Former Camp Grounds

Authentic Camp Infrastructure

The State Museum at Majdanek was established on a part of the former grounds of the German Nazi concentration camp in Lublin. 70 various elements of the camp infrastructure erected by the Germans in the years 1941-1944 have been preserved within this area. They include the prisoner barracks, camp workshops and warehouses, barracks used as quarters by the SS garrison, bathhouse barracks, gas chambers, and crematoria. The former camp grounds together with the preserved buildings are the central part of visiting the museum. Some of the structures are open and available to the visitors, who can see their interiors and exhibitions presented inside.

Important information

Permanent exhibition

Exhibition start date:11.11.1944
Place:State Museum at Majdanek
Language version:Polish, English, Hebrew

A contemporary photograph showing a view of the camp. From left to right: barracks, the crematorium, a watchtower, and another barrack. In the distance, another watchtower can be seen in the background.

Historical Route

Visiting the museum is facilitated by the historical route entitled “Konzentrationslager Lublin 1941-1944”, which leads through the most important sites and objects of the former camp. It comprises information boards in three languages (Polish, English, Hebrew), which besides the facts from Majdanek’s history include archival World War II photographs of the exact places where they stand today.

Descriptions are also accompanied by witness testimonies describing the key elements of the camp history. Most of them were given by Majdanek survivors or by the SS-men questioned during trials.

A glass plaque from the historical trail, with two visitors in the foreground and a prisoner barracks in the background.

A contemporary photograph showing two bathhouse barracks. — Bathhouse barracks.

Objects Open to Visitors

Bathhouse barracks for men and women numbered 41 and 42, which show what the process of bathing and disinfection looked like.

Gas chamber building, where the camp SS murdered Jews and prisoners of other nationalities in the years 1942-1943.

Barracks no. 43 (former prisoner belongings warehouse I), where the camp history timeline is presented together with the photographic exhibition “Majdanek. Past and Present”. It shows the transformation of the camp landscape since World War II.

Barracks no. 44 (former prisoner belongings warehouse II), where the exhibition “Lublin During the German Occupation” is displayed. It presents the most important places around the city, which were tightly connected with Majdanek and the Nazi terror policies. The so-called general construction plan of the camp, a map with ghettos of the Lublin district, and maps showing the incoming and outgoing transports of prisoners are also presented there.

Barracks no. 47 (former food warehouse), where the artistic installation “Shrine” is presented.

Barracks no. 62 (former shoemakers’ workshop), where “The Prisoners of Majdanek” exhibition is presented.

Barracks no. 52 (former tool warehouse), where the shoes of the Holocaust victims are displayed. The footwear was stolen by the SS from the Jews murdered during operation “Reinhardt” at Majdanek and the extermination camps in Bełżec, Sobibór, and Treblinka. The shoes were found at Majdanek in the summer of 1944.

Barracks no. 55 (former electrical workshop), where the exhibition entitled “The Extermination of Jews in the German Operation Reinhardt” is presented.

Prisoner barracks nos. 14-15, which show exemplary living conditions of Majdanek’s prisoners.

Crematorium, the building was partially reconstructed after the SS garrison set it on fire during their final evacuation on 22 July 1944. The original ovens, autopsy table, and other objects related to covering up genocidal crime evidence by the German perpetrators are presented inside.

A photo of the gate-monument at Majdanek. The monument is rectangular in shape, constructed of overlapping stones. View from below. The sky is visible in the background. — Gate-Monument

Monuments

There are also various monuments and forms of commemoration within the former camp grounds. They are devoted to the victims of Majdanek, some particular event or persons connected with the history of the camp:

The Monument of Struggle and Martyrdom, which is the main commemorative architectural part of the museum, comprises of the Gate-Monument, the Mausoleum, and the Road of Homage and Remembrance
The Column of Three Eagles, designed by Maria Albin Boniecki and built by the prisoners of Majdanek in the spring of 1943
Monument dedicated to the victims of operation “Erntefest”
Monument and table dedicated to the blessed Father Emilian Kowcz, that the fellow prisoners nicknamed the “Parson of Majdanek”
Monument and table dedicated to the organisations and people that provided aid to the prisoners

A concrete column on a triple pedestal topped with the silhouettes of three birds taking flight from a sphere mounted on a cone, with rows of prisoner barracks in the background — The Column of Three Eagles