Irena Strzelecka (4 January 1940 – 31 May 2017) was a Polish historian and senior custodian of the
Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum
The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum ( pl, Państwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau) is a museum on the site of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Oświęcim (German: ''Auschwitz''), Poland.
The site includes the main concentration camp at Auschwi ...
in Poland.
She was awarded the Knight's Cross of the
Order of Polonia Restituta
The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievement ...
for her work on the history of the
Auschwitz concentration camp.
[
The author of over 30 articles on the camp,][ Strzelecka wrote about its hospitals, its medical experiments, and the situation of its female prisoners.]Auschwitz 1940–1945
''Auschwitz 1940–1945: Central Issues in the History of the Camp'' is a five-volume monograph about the Auschwitz concentration camp in German-occupied Poland during World War II and the Holocaust. Written by researchers at the Auschwitz-Birken ...
'' (2000), including on the camp's construction and the punishment of prisoners; she also helped to retrieve and document the history of several of the Auschwitz subcamps. With Franciszek Piper
Franciszek Piper (born 1941) is a Polish scholar, historian and author. Most of his work concerns the Holocaust, especially the history of the Auschwitz concentration camp. Dr. Piper is credited as one of the historians who helped establish a mo ...
, she edited a series on Polish political prisoners sent to Auschwitz from Kraków, Lublin, Radom and Warsaw.[
Strzelecka was born in Przemyśl. A graduate of the history and philosophy department at Jagiellonian University, she joined the Department of Historical Research of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in 1965.][
]
Selected works
*(2008). ''Medical Crimes: The Experiments in Auschwitz''. Oświęcim: Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.
*(2009). ''Medical Crimes: The Hospitals in Auschwitz''. Oświęcim: Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.
*(2010). ''Punishment in Auschwitz''. Oświęcim: Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.
*(2016). ''Women in Auschwitz''. Oświęcim: Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.
See also
* List of recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta
The List of recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta includes notable recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta sorted by their profession.
Where possible it also lists their country of origin and order grade. People highly distinguished ...
References
External links
Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strzelecka, Irena
1940 births
2017 deaths
Historians of the Holocaust in Poland
Jagiellonian University alumni
Knights of the Order of Polonia Restituta
People from Przemyśl
20th-century Polish historians
21st-century Polish historians
Polish women historians