History of Oswiecim

mp were seized by the Red Army on 27 January 1945. Soviets immediately opened two temporary camps for German POWs in the complex of Auschwitz-Birkenau. The Auschwitz Soviet camp existed until fall 1945, and the Birkenau camp - until spring 1946. Altogether, some 15,000 Germans were kept there. Furthermore, there was a camp of Communist secret police (Urzad Bezpieczenstwa), located near the rail station, in the complex of former "Gemeinschaftslager". Most of its prisoners were members of the NSDAP, Hitlerjugend and BDM, as well as German civilians, the Volksdeutsche and Upper Silesians who were suspected of being disloyal to Poland. Inmates worked at a chemical plant in Monowice, where they dismantled the equipment, which was then transported to the Soviet Union.

After the territorial changes of Poland immediately after World War II, new housing complexes in the town were developed with large buildings of rectangular and concrete constructions. The chemical industry became the main employer of the town and in later years, a service industry and trade were added. Tourism to the concentration camp sites is an important source of revenue for the town's businesses. In the mid-1990s following Communism's end, employment at the chemical works (former IG Farben, renamed Dwory S.A.) reduced from 10,000 in the Communist era to only 1,500 people.

In 1952, the County of Oświęcim was re-created, and the town until 1975 belonged to Kraków Voivodeship. In 1975-99, it was part of Bielsko-Biala Voivodeship. In 1979, Oświęcim was visited by Pope John Paul II, and on 1 September 1980, a local Solidarity office was created at the chemical plant. On 28 May 2006, the town was visited by Pope Benedict XVI