Krystyna Cyankiewicz – 6820

Born on 27th May 1917, Krystyna Cyankiewicz was still a student when she was apprehended by the Nazi regime and moved to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. On 27th April 1942, she arrived at Auschwitz, where she remained for nearly three years. The Nazi evacuation of the Auschwitz occurred between 17th and 21st January 1945, as the Nazi’s wanted to remove proof of the concentration and extermination camp before its discovery and liberation by allied troops. Originally, the evacuation columns were supposed to consist of healthy people that were strong enough to march many kilometres so that they were able to follow the railway tracks out of the camp. However, many ill people and children were also evacuated from the camp through the use of trains as a more efficient way of removing proof from Auschwitz-Birkenau. Krystyna Cyankiewicz was involved in the foot evacuation of Auschwitz, but was able to escape during the evacuation, and attempted to flee so that she did not have to follow the marching prisoners along the train tracks. It is unclear as to whether she was successful in fleeing from the marches, but she is listed as being liberated by the allied troops when they liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau on 27th January 1945.