Letters written by Auschwitz doctor offer rare look at wartime family ties

# Letters Written by Auschwitz Doctor Offer Rare Look at Wartime Family Ties

A newly discovered collection of letters written by Jan Nowak, a non-Jewish physician from Kraków, has been made available for study. Nowak worked as a doctor at Auschwitz during the Nazi occupation of Poland, and the correspondence documents his communications with family members outside the concentration camp system during World War II.

The letter collection provides insight into the personal and family dynamics of someone employed within the Nazi camp infrastructure. As a non-Jewish doctor, Nowak occupied a different position than most prisoners in the camps, and the letters reveal how he maintained contact with relatives during the wartime period. The discovery offers a rare documentary perspective on the lives and relationships of camp personnel during the Holocaust.