Auschwitz is a city in Poland where the concentration camps of Auschwitz, Birkenau, Monowitz, and 40 sub-camps were organized under Hitler. More than 1 million people were tortured and killed here between 1941 and 1945.
What is Auschwitz
Auschwitz is a Polish town, 70 kilometers from Krakow. This was also the name of the concentration camp (Auschwitz, German) located here during the Nazi Germany. The complex was originally planned to be used only for opposition members who disagreed with Hitler’s policies, but was later turned into a place of mass extermination. The Jews were especially hard hit.
A Brief History of the Concentration Camp
Auschwitz was annexed by the Germans in the fall of 1939. Beginning in 1940, the resettlement of local peasants who liberated the territory to the invaders began. The Jewish workers, under orders from the German administration, had to rebuild the barracks into a concentration camp, which was intended for local political criminals.
The first prisoners were taken to the detention centers on June 14, 1940. The first Jews were brought here in 1941.
In October 1941 work began on Birkenau (aka Auschwitz 2). In 1942, Monowitz was created. Then 40 more branches were opened near mines and metallurgical plants, where people were sent to work. Until 1945, concentration camps were constantly bringing in new prisoners who had been mistreated, starved, and cold. The Soviet Union occupied the city on January 27, 1945. In 1947 a state museum was established on the site of the former death camps, and in 1967 a monument to their victims was erected.
Appearance of Auschwitz
At the entrance there is a gate with the inscription Arbeit macht frei at the top. Behind them is a fortress. There are crematoriums, rooms with cut prisoners’ hair, shoes, children’s things. You can also see the wall of death, unheated barracks, where people were settled.
During the retreat, the Germans only partially destroyed the complex, so many of the buildings have survived. Thirty barracks, watchtowers, and barbed wire were left over from the war.
Some structures are open, you can enter them. Some look just as they did when the concentration camps were in operation, while others have been converted into museum displays.
How prisoners were transported
Prisoners were taken by train. Often they were taken in freight cars. Each was loaded with as many people as it could hold. All of the newcomers’ belongings were taken away from them, after which some of them were sent to die in the gas chamber. Only those who were capable of performing forced labor could remain alive. Jews survived less often than others. Up to 75% of those who entered the camp were killed in the gas chamber as soon as they arrived.
Number of victims
The exact number of victims is difficult to calculate. Historians indicate 1.3 million people as the minimum number of prisoners of the camp complex. 1,082,000 of them were killed in the gas chambers or died of hunger, cold, disease, excessive hard work. Official records show about 200,000 deaths. According to some reports, the number of those killed is as high as 2.5 million.
Prisoner designations
Each person was assigned a number, which was put on the body in the form of a tattoo. The prisoners also had triangles sewn on their clothes.
The color of this sign indicated the reason the prisoner was sent to a death camp:
- Reds are for political prisoners;
- green – for those who have committed a criminal offense;
- The black ones are for gypsies;
- The purple ones are for Jehovah’s Witnesses;
- Pink is for homosexuals.
Prisoners of war from the USSR received the SU patch. Jews were marked with a six-pointed star consisting of two triangles. The first was yellow, the color of the second indicated the reason for the person’s entry into the concentration camp.
Liberation of Auschwitz
The first Soviet troops liberated Monowitz. The 100th Infantry Division of the Red Army occupied it at 9 a.m. January 27, 1945. 7,000 survivors in the main camp and 500 in the auxiliary sections were found on site. Field infirmaries admitted 4,500 people suffering from the consequences of imprisonment.
Historical Facts
The working day lasted from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Around noon there was a lunch break that lasted half an hour. If a person was sent to work outside the camp area, he had to leave early and walk 8-10 kilometers to his destination along with the other prisoners. If for some time the prisoner lost the ability to work, he was put to death. Up to 80% died in the first 3-4 months after capture.
Block 11 was always locked. All but two of the windows leading to the room where the duty officers sat were bricked up. Cramped cells held people on death row. Sometimes they were shot right in the courtroom. If the number of those condemned was too large, they were led to the wall of death, where they were placed in a row, stripped naked, and put to death.
Organization of the Auschwitz concentration camp
The camp had a complex structure.
Structure of the camp
The camp complex consisted of several parts, such as:
- Auschwitz. This was the headquarters of the administration, from which orders were given to all the other departments. In addition, the first section included a work complex for prisoners.
- Birkenau. A place where prisoners were massacred. There were five crematoriums on 140 hectares where the bodies of the dead were burned.
- Monowitz. A labor camp where prisoners were forced to work.
- Branches near mines, factories, where people were sent to work. In all, there were more than 40 of them.
Medical experiments
Doctors tested various medical inventions on the prisoners. In Block 10, people were infected with deadly diseases to test the effectiveness of vaccines. They used X-rays as a means of sterilization and irradiated women. People were injected with toxic substances in order to study their effects on the body, to test new drugs on them. Studies were conducted not only on adults, but also on children.
Second section of the camp
As the first camp quickly became too small to handle the increasing number of prisoners, it had to be expanded. In the second section it was immediately explained to people that they would only be able to leave the place of detention through the gas chamber. Upon arrival, prisoners were taken to the triage area. Many were immediately sent to be burned, some were taken away for medical experiments. Women were sometimes taken to work as servants.
Gas chambers and crematoria
The first case of gas poisoning occurred in September 1941. Later, the majority of those arriving at Auschwitz suffered this fate. At first the basement of Block 11 was used, but it was quickly deemed unsuitable for mass executions. Poisonings began to take place in Crematorium I, which held up to 700 victims. In 1942, executions began to take place in the “red” and “white” houses on the territory of Birkenau. Later four more crematoriums were built where prisoners were first put to death and then burned.
Monument to the Victims of Fascism
The location of the Monument to the Victims of Fascism is in the Podgórze district of Krakow. It looks like the figures of 5 people bowing their heads under the weight of a concrete block. A crack runs through each one’s chest, symbolizing a ripped out heart. The monument was erected in 1964.
The project was designed by architect Witold Cenczkiewicz, and the carving was done by Ryszard Szczipinski.
Rules for visiting Auschwitz
In 2022, anyone can visit the museum on the grounds of the former death camp. However, the administration does not recommend bringing children under 14 years of age, as what you see can scare them, adversely affect the immature psyche.
How to get to Auschwitz in Poland
To get to the museum now you can in different ways.
From Warsaw to Krakow
From the capital you can get to Krakow by train, plane or bus. Car trips are less frequent, but you can drive to your destination by car if you want to.
From Krakow
From Krakow you can get to your destination by train or bus. The first depart from the main railway station, adjacent to the old town, the second – from the main bus station, located at 18 Bosacka Street. Buses are more convenient because they stop closer to the museum area.
From Katowice
From Katowice there is a toll road, which allows you to quickly get to Auschwitz by car. There are also trains and buses from the city.
From the train station to the concentration camp
From the train station can be reached by bus, passing every 30-40 minutes. If you do not want to waste time waiting for public transport, you can call a cab.
