Upamiętnianie ofiar Auschwitz na terenie Państwowego Muzeum Oświęcim-Brzezinka w latach 1947–2000. Zarys problemu

Commemoration of Auschwitz victims on the territory of the National Museum Oświęcim-Brzezinka in years 1947–2000. Outline of problem

KL Auschwitz was a complex of German Nazi concentration camps and exter­mination camp (Auschwitz II Birkenau). It was established in April 1940 in the area of the town of Oświęcim, as a concentration camp for political prisoners – mainly the Poles. In the following years it was being enlarged and became the main site of mass extermination of the Jews and other people from all over Europe. The complex history of the camp resulted in the variety of meanings that Auschwitz has for various national, ethnic and social groups that created its own Auschwitz, or its own metaphor of the camp and the ways of commemo­rating it.

The article is an attempt to outline the problem of the commemorating the victims of Auschwitz at the Auschwitz State Museum in Oświęcim since it was established in 1947 until 2000. It discusses the issue of the perception of Auschwitz by the Polish society, reflects about symbolism and significance of this places for the Poles, Jews and other groups of victims. But moreover it is an attempt to investigate the process of shaping (and distorting) the memory of this event during the Communist time and just after it collapsed, indicating the political factors that affected the shape of historical consciousness of Poles.