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| Builders find Auschwitz message | Builders find Auschwitz message |
| (1 day later) | |
| Builders working near the site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp have found a message in a bottle written by prisoners, museum officials say. | Builders working near the site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp have found a message in a bottle written by prisoners, museum officials say. |
| The message, written in pencil and dated 9 September 1944, bears names, camp numbers and home towns of seven young inmates from Poland and France. | The message, written in pencil and dated 9 September 1944, bears names, camp numbers and home towns of seven young inmates from Poland and France. |
| At least two survived the Nazi camp, an Auschwitz museum official said. | At least two survived the Nazi camp, an Auschwitz museum official said. |
| The bottle was buried in a concrete wall in a school that prisoners had been compelled to reinforce. | The bottle was buried in a concrete wall in a school that prisoners had been compelled to reinforce. |
| The school's buildings, a few hundred metres from the camp, were used as warehouses by the Nazis, who wanted them protected against air raids. | The school's buildings, a few hundred metres from the camp, were used as warehouses by the Nazis, who wanted them protected against air raids. |
| The authors of the note "were young people who were trying to leave some trace of their existence behind them", said museum spokesman Jarek Mensfelt. | The authors of the note "were young people who were trying to leave some trace of their existence behind them", said museum spokesman Jarek Mensfelt. |
| The authenticity of the message has been checked by the museum. | The authenticity of the message has been checked by the museum. |
| "All of them are between the ages of 18 and 20," the final sentence of the note reads. | "All of them are between the ages of 18 and 20," the final sentence of the note reads. |
| Alive and well | Alive and well |
| Six of the prisoners were from Poland and one was from France. The note gives the names as: Bronislaw Jankowiak, Stanislaw Dubla, Jan Jasik, Waclaw Sobczak, Karol Czekalski, Waldemar Bialobrzeski and Albert Veissid. | Six of the prisoners were from Poland and one was from France. The note gives the names as: Bronislaw Jankowiak, Stanislaw Dubla, Jan Jasik, Waclaw Sobczak, Karol Czekalski, Waldemar Bialobrzeski and Albert Veissid. |
| Of the seven, Mr Veissid is alive and well, the BBC has established, having spoken to him on the phone at his home in France. | Of the seven, Mr Veissid is alive and well, the BBC has established, having spoken to him on the phone at his home in France. |
| Builders found the bottle when they where removing a layer of old cement | Builders found the bottle when they where removing a layer of old cement |
| Mr Mensfelt said Karol Czekalski and Wachaw Sobczak had definitely survived the camp. He is at present trying to find out whether they are still alive today. | Mr Mensfelt said Karol Czekalski and Wachaw Sobczak had definitely survived the camp. He is at present trying to find out whether they are still alive today. |
| "Mr Czekalski kept in touch with the museum until some time in the 60s, then we lost contact with him," he said. "His whole family was killed in Auschwitz." | "Mr Czekalski kept in touch with the museum until some time in the 60s, then we lost contact with him," he said. "His whole family was killed in Auschwitz." |
| Nothing is known about the fate of the other four men who signed the note. "Maybe they were transferred to another camp," said Mr Mensfelt, "or maybe they died." | Nothing is known about the fate of the other four men who signed the note. "Maybe they were transferred to another camp," said Mr Mensfelt, "or maybe they died." |
| The Nazis murdered some 1.1 million people at Auschwitz - mainly European Jews, but also non-Jewish Poles, Roma (Gypsies), homosexuals and others. |