Birkenau was an extermination-concentration camp.  They killed the children when they got there.  Birkenau at the time was 40 Km.  It was also a labor, transit camp rolled into one.  They filled with Russian POWs, it was known as the SS "utopia", in upper Silesia.  Birkenau was the world's largest grave yard.  The victims were scattered through out the fields, in small ponds, a lake, or in the river.  Krakow was 37 miles away it was the capital of the German occupants in Poland.       

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                The platforms lead to the barracks.  The Barracks are houses generally fitting 3 people, but because of the size of Birkenau they had to fit 4 people.  Men and women are separated into different barracks.  The children were just killed when they got there.  9 out of 10 people were Jewish the other were Russian POWs, Poles,  etc. from May 14, 1944-June 8, 1944 there were 437,400 people living in Birkenau.  Auschwitz was found in 1270.  They were known as Auschwitz, Birkenau, and Monowitz.  Oswiecim (Auschwitz) is now a factory town with 50,000 residents.  Oswiecim was captured on September 6, 1947.