Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of Auschwitz-Birkenau, a concentration and extermination camp in Poland run by the Nazis during the Holocaust.
Auschwitz-Birkenau
The Latest
-
The Schmooze Two Canadians Detained for Auschwitz Theft
Just months after three men were convicted of stealing the Arbeit Macht Frei (Work Sets You Free) sign from the Auschwitz memorial, two Canadians were detained Saturday for allegedly pilfering two spikes from the railway tracks that run through the compound. The nails, which were not fastened to the ground, were found in the men’s…
-
The Schmooze Flooding Auschwitz
Just a few days after the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial complex was closed in an effort to save its Holocaust archives from heavy flash flooding in southern Poland, the site has been partially reopened, according to the Associated Press. Heavy rainfall has wreaked havoc across central Europe in recent days, causing rivers to burst, flooding many provincial…
-
The Schmooze Tweeting Anne Frank
‘Tis the season to tweet, pray and memorialize Jewish thoughts online. In the past year, we’ve seen the Western Wall get a twitter account and Auschwitz develop its own Facebook page. This past week, the Anne Frank Center USA along with the U.N. Holocaust Program launched a twitter account for Anne Frank, asking students who…
-
The Schmooze Dance of the Veil: French Jewish Feminist Enters the Académie française
Back in 2008, the Forward celebrated when French Jewish feminist Simone Veil, an Auschwitz survivor, was elected to the prestigious Académie française. On Thursday March 18, Veil was formally inducted into the Academy, welcomed with a speech by the veteran author Jean d’Ormesson, who is so stuffy and stately that in France, The Jean D’Ormesson…
-
The Schmooze Admiring Blum: A Great French Jewish Statesman Celebrated on Film
For visitors to the New York Jewish Film Festival, a must-see on January 18-20 is a new hour-length documentary, “Leon Blum: For All Mankind” about the French socialist politician. Written by Blum’s grandson Antoine Malamoud and directed by University of Alabama Professor Jean Bodon, the film offers a mere sketch of an eventful life, and…
-
Life A Sign Stolen, A Book Abandoned, History Assaulted
This past summer I walked under the “arbeit macht frei” sign at Auschwitz, under the ominous symbol that I first learned about as a girl. I was with a group of five other women, each of us graduate-student fellows at the Auschwitz Jewish Center. This morning I woke up to learn that the sign was…
-
Life Jewish ‘Fans’ of Auschwitz?
It seems like an oxymoron to be a Jew and be a “fan” of Auschwitz, but there are thousands of such fans. They’re not fans of the infamous concentration camp, but rather “fans” of the Auschwitz Memorial page on Facebook. The Auschwitz Museum in Poland launched the page earlier this week, and museum officials have…
-
Culture A ‘New Jew’ Goes to Auschwitz
I am not a Holocaust Jew. Though Auschwitz loomed large in my Jewish education, and though as a child I was duly traumatized and outraged by what my teachers described as the inexplicable and unprecedented evil perpetrated against us, it plays only a small role in my current Jewish identity and practice. This is by…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Fast Forward Why neo-Nazis marched in Ohio this weekend, and almost every weekend in the US
- 2
Opinion The group behind Project 2025 has a plan to protect Jews. It will do the opposite.
- 3
Opinion Just about every interpretation of Trump’s narrow election victory is wrong
- 4
News Texas schools want to add Queen Esther to the curriculum. Here’s why Jews (and many Christians) are opposed.
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion Israel’s boycott of Haaretz is straight out of the authoritarian playbook
-
Fast Forward Killing of Israeli rabbi in UAE could strengthen ties between Israel and Arab neighbors, experts say
-
Opinion Despair is not a strategy. Here are 4 things those mourning the election results can do right now.
-
Fast Forward Jared Kushner donates $1 million to Chabad of United Arab Emirates after rabbi murdered
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
