The history of Auschwitz goes far beyond the main camp. On this tour to the subcamps of Auschwitz, we'll explore the lesser-known side of the Holocaust by visiting sites that remain intact from World War II.
Day Trip Details
At the indicated time, we'll meet at Hotel Maltański in the heart of Kraków. From there, we'll embark on a 1.5-hour drive to the Oświęcim region, where several of the subcamps of the Auschwitz complex are located.
During the day trip, we'll take a 3.5-hour guided tour of various points that were part of the Third Reich's system of subcamps. We'll start at the so-called Judenrampe, the oldest railway ramp of the complex. This is where the prisoners arrived before being selected for the various camps. It's an eerie place full of memories.
Nearby, we'll find the potato and cabbage warehouses, which supplied food to the camps. They still preserve their original structure, which allows us to imagine the magnitude of the Nazi logistic system. We'll then proceed to Auschwitz III - Monowitz, also known as Monowice. This subcamp was directly linked to the chemical company IG Farben, and prisoners were used as forced labor. There, we'll learn how the economic setup behind the horror of the Holocaust operated.
Halfway through the tour, we'll pause for about 30 minutes to rest and recharge our batteries.
Another key point of the tour will be the SS canteen, a building that was a place of rest and leisure for officers such as Rudolf Höss and Josef Mengele. We'll then move on to Bor and Budy, two women's subcamps located on the outskirts of Oświęcim. Here, women forced into labor under extreme conditions were confined. Some of these spaces still retain the original barracks.
We'll also visit the Remembrance Museum of Land of Oświęcim Residents, a local institution that pays tribute to the citizens who helped the prisoners escape by risking their lives.
Finally, we'll return to Krakow and bid farewell, 7 to 8 hours after pickup.
Important Info
Please note that this tour does not include a visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau. The Auschwitz subcamps belong to a separate institution with its own rules and access.
