Monowitz Monument
Monument in Oswiecim
in honor of Monowitz victims
The monument to the victims of the Nazis
who died at Monowitz is located across the street from the ice
hockey rink on the eastern side of the town of Oswiecim. According
to a book entitled "Auschwitz 1940 - 1945" which I
purchased at the Auschwitz Museum, there were 30,000 prisoners,
employed by the IG-Farbenindustrie factories at Monowitz, who
died during a 3-year period.
Detail of Monowitz
Monument
The four posts shown in the photo above
resemble the posts of the wall which surrounded the factories
at Monowitz. They also look like prisoners with their heads bowed.
KL Auschwitz III, also known as Monowitz,
was very important to the Nazis because of its factories which
were essential to the German war effort. The Monowitz industrial
complex was built by Auschwitz inmates, beginning in April 1941.
Initially, the workers walked from the Auschwitz main camp to
the building site, a distance of 4 to 6 kilometers each way.
By 1942, barracks had been built for the prisoners at Monowitz.
The Jews, who were sent to Auschwitz
and then assigned to work at Monowitz, had a much better chance
of survival because the factory workers were considered too valuable
to send to the gas chambers, at least while they were still able
to work. Two famous survivors who worked at Monowitz were Elie
Wiesel and Primo Levi, both of whom wrote extensively about the
Holocaust.
|