The first thing a family should settle before visiting Auschwitz, Treblinka or Majdanek is whether the camera or phone leaves the bag at all. Most families observing the Jewish liturgy of memory decide that it does not. Some families opt for selected, documentary photographs at specific locations — for a family book, for older relatives who could not travel, for grandchildren who will one day want to see what their grandparents witnessed. That is a private decision and there is no single correct answer. There are, however, museum rules that are not a matter of opinion — certain areas carry an absolute prohibition, certain acts of photography constitute a violation of Polish law, and certain practices, even where formally permitted, breach the gravity of the place and demand discipline. This guide sorts out what the State Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Treblinka Museum, the Majdanek Museum and smaller memorial sites officially permit; the ethics of photographing memorials bearing family names; what to do with photographs when publishing on social media; and how not to violate the dignity of other visitors and their families. It is written for travellers who wish to preserve a visual memory with respect for the place and its victims.
What the museums officially permit
The State Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau permits photography for private use across most outdoor exhibitions without specific authorisation. Inside the standing-collection pavilions (Block 4, Block 5 with personal artefacts of victims), photography is absolutely forbidden. This applies in particular to the hall of victims' hair (Block 4), the hall of shoes (Block 5), and the hall of prosthetics and spectacles. In these rooms photography is treated as a desecration of the victims' memory and is enforced by museum security. The interiors of gas chambers in Birkenau (Crematorium I and the remains of II and III) carry the same prohibition. Photography with a professional tripod requires written application to the museum — this applies to filmmakers, press photographers, and documentarians. Family cameras, phones, compacts, and amateur DSLRs are permitted handheld. Drones are forbidden across the entire site. The Treblinka Museum and Majdanek Museum permit photography under analogous logic: open terrain yes, interior exhibits no. At Bełżec, the memorial field is a sculptural project — landscape photography is permitted, but within the symbolic cemetery a restrained practice is recommended. At Sobibór, where there is no traditional museum and the monuments are spare, photography is generally unrestricted, but families mindful of the mass graves beneath visitors' feet usually refrain from taking photographs.
Monuments with names, cemeteries, private mementos
Photographing memorials bearing family names is an area where families behave differently. At Treblinka, nine thousand stone fragments inscribed with the names of towns from which Jews were deported form a symbolic cemetery. Families often photograph the stone with the name of their shtetl — a legitimate memento passed on to later generations. The ethic is simple: you photograph your own history, not someone else's. If a monument bears the name of your great-grandparents or your family line, a family photograph is appropriate. If you are photographing other families' names as a backdrop for your own composition, that is a violation. At Jewish cemeteries (Remuh in Kraków, Okopowa in Warsaw, the kirkut in Tarnów, the kirkut in Leżajsk by the ohel of Elimelech), photographing matzevot with Hebrew inscriptions is common and accepted — it is documentation of heritage that serves genealogists and historians. Important guidelines: at a cemetery, men cover their heads; women are not obligated to cover but should dress modestly (covered shoulders, long trousers or skirt). We do not stand on matzevot, do not rest cameras on tombstones, and do not arrange flowers or liturgical materials as photographic props. Traditionally, one leaves a small stone on the visited grave — a memento of the visit, not a composition.
Social media, publication, other visitors
A selfie under the Arbeit Macht Frei gate is among the most frequently cited examples of what one must not do at Holocaust memorial sites. The Auschwitz Museum has repeatedly issued appeals to refrain from this practice — and this is not about regulations, it is about the gravity of a place where more than a million people perished. The same principles apply to smiling photographs, group shots with tourist poses, photographs with visual gadgetry (filters, stickers, vibe-style hashtags). If a family wishes to document its presence, let it be a portrait of solemnity — faces in silence, no retouching. Publication on social media: a restrained practice is advised. Many families decide not to publish at all, treating the visit as a private act. If you do publish, describe the context — why the family came, not merely "Auschwitz today." The hashtag #neverforget is banal in relation to the subject — better to write concretely: "Grandfather was deported from Tarnów on 11 June 1942. Today we stood at the site of his final days." Photographing other visitors is impermissible. Other families, survivors, youth groups, individual pilgrims have a right to privacy in this particular place and at this particular hour. If your photograph of a memorial inadvertently catches people in the background — recrop, obscure, or abandon the shot. Phone in silent mode, no shutter sounds, no flash even in rooms without an explicit prohibition.
Practical tips
Decide about cameras before arrival, not at the gate
A family should discuss the question of photography in the car before reaching the car park — who takes photographs, how many, where. Improvisation at the gate breeds chaos. Many families designate one person who documents discreetly, while the others leave their phones in their bags.
Head covering and attire appropriate to the place
Men wear a kippah (yarmulke) at cemeteries and in synagogues, often also at a tzaddik's ohel. Women dress modestly — covered shoulders, long trousers or a skirt to the knee. At Hasidic synagogues, women often cover their hair with a scarf. At Orthodox memorial sites these are not only matters of etiquette but often of liturgy.
Disable shutter sound and flash
Phone in silent mode — absolutely. An audible shutter in a room where another family is reciting Kaddish is a violation. Flash is never used in museum interiors — it damages exhibits from a conservation standpoint and conflicts with the atmosphere of the place.
Selfies do not belong here
No selfies under the Arbeit Macht Frei gate, the Treblinka gate, on the crematorium frames, on the Birkenau rails. If you wish a family portrait, ask the chauffeur or scholar to take it in a neutral composition, faces grave, without posing.
Publish after returning, not during the visit
Do not publish live from a memorial site. The visit is an act of concentration, not content production. If you decide to publish, do it after returning to the hotel or to your home country, with time for reflection and a contextual caption. A tourist hashtag is inappropriate.
Further resources
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·State Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau — visitor regulations The official site auschwitz.org carries detailed photography regulations, lists of restricted areas, and rules for professional operators. Read before visiting.
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·Treblinka Museum — Memorial of National Memory The site treblinka-muzeum.eu offers practical information, opening hours, and a description of the symbolic cemetery of nine thousand stones bearing the names of towns.
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·Majdanek Museum — landscape of memory The site majdanek.eu provides visiting plans, standing and temporary exhibitions, and photography rules. Majdanek is the only camp whose buildings have survived almost completely intact.
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·POLIN — Museum of the History of Polish Jews The site polin.pl. POLIN permits handheld photography across most galleries. A useful educational stop before a camp visit, to build the context of a thousand years of history.
Related
Frequently asked questions
May one take photographs inside the pavilions at Auschwitz?
In most exhibition pavilions — yes, with specific exceptions. An absolute prohibition applies to the hall of victims' hair in Block 4, the hall of shoes and the hall of prosthetics in Block 5, and the gas chamber rooms. In these places photography is treated as a desecration of the victims' memory. Corridors with photographs of prisoners, and the interiors of residential barracks at Birkenau, remain permitted, but solemnity is required — no flash, no shutter sound, no selfies.
May one photograph names on a monument if they are not one's own?
The ethic is simple: you photograph your own family. The monument of nine thousand stones at Treblinka bears town names, not surnames, so families typically photograph the stone with the name of their shtetl. On monuments bearing surnames (for example the POLIN Wall of Remembrance, or memorials inside synagogues), photographing one's own ancestors is a natural memento; photographing other families' names as a compositional backdrop is a violation. If the matter is not clear, abandon the shot.
May one film for family use?
Filming handheld with a phone or small amateur camera on the open terrain of a camp is usually permitted for private use, on the same terms as photography. Inside pavilions with personal artefacts — forbidden. Professional equipment (tripod-mounted camera, crew, external microphone) requires written application to the museum, considered by museum management.
May one publish photographs on social media?
Formally yes; ethically restraint is advised. If you choose to publish, do so after returning, with a concrete family caption and without a tourist hashtag. Many families make a conscious decision not to publish at all — the visit is a private act, not content production. If you publish, do not show the faces of other visitors, do not publish selfies or posed shots, do not use filters or retouching.
What if the family wishes to photograph a great-grandfather's name partly preserved on a barrack wall?
Some barracks at Auschwitz I (especially Block 11) carry partially preserved prisoner inscriptions. Photography is permitted with respect for the gravity of the place. Photographs without flash, taken at a distance, with awareness that these walls are classified as conservation objects, are advised. We do not touch the walls, do not rest cameras on them, and do not scratch the paint. If a family wishes a high-resolution photograph for family printing, one may approach the museum press office for official documentation.