Podcasts · On Auschwitz

“Auschwitz. A Monograph of the Human”. Part 3. Inner Life

26 Oct 2026 · 27 min

The book ‘Auschwitz. A Monograph on the Human’ is the first of its kind in the world to try to depict human emotions within the reality of Auschwitz camp. Its author, Museum Director Dr. Piotr Cywiński, draws on fragments of memoirs and testimonies from more than 450 Survivors. It is the words of these direct witnesses that form the basis of this reflection on the human condition amid the process of dehumanization at the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz.

Part 3. Inner Life

Read by: Grey Stafford

Adaptation for the podcast: Agnieszka Juskowiak-Sawicka

Music: JivexMusic

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Testimonies and memoirs used into the podcast:

Zofia Kossak (64491), “Z otchłani”, p. 79.

Bogdan Bartnikowski (192731), “Childhood Behind Barbed Wire”, p. 86.

Victor Frankl (119104), “Man’s Search For Meaning”, p. 50.

Gerta Solan (A-27635), “ My Heart is at Ease”, p. 29.

Mieczysława Chylińska (44658), “Kobiety w Oświęcimiu-Brzezince,” Przegląd Lekarski – Oświęcim (1988) p. 157.

Primo Levi (174517), “If This Is a Man”, p. 113.

Camille Touboul (72420), “Le plus long des chemins”, p. 67.

Charlotte Delbo (31661), “None of Us Will Return”, p. 67.

Paula Gruber-Herszkopf (n.n.), “Lasting Pain. Memories of My Life”, trans. Yvette Joy

Blog (Create Space-Assigned 2013), p. 111.

Halina Birenbaum (48693), “Hope Is the Last to Die”, p. 173

Primo Levi (174517), “If This Is a Man”, p. 52.

Jerzy Brandhuber (87112), Account in: Memoirs, vol. 7, p. 61.

Liliane Badour (75127), in: Esrail, “L’espérance d’un baiser”, p. 104.

Léon Arditti (169738), “Vouloir vivre. Deux freres a Auschwitz” (Paris: Editions L’Harmattan, 1995), p. 67.

Anna Molnar Hegedűs (n.n.), “As the Lilacs Bloomed”, p. 64

David Wisnia (83526), “One Voice, Two Lives”, p. 43.

Maurice Cling (A-5151), „Wy, co wchodzicie tutaj”, p. 91.

Zofia Kossak (64491), „Z otchłani”, p. 78.

Dawid Pankowski (46333), „Z Auszwicu do Belsen”, p. 24.

Romana Duracz (43544), in: „Przekaz Oświęcimski”, p. 21.

Stefan Budziaszek (20526), Account in: Testimonies, vol. 88a, p. 28.

Maria Ślisz-Oyrzyńska (40275), cited in: Ryn, Kłodziński (20019), „Śmierć”, p. 73.

Mieczysława Chylińska (44658), cited in: Ryn, Kłodziński (20019), „Śmierć”, p. 74.

Eva Schloss (A-5272), “Eva’s Story” (London: Evelyn Kent Associates, 2008), p. 138.

Alojzy Fros (136223), cited in: Ryn, Kłodziński (20019), “Śmierć”, p. 74.

Willy Berler (117476), “Journey Through Darkness” (London: Vallentine Mitchell, 2004), p. 63.

Tadeusz Sobolewicz (23053), „But I Survived”, p. 174.

Kazimierz Piechowski (918), „Byłem numerem”, p. 46.

Ibid., p. 47.

Zofia Posmysz (7566), „Królestwo za mgłą”, p. 366.

Primo Levi (174517), “If This Is a Man”, p. 41.

Gracjan Fijałkowski (137632), “Odwszenie w Birkenau. BIId,” Zeszyty Oświęcimskie, No. 8 (1964), p. 72.

Maria Jezierska (24449), Account in: Memoirs, vol. 2, p. 404.

Mira Paszkiewicz (84722), Account in: Memoirs, vol. 1, p. 140.

August Kowalczyk (6804), “A Barbed Wire Refrain II”, p. 10.

Miklosz Nyiszli (A 8450), “I Was Doctor Mengele’s Assistant”, p. 52.

Victor Frankl (119104), “Man’s Search For Meaning”, p. 40-41.

Raphael Esrail (173295), “L’espérance d’un baiser”, p. 108.

Krystyna Żywulska (55908), “I Survived Auschwitz”, p. 40-41.

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Illustration: An excerpt from a work by Marian Kołodziej from the series entitled ‘Labyrinths’.

The episode on the publisher’s site ↗ (opens in a new tab)