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Oświe̜cim (inhabited place) |
Coordinates: |
| Lat: 50 02 00 N degrees minutes |
Lat: 50.0333 decimal degrees |
| Long: 019 14 00 E degrees minutes |
Long: 19.2333 decimal degrees |
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Note: Industrial town infamous as the site of three massive Nazi concentration camps, located outside the city. The town was annexed to Poland in 1457, to Austria in 1772, and back to Poland in 1918. The first concentration camp, Auschwitz I, was established in 1940. The second, Auschwitz II, or Auschwitz-Birkenau, was established in early 1942. The third camp, Auschwitz III, or Auschwitz-Monowitz, was established in late 1942. Prisoners were subjected to pseudoscientific medical experimentation, disease-ridden conditions, and forced slave-labor. Over 1.1 million prisoners were killed at Auschwitz, most of them Jews. Tens of thousands of Poles, Roma (Gypsies), Soviet prisoners-of-war, and many thousands of others were also executed. The camp was liberated by the Soviets in January 1945. |
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Place Types: |
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| inhabited place (preferred, C) |
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founded as a fortress town in 12th cen. |
| industrial center (C) |
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| town (C) |
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| capital (H) |
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of a sovereign duchy ca. 14th cen. |
| concentration camp site (H) |
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1940-1945 |
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