Restoration and preservation of the reinforced concrete poles of fence at the former Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp

The objective of this study was to assess the present state of the reinforced concrete poles of fence at the former Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp. The poles were subjected to renovation about 10 years ago. After this time some deficiencies of applied renovation method were noticed. Cracks appeared between fresh and original part of concrete cover. Analysis of the reasons of these failures was performed and a modification of used restoration method was proposed to overcome this deficiency. The modification consists in application of sacrificial anodes mounted outside the pole, in soil and inside the concrete cover.