The town is known internationally for being the site of the German Nazi-built Auschwitz concentration camp (the camp is also known as KL or KZ Auschwitz Birkenau) during World War II, when Poland was occupied by Nazi Germany.

The Duchy of Oświęcim (Polish: Księstwo Oświęcimskie), or the Duchy of Auschwitz (German: Herzogtum Auschwitz), was one of the Duchies of Silesia, formed in the aftermath of the fragmentation of Poland, centered around Oświęcim.

Auschwitz or Oświęcim, [3] was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) [4] during World War II and the Holocaust.

5 days ago · A rail junction and industrial centre, the town became associated with the nearby sites of a Nazi concentration and extermination camp complex known as Auschwitz, the first part of which was established in 1940.

5 days ago · Oświęcim’s sole Jewish resident reflects on modern antisemitism on 80th anniversary of Auschwitz camp’s liberation

Mar 16, 2015 · Auschwitz is the German name for the Polish city Oświęcim. Oświęcim is located in Poland, approximately 40 miles (about 64 km) west of Kraków. Germany annexed this area of Poland in 1939. The Auschwitz concentration camp was located on the outskirts of Oświęcim in German-occupied Poland.

3 days ago · Auschwitz, Nazi Germany’s largest concentration camp and extermination camp. Located near the town of Oswiecim in southern Poland, Auschwitz was actually three camps in one: a prison camp, an extermination camp, and a slave-labor camp.

3 days ago · Hila Weisz-Gut's grandmother survived Auschwitz. In 2023, Weisz-Gut moved to the town where the concentration camp is located.

Soon after Wehrmacht troops entered Oświęcim, entire Polish administration was liquidated, first by removing the Jews from the city council, and soon afterwards by disbanding the council altogether. All the power in the city was entrusted to the German mayor.

3 days ago · World leaders are gathering with Auschwitz survivors to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi German death camp.