People from Auschwitz Explain What It's Like to Live There

This article originally appeared on VICE Germany

This Saturday, the 27th of January, will mark the 73rd anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camps in the south of Poland, where approximately 1 million Jewish people were murdered by the Nazis between 1940 and 1945.

Today, the town Oświęcim, which is the Polish name for Auschwitz, has a population of 40,000 people and attracts over 2 million tourists a year. In 2016, German photographer Felix Adler spent six weeks in Oświęcim, where he talked to locals to hear their thoughts on what it's like to live right next to the former death camps.

"When you think about it, it does sound a little strange to say, 'I live in Auschwitz'. But life here is actually fairly normal. For example, this new shopping centre that I’m really excited about just opened."

"I didn’t choose to live in Auschwitz, it’s just where I was born. I have to make a living, too," Leszek explains. His coal plant stands on the grounds of a former Krupp munitions factory, where people in forced labour produced ammunition for Nazi Germany.

"As a Jehovah’s Witness, it's my job to spread the word of God in places like this, too," Krzysztof says, standing outside the local Kingdom Hall. "Aside from the fact that so many people were killed here – which was of course really bad – Auschwitz is just like any other town. The people here must always work to make themselves better, and God can help them with that."

"I like it a lot here, especially in summer. I was actually born in eastern Poland, near Lviv, which is now part of western Ukraine. Then I came here to Auschwitz."

"Ah, it’s not so bad here – the city is very beautiful and the tourists that come to see the camp always give me money."

"It's weird having to tell people that you’re from Auschwitz," Martin says. "One time, when we were on holiday in Poznan [in western Poland] and we told some people where we were from, they asked us which barracks we lived in."

"Everyone here calls me King!"

"My nephew is James A. Pawelczyk, the first Polish astronaut to go into space," fisherman Jan keeps repeating with pride.

Tomasz comes to the banks of the Sola river every day to sunbathe. The SS used to dispose of the ashes from the camp's crematoria in this river, while Rudolf Höß, the commandant of Auschwitz, would bring his children here to play.

“I’m not from Auschwitz, I’m from Krakow. We’re just visiting my boyfriend’s grandmother. I’d definitely find living here very strange."