| An aerial reconnaissance photograph of the Auschwitz concentration camp, showing the Auschwitz II Birkenau camp. 1 of a series of aerial photographs taken by Allied reconnaissance units under the command of the 15th United States Army Air Force during missions dating between April 4, 1944, and January 14, 1945. The photos were used to plan bombing raids, determine the accuracy of bombing sorties, and assess damage. A typical sortie employed 2 cameras, each equipped with a lens of a different focal length. The final period of Auschwitz is that immediately before the evacuation of January 18-21, 1945. By that time, the Nazis faced defeat on every front and were trying desperately to erase all traces of the extermination program. When prisoners could not be evacuated, their destruction was the alternative. Many of the Auschwitz facilities had, in fact, been dismantled and shipped to Germany for use in other concentration camps. Photo Evidence: The heavy bomb damage inflicted upon the IG Farben complex is visible. Imagery from January 14, 1945, revealed more than 940 bomb craters and 44 damaged buildings at that facility. The camp at Monowitz/Buna, Auschwitz III, is still operational, as evidenced by the melting snow on the barrack block roofs. Cleared footpaths and streets are further evidence of movement in and around the compound. Evidence of final preparations for destruction may be underway. Snow patterns indicate activity by vehicles and personnel at these sites. In any case, they had been destroyed prior to the amp being liberated by the Soviet Red Army. The Allied Air Forces came to the Auschwitz area because of the critical war industry located in this region of Upper Silesia (Polish territory which was annexed to the 3rd Reich in 1939). In early 1944, intelligence reports surfaced regarding a massive fuel and artificial rubber factory in Monowitz. On April 4, 1944, a De Havilland Mosquito plane from Number 60 Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron of the South African Air Force flew out of Foggia, in Southern Italy, to photograph the factory. It was the IG Farben factory at Monowitz, only 4 kilometers (2 1/2 miles) from Auschwitz II/Birkenau. To ensure complete coverage of the target, it was common practice to start the camera rolling ahead of time and stop it slightly after the target was reached. As a result, the Auschwitz camp was photographed for the 1st time. During that same period, the Allies had commenced planning a comprehensive attack on the German fuel industry, and the Monowitz factory was high up on the list of targets. On May 31, 1944, a 2nd plane from Number 60 Squadron was sent to the area. This time, it also took 3 photographs of Birkenau from an altitude of 26,000 feet (8,000 meters), although the photo analysts did not identify the camp. The pictures from this sortie show us the camp as it looked 3 days after the arrival of the deportation, which was photographically documented in the infamous Auschwitz Album. For various operational reasons, the bombing of the Monowitz/Auschwitz III factory was delayed. Still, the Allied Air Forces continued to gather intelligence information about this factory and other installations in the area. The South African Mosquito planes photographed the factory and parts of the camp complex on June 26, August 25, and September 8, 1944. Meanwhile, the United States Army Air Force also started carrying out sorties in the area. The 1st American sortie to the Auschwitz area was carried out on 8 July by a Lockheed F-5 (modified P-38)Lightning plane from the 5th Photographic Reconnaissance Group of the 15th United States Army Air Force, operating from Bari. The information gathered in this sortie and in the British sorties was used to plan the 1st bombing mission of the Monowitz factory on August 20, 1944, in which the factory was damaged, but was not destroyed. The 2nd bombing mission was carried out on September 13, and the photographs taken during the bombing by Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers of the 464th Bombardment Group include a picture showing bombs being dropped over Birkenau. Afterwards, further sorties were carried out to estimate the damage and the Germans’ progress with their repair. The 5th Photographic Reconnaissance Group’s Lightning planes also flew over the Auschwitz area on November 29 and December 21, 1944, and finally on January 14, 1945 – only 2 weeks before the liberation of the camp by the Soviet Red Army. It should be noted that the photo analysts never realized the significance of Birkenau. However, Monowitz/Buna Auschwitz III, which was next to the IG Farben factory, was identified as a concentration camp. After the war, the Auschwitz reconnaissance photographs were stored in the archives of the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington, District of Columbia, until they were rediscovered in 1978 by 2 CIA photo analysts, Dino A. Brugioni (December 16, 1921 – September 25, 2015) and United States Army Major Robert G. Poirer (born 1944). The photographs were later declassified and transferred to the National Archives. A selection of images was enlarged and annotated with identifying labels by the Central Intelligence Agency in 1978. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0974.jpg |
| Image Size | 1.09 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 2928 x 2391 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | Central Intelligence Agency |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | January 14, 1945 |
| Location | |
| City | Auschwitz |
| State or Province | Upper Silesia |
| Country | Poland |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | 263-AUSCHWITZAERIALS-20 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
Author of the World War II Multimedia Database