Solahütte

Solahütte (a.k.a. Solehütte, Soletal, SS-Hütte Soletal, or SS Hütte Porombka) was a resort in Poland for the Nazi German guards, administrators, and auxiliary personnel of the Auschwitz/Birkenau/Buna facilities during the Holocaust in occupied Poland. Although postcards of the era sent by German staff sometimes bore the mysterious pre-printed return address "SS Hütte Soletal", the rustic hamlet remained largely unknown to historians until 2007, when the Höcker Album of memorabilia owned by SS officer Karl-Friedrich Höcker including vintage Auschwitz photographs was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, which then released images from the album online for study. Some of the photographs identified Solahütte for the first time. thumb|Nazi officers and auxiliaries having fun at Solahütte.|alt=Black and white photograph of about three men in SS uniform and about 10 women in uniform smiling wide on a wooden bridge. One of the men plays an accordion. thumb|From left to right, Richard Baer|Baer, Mengele, and Höss at Solahütte.|alt=Three men in SS uniform stand outdoors looking at viewer's right.

Solahütte is around by car from Auschwitz. The site is located near the bends in the Soła river where in 1935 engineers finished a heavy dam which created the scenic Międzybrodzkie reservoir lake. The villages of Porąbka and Międzybrodzie Żywieckie are close by, along with the Żar glider airstrip and the Żar peak with its funicular incline-tram. The region was already popular with tourists before World War II.