[2015] Cole Denton: Auschwitz WWII

Auschwitz WWII

"I believe in the Sun evn when it is not shining. I believe in love evn when I cannot feel it. I believe in God even when he is silent." -(written on the wall during the Holocaust)

Time Line

February 21,1940

Auschwitz is selected as a concentration camp.

Ways of ExecutionAuschwitz was known for executing Jews by putting them in a crematorium, a gas chamber, or a bunker. The first crematorium was built in August 15,1940 and the last one that was built lasted until January 26,1945. If a prisoner looked unlikely to recover from a health issue, they would throw them into the gas chambers. Most people were killed with a poison known as Zyklon B. After a couple of years of using a gas chamber, they switched to a bunker. Auschwitz had two bunkers in which they were called "little red-house" and "little white-house." Bunkers would also kill people with poison gas to speed things up for the Germans. They also had five different crematoriums which contained the gas chambers and the furnaces for burning corpses. Over 1,440 people could be killed in a crematorium every 24 hours. Life was rough and difficult for innocent people that were considered "inhuman" even though they were just as human as the Germans. Thousands and thousands of people died at Auschwitz by crematoriums, gas chambers, and bunkers.

Living ConditionsIn the camps the living conditions of the people imprisoned were horrific. They lived in old wooden barracks that were stuffed full of three tier bunk style beds. These buildings were housed quickly without much fixing up. Dampness, leaky roofs, and the foul smell of hay and mattress of prisoners suffering from diarrhea just made living there even worse. Every day the prisoners worked 10 hours a day, later made into a minimum of 11 hours a day March 31, 1942, and the rest with roll-call, cleaning up, and waiting in line for food rations. In the camps labor was a mean of destroying the prisoners. They labored initially in building the camp: leveling ground, erecting buildings, laying roads and digging ditches for drainage. Later the Third Reich abused the cheap labor in their factories. One thing they had done to keep track of all the prisoners was to tattoo them. They were tattooed with numbers based on different series. The “A” and “B” series were used for mainly Jews. The “AU” series denoted soviet POW’s, while the “Z” series were the Romany (Gypsies). Uprising Auschwitz: October 7th, 1944. About three in the afternoon. Polish in Crematorium I start the revolt. They had been planning this for a while now. The Sonderkommando, Jewish prisoners who were given special treatment and privileges for working at the death camps assisted the prisoners. The prisoners used them to help them sneak in gunpowder for bombs and small arms. The Hungarians at Cremetoria 3 and 4 join in while the Sonderkommando in Crematorium 2 cut through the wire walls. The Sonderkommando in Crematorium 4 t5ake their bombs and head down to the chambers in a suicide attempt. The revolt is quickly suppressed and the escaped prisoners captured with the help of locals. Almost 200 Sonderkommando were executed And on January 5, 1945 four women who had helped smuggle the gunpowder were hung in front of the town. Crematorium 4 was damaged beyond repair. Twelve days after the hanging around 56,000 prisoners were forced on a death march into what remained of the Third Reich. The 7,000 prisoners left behind were later liberated by soviet soldiers.

Statistics on Auschwitz“If we were to have a moment’s silence for every person who died here during the Holocaust, [we] would have to be silent for four years.” – Unknown. At Auschwitz, more than 54,561 people died. Life was harsh for Jews and people of other nationalities. Auschwitz was split up into three different camps; Birkenau, Stammlager, and Monowitz. At Birkenau, a total of 11,576 people died. This camp was split into seven different sections by which two of them were the men and women section. 6,196 women died at Birkenau and 4,470 men. At Stammlager, 33,045 people died, and at Monowitz, 10,030 people died. As for other nationalities, 1,095,000 European Jews died, 147,000 poles, 23,000 gypsies, and 15,000 Soviet Pows, died during the whole event of the Holocaust. An overall total of 54,561 people died at Auschwitz. Auschwitz was one of the most bloody and horrific camps during the Holocaust. The Holocaust was one of the most inhuman events in history.

May 5,1940

The first 30 prisoners arrive at Auschwitz.

Early July,1940

Crematorium is made with an old bunker.

March 1, 1941

March, 1942

First gas chamber.

Auschwitz 2 is built, also known as Stammlager.

May, 1943

Dr.Josef Mengele begins inhuman experiences on prisoners.

January 27, 1945

1st Soviet soldiers enterAuschwitz and liberatethe remaning prisoners.

July 2nd, 1947

Auschwitz museum is created.

April 16, 1947

Rudolf Hoss is excecuted at Auschwitz.

“The Cage” SummaryIn the beginning, Riva has her mother, her house, her brothers, her friends, warmth, and neighbors. First, she loses her neighbors who take all the winter supplies, after declaring they’re Nazis because of their small German heritage. Next, she is caught up in a long march and loses all of her friends. Many lose their fathers, as all the adult men are taken. Riva’s whole family is then sent to a ghetto where Riva’s brother Laibelle gets fatally sick and eventually dies. Riva is also sick, but it’s just a calcium deficiency and isn’t deadly. In the winter, they must steal wood to survive. Their house is burned for warmth and they move to an old store where they put an illegal collection of books. After a long time, Riva finds an old friend and makes some new friends. She is deported to Auschwitz and loses them all and her brothers. She finds friends at Auschwitz and begins writing poetry that helps all the others in the barracks stay alive. She is too short to do standard work and carries buckets of clay instead. She gets an infection that threatens her life, but, because she helps the others, she is sent to town to get it treated. During recovery, the leader of the camp organizes a show in which the Jews will perform. Riva reads her poetry, but she is still tired and faints. The leader gives her a proper notebook and moves her to a job as a doctor’s assistant. The doctor, Katia, treats her well until she is sent to another camp. That camp gets attacked by Russians and after being turned away by all the residents, they go into the empty camp. Finally, they see Russians approaching the camp and they are free. The book ends, revealing that it was all Riva telling her daughter about her experiences at Auschwitz. The daughter asks if the Holocaust could happen again. This relates to the lesson in the way that it is about one person’s time at Auschwitz.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uisXEJabmZw

Auschwitz Survivors, Reunited after 70 years

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O5-4uCU3T4

Oswiecim Poland, Auschwitz

The seperate Camps of Auschwitz: The Holocaust. It is known as one of the most inhuman events in the history of the world. During the holcaust the Nazis used concentration camps to easily kill and contol there Jewish prisoners. One of the most deadlist was Auschwitz. Which was split into three different camps, including Birkeneau (1), Stammlanger (2), and Monowitz. Auschwitz is the german word for small town in Poland, which is also called Oswiecim. Now Birkeneaubeing the first was known as the largest killing center under the Nazi powers, which also the main camp. Birkeneau was located in Oswiecim, Poland. The camp was also a suiburb that was called Zasole. Through all the research completed this camp was often referred to as extremly unpleasent, and a place were a large amount of strength was expressed from the jews in the camp. The next is stammlanger which is often reffered to as Stalag. Not much is pleasent to be said about this camp, and heres why. Not only is it just another camp holding jews but in stammlager there was the gas chambers. The place were the jewish people were murdered and killed with the gas. The final camp is Monowitz which included all the factories and a labor camp for the jews to make german Nazi uniforms and other product that helped the germans fight in world war 2 (ww2.) In conclution Auschwitz was just more than one large that held jews but it was a torchure place for the jews for the germans to control them.

Inside Auschwitz: When Auschwitz began Killing in the camps, gas chambers were built inside the camp. The Nazis’ took Jews and directed them to the camp for “resettlement.” They hadn’t a clue of where they were really going. Upon arrival, they were allowed to write cards and letters to their friends and family, about how great it was at Auschwitz to encourage more to come to the concentration camp. Then they went into the gas chambers and were killed. Most were burned, but on November 2nd, 1942, one hundred and fifty skeletons were sent to A Nazi research center. Others were sent alive for the tests, for instance the disease tests. One set of tests was the research pressure for planes. The Jews were raised in different heights and it was recorded when they stopped breathing, their hearts stopped, and they died. After death, they were cut apart, some while under water, to find the inside of there veins and arteries. Therefore basically not only were the Jewish people being punished inhumanly but they were also being tested on after they died. Giving you a bad image of what happened in the Auschwitz camp.