The bombing of Auschwitz in the light of selected works

Abstract

Concerning the complex history of KL Auschwitz, there is a question which constantly reappears: why the governments of the United States and Great Britain rejected the appeals of Jewish organizations from around the world and the Polish Government in London to bomb the gas chambers, crematoria and rail routes leading to the concentration camp. This question has not only undertaken a historical but also a moral assessment, symbolizing the attitude and reaction of the Allies to the tragic situation of Jews during World War II. The debate on the possibility and effectiveness of such air-raids is conducted primarily by English and American researchers. Due to works of Martin Gilbert and David S. Wyman, the topic of the bombing of Auschwitz has permanently entered the historiography of the Holocaust and has left the circle of the alternate history. In the article, selected publications and conclusions of leading experts on this topic (including Martin Gilbert and David S. Wyman) are characterised and compared with the opinions and arguments of other researchers. Gilbert’s and Wyman’s works focused primarily on determining the level of Allied knowledge about the Nazi extermination policy, technical capabilities to carry out the bombing of Auschwitz death camp installation, and the effectiveness and the potential impact of such bombing. The article, which is the compilation of historians and journalist researches, shows that the case of air-raids on Auschwitz is still raising many controversies and disputes, rarely leading to a consensus.