What was an Auschwitz concentration camp?

Konzentrationslager (KL) Auschwitz-Birkenau was the largest German Nazi concentration and extermination centers camp. This camp is one of the most famous places to commemorate a tragic history of the Second World War. At least 1.1 million men, women and children of many nationalities died here.
Among them almost one million were Jews, 70-75,000 Poles, 21,000 Roma, 15,000 Soviet POWs, and 10-15,000 of the remaining victims belonged to other nationalities.

The first mass transport to Auschwitz took place on June 14, 1940. Among the prisoners were 728 Polish men who were labeled „political prisoners” and members of the Polish resistance. They were given serial numbers from 31 to 758. Numbers 1 to 30 were given to a group of German criminals who were brought to Auschwitz from Sachsenhausen on May 20.
The first mass transport of Jews to the Auschwitz camp took place in March 1942 from Poprad (Slovakia).

Why was an Auschwitz concentration camp built?

The reason for the establishment of Auschwitz was the increasing number of Poles arrested and the overcrowding of existing prisons. The first transport of Poles arrived at Auschwitz on June 14, 1940 from Tarnów. Originally, Auschwitz was to be another of the concentration camps created by the Nazis. In 1942, Auschwitz became one of the main centers of the „Endlösung der Judenfrage” – the Nazi plan to exterminate Jews living in areas occupied by the Third Reich.

The camp was set up in Oświęcim (which Germans renamed Auschwitz) in the spring of 1940. It was the first concentration camp in occupied Polish territory. For almost two years, the overwhelming majority of the prisoners there were Poles and Polish Jews (in the constantly rising numbers of arriving transports).
The first killing center set up in occupied Polish lands was the camp at Chełmno on the Ner. In December 1941 Germans started killing there Jews brought from the ghettos. Three more camps, somewhat larger, were opened at Bełżec, Sobibor and Treblinka (that was known as “Aktion Reinhard”) between March and July 1942.

In Auschwitz, the murdering of prisoners in gas chambers began even earlier – at the end of June 1941, when 575 sick and disabled prisoners were sent to their deaths at the euthanasia center.

The name Auschwitz aroused fear among the populations of Nazi occupied territories for almost five years. This largest of the Nazi concentration camps was established in 1940 for Polish political prisoners. But as time passed, the Nazis began to deport there people from all over Europe. As the number of inmates increased, so did the area covered by the camp until it was transformed into a gigantic “factory of death”. From 1942 Auschwitz became the biggest center for the mass extermination of mainly Poles, Polish Jews, but also Russians, Roma, Czechs, Yugoslavs, Austrians and Germans. Figures vary but a conservative estimate puts the number of murdered In Auschwitz at an approximate 1,1 million.

Why was an Auschwitz concentration camp built?

The reason for the establishment of Auschwitz was the increasing number of Poles arrested and the overcrowding of existing prisons. The first transport of Poles arrived at Auschwitz on June 14, 1940 from Tarnów. Originally, Auschwitz was to be another of the concentration camps created by the Nazis. In 1942, Auschwitz became one of the main centers of the „Endlösung der Judenfrage” – the Nazi plan to exterminate Jews living in areas occupied by the Third Reich.

The camp was set up in Oświęcim (which Germans renamed Auschwitz) in the spring of 1940. It was the first concentration camp in occupied Polish territory. For almost two years, the overwhelming majority of the prisoners there were Poles and Polish Jews (in the constantly rising numbers of arriving transports).
The first killing center set up in occupied Polish lands was the camp at Chełmno on the Ner. In December 1941 Germans started killing there Jews brought from the ghettos. Three more camps, somewhat larger, were opened at Bełżec, Sobibor and Treblinka (that was known as “Aktion Reinhard”) between March and July 1942.

In Auschwitz, the murdering of prisoners in gas chambers began even earlier – at the end of June 1941, when 575 sick and disabled prisoners were sent to their deaths at the euthanasia center.

The name Auschwitz aroused fear among the populations of Nazi occupied territories for almost five years. This largest of the Nazi concentration camps was established in 1940 for Polish political prisoners. But as time passed, the Nazis began to deport there people from all over Europe. As the number of inmates increased, so did the area covered by the camp until it was transformed into a gigantic “factory of death”. From 1942 Auschwitz became the biggest center for the mass extermination of mainly Poles, Polish Jews, but also Russians, Roma, Czechs, Yugoslavs, Austrians and Germans. Figures vary but a conservative estimate puts the number of murdered In Auschwitz at an approximate 1,1 million.

Auschwitz I

Auschwitz I was the main camp at Auschwitz. This is where the administration, the office of the commandant of Auschwitz I, the supply stores, workshops and SS companies had their place. Work in these places was the main form of employment for the prisoners of this camp.

The first gassing In Auschwitz took place in early September 1941. Around 850 inmates were killed with Zyklon B in the basement of block 11 in Auschwitz I. The victims were Soviet prisoners of war and sick Polish inmates. To keep the victims calm, they were told they were to undergo disinfection and de-lousing. The unsuspecting prisoners would undress before they would be led to the gas chamber. After its decommissioning, the building was converted to a storage facility and later, an SS air-raid shelter. The gas chamber and crematorium were reconstructed after the war.

Auschwitz II-Birkenau

The Birkenau camp was the largest of the more than 40 camps and sub-camps in the Auschwitz camp complex. Built in March 1942 as a camp for around 125,000 prisoners of war, it was a branch of Auschwitz Concentration Camp and at the same time served as a centre for the extermination of Jews. From 1944, it also became a place for the concentration of prisoners before they were transferred to work for German industry deep inside the Third Reich. About 90% of the victims of Auschwitz, or about 1 million people, died at Birkenau: the vast majority (over 90%) were Jews. In addition, a significant proportion of the approximately 70,000 Poles who died and were killed in the Auschwitz camp complex, about 20,000 Gypsies, in addition to Soviet prisoners of war and prisoners of other nationalities, died in this camp.

Auschwitz III-Monowitz

The Monowice camp was one of the first and also the largest Auschwitz sub-camps. Over time, it acquired the status of the headquarters of the „industrial” sub-camps, and its commandant concentrated in his hands both managerial, administrative and command functions with respect to the SS crews subordinate to him.

The decision to create the Auschwitz Museum was made as early as April 1946, when the Ministry of Culture and the Arts sent a group of former prisoners to Oswiecim to protect the grounds of the former Auschwitz camp and create a museum there.
The Museum was to be a „historical document.” The plan was that it would present the annihilation of the nations conquered by the Germans, exposing the mass nature of German crimes, avoiding the „macabre” and using only appropriate artistic solutions.
The exhibition was to include three parts: a general one showing the fate of prisoners in the camp, an international one devoted to the wartime situation of nations whose representatives were deported to Auschwitz, and a part illustrating the history of other German concentration camps.
The museum was officially opened on June 14, 1947.

The Auschwitz Museum is the only concentration camp on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Since 1947 Auschwitz is open for visiting as the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum.
The grounds of the Auschwitz site could be visited as early as 1945. However, tours were limited to organized groups or took place on the occasion of various ceremonies. Only after organizational work began was it possible to visit the Auschwitz site on a general basis, and in 1946 the number of visitors reached 100,000. A year later, Auschwitz had already been visited by 170,000 people.
Each year millions of visitors visit Auschwitz Museum. In 2019, over 2.3 million people visited Auschwitz and year after year this attendance continues to grow.

The Auschwitz Concentration Camp is a reminder of the atrocities inflicted on millions of people and has become a symbol of what man can do worst to other human beings…