HISTORY ISSUE I By: Emily Cahrest Block D
Auschwitz November 1943 to January 1945
Auschwitz, Germany
November 1943 to January 1945
Auschwitz Emily Charest This is a picture of Hoss before he was executed. (picture from Wikipedia)
Rudolf Hoss Rudolf Hoss was born in 1900. In 1940, Hitler put Rudolf Hoss in charge of the Auschwitz concentration camp. Because the Nazis were trying to wipe out the whole Jewish race, he experimented with the best way, or most efficient way, of killing them. He found that killing them with Zyklon B and burning them in crematoriums was the most useful and neat way. He also wrote poetry about how “beautiful” Auschwitz was. Later in 1946 the “allied” forces arrested him. He was punished with capital punishment and was hung outside of the entrance to the gas chambers he had perfected. He never said that what he did was wrong, but he said that he felt ashamed that he was “weak kneed” when he pushed children to their death. Holocaust
Many people were collected by soldiers, and put into the Auschwitz concentration camp. ( picture from theguardian.com )
Concentration Camps From November 1943 to January 1945, Jews were piled onto trains. At their destination, Auschwitz, they were sorted into groups. People were either put in a work group, or the condemned group. If they were put into the condemned group they would be told that they could take a shower after their long trip. Little did they know, they would be bathing in Zyklon B. Later their bodies would be burned at a crematorium. The Auschwitz concentration camp was an awful place many people were sent to during World War II. This is because many Jews were killed, many Jews were deported, and Auschwitz had three specific purposes that did not involve mercy.
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Auschwitz, Germany
November 1943 to January 1945
Killings At Auschwitz In the Auschwitz concentration camp, many Jews were killed. Though many people also died on the train. One of the main killing sources were the gas chambers. A person would “march” to the buildings, and be ordered to
This map shows the railroads that were directed to Auschwitz. (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/ 370561875567866229)
remove their clothes. These clothes would be later used by other prisoners. If you were sent there right after the train, the SS soldiers would be secretive about your fate. Once in the chambers you would be This is a gas chamber where you would go either directly off the train, locked in the room. As you expected or after you had been in labor for a while. ( picture warm water to turn on and clean you, a fromwww.scrapbookpages.com) poisonous gas called Zyklon B would spray out and kill you. According to USSHM, “ 960,000 [Jews] died” That is about 88% of the people who were deported, not counting the people sent because of disabilities. Another way these helpless people were mistreated was by the amount they were fed. The prisoners had strict rations, and the time they had to eat them was also strict. They would receive breakfast after morning “roll call.” This would be a coffee-like drink or a rendition of herbal tea. Then for lunch they would have exactly one litre of “watery” soup, and with little chance, they might find a potato peel or turnip in it. Finally at dinner, if they hadn’t starved with all the work and lack of food, they would eat again. According to theholocaustexplained.org “In the evening prisoners would be given a piece of black bread weighing 300 grams, together with a tiny piece of sausage, or margarine, marmalade or cheese.” There were many other ways these people were tortured. Overall, Auschwitz was a murderous place with gas chambers, rations, and many were killed because of characteristics like their religion.
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Auschwitz, Germany
November 1943 to January 1945
Arriving At Auschwitz To get to this terrible camp, the people were deported. Many unknowing people were forced
from their homes. This trip to Auschwitz was not a nice one. According to theholocaustexplained.org, “Prisoners had been packed into cattle wagons with no room to sit, no food, a bucket for water and another as a toilet. The journey could last days on end, with the ‘passengers’ not knowing where they were passing through or where they were going. Many victims died during the journey as a result of suffocation, illness or hunger.” As mentioned before, the prisoners would be sent to certain groups, the ones that were allowed to live longer and work, and the ones who couldn’t work, or were too old, or too young ( if you were under 15 you would also be sent to the gas showers). Another part of Auschwitz was the tattoos. If you were a prisoner you would have to have a tattoo for identification. You would only receive a number as a tattoo if you were going to be sent to work. Along with the tattoo, the serial number would also be sewn to your uniform. Because the tattooing was done when you first arrived, the people who went straight to the gas chambers would not get a number. The process of tattooing was done by a needle cutting the skin of the upper arm, and ink being inserted. Overall, about 1,095,000 Jews were deported. The long trip to Auschwitz was only the beginning of a rough path, regardless of whether your fate was work, or immediate death.
Purpose Of Auschwitz According to USSHM, “ Auschwitz I was constructed for three purposes:” The purpose of these camps was to kill, to imprison people thought to be Nazis enemies permanently, and to enforce work on the “enemy.”There were a few ways killing was displayed, like the showers that This is a diagram of what the camp would have looked sprayed Zyklon B. Next an example of like. (survived.org/AUSCHWITZ_TheCamp.html) imprisonment for labor is textile making, which involved making things like blankets and the uniforms. A person might also dig trenches. Finally the deportation into the camps would have been considered permanent imprisonment, seeing as only about 12% of the Jews sent
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Auschwitz, Germany
November 1943 to January 1945
to Auschwitz made it out alive. Auschwitz was never meant to be a safe place for people, they were imprisoned, made into slaves, and killed there.
Summary The Auschwitz concentration camp was an awful place many were sent to during World War II. This is because many Jews were killed. Many Jews were also deported and the camp had three specific purposes ( to kill, capture, and force Jews into labor). The Nazis killed many people, and deported many to their death site. Is there anywhere we see history repeating itself today? After the war we set up the United Nations, so something like this event would never happen again. Unfortunately our attempts to stop genocide haven’t yet worked. We still see these actions in places like Darfur, Rowena, and Bosnia. Mohamed Elbaradei once said “ Even with the best intentions, you can have a nuclear war, a nuclear holocaust, through miscalculation, through accidents.”
Bibliography :
"Meals." The Holocaust Explained. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 June 2017 "Tattoos and Numbers: The System of Identifying Prisoners at Auschwitz." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, n.d. Web. 01 June 2017. "Transport and Arrival." The Holocaust Explained. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 June 2017. "Transport and Arrival." The Holocaust Explained. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 June 2017. Rudolf Hoess, Death Dealer of Auschwitz. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 June 2017.
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