Auschwitz
     The Largest Concentration Camp


               After Poland was occupied by the Third Riech, the city of Oswiecim had its name changed to Auschwitz, and a concentration camp was built with the same name. Today Auschwitz is a sign of terror and genocide for Jewish people all over the world.

               When the camp had just started out, Polish Jews were mostly sent there by German Occupation Authorities. The people sent there had been titled as "Particularly Dangerous." From 1942 on, Jews whom the SS physicians said were fit for labor, began to be registered in the Auschwitz camp.

               There were approximatly 400,000 people placed in Auschwitz and its sub-camps. There were 20,000 Jewish people, more than 140,000 Polish people, and 20,000 Gypsies from different countries. Also more than 10,000 Soviet prisoners of war, and 10,000 prisoners from other nationalities.

               In the Auschwitz camp, over 50 percent of their registered prisoners died because of starvation. They also died because of the inhuman living conditions, disease, epedemics, punishment, torture, and criminal medical experiments.

               When Auschwitz was expanded to hold more people, it consisted of three parts, Auschwitz I, Aischwitz II- Birkenau, and Auschwitz III- Monowitz. It also had over 40 sub camps.

               The camp holds the title of the greatest mass murder site in the history of humanity. It is recorded that 70 to 75 percent of the Jews sent to Auschwitz were murdered in the Birkenau gas chambers immidiatly after they arrived at the camp.

               After the war ended, the SS began to dismantle and raze the gas chambers, crematoria, and other buildings in the camp, they also burned documents to cover up a lot of the murders.

               Durning the time of World War II, from 1940 to 1945, it is estimated that between 1,100,000 and 1,500,000 Jews died at Auschwitz. The majority of them died in the Birkenau gas chambers. Jews made up about 85% of the deportees to Auschwitz and 90% of the victims. It has been proven that the largest group of Jews that came to Auschwitz, were from Hungary. It was recorded that from May to July 9, 1944,  437,402 Hungarians were deported to Auschwitz.

               On July 2,1947 the act of the Polish parliament made the Auschwitz Concentration camp into the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, to remember all of the Jews that died in Auschwitz during World War II.
 

                                                                                                           By: Jenni V.


Information From:

www.Auswitz.org.pl
www.remember.org (Pictures)
www.auschwitz-muzeum.oswiecim.pl