Oświęcim: Difference between revisions
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== Concentration camp == |
== Concentration camp == |
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{{main|Auschwitz concentration camp}} |
{{main|Auschwitz concentration camp}} |
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Poland was occupied by Germany in [[World War II]], and in [[1940]] the |
Poland was occupied by [[Hitler]] Germany in [[World War II]], and in [[1940]] the Nazis built the [[Auschwitz concentration camp]] by converting the Polish military barracks. Later, they also built the vast Auschwitz II (Birkenau) camp in the nearby village of [[Brzezinka]]. |
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Since the late 1990s, it was estimated that between 1940 and 1945, at 0.6-0.7 million people, mostly Jews, were killed by the Nazis in the Auschwitz-Birkenau camps. Those numbers consist of: (a) a crematorium capacity quite accurately estimated at 433,000 corps incinerated (consistent with estimated 428,500 dead equal to 735,000 people brought in minus 306,500, who left), plus (b) up to 107,000 corps burned on pyres until the end of November, 1942, plus (c) victims of the gassings in the winter of 1942/43 (until the beginning of operation of the crematoria) and 57,000 unregistered victims, who arrived from December 1942 until March 1943 {probably included in (b)}, plus (d) estimated 70,000 deported from Hungary in 1944 and killed (estimated 180,000 brought minus 110,000 transferred); totaling between 631,000 and 711,000.<ref name='Osteuropa, 52 year, 5/2002, pp. 631-641; E5509E'> {{cite journal|title=The Number of Victims of Auschwitz|journal=Osteuropa (Eastern Europe)|date=|first=Fritjof|last=Meyer|coauthors=|volume=52 year|issue=5/2002|pages=631-41|id=PMID E5509E {{doi|ISSN 0030-6428}}|url=http://www.vho.org/GB/c/Meyer.html|format=|accessdate=2007-11-21 }}</ref> (See also the articles on [[Auschwitz concentration camp]], [[List of subcamps of Auschwitz]], [[Holocaust]] and [[extermination camp]] for a detailed account.) |
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Between 1940 and 1945, at least 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, were killed by the Germans in the Auschwitz camps: see the articles on [[Auschwitz concentration camp]], [[List of subcamps of Auschwitz]], [[Holocaust]] and [[extermination camp]] for a detailed account. |
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After the war, the Polish government took possession of the [[Buna-Werke]] |
After the war, the Polish government took possession of the [[Buna-Werke]] - a chemical factory owned by [[IG Farben]], which had previously used Auschwitz prisoners as a [[slave labor]]. The chemical industry became the main employer of Oświęcim. In the later years, also a service industry and trade were added. The concentration camps became a museum and memorial sites. Currently, about 1 million visitors tour Auschwitz-Birkenau labor/death camps every year. |
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== Politics == |
== Politics == |
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Revision as of 23:38, 21 November 2007
Oświęcim | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 Old Market Square | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
| Country | Poland |
| Voivodeship | Lesser Poland |
| Powiat | Oświęcim County |
| Gmina | Oświęcim |
| Established | 12th century |
| City Rights | 1291 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Janusz Andrzej Marszałek |
| Area | |
| • Total | 30.3 km2 (11.7 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 230 m (750 ft) |
| Population (2004) | |
| • Total | 41,382 |
| • Density | 1,365.7/km2 (3,537/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 32-600, 32-601, 32-602, 32-603, 32-606, 32-610 |
| Area code | +48 033 |
| Car Plates | KOS |
| Website | www.um.oswiecim.pl |
(pronunciation: [ʔoɕˈfʲeɲʨiːm]) (Template:Lang-de, Yiddish Oshpitizin אָשְׁפִּיצִין, Romany: Aushvitsa, Osvyenchim, Czech: Osvětim, Slovak: Osvienčim, Bulgarian and Russian: Освенцим) is a town in southern Poland with about 43,000 inhabitants (2001), situated some 50 km west of Kraków in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999, previously in Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship (1975-1998).
The German name Auschwitz is still used when referring to the Auschwitz concentration camp built there by Germany during World War II.
History
The city was first mentioned in 1117. In 1179 it was detached from the Kraków senior province and attached to the Duchy of Opole. Oświęcim was organized under German law (more precisely Lwówek law, which is a flavor of Magdeburg law) in 1270. Throughout history, Germans and Poles lived here together peacefully. From 1315 Oświęcim was the capital of an independent duchy. In 1327 duke John I of Oświęcim formed with the western part of Galicia and the duchies of Oświęcim and Zator a vassal state attached to the kingdom of Bohemia. Later the area went again to the dukes from Te and Grossglogau. In the 14th century many people moved away. The interest of the Germans in Auschwitz shrank and in 1457 the Polish king Casimir IV bought the rights to Oświęcim which was attached afterwards the Cracow Voivodeship. Jews, invited by Polish kings to settle in the region, had already become the majority of the population in the 15th century. Oświęcim also became one of the centres of Protestant culture in Poland.
The town was destroyed by Swedish troops in 1655. When Poland was divided in the late 18th century, Oświęcim became part of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria (an Austro-Hungarian province) in 1772 and was located close to the borders of Russia and Prussia. After World War I the town returned to Poland with that country's reemergence as an independent nation. Throughout the modern era until the Holocaust, the town had been predominantly Jewish. On the eve of World War II there were about 8,000 Jews in the city.[1]
During the German occupation of Poland, slave labour was used to build a new subdivision that would house concentration camp guards and others that moved to Oświęcim to run the Auschwitz concentration labor camp (Arbeitslager) and death camp. The prisoners of Auschwitz were used to build and operate large chemical works, Buna-Werke, for I.G. Farben, which produced many different chemicals needed for Germany's war effort.
Following World War II, the town recovered and new housing estates were constructed in the typical communist style. The buildings are large rectangular concrete constructions, and they satisfy the housing needs for many of the town's inhabitants. Until 1989, the town thrived from the large chemical works. In the mid-1990s, the chemical company, now named Dwory S.A., began to downsize and lay workers off. During the communist era, the chemical works employed about 10,000 people. Following the firm's restructuring and financial problems after 1989, employment at the plant shrank to only 1,500 people.
Concentration camp
Poland was occupied by Hitler Germany in World War II, and in 1940 the Nazis built the Auschwitz concentration camp by converting the Polish military barracks. Later, they also built the vast Auschwitz II (Birkenau) camp in the nearby village of Brzezinka.
Since the late 1990s, it was estimated that between 1940 and 1945, at 0.6-0.7 million people, mostly Jews, were killed by the Nazis in the Auschwitz-Birkenau camps. Those numbers consist of: (a) a crematorium capacity quite accurately estimated at 433,000 corps incinerated (consistent with estimated 428,500 dead equal to 735,000 people brought in minus 306,500, who left), plus (b) up to 107,000 corps burned on pyres until the end of November, 1942, plus (c) victims of the gassings in the winter of 1942/43 (until the beginning of operation of the crematoria) and 57,000 unregistered victims, who arrived from December 1942 until March 1943 {probably included in (b)}, plus (d) estimated 70,000 deported from Hungary in 1944 and killed (estimated 180,000 brought minus 110,000 transferred); totaling between 631,000 and 711,000.[2] (See also the articles on Auschwitz concentration camp, List of subcamps of Auschwitz, Holocaust and extermination camp for a detailed account.)
After the war, the Polish government took possession of the Buna-Werke - a chemical factory owned by IG Farben, which had previously used Auschwitz prisoners as a slave labor. The chemical industry became the main employer of Oświęcim. In the later years, also a service industry and trade were added. The concentration camps became a museum and memorial sites. Currently, about 1 million visitors tour Auschwitz-Birkenau labor/death camps every year.
Politics
Oświęcim-Wadowice constituency
Members of Parliament (Sejm) elected from this constituency
- Chwierut Janusz, PO
- Graś Paweł, PO
- Kowal Paweł, PiS
- Łatas Marek Jerzy, PiS
- Murzyn Leszek, LPR
- Polak Marek, PiS
- Rydzoń Stanisław, SLD-UP
- Szydło Beata, PiS
People
- Łukasz Górnicki, (1527-1603) Polish poet
- Simon Syrenius, (1540-1611) Jagiellonian University professor, botanist
- Tadeusz Makowski, (1882-1932) Polish painter
- Aaron Miller (cantor), rebbe, the father of chazzan Benzion Miller
- Arkadiusz Skrzypaszek (1968) modern pentathelete
- Paweł Korzeniowski, (1985) swimmer
Sports
- The ice hockey team of Oświęcim was repeatedly Polish champions.
- Many Polish figure skaters, including the pair Dorota Zagórska and Mariusz Siudek, Sabina Wojtala, Anna Jurkiewicz and others, hail from the town of Oświęcim.
Twinned cities
Since 1993, Oświęcim has been twinned with the city of Kerpen in Germany.[3]
See also
References
- ^ ספר אושפיצין (Oświęcim Memorial Book, Hebrew, published in Israel by the Oświęcim Descendant and Survivor Association)
- ^ Meyer, Fritjof. "The Number of Victims of Auschwitz". Osteuropa (Eastern Europe). 52 year (5/2002): 631–41. PMID E5509E Error: Bad DOI specified!. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
{{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Chronologic History of Oswiecim