Auschwitz-Birkenau

Construction Sequence from May 1940 to January 1945

During WWII, allied airplanes created thousands of aerial photos, documenting Nazi troop movements and activities. Some of these photos show Auschwitz over time, documenting the camp’s initial construction and later demolition as part of Nazi efforts to hide evidence of crime. 

Through spatial analysis of aerial photos declassified 1978 by the CIA, this interactive map reconstructs the evolution of Auschwitz from opening May 1940 to closure and liberation in January 1945.

 View map in full screen , zoom in, drag the time slider back and forth to pan between past and present geography.

Interactive map of past vs. present

Most people know Auschwitz as a single camp and site of mass murder. Fewer know the complex as one of the Nazi empire’s largest construction sites in continuous operation. In addition to gas chambers, the Auschwitz complex spanned dozens of subcamps, hundreds of industries, and thousands of buildings.

Of the approximately 1.1 million Jews deported to Auschwitz, 900 thousand were sent directly to the gas chambers. The remaining 200,000 were enslaved in a vast carceral complex the size of a city. The complex included steel works, coal mines, garment sweatshops, railyards, as well as factories for weapons, chemicals, and all military needs. The buna (synthetic rubber) factory of IG Farben at camp Monowitz was the largest participant, with upwards of 30,000 slave laborers. Further factories sorted belongings taken from Jews, to be melted for scrap or shipped back to Germany.

Image Sources

Aerial surveys from the 60th Squadron of the South African Air Force, captured by chance during surveillance missions of the IG Farben rubber factories at Monowitz.

Western half of camps complex

Captured May 31, 1944

Eastern half of camps complex

Captured June 26, 1944

Details of Birkenau crematoriums

August 23-25, 1944

Details of Auschwitz operations

August 25 / November 29, 1944

Bombing photo

September 13, 1944