A HOUSE TO LIVE
A PLACE TO LEARN

Foremen and managers from the Volkswagen Group, who are currently attending a seminar at the Auschwitz memorial with Christoph Heubner from the International Auschwitz Committee, commemorated one of the most spectacular escapes from the camp, which took place exactly 80 years ago, on 20 June 1942:  Together with three fellow prisoners, the Polish prisoner Kazimir Piechowski had "organised" uniform parts from the SS clothing store. On said 20 June, Kazimir Piechowski, Stanislaw Jaster, Jozef Lempart and Eugeniusz Bendera "occupied" SS Hauptsturmführer Paul Kreuzmann's car, a Steyr 220, in their SS uniforms and achieved passage to freedom at the camp gate by shouting German orders. This audacious and successful escape put the SS to the test for months, and the prisoners in the camp were encouraged by the exposure of the SS and the bravery of the escapees for many days. Spontaneously, the managers and foremen from Wolfsburg, Braunschweig, Kassel, Emden and Hanover decided to honour both the bravery of the escapees and the courage and will to live of all Auschwitz prisoners. But with their poster campaign at the Auschwitz I Stammlager, not far from where the escape took place, they also want to take a stand against racism and anti-Semitic hatred today, which still poisons many minds, as André Popp from the Emden plant emphasised: "Especially at the present time, our attitude is in demand and necessary" and Dirk Naumann from Wolfsburg added: "The Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial shows us how important it is to remember what happened here, especially in view of the political developments in many countries. "Dietrich Schneider, from Kassel, added: "That's another reason why I'm glad that Volkswagen apprentices here in Oswiecim can get actively involved in preserving the Auschwitz memorial."