The first Polish prisoners arrived at Auschwitz on June 14, 1940. This day is now a national day of remembrance in Poland. Auschwitz started as a camp for prisoners but turned into the main place for the Nazi genocide of European Jews. The stories of Jewish persecution and the Holocaust remind us of the horrors of that time.

Auschwitz had many parts, with Auschwitz I holding 15,000 to 20,000 political prisoners. Auschwitz II in Birkenau could hold 90,000 prisoners and had bathhouses where many were killed. There were over 40 smaller camps, like Monowitz (Auschwitz III), with about 10,000 prisoners. These facts show the huge amount of suffering at Auschwitz.

Learning about Auschwitz helps us remember the victims and their suffering. It also helps us promise to stop such things from happening again.

The Origins of Auschwitz – Location and Establishment

The Auschwitz origins started in an old Polish army barracks in Oświęcim. This place was taken over by Nazi Germany and renamed Auschwitz. It was chosen because it had good rail links, making it easy to bring Jews from all over Europe.

Auschwitz was in German-occupied Poland. It became the biggest and most famous of the Nazi concentration camps. It began small but grew into a huge complex with places like Auschwitz II-Birkenau, known as the 'Gate of Death’.

Leaders like Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Himmler talked about a big plan to kill many people. This plan led to the creation of extermination camps like Auschwitz. The Nazis wanted to take over Eastern Europe and change the population.

Many people suffered at Auschwitz. About 1.3 million were brought there from 1940 to 1945. Sadly, around 1.1 million people died, including 960,000 Jews and many others.

There was a big prisoner uprising on October 7, 1944. Prisoners fought back, killing three guards and destroying a crematorium. By early November, the Nazis stopped gassing new prisoners. When Soviet forces got close in January 1945, the Nazis took down the crematoria.

The main camp, Auschwitz I, sometimes had over 20,000 prisoners. Auschwitz II-Birkenau had over 90,000 by 1944. There were more than 40 sub-camps, with Buna being the biggest.

About a thousand homes were destroyed around the camps. Buildings were taken over for the SS and industry. This shows how big and destructive the Nazi plans were in German-occupied Poland.

Auschwitz I: The Main Camp and its Horrors

Auschwitz I, the main camp, is a symbol of the Holocaust’s cruelty. It was set up on April 27, 1940. It was the main office for the Auschwitz camp complex. Most prisoners were political prisoners from Poland and Germany. They faced harsh conditions that led to death or great suffering.

A gas chamber in Auschwitz I was used for mass murder. This made it a place of great fear.

Prisoners were forced to work hard, leading to many deaths from exhaustion or illness. The camp was also known for cruel medical experiments. Dr. Josef Mengele and others did these experiments, treating people like lab animals.

The „Black Wall” was a place of terror, where many were executed. But the horrors didn’t stop there. Between 1.1 and 1.5 million people died in the Auschwitz complex. Sadly, 90% of these were Jews.

About 19,000 Roma people and 83,000 Polish prisoners also died in the camp. These numbers show the huge tragedy of Auschwitz I. It’s a key place to remember the genocide’s horrors.

Auschwitz II-Birkenau: The Extermination Centre

Auschwitz II-Birkenau was a key part of the Nazi’s plan to kill millions. It was the biggest and most known place where many were murdered. About 1 million Jews lost their lives there, showing the huge scale of the tragedy.

The camp was built to kill on a huge scale. New arrivals went through a tough selection. Those who couldn’t work, like the elderly, women, and kids, were sent straight to gas chambers. These chambers looked like showers but were actually places of death, using Zyklon B gas.

The Nazis worked very efficiently at Birkenau. Almost 200,000 Jews out of 1.1 million were forced to work. Many others were killed right away in the gas chambers. Conditions were very hard, and not many survived. For example, 9,000 out of 10,000 Soviet POWs died in just five months.

Birkenau wasn’t just for Jews; it held around 23,000 Roma and Sinti people too. By August 1944, it had about 90,000 prisoners, 74% of whom were Jews. This shows how important Birkenau was in the Nazi system, not just for killing but also as a place to send people to work.

The numbers from Auschwitz II-Birkenau show how well it worked:

There was also resistance from the prisoners at Auschwitz II-Birkenau. In October 1944, some prisoners, the Sonderkommando, destroyed a gas chamber. This act shows the bravery and strength of those in the camp.

Auschwitz III-Monowitz: Forced Labour and Industrial Exploitation

Auschwitz III-Monowitz, also known as Monowitz Buna, was a place of extreme forced labour during World War II. It was set up in summer 1942 for the I.G. Farben synthetic rubber plant. The Nazis put a huge amount of money into it, showing how far they would go to use human suffering for their war aims.

Prisoners, mostly Jewish, worked hard under terrible conditions at the Buna Werke. This led to a very high death rate. The camp was a key part of the German war effort.

By 1942, many subcamps were added near coal mines and factories to help the war. The Nazis used forced labour for their economic gain. By August 1944, over 7.5 million workers were forced to work in the Reich. Sadly, about two-thirds of these workers died within four months.

At Monowitz, around 25,000 workers died by 1945. Death rates went up after Germany faced big defeats in 1944. This shows how the Nazis used forced labour to keep their war going.

Millions of people, including Holocaust survivors, stayed in Germany after the war. Auschwitz III-Monowitz shows the extreme cruelty of the Nazis. It highlights how they used forced labour to support their war.