Auschwitz - Poland

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AUSCHWITZ
POLAND
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The next photo is of the gateway into the
Auschwitz I concentration camp complex in the
town of Oswiecim, Poland. (Auschwitz is German
for Oswiecim). The inscription means "Work
Brings Freedom" and was erected over the
entrance by Rudolf Hoess, the first commandant
and major architect of the camp. This is
actually the smaller portion of the overall
complex, the larger being Birkenau, which is a
short distance away. The camp was in operation
from 1940 to 1945 when it was abandoned as the
Soviet Army approached. Through this gate
marched thousands of prisoners, daily, on their
way to slave labour and death.
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The next photo is a close-up of the sign "Work
Brings Freedom" at the gateway into the Auschwitz
I concentration camp complex.
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The next photo is of the entrance into the
crematorium at the Auschwitz I concentration
camp complex. This building had been a former
Polish Army bunker that the Germans converted
into a crematorium. The inside of the building
was destroyed by the Nazis before they evacuated
the camp as the Soviet Army was closing in. 
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The next photo is of the courtyard of death
adjacent to the Cellblock 11 building at the
Auschwitz I concentration camp
complex. Straight ahead in the centre is the
firing wall where prisoners met their deaths by
firing squad. Sometimes, death was administered
by a small calibre pistol shot to the back of
the neck. On the left hand side are two
whipping posts where prisoners were flogged.
Not only Jews were killed here, but political
prisoners, communists, German citizens who spoke
against Hitler and homosexuals. The prisoners
were first stripped of their clothing in the
building on the right and then marched, nude, in
front of the firing wall, and then executed. 
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The next photo is of a collection of eyeglasses
confiscated from prisoners upon their arrival at
the Auschwitz concentration camp complex. These
eyeglasses were recycled to be used by Germans
during World War II. 
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The next photo is of a stack of empty Cyclone B
gas cans that were found when the camp was
liberated by the Soviet Army in 1945. Five to
six cans of gas could kill 1,500 people,
according to testimony of the camp's commandant,
Rudolf Hoess. Cyclone B is a insecticide that
was first tried out on 900 Soviet Prisoners of
war. Hoess wanted a way of conducting
mass Killings that wasn't psychologically
damaging to the SS men. The use of machine guns
resulted in suicide and heavy drinking among the
SS, so, in Hoess' words, killing prisoners
with Cyclone B was impersonal and an easier way
of killing. 
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The next photo is of a mountain of shoes that
were confiscated from children as they arrived
at the Auschwitz Concentration Camp complex.
The SS sent children aged 16 and under
immediately to their deaths in the gas chambers
upon arrival at the camp. These shoes were
left behind when the camp was liberated by the
Soviet Army in 1945.
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The next photo is of the hanging gallows at the
Auschwitz 1 Concentration camp complex. The SS
conducted public hangings on these gallows that
the prisoners were forced to watch. These
hangings were used as an act of intimidation.
The largest mass hanging on these gallows
occurred on July 19, 1943 when 12 Polish men
were hung at the same time. They were accused of
helping 3 prisoners escape and for maintaining
contact with the outside world. 
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This is a photo of a section of what was once a
highly electrified barbed wire that surrounded
the perimeter of the Auschwitz 1 concentration
camp complex. The buildings behind the fence
are some of the various cell blocks. These
buildings had once been Polish Army barracks. 
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The next photo is of a section of what was once a
highly electrified barbed wire that surrounded
the perimeter of the Auschwitz I Concentration
Camp complex.
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The next photo is of Cell Block 10 at Auschwitz
1 Concentration Camp Complex. Dr. Josef
Mengele, known as the "Angel of Death," worked
here. He performed gruesome experiments on
children - his speciality was twins. He
performed sex change operations, removed internal
organs, created Siamese twins by sewing twins
together, lobotomies and many other Experiments
(all without anesthesia). Other doctors
performed cruel experiments on women, such as
removal of the uterus and sterilization. The
windows were boarded up to keep the "patients"
from hearing or seeing prisoners being executed
or flogged in the courtyard of death next door.
(Notice the firing squad wall and the whipping
posts). For more information on Josef Mengele,
visit this website www.mengele.dk/ 
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The next photo was taken of a photograph at the
Auschwitz 2 (Birkenau) Concentration Camp
complex. This was an illegal photo that was
taken by a Polish political prisoner. A few of
the Polish political prisoners were part of an
underground resistance movement and they had some
contact with the outside world. Small cameras
were smuggled inside to them and with these
cameras, they secretly captured some of these
crimes on film. The number of deaths in the gas
chambers became so massive that the
crematoriums could not keep up with the volume of
bodies. To compensate for this, the commandant
of Auschwitz approved the burning of bodies in
shallow pits to prevent the unwanted accumulation
of corpses. Prior to being burned, these bodies
were shorn of the hair on their heads and any
gold teeth or filings were extracted with pliers.
Sometimes, skin with interesting tattoos
were removed, treated like leather, and crafted
into items such as lampshades. 
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The next photo is of a wall lined with the mug
shots of Jewish male prisoners who died in the
gas chamber at the Birkenau (Auschwitz II)
Concentration Camp Complex.
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The next photo is of a photographic display at
the Auschwitz 1 Concentration Camp Complex. These
are the mug shots of child prisoners who were
initially sent to the Auschwitz complex. Several
of them were transferred to other camps where
they died, but many of them died at
Auschwitz. The SS kept detailed records of many
of the prisoners at the Auschwitz
complex including mug shots. 
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