| Auschwitz |
| Established: May 26, 1940 Evacuated: January 18, 1945 Liberated: January 27, 1945 by the Soviets Survivors: 7,650 at liberation Total Inmates: 400,000* Inmates at one time: 11,000 - 155,000* Total Survivors of Camp: 65,000, including 156 children Subcamps: at least 22 Auschwitz has been called the "symbol of all camps" and "the mother camp." |
| Auschwitz II - Birkenau |
| Established: October 8, 1941 An extermination camp within Auschwitz Total Deaths of Camp: 1,000,000 Jews (never registered as inmates) |
| Auschwitz III - Monowitz |
| Established: May 31, 1942 A work camp within Auschwitz |
| Auschwitz IV - Buna |
| Established: September 4, 1943 A work camp within Auschwitz |
| * Numbers given are estimates. Other Information about the Auschwitz complex: Auschwitz-Birkenau was the largest mass killing installation in history, with an estimated 4 million people killed. The site for Auschwitz was chosen because it had good railroad access and was isolated from civilian population centers. Auschwitz I was created as a transient camp for 10,000 prisoners. Later, Auschwitz became a concentration camp and Birkenau became an extermination camp. The first transport to Auschwitz was made up of 728 Polish political prisoners. By the end of 1941, Auschwitz could accomodate 18,000 prisoners By 1943, it could accomodate 30,000 prisoners. Auschwitz was the only concentration camps that tattooed prisoners with thier identification number. After June 1941, Auschwitz prisoners included Soviet prisoners of war. Only about 10% of prisoners were allowed to live past the selections. A revolt took place on 7 October 1944 by crematoria workers in which a cremetorium was destroyed. Auschwitz served as a center for the exploitation of labor and for the extermination of Jews. Block 11 of Auschwitz served as an experimental facility for doctors, including Josef Mengele. The death march from Auschwitz included 58,000 inmates. One-third of the deaths in Auschwitz were women. |
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