I.

Introduction

Auschwitz, infamous complex of concentration and death camps run by Nazi Germany during World War II (1939-1945). The complex was located in southern Poland, outside the town of Oświęcim (which the Germans called Auschwitz), on the Wisła (Vistula) River about 50 km (30 mi) southwest of Kraków. The complex comprised the largest of the Nazi death and concentration camps, and its name has become forever associated with genocide.