Sport had a double meaning in the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp. It was a way to survive as well as a form of oppression. Find out more about this lesser-known story at the soon to be staged ‘Sport and sportspeople in KL Auschwitz’ exhibition at Kazerne Dossin.
Sport was often a way to enforce discipline and inflict punishment in concentration camps. Using this kind of sport, later referred to as pseudo-sport, the Nazis forced prisoners to perform exhausting exercises combined with drills and singing.
However, to some extent sport also had the opposite effect in the camps. Prisoners played sports to escape the gruesome reality and to pass the time following long days of forced labour.
Prisoners also included pre-war sportspeople; Olympians and national champions who set records before being deported. Their dreams were abruptly taken away.
‘Sport and sportspeople in KL Auschwitz’ reveals this tragic reality, but also highlights the incredible strength, creativity and perseverance of the deportees. Letters, photographs and testimonies tell the impressive stories of sport and sportspeople in the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp at Auschwitz.
The exhibition emphasizes that sport is not only about physical strength, but also about inner strength and perseverance. These stories about sport and sportspeople in extreme conditions touch and inspire us.
The exhibition can be visited independently by both individual visitors and groups. For an in-depth visit, a guided tour is available for groups, classes and individual visitors through the Guide Seeks Group formula.
