According to the State Museum at Majdanek, approximately 150,000 prisoners were detained at the camp, with over 70,000 losing their lives, including around 60,000 Jews.
The camp was established in 1941 following a visit to Lublin by Heinrich Himmler. Initially intended to be the largest concentration camp in Europe, Majdanek held male prisoners before expanding to include a women’s camp in October 1942. Prisoners hailed from 30 countries, primarily Poland and Czechoslovakia, but also included Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, and children.
"I was 12 then, but I always said I was 17," recalled one former prisoner in a Polish Radio program. "My mother told me to say I was 17 because otherwise, I wouldn't have the right to live. Children, the sick, and the elderly were killed immediately."
Despite the dire conditions, prisoners made efforts to survive, exemplified by the creation of Radio Majdanek. Organized by former prisoners of Warsaw's Pawiak prison, this informal "radio" involved a speaker delivering broadcasts to fellow inmates without the use of traditional equipment.
"We would give name day wishes, say a prayer, and announce who received food parcels," said Matylda Wolniewska, a co-founder of the camp radio. "The evening broadcast ended with the words 'Remember, each day brings us closer to freedom.'"
From the fall of 1942 to September 1943, gas chambers at Majdanek were used to murder prisoners with Zyklon B, and their bodies were cremated.
After the liberation, the camp was taken over by the NKVD, which detained Polish dissidents, including soldiers of the Home Army and the National Armed Forces.
(jh)
Source: Polskie Radio
