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Auschwitz
Auschwitz was a Nazi controlled concentration, extermination and labor camp located in Poland. Opened in 1940, the camp was liberated in 1945 by Soviet troops. Questions and answers about Auschwitz can be found here.
731 Questions
How many people went into Auschwitz a day?
Well 6 Million People were sent to Auschwitz (Only 1/6 were actually killed So, Auschwitz was Operating from May 1940- January 1945 but most of the deportations happened between October 20th 1941- January 27th 1945, total of 1184 Days. 6,000,000/1,184= 5,068. So 5,068 people were sent to Auschwitz daily in Average.
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6 Million people were not sent to Auschwitz.
creating averages over such a long and changing period does nothing to illuminate matters.
Siegfried Lederer was one of five prisoners to escape from Auschwitz in 1944. When he escaped, he told the people in the Theresienstadt ghetto about how the Nazis were mass murdering all of the Jews in the concentration camps.
What were the Jews told when they were going to Auschwitz?
They were told that they were going East to be re-settled in Family Camps.
What was the purpose of each section of Auschwitz?
The initial purpose was to terrorize people who defied the Nazi regime.
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It was a part of the "Final Solution" to the Jewish "problem". Jews were taken there from all over Europe in crowded cattle trucks. Those who survived the journey were split into two groups, those to be immediately killed and those who could temporarily be useful as slave labor. Most new arrivals were stripped and herded into "shower" buildings where they were sealed in and Zyklon B was dropped in through holes in the roof. This killed them and their bodies were disposed of in purpose built crematoria which sometimes operated day and night.
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The function of Auschwitz changed ... When it was first established in May 1940 it was primarily intended for Polish intellectuals and members of the Polish resistance. At that stage it was an exceptionally harsh forced labour and punishment camp. Later, some Soviet POWs were sent there, too. Auschwitz expanded to become a vast complex of camps (about 45 sub camps). Auschwitz II (Birkenau) opened in 1942, largely as an extermination camp for Jews.
Additional answer
It's not really true to say that Auschwitz was there to terrorise people, because if so then it would have been important for people to know of its existence and what would happen to you if you defied the Nazis. In fact, the Nazis tried to keep quiet about their concentration camps, because they knew that they might be the subject of war crimes trials.
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The additional answer certainly applies to Auschwitz and the other extermination camps and Grade III concentration camps (the harshest category of all). However, the existence of the 'ordinary' concentration camps was well known. In fact, Himmler launched Dachau amid a blaze of publicity at a press conference. The purpose of these early camps was to terrorize opponents. There was a quite well known saying in Nazi Germany: 'Lieber Gott, mach' mich stumm/ Dass ich nicht nach Dachau kumm' (English: 'Dear God, make me mute, so that I won't go to Dachau').
It's a big mistake to think that all concentration camps were alike and served the same purposes.
Please also see the related question below.
Why is it important for the youth of today to know about Auschwitz?
The Idea of education about the Auschwitz concentration camps were that to let people at a young age know;
What is it
Who was it for
What Happened to it
This is basically giving them a main idea about Auschwitz and the holocaust, In goal to let nothing what happened in Auschwitz to happen ever again.
What was the first thing the prisoners saw when they got to birkenau?
If it was in the early period, it would have been the iconic gatehouse. Later, when the rail spur was built, they would have just seen endless rows of barracks.
What was the Hierarchy of the Auschwitz prisoners?
roughly:
Political prisoners
Criminals (habitual or violent)
Jehovahs Witnesses
Anti-Socials
Slavs
Soviet POWs
Jews
gypsies were held in their own section and did not mix with the others.
How far is it from Westerbork to Auschwitz?
The distance between Westerbork transit camp and Auschwitz concentration camp is 1,099 Kilometers or 683 Miles.
What was the purpose of the Auschwitz camp?
The purpose of the Auschwitz camp was to kill people or put them to work.
What did the British soldiers see in the death camps?
The first major camp that the British Army reached was Bergen-Belsen, which was liberated on 15 April 1945 by the 11th Armoured Division. They were greeted by walking skeletons. The camp had about 60,000 prisoners at the time, many of them suffering from typhus and other diseases. (There were also an estimated 13,000 unburied corpses strewn around the camp). For 2-3 months after liberation the death toll remained high. The place was desperately overcrowded and insanitary. What the British soldiers saw was a scene of unimaginable horror. It was reported at the time by the BBC's Richard Dimbleby and was filmed extensively by the British Army - and later shown in cinemas in Britain and the US. It was also shown to all German prisoners-of-war held by the British.
Is the article What really died at Auschwitz true?
It is true for the authour, truth is a matter of perception. People of faith see things differently from sceptics.
No, it was a concentration camp/extermination camp but it did have many POWs
What country liberated Auschwitz?
In April 1945 the Soviet army took Berlin, and a few months later, in June 1945, British and American (and shortly afterwards also French) troops took possession of their countries' sectos of Berlin ... (The question as it stands is somewhat puzzling).
What did the camp doctor of Auschwitz do to the people?
Anything his/there sick, twisted mind/s could think of. The prisoners were human guenie pigs. All without anesthisia, (sorry about the spelling)or the need for permission. Those people were Jewish and therefore nothing but dirt to them. Thanks to Hilter. Think of what those people went through as worse than hell on earth. Hopefully, he/they, is/are still getting his/theirs in hell as I type.
Were there families held in Auschwitz or they are separated beforehand?
Most families were separated in Auschwitz. There was however a 'family camp' where families were held together, this camp contained gypsies who were being experimented on.
What were Bergen Belsen Auschwitz and Mauthausen?
The were concentration camps built by the Nazis in WW 2.
Distance from Amsterdam to Westerbork to Auschwitz-Birkenau then to Bergen-Belsen?
2,000 miles? A long way!
Was Dachau worse than Auschwitz?
No. Dachau was a Grade I concentration camp; Auschwitz was Grade III, which was the harshest grade. Part of the Birkenau section of Auschwitz was an extermination camp.
