By: Karen Howatson
Prior to my visit to Auschwitz, I had not considered the significance of prisoner labour to the economics of the Third Reich. When I learned of the “Message in a Bottle” left in a wall by a team of Auschwitz prisoner bricklayers, I was intrigued see how the specific facts known about each of these seven men could be woven into a collective narrative of the experiences of Auschwitz prisoner bricklayers, and Auschwitz prisoner labourers in general.
The narrative which I have built consists of facts and records specific to each of the prisoner bricklayers, as well as written testimonies of other Auschwitz prisoners. The “Message in the Bottle” was a written communication from the Auschwitz Bricklayers and the testimonies from other prisoners were also in written format. It seemed most appropriate that the narrative of their stories be shared on a written paper.
Please click on this link or the image below to view the PDF file.
