News
First open online lesson of the Auschwitz Museum
The "Auschwitz — Concentration and Extermination Camp" online lesson, which focus closer on the most important topics in the history of the Nazi German camp, is available in Polish version language on the Museum's website. The Auschwitz Museum is a pioneer of e-learning in institutions of this kind in Poland.
"We wanted to create a compendium of knowledge on fundamental issues in the history of the camp. In the lesson, you will find not only the most important facts and dates, but also text, audio and record relations, contemporary and historical photographs, multimedia, maps, diagrams and teaching exercises," said Agnieszka Juskowiak-Sawicka, head of the E-Learning Section in the Education Centre.
The authors of the lesson are Dr. Jacek Lachendro and Dr. Piotr Setkiewicz who are specialists of the Museum Research Department. “We have tried, in an accessible way, to present the complicated history of the German Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, which over time became an enormous complex of concentration camps and centre for the immediate extermination of Jews in gas chambers,” said the head of the Research Department of the Museum, Dr. Peter Setkiewicz.
“Thanks to the possibilities offered by the Internet, a historical lecture could be enriched with many multimedia and visual elements, as well as relations of the witnesses. This is very important, because in this way, the whole becomes an interesting, often very personal story about this terrible place,” he added.
The lesson consists of two parts. The first relates to Auschwitz as a concentration camp — its establishment, development and operation, as well as the various groups of prisoners. Food and clothing, housing, work at the camp, punishment, executions, as well as pseudo-medical experiments are among the topics covered. The second part concerns the mass extermination of Jews at Auschwitz. It is divided into several chapters covering not only the construction and operation of gas chambers and crematoriums, but also prisoners of the Sonderkommando, the masking of the crimes, the question of bombardment of the camp and the number of victims.
For now, the lesson is available in Polish, but soon it will be translated into other languages. “The Internet is the perfect way to reach out to people who want to know the history of Auschwitz but can not visit the Memorial Site because of the long distance. This lesson can also be used by teachers, for example, to prepare their students for a visit to the former camp. We have already started work on the English version of the lesson, but eventually it will be available in several languages,” said Agnieszka Juskowiak-Sawicka.
"Auschwitz — Concentration and Extermination Camp" is available to anyone interested. In addition, the Museum organises online courses, which for the time being is available in Polish language version, using a specialised e-learning platform. They are conducted in two main areas on the history of the Holocaust and the history of Auschwitz. The forthcoming edition is planned for September 2012.
