News
Changes for Individual Visitors
Because of the large numbers of visitors to the Auschwitz Memorial, entry to the Auschwitz I site will be exclusively on a guided, group basis from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. during the period from August 3 to September 30, 2009. For individuals, we are offering a special opportunity to join others in “tours” of the Memorial during these hours. There will be no change to the way organized groups visit the Museum. These changes do not apply to the Auschwitz II-Birkenau site.
The number of visitors to the Auschwitz Memorial has risen significantly in recent years. There were 492 thousand visitors in 2001. Since 2007, there have been over a million per year. Attendance is continuing at this level in 2009. During summertime peak periods, as many as 25 groups of 30 persons each enter the Museum per hour. This means that someone passes through the Arbeit macht frei gate every few seconds, and causes serious organizational difficulties. At peak hours last year, it proved necessary to limit access to certain places, including the cellars of block 11 and crematorium I, for reasons of safety. There are also bottlenecks in some of the rooms and corridors in the original camp blocks where the Museum exhibition is located.
“We are very well aware that visitors come to see all the parts of the site that are accessible. That is why closing certain areas at peak times is not a good solution,” said Andrzej Kacorzyk, head of the Visitor Services Section. “After reflection and consultations with the International Auschwitz Council, we have decided to change the procedures for visitors in August and September, but only at the peak hours and only in Auschwitz I. The new procedures will be in place until the beginning of October, when the summer attendance pattern makes way for the more moderate autumn pattern.”
The grounds of the camp are an authentic, original Memorial under special supervision by conservationists. Entry to the Auschwitz I site in groups with guides will allow visitors to move around this part of the Memorial more efficiently during the hours when the largest numbers of people arrive, while also guaranteeing the safety of the visitors as well as the original buildings and objects.
”About 5 to 8 thousand people from all over the world come to the Museum every day during the vacation months,” says Kacorzyk. “When there are many groups within the grounds, bottlenecks sometimes form. The new procedures will make visiting much more convenient, since our guides are trained to ensure visitor safety as well as to keep things moving along smoothly.” Kacorzyk feels that visiting with a specially qualified guide can also help visitors to understand the former Nazi German Auschwitz-Birkenau camp better.
Those who wish to visit the Memorial without a guide may enter the Auschwitz I site at non-peak hours, before 9:00 a.m. or after 3:00 p.m. Those who arrive for individual visits during the peak hours may prefer to begin their visits at the Auschwitz II-Birkenau site, where the new procedures do not apply. A free shuttle bus runs between Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II every half hour. The Memorial is open until 7:00 p.m. in August and until 6:00 p.m. in September.
