The Auschwitz-Birkenau Story
The concentration camp known as Auschwitz is known to many people around the world. It's a symbol of terror, genocide, and the Holocaust to many people today.
Auschwitz consisted of three main parts and was expanded over the years. The three main parts of these camps were Auschwitz I- the main camp, Auschwitz II- Birkenau, and Auschwitz III- Monowitz. The first group of 10,000 Russian POW's and Polish Political prisoners arrived and were killed. Only 1,000 survived.
Entering Auschwitz
As you would enter the reception area hung a sign above the gate that said '' Arbeit Macht Frei'' (work brings freedom). It was hung there by Major Rudolph Hoss, commandant of the camp. This was not placed there to be a mockery, or even to have been taken literally. Some say that those who worked themselves to exhaustion would eventually be released. Once you had gotten off the train you would be separated into two lines.
Women and children in one line and the men in the other. Either young children or pregnant women would immediately be taken to the gas chamber. You would either be chooses for work, sent to the gas chamber, or be used for medical experiments. About 25% of prisoners were chosen for work, but about 75% were sent straight to the gas chambers.
Train Yards
During the first couple of years of Auschwitz, 44 train tracks were laid in the train yard. This was more that New York's Penn Station. Many people like Jews, gypsies, and war prisoners called this the ''Death Gate''. Through this gate many trains pulled in day and night with 60 or more cars full of Jews on their way to the gas chambers.
Reception & Tattooing
When the prisoners arrived they had all their hair cut off by male prisoners from head to toe. Then they were told to go to the showers, while the prisoners washed their clothes. After the shower and they were dressed they were hurried to the registration area. They received number tattoos on their left forearm. Most people that did not receive any kind of this reregistering like this was the majority of Auschwitz II victims.
Birkenau
Burkenau is not that well known, or frequently visited, but Birkenau is the place where the most Jews perished than an any other camp in the whole Holocaust. In the beginning of 1942, the camp became the greatest mass murderer in all the history of the human race. Rudolph Hoss stated that "Over 9,000 men, women, and children were gas each day." That's over 63,000 people that died in the gas chambers in one week. And that's not counting the ones who were murdered, or that died from experiments.
Living in Birkenau
Some times if you were a gypsies you would live in a wooden houses. They were surrounded by very little grass with very little vegetation and tons of mud and hard ground. Large brick houses housed many of Jews and others. It was very crowded. This is what caused the Typhus epidemic.
The Typhus epidemic
The Typhus epidemic was a major problem, from being that there was so many people there, and them drinking bad water, eating human flesh or rotten food and other things. "The Reichfuhrer SS [Heinrich Himmler] has ordered that the death rate absolutely must go down." This statement was said by Rudolph Hoss. It referred to the death rate from the Typhus epidemic and other diseases.
Restrooms
Birkenau had primitive latrines. They had no supplies of toilet paper, or anything to clean themselves off with after they went to the bathroom. The latrines were used by women, men, and children all at the same time. Many people fainted or threw-up because of the over- powering stench.
Block 10
Block 10 was a medical experimentation block in Auschwitz. Many German doctors applied for permission to work on human subjects. Many thought of this place to be full of horrors. Just being a subject could prolong or end your life in just a few minutes. You could be assigned to skin testing for reactions to any substances. or receive a phenol injections to the heart for immediate dissections. Doctor Mengele was considered the most evil man in Auschwitz. Doctor Ernest B. protected and saved many inmates here.
Meat
When animal meat became rare, human flesh was used. The SS would steal the prisoners food like animal meat and the prisoners would have to eat human flesh. The SS physician would use the flesh from people who have been gassed or murdered. Many people got sick or didn't eat at all.
Gas Chambers at Birkenau
The first gas chamber was put in to order on March 20, 1942. It was called the "Little Red House" or Bunker I. Bunker I was a wooden house that had a sign that said "Shower room". As you entered you would be given a towel and a bar of soap. They had the shower heads and every other thing that would be needed in a shower. It also had vents or peepholes where they could shoot Zyklon B. A total of 200,000 Jews were gassed and died in Bunker I.
Escape
Escape was extremely rare, but was not completely unknown. The most famous case was a Polish Jew named Mala Zimetbaum and her Polish lover, Edelk Galinski. She was a very fast lauferin (runner). She would run errands and carry messages. Both Mala and Edelk were part of the anti-Nazi underground. Edelk had a SS suit and together they walked out as an officer and a prisoner that was being taken to another camp. But they were later caught and taken back to the camp. They both were sentenced to death. Mala slashed her wrist with a razor that she conclude in her sleeve. She was beaten to death and was sent to the crematoria without being hanged. Across the grounds Edelk leaped into the noose and kicked away the bench before the death sentence was read. He was saved and they rehung him. Almost 400 were caught and killed immediately.
Exports
The body supply was so full that they would send many to other camps like Sachsenhausen for experiments with things like epidemic hepatitis. Twenty Jewish children ages 5-12 were sent to Neueagamme in Hammburg where they were subjects to injections with tubercular serum and other experiments, until they were removed and silently murdered just before the arrival of the allied troops.
How Many People did Die?
Polish Communist Government later claimed that 4,000,000 people or more were exterminated at Auschwitz. It's not for certain if more or less people died.
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Of the 405,000 registered prisoners, 65,000 survived
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Of the 16,000 Soviet POW's, 96 survived
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And over 1.6,000,000 were murdered
Remember
Many people think that it happened such a long time ago what and how can we help? Remember of what they said, what they went through, and how they felt. Remember many people lost their lives and those who didn't are survivors.
Brielle Stonaker
7th Rossville Jr. High
Spring 2001