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Auschwitz is Built
Heinrich Himmler ordered the construction of this new camp near Oswiecim, Poland. The camp was quickly built by the prisoners. The Auschwitz Concentration Camp ("Auschwitz" is the German spelling of "Oswiecim") instantly became the largest Nazi concentration and death camp. At the end of it's existence, Auschwitz had expanded to include three large camps and 45 sub-camps. -
Zyklon B
People conducted experiments with Zyklon B, formerly used for fumigation. They experimented with this lethal weapon by gassing around 600 Soviet prisoners and 250 ill prisoners. Zyklon B pellets, converted to lethal gas when exposed to air. They proved the quickest gassing method and were chosen as the means of mass murder at Auschwitz. At the height of the deportations, up to 6,000 Jews were gassed each day at Auschwitz. This method of murder quickly spread to many other camps. -
Carbon Monoxide Gassing
A special commission of doctors arrived in Auschwitz and select unfit prisoners, mostly from Block 15, to be murdered in one of the Euthanasia killing centres. A total of 573 inmates were killed, mostly Polish prisoners. However, this was the least brutal murder weapon existent because you lost consciousness before dying. Though this method was not painful, it does not distract from the cruelty of the mass murder. -
Auschwitz II
Construction of Auschwitz-Birkenau, began in the vicinity of Brzezinka in October 1941. Most of Auschwitz's killing, torture, and medical experiments took place in Auschwitz II. Those not selected to die immediately in the gas chambers were sent to a particular Block within the camp. These men and women worked long hours knowing that their families had just been murdered. Many of these prisoners died from overwork, hunger, sickness, or were chosen for the crematoria, all eventually dying. -
People Escape Camp
Piechowsky, polish prisoner 918, lead the effort to escape Auschwitz with 3 of his buddies. Given the job to transport corpses to the crematorium, he gained access to a coal scuttle where the camp's officers kept their uniforms and weapons. After hearing that he was scheduled for execution, he gathered some of his friends. Together, they managed to steal guard uniforms and a car that disguised the prisoners. Though they were victorious in escaping the country, many of them faced punishment. -
Extermination of Gypsies
Gypsies, or the "Roma's" rather, were a group of people that originated from India. As the second most persecuted group of people next to the Jews, roughly 250,000 were killed. Because they were strangers to most of the people they met, people began to gain a strong prejudice towards them. Hitler in particular. On this day, Hitler declared that all Gypsies were to not only be sent to camps, but killed immediately . -
Crematorium
Four large crematorium buildings were constructed between March and June 1943 to get rid of all the dead bodies. 1.5 million people were killed at Auschwitz, which provided a need to dispose of bodies. The guards burned the dead bodies in ovens, and there are also some horror stories of people being thrown in alive. The crematorium also provided jobs for prisoners. This was an easy way to get rid of massive amounts of bodies and save room. -
Anne Frank
This day Anne Frank arrived at the concentration camp in Auschwitz together with her family. She experienced harsh conditions, but wrote about each of them. "The Diary of Anne Frank" was later published and read by millions. Her descriptions of the camp conveyed it's brutality, but also it's reality. She and her family lived there until she died at the camp in early March 1945 because of health issues. -
Smuggling of Photos
The nazi "Sonderkommando" were special types of Jews that were isolated from the rest of the camp, in order to keep the knowledge of the crematorium quiet. However, they were often killed to maintain this secret. Because of this, they were often rebellious. Some of the guard's snook in a tiny camera where they took some of the only pictures showing the crematorium. These pictures were leaked, and they helped persecute against Nazi crimes. -
Evacuation of Auschwitz
Soviet Forces approached Auschwitz and immediately began evacuating the prisoners. SS units ordered 60,000 prisoners to march west on a death march that killed roughly 3,000 after killing 15,000 during the evacuation process. Anyone who stepped out of march was shot down and killed. The prisoners faced starvation and harsh temperatures that contributed to the death count.
