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Lesser Poland Voivodeship

Oświęcim

Auschwitz I entrance gate (Arbeit macht frei)

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Places to see

Poland

Lesser Poland Voivodeship

Oświęcim

Auschwitz I entrance gate (Arbeit macht frei)

Highlight • Historical Site

Auschwitz I entrance gate (Arbeit macht frei)

Name: Auschwitz I entrance gate (Arbeit macht frei)
Rating: 2

Recommended by 34 hikers

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Location: Oświęcim, Oświęcim, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland

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Best Hikes to Auschwitz I entrance gate (Arbeit macht frei)

4.6

(28)

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1. Hiking loop from Osiedle Witolda Pileckiego

11.9km

03:00

20m

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Moderate

5.0

(1)

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2. Hiking loop from Pławy

6.36km

01:37

10m

Easy hike. Great for any fitness level. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Tips

🅆🄸🅃⭕ 🇵🇱

July 12, 2022

In Auschwitz, the inscription above the gate was made in the camp's locksmith's shop. Kurt Müller, outlined the desired shape on the ground, and after bending the tubes and cutting out the letters with a spot weld, he attached the inscription to the tubes. The letters were cut out by a prisoner, a master of artistic blacksmithing, Jan Liwacz (No. 1010). The prisoners probably deliberately assembled it incorrectly, turning the letter "B" upside down, which was an act of resistance to the slogan proclaimed at the gate. However, in the accounts of some prisoners, one can read that it was a coincidence.
After the liberation of the camp, Soviet soldiers loaded the inscription on a railway wagon that was to go east, but the former prisoner Eugeniusz Nosal (camp number 693) and an accidental carter bribed the guard guarding the train with a bottle of moonshine and hid the original inscription in the town hall. When the State Museum in Oświęcim was established, the inscription returned to its place at the gate.
The inscription on the gate in Auschwitz I became one of the most important symbols of the German system after the war

Translated by Google •

mkay

April 6, 2019

Titled with the well-known words Work makes you free

Translated by Google •

Nicola De Benedictis

May 22, 2025

Interesting the curiosity of the inverted B.
Whether it was an act of protest or a simple coincidence, it is incredible how the Germans did not notice it...

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Elevation 250 m

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Friday 12 December

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Location: Oświęcim, Oświęcim, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland

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Staw Przedbór

Auschwitz I entrance gate (Arbeit macht frei)

1. Hiking loop from Osiedle Witolda Pileckiego

2. Hiking loop from Pławy

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