Who designed Auschwitz?

Answer 1

The decision to build a concentration camp at Auschwitz was made by the SS in early 1940, and the camp opened in May 1940. Originally it was designed as a punishment camp for about 20,000 inmates - in practice, mainly for Polish resistance fighters. The efficient and mindlessly obedient SS officer Rudolf Hoess (NOT to be confused with Rudolf Hess) was appointed Kommandant.

In 1941 Himmler told Hoess to prepare to turn Auschwitz into the biggest establishment of all time for "destroying humans". Hoess of course did exactly as he was told ...

Another Perspective:Hitler was not the first German to kill people in what they considered to be beneficial extermination. There was a concept of, "life not worthy to be lived", and it governed who could be killed. It started with the truly deformed and disabled from birth; infants who would be a burden to society and who would not be capable of contributions to the world.

In fact, Germany was not the first to propose euthanasia for those who were considered defective.

It was an easy step to destroy older children; after all, once killing infants became routine, how difficult would it be to extend the "mercy killings" beyond the infants?

As their program continued to grow, they added the elderly who were no longer able to work, people who had contracted disease, people with debilitating injury... just about anyone who could no longer contribute.

It was a small step in the minds of Germans to add Jews, Gypsies and Homosexuals to the list.

Remember that it was never a situation where one day, they respected all life, then suddenly they decided to kill 6,000,000 Jews.

The first "mercy killings" were performed in hospitals, by doctors and nurses who believed in what they were doing. As the numbers grew, German officials determined that a more efficient method was needed. Mobile death chambers were built in the back of enclosed trucks, where grandpa or a deformed infant would be wheeled in, the chamber was closed and poison gas was pumped in.

Those methods too were determined to be inefficient, and the larger death camps were built, complete with furnaces for cremating the victims.

Before allowing the murder of innocent people to ever become routine and accepted by society, we must demand that our elected officials oppose death panels in ANY form, even if it is in the form of a nationalized health program, as was the case in Germany. The German death camps, concentration camps or whatever we care to call them, should be a reminder of man's inhumanity to man, and we should remember along with the Jews today who say, "never again".

Answer 2

In January 1940 the SS (in Berlin) decided to established a very large and harsh concentration camp for in Poland for (1) habitual criminals and (2) the Polish elite. Auschwitz was chosen as the site because there were disused cavalry barracks there.

The first prisoners were sent there in May 1940 with Commandant Rudolf Hoess to make alterations and additions to the buildings.

Later it developed into the largest complex of Nazi concentration camps with about 48 satellite camps. It became notorious because the largest extermination camp of all, Auschwitz II (Birkenau), was established there.

Please also see the related question.

Answer 3

A man named Walther Dejaco designed Auschwitz, and he was the same architect who designed the four brick gas chambers and the Central Sauna at Birkenau, the Auschwitz II camp.

Answer 4

Himmler gave the order, Hoess supervised the conversion of the Barracks built by the Poles

Answer 5

The original camp (Auschwitz I) made use of former Polish cavalry barracks.

Additional buildings were put up by the early inmates, who were used as forced labour.

Answer 6

The concentration camps and the extermination camp at Auschwitz were established and run by the SS.

Answer 7

The idea of Auschwitz was Hitler. but the people who built it it was the prisoners, who was going to be in Auschwitz.

Answer 8

One of Hitlers, right hand man's.