramps have been preserved. The buildings house the collection of original exhibits and documents. In 1979, the concentration camp was designated as one of the UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.