State Museum at Majdanek

Established in 1944, the State Museum at Majdanek commemorates victims of the Nazi concentration and extermination camp in Lublin, Poland, offering exhibitions and educational programs.

Planning your visit

Majdanek is the best-preserved of the Nazi camps, and the reason is that the Soviet advance in July 1944 was fast enough that the SS could not destroy it. Gas chambers, crematorium, barracks, watchtowers and the perimeter all survive largely intact — which makes it, in a specific sense, harder to visit than Auschwitz, where much was demolished.

It sits on the edge of Lublin, visible from the road, with the city's apartment blocks immediately adjacent. That proximity is itself part of what the site conveys: this was not hidden.

Established as a museum in November 1944, the first such institution anywhere, it commemorates the roughly 80,000 people killed here, the majority Jewish. Barracks hold exhibitions; one contains an enormous quantity of victims' shoes. The Mausoleum at the far end covers a mound of human ashes recovered from the site.

Entry is free. It is around three hours from Kraków, and bookable options include day trips. Allow two to three hours on site. Current availability is listed below.