Auschwitz Research
Andrew Parker
Statistics and Purpose
The purpose of Auschwitz was to exterminate as many Jews as possible. It did this by gas chambers or crematoriums led by horrible Nazi leaders. Also, horribly inhumane medical experiments were conducted by people such as Josef Mengele. Auschwitz was responsible for the death of about 1,100,000 Jews and 200,000 others. Almost all of these victims were from the Polis-Soviet Area or Germany.
Arbeit Mach Frei
Translated from German, this means "work sets you free." It is see on the entrances of many death camps.
Birkenau Gate
This is the gate that the Jews would enter Birkenau through. The cattle cars would travel under the gate before the Jews were forced out.
First Glimpse
This shows the cattle cars that the Jews would enter into the camp from.
Important Figures
Karl Bischoff
Karl was in charge of construction of the camp. He designed the layout and oversaw consructing the extermination portions of the camp.
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler was the commander of the Schutzstaffel, which operated all Nazi concentration camps. Birkenau was built on the order of Himmler.
Josef Mengele
Josef Mengele was the leader of all the inhumane medical experiments conducted in Auschwitz. He soon became known as the "Angel of Death" for his barbaric deeds.
Daily Life
The prisoners woke before dawn and were forced to make their own beds. Then, they were given their ration for breakfast before the second roll call. They were all then escorted to their work sitres by SS Guards with police dogs. The prisoners worked 11-12 hour days, with only one break for lucnh. During this break, they were given a soup (a quart of water with carrots and rutabagas. After lunch, they worked until dusk, at which time there was a four hour evening roll call. The last meal of the day was bread with rotten salami and jam, and sometimes rotten cheese was included. The camps had no heat or running water and only a few toilets that the prisoners had access to for a monitored ten seconds.