The pontiff visits camp where 1.1 million people were killed and later meets a group of former inmates

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Pope Francis has visited the Nazi death camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau, walking beneath the infamous gates emblazoned with the words arbeit macht frei, work sets you free.

Kraków's Jews on pope's Auschwitz visit: 'It's so important to tell the truth' Read more

After arriving at the museum and memorial to the 1.1 million people killed at Auschwitz-Birkenau during the second world war, the pope sat alone on a bench for several minutes of sombre contemplation and prayer.

Francis had said he wanted his visit – the third by a pope – to be conducted in silence. “I would like to go to that place of horror without speeches, without crowds – only the few people necessary. Alone, enter, pray. And may the Lord give me the grace to cry.”

His only public words were written in the Auschwitz guest book: “Lord, have pity on your people. Lord, forgive so much cruelty.”

At Block 11, Francis met a group of former inmates of the camp and some of those hailed as “righteous among nations” for risking their lives to save Jews during the Nazi occupation of Poland.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Pope Francis pays his respects at the ‘wall of death’. Photograph: David W Černý/Reuters

One passed him a lit candle, which the pope carried to the “wall of death” at the end of the block’s yard, in front of which several thousand inmates were shot dead.

The pope spent several minutes alone in the cell of Maximilian Kolbe, a Franciscan priest who volunteered to take the place of a prisoner selected for death. Kolbe died on 14 August 1941 and was later canonised by Pope John Paul II.

The visit falls on the 75th anniversary of the day Kolbe was condemned to death.



After signing a visitors’ book, Francis went to Birkenau, an adjacent camp, where he was to meet more former inmates and people who helped to save Jews. Psalm 130 – “Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord” – was recited by a rabbi in Hebrew.



Accompanying the pope was Father Stanisław Ruszała, the parish priest of Markowa, where in 1942 the parishioners Józef and Wiktoria Ulma and their seven children were shot dead for sheltering eight Jews.

Also present were the Polish president, Andrzej Duda, and prime minister, Beata Szydło.

The vast majority of those who died at Aushwitz-Birkenau were Jewish, but thousands of Polish Catholics, Roma and Soviet prisoners of war also lost their lives.

Speaking before the visit, Piotr Cywiński, the director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial complex, said: “There are places and tragedies which make you at a loss for words, where actually there are no words to express what so many still see as unimaginable.”



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Francis meets former Auschwitz prisoners. Photograph: Radek Pietruszka/EPA

He said the world was markedly different today than at the times when previous popes visited Auschwitz: John Paul II in 1979, and Benedict in 2006.

“It is increasingly internally divided, threatened with terrorism and deterioration of human rights. It is a world where human solidarity is slowly being worn down.

“If 15 years ago someone had told us that we would so hysterically react to aiding refugees from war-torn territories, I would never have believed it.

“This is a world which is desperately in need of a wise message, of being reminded of the fundamental human truths. Auschwitz and the tragedy of the Holocaust sensitise us acutely to these issues.”

Among the former Auschwitz-Birkenau inmates who met the pope were:

Helena Dunicz Niwińska, camp number 64118



Born in 1915, she lived with her parents and brothers in Lviv. She was arrested with her mother in January 1943 and taken to Auschwitz on 3 October. As a violinist she became a member of an orchestra in the camp. Her mother died in December 1943.

Alojzy Fros, camp number 136223



Born in 1916 in Rybnik, he was arrested in April 1943 because of conspiracy work and deported to Auschwitz in August 1943. He spent the first two months in the camp hospital. After that he was hired to sort packages for prisoners.

Wacław Długoborski, camp number 138871



Born in 1926 in Warsaw, he was arrested there in May 1943 for conspiracy and was deported to Auschwitz in August 1943. He was employed in the camp hospital in Birkenau until the end of January 1945. After the war he worked as a university researcher and research curator at the State Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Zbigniew Kaczkowski, camp number 125727



Born in 1921 in Kraków, he was arrested in April 1943 and sent to Auschwitz. His mother, Zofia, who died in the camp, was employed as a nurse in the camp hospital. In July 1944 he escaped from the camp but was captured and imprisoned in Block 11, then deported to Buchenwald, where he was transferred to Ravensbrück.

Valentina Nikodem, camp number 8737



Born in 1922 in Łódź, she and her mother were taken to Auschwitz in July 1942 after her father killed members of the Gestapo. Her mother died in the camp. Valentina worked in the packaging department, and helped women who gave birth to children.

Marian Majerowicz, camp number 157715



Born in 1926 in Myszków, in October 1943 he was taken to Auschwitz, where his parents and brother died. He is the president of the Association of Jewish Veterans and Victims of World War II in Warsaw.

Eva Umlauf, camp number A-26959



Now 74, she was taken to Auschwitz as a two-year-old with her family in November 1944.