Auschwitz Album
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The Auschwitz Album is a unique photographic record of the Holocaust
of the Second World War. A collection of photographs taken inside a Nazi German
death camp, it is the only surviving pictorial evidence of the extermination process from inside the Auschwitz-Birkenau
concentration camp (with the exception of three surreptitious photographs taken by Sonderkommando
s).
The identity of the photographer has never been determined. They may have been taken by either Ernst Hoffmann or Bernhard Walter, two SS
men responsible for fingerprinting and taking photo IDs of those prisoners who were not selected for extermination.
The album has 56 pages and 193 photographs. Originally, it had more photos, but before being donated to the Holocaust Museum
in Israel
, Yad Vashem
, some of them were given to survivors who recognized relatives and friends.
The images follow the processing of newly arrived Hungarian Jews in the early summer of 1944. They document the disembarkation of the Jewish prisoners from the train boxcars, followed by the selection process, performed by doctors of the SS and wardens of the camp, which separated those who were considered fit for work from those who were to be sent to the gas chambers. The photographer followed groups of those selected for work, and those selected for death to a birch grove just outside the crematoria where they were made to wait before being killed. The photographer also documented the workings of an area called Canada, where the looted belongings of the prisoners were sorted before transport to Germany
.
The album's survival is remarkable, given the strenuous efforts made by the Nazis to keep the Final Solution
a secret. Also remarkable is the story of its discovery. Lilly Jacob (later Lilly Jacob-Zelmanovic Meier) was selected for work at Auschwitz-Birkenau while the other members of her family were sent to the gas chambers. The Auschwitz camp was evacuated by the Nazis as the Soviet army approached. Jacob passed through various camps, finally arriving at the Dora concentration camp
, where she was eventually liberated. Recovering from illness in a vacated barracks of the SS, Jacob found the album in a cupboard beside her bed. Inside, she found pictures of herself, her relatives and others from her community. The coincidence was astounding, given that the Nordhausen
-Dora camp was over 640 km (397.7 mi) away, and that over 1,100,000 people were killed at Auschwitz.
The album's existence had been known publicly since at least the 1960s, when it was used as evidence at the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials
. Nazi-hunter Serge Klarsfeld visited Lilly in 1980, and convinced her to donate the album to Yad Vashem. The album's contents were first published that year in the book The Auschwitz Album: Lili Jacob's Album, edited by Klarsfeld.
from Holocaust Survivors and Remembrance Project: "Forget You Not"
The Auschwitz Album is a unique photographic record of the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
of the Second World War. A collection of photographs taken inside a Nazi German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
death camp, it is the only surviving pictorial evidence of the extermination process from inside the Auschwitz-Birkenau
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
concentration camp (with the exception of three surreptitious photographs taken by Sonderkommando
Sonderkommando
Sonderkommandos were work units of Nazi death camp prisoners, composed almost entirely of Jews, who were forced, on threat of their own deaths, to aid with the disposal of gas chamber victims during The Holocaust...
s).
The identity of the photographer has never been determined. They may have been taken by either Ernst Hoffmann or Bernhard Walter, two SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
men responsible for fingerprinting and taking photo IDs of those prisoners who were not selected for extermination.
The album has 56 pages and 193 photographs. Originally, it had more photos, but before being donated to the Holocaust Museum
Holocaust museum
The term Holocaust museum may refer to:*Ani Ma'amin Holocaust Museum, Jerusalem*Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education & Tolerance*Florida Holocaust Museum*Holocaust Museum Houston*Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center...
in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
, some of them were given to survivors who recognized relatives and friends.
The images follow the processing of newly arrived Hungarian Jews in the early summer of 1944. They document the disembarkation of the Jewish prisoners from the train boxcars, followed by the selection process, performed by doctors of the SS and wardens of the camp, which separated those who were considered fit for work from those who were to be sent to the gas chambers. The photographer followed groups of those selected for work, and those selected for death to a birch grove just outside the crematoria where they were made to wait before being killed. The photographer also documented the workings of an area called Canada, where the looted belongings of the prisoners were sorted before transport to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
The album's survival is remarkable, given the strenuous efforts made by the Nazis to keep the Final Solution
Final Solution
The Final Solution was Nazi Germany's plan and execution of the systematic genocide of European Jews during World War II, resulting in the most deadly phase of the Holocaust...
a secret. Also remarkable is the story of its discovery. Lilly Jacob (later Lilly Jacob-Zelmanovic Meier) was selected for work at Auschwitz-Birkenau while the other members of her family were sent to the gas chambers. The Auschwitz camp was evacuated by the Nazis as the Soviet army approached. Jacob passed through various camps, finally arriving at the Dora concentration camp
Mittelbau-Dora
Mittelbau-Dora was a Nazi Germany labour camp that provided workers for the Mittelwerk V-2 rocket factory in the Kohnstein, situated near Nordhausen, Germany....
, where she was eventually liberated. Recovering from illness in a vacated barracks of the SS, Jacob found the album in a cupboard beside her bed. Inside, she found pictures of herself, her relatives and others from her community. The coincidence was astounding, given that the Nordhausen
Nordhausen
Nordhausen is a town at the southern edge of the Harz Mountains, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Nordhausen...
-Dora camp was over 640 km (397.7 mi) away, and that over 1,100,000 people were killed at Auschwitz.
The album's existence had been known publicly since at least the 1960s, when it was used as evidence at the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials
Frankfurt Auschwitz trials
The Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials, known in German as der Auschwitz-Prozess or der zweite Auschwitz-Prozess, was a series of trials running from December 20, 1963 to August 10, 1965, charging 22 defendants under German penal law for their roles in the Holocaust as mid- to lower-level officials in the...
. Nazi-hunter Serge Klarsfeld visited Lilly in 1980, and convinced her to donate the album to Yad Vashem. The album's contents were first published that year in the book The Auschwitz Album: Lili Jacob's Album, edited by Klarsfeld.
External links
- The Auschwitz Album at Yad Vashem
- Oliver Lustig's Text Presentation of Historic Holocaust Photographs from the Auschwitz Album
from Holocaust Survivors and Remembrance Project: "Forget You Not"