Auschwitz

Animated Map Auschwitz
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/animated-map/auschwitz

Auschwitz played a central role in the “Final Solution,” the Nazi plan to murder the Jews of Europe. The Nazis deported Jews from nearly every European country to the Auschwitz II (Birkenau) killing center in occupied Poland. In all, at least 1.1 million Jews and tens of thousands of other people perished in Auschwitz.

German Administration of Europe, 1942

In 1942, Germany dominated most of Europe. Greater Germany had been enlarged at the expense of its neighbors. Austria and Luxembourg were completely incorporated. Territories from Czechoslovakia, Poland, France, Belgium, The Netherlands and the Baltic states were seized by Greater Germany. German military forces occupied Norway, Denmark, Belgium, northern France, Serbia, parts of northern Greece, and vast tracts of territory in eastern Europe. Italy, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Finland, Croatia, and Vichy France were all either allied to Germany or subject to heavy German influence. Between 1942 and 1944, German Military forces extended the area under their occupation to southern France, central and northern Italy, Slovakia, and Hungary.

German Administration of Europe 1942

Major Death Marches from Auschwitz, January 1945

Major Death Marches frpm Auschwitz, January 1945

Major Deportations to Auschwitz, 1941 – 1944

Major Deportations to Auschwitz 1941 -1944

Auschwitz Subcamp System, Upper Silesia 1941 – 1944

Auschwitch Supcamp system Upper Silesia 1941 – 1944

Auschwitz I Camp, 1944

Selected Features

(1)   Camp Commandant’s House
(2)   Main Guard House
(3)   Camp Administrative Office
(4)   Gestapo
(5)   Reception Building | Prisoner Registration
(6)   Kitchen
(7)   Gas Chamber and Crematorium
(8)   Storage Buildings and Workshops
(9)   Storage of Confiscated Belongings
(10) Gravel Pit Execution Site
(11)  Camp Orchestra Site
(12) “Black Wall” Execution Site
(13) Block 11 Punishment Bunker
(14) Block 10 Medical Experiments
(15) Gallows
(16) Block Commander’s Barracks
(17) SS Hospital

Auschwitz I Camp 1944

Auschwitz II (Birkenau) camp, summer 1944

Auschwitz II (Birkenau) Camp Summer 1944

Auschwitz III (Monowitz) Camp, 1944

Auschwitz III (Monowitz) Camp 1944

Auschwitz Environs, Summer 1944

Auschwitz was the largest camp established by the Germans. It was a complex of camps, including a concentration, extermination, and forced labor camp. It was located at the town of Oswiecim near the prewar German Polish border in Eastern Upper Silesia, an area annexed to Germany in 1939. Auschwitz I was the main camp and the first camp established at Oswiecim. Auschwitz II (Birkenau) was the killing center at Auschwitz. Trains arrived at Auschwitz Birkenau almost daily with transports of Jews from virtually every German occupied country of Europe. Auschwitz III, also called Buna or Monowitz, was established in Monowice to provide forced laborers for nearby factories, including the IG Farben works. At least 1.1 million Jews were killed in Auschwitz. Other victims included between 70,000 and 75,000 Poles, 21,000 Roma, and about 15,000 Soviet prisoners of war.

Auschwitz Environs Summer 1944

Europe 1943 – 1944, Auschwitz indicated

Europe 1943 – 1944 Auschwitz indicated

Killing Centers in occupied Poland, 1942

Killing centers (also referred to as “extermination camps” or “death camps“) were designed to carry out genocide. Between 1941 and 1945, the Nazis established six killing centers in former Polish territory— – Chelmno, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, Auschwitz Birkenau (part of the Auschwitz complex), and Majdanek. Chelmno and Auschwitz were established in areas annexed to Germany in 1939. The other camps (Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, and Majdanek) were established in the Generalgouvernement (General Government) of Poland. Both Auschwitz and Majdanek functioned as concentration and forced labor camps as well as killing centers. The overwhelming majority of the victims of the killing centers were Jews. An estimated 3.5 million Jews were killed in these six killing centers as part of the Final Solution. Other victims included Roma (Gypsies) and Soviet Prisoners Of War.

Killing Centers in occupied Poland, 1942

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