Last month my partner and I visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Oświęcim, Poland. Named for the existing villages that were taken over by the German army to build first, a camp for Polish political prisoners, Auschwitz 1, and second, a camp for both forced labor and extermination, Auschwitz 2, or more commonly known as Birkenau. Why? As a museum professional there seemed to me no greater interpretive challenge than the largest historical site that exists as evidence of the Holocaust. There was little online to prepare me for the experience. Future blogs will cover the range of exhibits featured at the sites and the colossal archival challenges faced by the able staff and directors of the Museum. Needless to say, the founders and subsequent leadership of the Museum have exceeded expectations.
