I chose Auschwitz because I wanted to see what they did to the Jews in the camps. The Auschwitz was divided into three major camps Auschwitz 1, Auschwitz 2, and Auschwitz 3. Auschwitz was started in April 1940 under Heinrich Himmler.
Auschwitz was the largest camp by Germans. The camps included a concentration, extermination, and forced-labor camp. It was located at Oswiecin. Auschwitz 1 was the main camp. Auschwitz 2 was the killing center. Auschwitz 3 was there to provide forced labor for factories. There were also many sub camps around the three main camps.
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The Jews were taken to Auschwitz by a cattle car train. They arrived daily at Auschwitz. They were packed in so tight that they could not move or sleep. They were usually in cattle car for two day or longer. There were no food, water, or toilets. The floor was made of straw that was dirty.
Auschwitz was the ending point for most Jews. The children were killed as soon as they arrived at Auschwitz. If a women had a baby it was killed as soon as it was born. To save money at the end of the war they would just throw the remaining children into a oven or a open pit fire.
The clothes that the inmates usually
received a shirt, long underwear, jacket, trouser,
and maybe a coat for the winter.
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Auschwitz was known as
the killing center. There
were about 1.25 million + Jews killed in it.
The people there were starving, getting beat, and most were sick
from hunger.
Here are some first hand accounts from Auschwitz:
“They expect the
worst they do not expect the unthinkable.”
By
Charlotte Delbo
“The one who does
not remember history is bound to live through it again.”
By
George Santayana
The most medical
killings were done by phenol injections.
It was put in the vein of the person.
After awhile they just put the injection into the heart.
The other way of killing was putting Jews in gas champers.
The twin chambers were numbered 2 and 3 and 4 and 5.
The twin chambers first opened on March 31, 1943 and the other one
on April 4, 1943. They took up 2,255 square meters. They could hold 4,420 people.
Those who would be killed were undressed and pushed in the gas
chambers.
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This
is a diagram of a normal day at Auschwitz.
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4.00 Uhr: |
Awakening by signaling whistles |
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Bettenbau mean Making of beds in military manner (blankets had to be made up over the straw mattresses) |
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Washing- for many thousands of inmates, there only were a couple of sanitary facilities at free disposal |
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Getting “Breakfast” |
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Morning Roll Call |
Line up in row of
tens The morning roll-call lasted as long as the roll-call of a
prisoners
were stated.
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Move
Off of the labor comman |
They
had to march off to the beat of the music played by the camp orchestra |
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Work: |
The usual working time amounted to 11 hours with a lunch break of half an hour |
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Return to the Camp: |
Controlling the prisoners returning from work |
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Evening Roll- Call |
Often, those roll-call
lasted more than 10 hours, they
were seen as punishment for attempts to escape and
other “offences” |
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Dinner
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Dinner was handed out |
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9:00 p.m. |
Night's rest; leaving the barracks was strictly prohibited |
Jeff Prior
7th Grade Rossville Jr. High
Spring 2001