The Hotel Schmiedler in 1912. It was a center for social life for Christians and Jews in Oswiecim, Poland. CreditMiroslaw Ganobis

Most people associate Auschwitz with the death camp. But it is also a town, Oswiecim, once home to a vibrant Jewish community in Poland. Now, the Museum of Jewish Heritage — A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in Lower Manhattan is examining that history in “A Town Known as Auschwitz: The Life and Death of a Jewish Community,” which explores how Jews and non-Jews coexisted peacefully in Oswiecim (Auschwitz was its German name) for centuries before World War II.

With floor-to-ceiling murals of local buildings, the show documents why the town was chosen as a death camp site and how it was transformed by the Holocaust. Photographs and audio testimonies tell the stories of five Oswiecim families before, during and after the Holocaust. Those profiled include artists, City Council members, business executives and religious leaders, some of whom ultimately died a short distance from their homes. 

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