A series of photos taken between May and December 1944 depict a group of men, women and children enjoying themselves at what appears to be a resort.
They’re smiling, laughing, eating, listening to music and socialising – as many people do over the warmer European months.
Here, a group of men and women laugh as one man plays the accordion:
In another photo, people relax on sunbeds.
In yet another, a smiling man plays with his dog.
Taken together, the images appear to tell a story of a happy group of people on holiday. But this assumption couldn't be further from the truth.
The photos belong to a gallery titled, 'Laughing at Auschwitz,' which shows officers and guards at Auschwitz relaxing and enjoying themselves just kilometres away from the death camp.
They smile and listen to music and play with their children and pets while countless people are being murdered just moments away. And they seem completely oblivious.
These are some of the very few photos that exist of 'leisure time' of the concentration camp's SS officers, and they elicit a strong visceral response.
Watch: The horror of Auschwitz. Post continues after video.
The United States National Holocaust Museum in Washington made the photos public after obtaining them from a US officer who found them in an apartment in Frankfurt. In a statement, the museum's director, Sara Bloomfield powerfully articulated what makes these images so chilling.