WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The Auschwitz museum has obtained a new relic from the death camp Nazi Germany operated during World War II: the baton of the inmate orchestra's conductor.
Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum spokesman Bartosz Bartyzel said Wednesday the wood-and-ivory baton with a plaque reading "F. Nierychlo 1940 (A)" was obtained from a private individual.
Franciszek Nierychlo, a musician, was brought to Auschwitz in June 1940 in a transport of Polish prisoners and made the Nazis' supervising "kapo" in the camp kitchen. According to the museum, survivors described him as cruel and cooperative with the Germans.
The orchestra Nierychlo organized on Nazi orders played lively tunes while Auschwitz inmates were maltreated. The museum said it helped save musicians, who received more food and had better conditions.
Some 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, perished in Auschwitz.
