Document Type

Article

Creation Date

2014

Keywords

Auschwitz, History, Memory, Solahütte, Międzybrodzie, Oświęcim

Abstract

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum pulled the history and memory of an Auschwitz SS-retreat - known as Solahütte - to the foreground by publishing the so-called "Höcker Album" in 2007. The newly discovered photographs challenged societal perception of perpetrators. Postwar, the site was utilized by the Polish chemical factory in Oświęcim, formerly the infamous I. G. Farbenindustrie plant, which provided summer retreats to employees during the communist period. Providing a more nuanced picture, I examine the history and memory surrounding the Auschwitz Solahütte not only through the lens of the Nazi period but through its extensive postwar history as well. The postwar era merits discussion since it played a major role in shaping local perspectives as well as social and economic landscapes. Moreover, it provides counterpoint and augments perceptions focused solely upon the Nazi period.

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