The Architecture of Crime. The Security and Isolation System of the Auschwitz Camp

by Teresa Świebocka (Editor), Piotr Setkiewicz (Contributor), Katharina Menzel (Contributor)

The Architecture of Crime. The Security and Isolation System of the Auschwitz Camp.Like no other element of the Auschwitz architecture, that perfidiously built fence remains to this day the quintessence of Nazi inhumanity, a symbol of the terror of the concentration camps and death camps, a synonym of the cruel twenthieth century.Fifty years after the Auschwitz crime scene became a memorial site, the fence fell into ruin, and the concrete posts began to totter towards collapse.The Museum's managementand the German Länder became involved in the conservation work. It went on for seven years, carried out painstakingly, segment for segment, so that each segment could be conserved at a higher level of quality than the one before. The project reached completion in 2004.The book "The Architecture of Crime. The Security nad Isolation System of the Auschwitz Camp" was published in 2008. It contains the following"The Fencing and System for Preventing Prisoner Escapes at Auschwitz Concentration Camp" (Piotr Setkiewicz),"From Accounts and Memoris of the Former Prisoners of Auschwitz and the Civilian Employees","Auschwitz-Birkenau - The Fence Posts" (Katharina Menzel),"Conservation Policy" (Władysław Niessner),"Preservation of the Concrete Fence Posts at the Auschwitz Concentration Camp" (Georg Hilbert),"The Technical Conservation of the Reinforced-Concrete Fencing and Its Components at the Site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Death Camp, 2000-2004" (Alicja Słowik),"The Preservation of the Gates at the Sites of the Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau Camps" (Władysław Niessner),"The Guard Towers in the Fencing System at the Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau Sites" (Witold Smrek).

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Jayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book at Auschwitz I Concentration Camp when I visited it in 2009. After studying the Holocaust for many years i wanted to read a book that had a totally different perspective. This didn't disappoint.

The first half of the book is mainly taken up with historical accounts, including some extracts from prisoners' diaries about the construction of the camp and, in particular, the security system. As with other books on the subject, this one offers some very moving stories and facts.

The latter half of the book concentrates on the more technical aspects, and focusses on recent attempts to preserve and protect the Camp from decaying. It is an intersting book. However, I did find a lot of the last sections a little too technical.

However, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone wanting to read more about the Holocaust and modern day attempts to ensure that this terrible piece of history is never forgotten.