One of the oldest Polish cities, Auschwitz was completely destroyed by the Tatar-Mongols, and later rebuilt. But the worst during the 800-year history of the city was the period of World War II, when a German concentration camp operated in Auschwitz.
Instruction manual
1
It is unlikely that in the history of mankind there is a similar place for the massacre of people like Auschwitz (Auschwitz). Now there are cultural institutions in the city whose task is to present Auschwitz as a city of the world, but this has not always been the case.
2
The Germans occupied Polish territory in 1939 and renamed the city to Auschwitz. They created a complex of three death camps: Auschwitz 1, Auschwitz 2 and Auschwitz 3. Birkenau, or Auschwitz 2 - this is the concentration camp, which they mean when talking about Auschwitz.
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There were wooden one-story barracks with prisoners of war. More than 1 million people of different nationalities died in this place during the five years of the war, but 90% of them were Jews. Prisoners were brought daily by train and divided into four parts.
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The first group of arrivals was sent to gas chambers for several hours. So 75% of people died: women, children, the elderly and unfit for work. Bodies from gas chambers were burnt in crematoria. The commandant of the concentration camp, Rudolf Hess, believed that the impulses of humanity must be suppressed and act with iron determination, following Hitler’s orders.
5
The second group of prisoners was turned into slaves for industrial enterprises. Hundreds of thousands of people died in the factories from beatings, illnesses and executions. Some managed to escape: Oscar Schindler bought 1, 000 Jews from the Germans for his factory. Schindler’s 300 women mistakenly ended up in Auschwitz but managed to be taken to Krakow. In memory of these events, the feature film "Schindler's List" was created.
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The third group of prisoners included dwarfs and twins. They were sent for medical experiments. The fourth group included women, whom the Germans used as slaves, for serving and sorting the property of the arrived prisoners.
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People could last no more than three months in the camp. They were fed rotten vegetables, there were no socks and underwear. The toilet was allowed to use no longer than 30 seconds twice a day. The same amount was allocated to hygiene procedures. Feces tanks were cleaned with bare hands.
8
In 1943, some managed to escape from the concentration camp thanks to the actions of the resistance group from among the prisoners. In January 1945, Auschwitz was occupied by Soviet soldiers. 7.5 thousand people remained in the camp, whom the Germans did not manage to take out. Among the survivors, Victor Frackl is an Austrian psychologist and psychiatrist who wrote the book “Say Life” Yes. Stubbornness. Psychologist in a concentration camp. ”
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The exact death toll at Auschwitz is unknown, because the documents are destroyed. Historians agree on the figure of 1.6 million people, most of whom are Jews. The expression "fly into the pipe" in the camp jargon meant to be burned in the crematorium. A museum is now operating in Auschwitz.
