Henryk Świebocki

Henryk Świebocki (born 1940) is a Polish historian.^[1] A senior custodian of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum,^[1] Świebocki specializes in the resistance movement within the Auschwitz concentration camp in occupied Poland during World War II.^[2] He is the editor of London has been informed: Reports by Auschwitz escapees (1997);^[3] author of The Resistance Movement, volume IV of Auschwitz 1940–1945 (2000);^[4] and editor of People of Good Will (2009).^[5]

Early life and education

Świebocki was born in Stary Sącz, Poland.^[1] His father, Karol Świebocki, was a member of Poland's Home Army who was imprisoned in Auschwitz as a political prisoner from 17 June 1942; he died on 10 August that year in a gas chamber in Auschwitz II–Birkenau,^[6] one of a group of 193 sick prisoners in the camp hospital that the Germans decided to gas.^[7] Świebocki's uncle, an artist, was also imprisoned in the camp, for three years, but he survived.^[8]

A graduate of Jagiellonian University, Świebocki has a doctorate in history. He joined the Historical Research Department of the Auschwitz State Museum in 1964.^[1]