Auschwitz - Oswiecim

History:

All over the world, Auschwitz has become a symbol of terror, genocide, and the Holocaust. It was established by the Nazis in 1940, in the suburbs of the city of Oswiecim which, like other parts of Poland, was occupied by the Germans during the Second World War. The name of the city of Oswiecim was changed to Auschwitz, which became the name of the camp as well.

Over the following years, the camp was expanded and consisted of three main parts: Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II-Birkenau, and Auschwitz III-Monowitz.  It also had over 40 sub-camps.  At first, Poles were imprisoned and died in the camp.  Afterwards, Soviet prisoners of war, Gypsies, and prisoners of other nationalities were also incarcerated there. Beginning in 1942, the camp became the site of the greatest mass murder in the history of humanity, which was committed against the European Jews as part of Hitler's plan for the complete destruction of that people.  The majority of the Jewish men, women and children deported to Auschwitz were sent to their deaths in the Birkenau gas chambers immediately after arrival.  At the end of the war, in an effort to remove the traces of the crimes they had committed, the SS began dismantling and razing the gas chambers, crematoria, and other buildings, as well as burning documents.

Prisoners capable of marching were evacuated into the depths of the Reich.  Those who remained behind in the camp were liberated by Red Army soldiers on January 27, 1945. A July 2, 1947 act of the Polish parliament established the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum on the grounds of the two extant parts of the camp, Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau.

The site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979.

How we can get you there:

As much as we would like to discourage you from doing this tour in one day, some people just don't have the time.  So, this one day tour is offered.  The drive alone is approximately 8 hours each way (16 hours driving altogether).  The departure from Prague is very early, about 5:00 am, and this gets you to Auschwitz at approximately at 1:00 pm.  Visit the camps, which will take about 3-4 hours and then return to Prague.  This gets you back into Prague at around midnight.  The site is open every day, all year long.

Unfortunately, there are no train or bus connections as of right now (3/08) that connect you in such a way that you can return to Prague on the same day.

We highly recommend that you take a private guide once in Auschwitz to take you through the camps and explain all the details.  However, the guide is not mandatory and the entrance fee into the camps is free of charge.  There are no guides or shuttles available between November 1 and April 14.  The rest of the time, there is a shuttle which will take you between camps or your driver will be glad to do it as well.

There are several components possible, please choose according to cost.  A guide from Prague is not mandatory and may not be necessary.  We will assign a driver that has at least some English, however, English knowledge of the drivers is far from perfect.  Should you prefer a more professional tour, please take a guide as well.  Our guides English is very good and you will be given a narration along the way on the Czech Republic, the major cities you go through as well as parts of Poland.  We would still encourage you to take their official guide once there.

Visit the offical site.

Prices are in EUR and valid until December 31, 2009.

Guide only	Driver/guide  with car + up to 3 guests	Guide, driver, car + up to 2 guests	Guide, driver, van + up to 7 guests	Camps guide fees per person
EUR 225	EUR 700	EUR 800	EUR 900	EUR 7

 

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