Zone of Interest (Auschwitz)

Zone of interests (German: Interessengebiet) – a term used to describe the area around the Auschwitz concentration camp complex reserved for the Schutzstaffel (SS), subject to the administration of the main camp. The zone was created on the land confiscated around the camp, as a 40-square-kilometer (15 sq mi) zone patrolled by the SS, Gestapo and local police.^[1]^[2]

The zone was created by the camp authorities in 1941 in order to: remove the Polish population from these areas and take over agricultural land from them, allegedly re-educate prisoners by using their agricultural work, obtain financial benefits for the SS from the sale of agricultural produce and make contact with prisoners with local residents, as well as implementing the plan to create at least two model training villages in these areas for German farmers.^[3]^[2]

Citations

^ Strzelecka, Irena; Setkiewicz, Piotr (2000). "The Construction, Expansion and Development of the Camp and its Branches". In Długoborski, Wacław; Piper, Franciszek (eds.). Auschwitz, 1940–1945. Central Issues in the History of the Camp. Vol. I: The Establishment and Organization of the Camp. Oświęcim: Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. pp. 72–73. ISBN 978-8385047872. OCLC 874340863.
^ ^a ^b "Map of the Auschwitz Interest Zone". The University of British Columbia: Auschwitz Academic Guide. 2021. Archived from the original on 11 March 2024. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
^ Węgrzyn, Łukasz (January 2015). "Granice nazistowskich obozów koncentracyjnych i zagłady na terenie okupowanej Polski". Studia z Geografii Politycznej i Historycznej. 4: 280. doi:10.18778/2300-0562.04.11. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 June 2022.

[1] Strzelecka, Irena; Setkiewicz, Piotr (2000). "The Construction, Expansion and Development of the Camp and its Branches". In Długoborski, Wacław; Piper, Franciszek (eds.). Auschwitz, 1940–1945. Central Issues in the History of the Camp. Vol. I: The Establishment and Organization of the Camp. Oświęcim: Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. pp. 72–73. ISBN 978-8385047872. OCLC 874340863.

[auschwitzacademicguide-2] "Map of the Auschwitz Interest Zone". The University of British Columbia: Auschwitz Academic Guide. 2021. Archived from the original on 11 March 2024. Retrieved 11 March 2024.

[3] Węgrzyn, Łukasz (January 2015). "Granice nazistowskich obozów koncentracyjnych i zagłady na terenie okupowanej Polski". Studia z Geografii Politycznej i Historycznej. 4: 280. doi:10.18778/2300-0562.04.11. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 June 2022.

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