31 August 1940

A closer look at 31 August 1940

Who Wilhelm Brasse was

Wilhelm Brasse (3 December 1917 - 23 October 2012) was a Polish professional photographer who became a prisoner in Auschwitz during World War II. He trained in photography in Katowice at his aunt's studio and was assigned to the Auschwitz Erkennungsdienst, the camp photographic identification unit.

What he actually did at Auschwitz

As a member of the Erkennungsdienst Brasse photographed prisoners for identity files, camp events and medical experiments. He estimated he took tens of thousands of identity pictures between 1940 and 1945 and worked under orders to take portraits in three poses: front and both sides. He and another prisoner later disobeyed orders to destroy the photos and some of the surviving images are now held by the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and Yad Vashem.

Why his photographs matter and what you can see

Some photographs credited to Brasse are part of the permanent exhibit in Block no. 6 at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum; others are held at Yad Vashem and in the US Holocaust Memorial Museum photo archives. The museum displays include identity portraits and related biographical cards; a small portion of the overall archive is on public display.

Questions people ask about 31 August 1940

Can I see Brasse’s photographs in a museum?

Yes - some photographs credited to Brasse are on display in the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum; other related images are held at Yad Vashem and in the USHMM photo archives.

Did Brasse continue photographing after the war?

No, after returning home he felt haunted by the images and abandoned photography; he later ran a sausage casing business.

Was Brasse the only photographer at Auschwitz?

No. The page notes many camp photos exist without photographer names and that a large number of identification photographs were taken by the camp photographic service as a whole.

31 August 1940 was shared on NexURLs by Nexis on November 2, 2026, in History & Culture.