Key Points
Establishment
Auschwitz was established by the Nazis in May 1940 in the town of Oświęcim, Poland, which was then occupied by Germany. Originally intended for Polish political prisoners, Auschwitz quickly expanded and became a key site for the mass murder of Jews and other groups persecuted by the Nazi regime.
Deportations
Auschwitz became the central hub of the Nazi plan for the Final Solution, the systematic extermination of European Jews. Between 1942 and 1944, trains arrived regularly from across Nazi-occupied Europe, transporting Jews from ghettos and other concentration camps directly to Auschwitz. Roma and Sinti, Poles, Soviet POWs, and others were also sent to the camp.
Operation and Purpose
Auschwitz-Birkenau was a central part of the Nazis' "Final Solution," aimed at the systematic extermination of Jews, Roma, Polish political prisoners, Soviet POWs, and other targeted groups. Over 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, were murdered there.
Liberation
Auschwitz was liberated by Soviet forces on January 27, 1945, a date now commemorated as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. By the time of liberation, the Nazis had evacuated most of the of the 58,000 remaining prisoners on a death march, and about 7,650 severely ill or dying prisoners remained in the camp. By the time the camp was liberated, the Nazis had attempted to destroy evidence of their crimes by dismantling parts of the camp and burning documents. As the Soviet Red Army approached Auschwitz in January 1945, toward the end of the war, the SS sent most of the camp's population west on a death march to camps inside Germany and Austria. In the decades after the war, survivors such as Primo Levi, Viktor Frankl, and Elie Wiesel wrote memoirs of their experiences, and the camp became a dominant symbol of the Holocaust.
Memorialization
Auschwitz-Birkenau has been preserved as a memorial and museum. It is one of the most visited Holocaust memorial sites in the world, with exhibitions and preserved structures, such as barracks, gas chambers, and the infamous railway tracks leading to Birkenau, reminding visitors of the atrocities committed. It serves as a key site of education and remembrance, ensuring that the atrocities of the Holocaust are never forgotten.
Auschwitz I (Main Camp)
Function
Auschwitz I was the original concentration camp. It served as an administrative center for the entire complex and housed a wide range of prisoners, including Polish political prisoners, Soviet POWs, Jews, and others.
Famous Features
The infamous "Arbeit Macht Frei" (Work Sets You Free) sign stood at the entrance to Auschwitz I. The camp's brick barracks, the first gas chamber and crematorium, and facilities for forced medical experiments conducted by Nazi doctors like Josef Mengele were also located here.
Auschwitz II-Birkenau (Extermination Camp)
Mass Extermination
Birkenau was the largest of the Auschwitz camps and served primarily as an extermination camp. It had four large gas chambers and crematoria, where hundreds of thousands of people were murdered. The gas chambers used Zyklon B gas for mass executions, and the bodies of the victims were burned in crematoria. Most of those brought to the camp were Jews, but also Polish political prisoners, male homosexuals, and Soviet POWs. On this site was a ‘Family Camp’ specifically for Roma and Sinti prisoners. In the spring and summer of 1944, the rate of extermination was increased as the Jews of Hungary and the Lodz ghetto were brought to the camp.
Selection Process
The process of selection and murder was carefully planned and organized. When a train stopped at the platform, veteran prisoners received the victims and gathered their belongings in several barracks in an area known as “Kanada.” Upon arrival, men were separated from women and children and had their valuables taken away. A Nazi physician would quickly assess whether each person was healthy enough to use for forced labor, and based on this visual inspection, individuals were sent to the camps or to the gas chambers. Only a small percentage was selected for labor in the camp itself, labor in munitions and other industrial plants at satellite camps, while the majority, especially children, the elderly, pregnant women, babies, or the sick, were sent directly to the gas chambers. Before they entered the chamber, they were told that they were about to be disinfected and ordered to undress. The doors of the chamber were locked, and the gas was introduced. After the victims were murdered, their gold teeth were extracted and women’s hair was shorn by the Sonderkommando –The bodies were hauled to the crematorium furnaces for incineration, the bones were pulverized, and the ashes were scattered in the fields.
Living Conditions
Those who were not immediately killed were subjected to brutal conditions in Birkenau. The barracks were overcrowded, and prisoners faced starvation, forced labor, inadequate sanitation, and rampant disease. The death rate among prisoners due to these conditions was extremely high. Labor in Birkenau was often a death sentence due to the harsh environment and treatment.
Medical Experiments
In Auschwitz, especially in Birkenau, Nazi doctors conducted cruel and inhumane medical experiments on prisoners, including sterilization experiments and tests related to infectious diseases. Josef Mengele, known as the "Angel of Death," was infamous for his experiments on children and twins.
Resistance
Despite the horrific conditions and overwhelming odds, there were acts of resistance within Auschwitz. Inmates formed underground groups, and on October 7, 1944, members of the Sonderkommando (mostly Jewish prisoners forced to work in the gas chambers) staged an uprising, destroying one of the crematoria. Resistance was ultimately suppressed, and many of the rebels were killed.
Auschwitz III-Monowitz (Labor Camp)
Forced Labor: Auschwitz III, or Monowitz, was primarily a labor camp where prisoners worked as slave laborers for the German chemical company IG Farben and other German industries. The work was grueling, and conditions were deadly, with many prisoners dying from overwork, malnutrition, and mistreatment.
