shown on ceramic, 12-inch tilePoland

in Oświęcim, in southern Poland

Auschwitz

Name: Auschwitz — on ceramic tile, by WenderVista
Brand: WenderVista

— — a place that asks to be remembered.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.

— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand

— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines

— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall

— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround

— a note from the studio

“Auschwitz-Birkenau was the largest of the Nazi German concentration and extermination camps, sixty kilometres west of Kraków. About 1.1 million people, the great majority of them Jews, were murdered here between 1940 and 1945. The site has been a state memorial and museum since 1947 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. It is kept as it was found. — from the studio

from the studio

— bring it home

Auschwitz, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?

One tile — square or rectangle.

How big?

the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand

6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb

Surface finish

A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.

How it sits

A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.

$58

Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.

— size

6 × 6 in

15 cm

— weighs

1.6 lb

solid in the hand

— surface

ceramic, hand-finished

art rests beneath a thin glossy finish

— from

Knoxville, TN

our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies

— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Auschwitz

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.

— the place

The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum sits on the site of the former Nazi German concentration and extermination camp, established in occupied Poland in 1940 and operated until its liberation by Soviet forces on 27 January 1945. The complex covers nearly 200 hectares across two main sites: Auschwitz I, the original camp on the outskirts of Oświęcim, and Auschwitz II-Birkenau, three kilometres west. The Polish parliament established the state memorial in 1947, and UNESCO inscribed the site in 1979. It is the most visited memorial in Poland.

— informed by Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial, UNESCO · Auschwitz Birkenau

— the silence

The grounds are kept deliberately quiet. Visitors enter Auschwitz I through the gate bearing the words Arbeit Macht Frei and walk past barracks that hold the personal belongings of those murdered: shoes, suitcases marked with names, eyeglasses, hair. At Birkenau the rail platform, the ruins of the gas chambers, and the long rows of brick chimneys remain. Guides ask for silence in the rooms where it matters. The site is preserved as evidence, not restored as architecture.

— informed by Auschwitz-Birkenau · Site preservation

— the visit

The museum is open daily, free of charge with a reserved entry ticket. Guided tours in many languages are required between ten in the morning and three in the afternoon during the busier months. Tickets are released ninety days in advance through the museum website and often sell out. The site is reached by public bus or train from Kraków in about ninety minutes each way. Visitors are asked to dress respectfully and to refrain from photography in certain rooms.

— informed by Auschwitz-Birkenau · Visiting

— where

Poland · Oświęcim, Lesser Poland

— within

Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum

— elevation

240 m · 787 ft

— position

50.0276° N · 19.2034° E

— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.

3 km W

Auschwitz II-Birkenau

memorial site

2 km E

Oświęcim Old Town

Polish town

60 km E

Kraków

historic city

65 km E

Wieliczka Salt Mine

UNESCO mine

110 km SE

Zakopane

Tatra town

Auschwitz

Auschwitz II-Birkenau

Oświęcim Old Town

Kraków

Wieliczka Salt Mine

Zakopane

— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Auschwitz — and about bringing the piece home.

— about the place

Soviet forces of the First Ukrainian Front reached Auschwitz on 27 January 1945. That date is now observed worldwide as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, established by United Nations resolution in 2005.

About 1.1 million people were killed at Auschwitz between 1940 and 1945, the great majority of them Jews deported from across Nazi-occupied Europe. The figure is established by the museum's historical research.

Entry is free. A reserved ticket is required, and a paid guided tour is mandatory during peak hours between April and October. Tickets are released ninety days in advance through the museum's official website.

Public buses run from Kraków's main bus station to Oświęcim in about ninety minutes. Trains take a similar time. Many visitors travel with a guided coach tour that includes return transport from Kraków.

Auschwitz I was the original camp, opened in 1940 in former Polish army barracks. Auschwitz II-Birkenau, three kilometres west, was the much larger extermination camp built in 1941 and 1942.

The Polish parliament established the memorial in 1947 to preserve the camp as evidence and as a place of remembrance. UNESCO inscribed it in 1979 under the name Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp.

— about the piece in your home

Many of our buyers have given this piece to family members who lost relatives at Auschwitz or who visited the memorial themselves. A Small with a handwritten note from the studio is the usual choice.

The piece is rarely chosen as a decorative feature. It is most often placed in a study, a private hallway, or a remembrance space rather than a public room.

The Keepsake and Small sizes are by far the most common. Many buyers select the Keepsake for a desk or shelf, or the Small for a hallway. Larger sizes are rarely requested.

Most buyers do not place this piece in a kitchen or bathroom. It is more often kept in a study or a quiet corner. The Dura Satin and Matte finishes are available if a humid room is intended.

A soft microfibre cloth and water. No solvents, no abrasives. The colour lives slowly infused into the ceramic surface beneath a thin protective layer.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to the studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. No licensing, no stock photography. Reid Wender is the curator.

— if this one stayed with you