Thread by @AuschwitzMuseum

The research of historians of @AuschwitzMuseum indicates that the official order of Heinrich Himmler to establish #Auschwitz concentration camp was given at least by the first days of April 1940 - not on April 27, 1940, as it was previously stated. #twitterstorians

The documents show that already on April 15, 1940, a binding pledge was made to the camp in Auschwitz in the form of the first tranche of 2,000,000 RM, assigned to cover the costs of adapting the former barracks buildings.

This means that a cursory review of the number of the available buildings and their condition must have been compiled earlier, in order to make a preliminary estimate of the cost of the required construction work. It would not be possible without the official order.

A new concentration camp was built in the former barracks of the Polish army in occupied and incorporated Oświęcim (#Auschwitz) (pre-war photo). It was planned by the SS as an element of terror against the Poles. Learn about the history of the camp: lekcja.auschwitz.org/en_1/

"The origins of #Auschwitz in the light of source materials", a Polish-English publication of @AuschwitzMuseum tells—through an analysis of almost 100 archival documents—about the origins of the Auschwitz camp and the early stages of its operation: auschwitz.org/en/museum/news…