AUSCHWITZ
By: Britney Arinze
Auschwitz I
What is Auschwitz I?
Auschwitz I was a concentration and death camps that the Nazi criminals placed the prisoners in.
- Auschwitz functioned in as an exclusive concentration camp.
- The camp continued to function as a concentration camp for prisoners of various ethnic backgrounds.
In 1944, the main camp held approximately 17,000 prisoners.
- 10,000 prisoners were Jewish
- 4 thousand were Poles
- 3 thousand were from other ethnic backgrounds.
Daily Life of Prisoners
The prisoners lived in harsh conditions.
- The prisoners lived in inhuman conditions, were forced to work, were being killed slowly, and they were staved.
The Nazi criminals used the prisoners as labor workers. The prisoners had forced labor. Many of the jobs were very difficult and time consuming.
- The prisoners had main assignments in administrative, economic units, and companies.
- In 1944, a camp for thousands of women prisoners were employed. They were producing artillery-shell fuels in Union-Werke.
Important Figures from the Camp
- SS Standortverwaltung was a commander of the local garrison and Auschwitz I. He enjoyed the formal status.
- Gerhard Sommer was a Nazi criminal. Sommer help massacre almost 560 prisoners at the age of 22.
Auschwitz II-Birkenau
What is Auschwitz II-Birkenau?
Auschwitz II-Birkenau was the largest of more than 40 camps and sub-camps that Auschwitz.
- From 1944, Auschwitz II-Birkenau became the place where prisoners were concentrated before being transferred to labor in the German industry.
- 90% of the prisoners in the Auschwitz concentration camp died in Auschwitz II-Birkenau. This was about one million people.
- 9/10 of the prisoners that were murdered were Jews.
- 20 thousand Gypsies were murdered in Auschwitz II-Birkenau .
- Over 70 thousand Poles that were murdered perished in Auschwitz II-Birkenau.
Living conditions at Auschwitz II-Birkenau was worst than Auschwitz I. Gas chambers were installed, crematoria were installed.
- The living conditions were worst many of the prisoners were treated worst at Auschwitz II-Birkenau than Auschwitz I.
- Gas chambers were installed to kill more Jews in less. The Nazi criminals would trick the prisoner into "taking showers". In reality, they would make all of the selected prisoners to take off their clothes and get in a shower like room. The gas would be released and the prisoners would die.
- Crematories would have gash chambers installed into them. The prisoners were gassed to death and then burned to death. The crematories that did not have gas chambers just burned bodies.
- Primo Levi was a survivor of Auschwitz. He is now an author, he wrote a book about his struggles in Auschwitz.
- Miriam and Eva Mozes they were both twin sisters. Both of their parents both died and their older sisters were killed at the camp. Only Miriam survived from the camp. She is now the founder of CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center.