Holocaust Sources

Cotugno 1
"Auschwitz-Birkenau: Block No. 11." Block No. 11. Web. 31 Mar. 2016.
Block 11 was known by the prisoners as The Block of Death. Block 11 had many roles
but mainly served as the central jail. Men and women were placed into here if the soldiers
thought that they were planning escape routes. Polish citizens were also sent here if it was
believed that they were offering aid to the prisoners. The Polish citizens were subjected to
intense interrogation that usually ended with a sentence to death. They deaths usually
included being shot or being hanged. There were also police prisoners called
Polizeihftlinge. These prisoners were Polish people that were suspected of resistance
activity and they were held at the disposition of the Katowice Judicial District Gestapo.
These people were usually sentenced to death.
During the years of 1941-1943, the SS soldiers had shot several thousand people at the
Death Wall in the courtyard between Block Numbers 10 and 11. Of those who died here
there were mainly Polish political prisoners. Above all there were leaders and members of
the underground organization, people involved in planning escapes and aiding escapers,
and those prisoners that were staying in contact with the outside world. The Polish
prisoners that were brought from outside the camp were also shot here. Prisoners
included hostages that were arrested in reprisal for Polish resistance movement
operations against the German occupation authorities.
"Auschwitz-Birkenau Extermination Camp (Poland)." Auschwitz-Birkenau Extermination Camp
(Poland). Web. 31 Mar. 2016.
Cotugno 2
The Auschwitz complex was divided in three major camps: Auschwitz I which was the
main camp or also known as Stammlager. Then there was Auschwitz II, or Birkenau,
which was established on October 8th, 1941 as a 'Vernichtungslager' (extermination
camp). Then the very last on was Auschwitz III or Monowitz, which was established on
May 31th, 1942 as an 'Arbeitslager' or work camp there were also several sub-camps
here. There were up to seven gas chambers using Zyklon-B poison gas and three
crematoriums. Auschwitz II included a camp for new arrivals and those to be sent on to
labor elsewhere; a Gypsy camp; a family camp; a camp for holding and sorting plundered
goods and a women's camp. Auschwitz III provided slave labor for a major industrial
plant run by I G Farben for producing synthetic rubber. The highest number of inmates,
including sub-camps was 155,000. The estimated number of deaths was 2.1 to 2.5 million
killed in gas chambers, of whom about 2 million were Jews, and Poles, Gypsies and
Soviet POWs. About 330,000 of the deaths were from other causes.
History.com Staff. "Auschwitz." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 01 Jan. 2009. Web. 31
Mar. 2016.
Auschwitz, which is also known as Auschwitz-Birkenau, opened in 1940 and was the
largest of the Nazi concentration and death camps. Auschwitz was located in southern
Poland, and it initially served as a detention center for political prisoners. It then evolved
into a network of camps where Jewish people and other perceived enemies of the Nazi
state were exterminated. Often deaths would occur in gas chambers, or used as slave
labor. Some prisoners were also subjected to barbaric medical experiments led by Josef
Mengele. During World War II more than 1 million people lost their lives at Auschwitz.
In January 1945 Nazi officials ordered the camp abandoned and sent an estimated 60,000
Cotugno 3
prisoners on a forced march to other locations. When the Soviets entered Auschwitz, they
found thousands piles of corpses left behind. Auschwitz was the largest and most
arguably the most famous of all the Nazi death camps. Auschwitz was opened in the
spring of 1940. During the camps construction, many factories nearby were to be
deserted and all the citizens living in the area were forcefully taken from their homes,
which were bulldozed by the Nazis.
Wiesel, Elie. Night Elie Wiesel. Logan, IA: Perfection Learning, 1995. Print.
Night was an intriguing novel about Mr. Wiesels experience during the Holocaust. This
story lets us into his mind while these events are occurring. The book illustrated all the
emotions that Mr. Wiesel was feeling at the time and it offered a closer relationship with
the author. Night gives an inside experience on the terrible events that were occurring
during the Holocaust. He was able to walk through all of his routines during the day and
it showed how terrible he was treated. He walked through the hardest times in the
concentration camps, including his fathers death and his time in the infirmary.
All of these websites relate to Mr. Wiesels book, Night, because Mr. Wisesel himself was
sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau. While he was there he was sent to block 7 and he talked
about how block 11 was considered the torture block. In Oprah Winfreys documentary
on Mr. Wiesel he had talked about how at Auschwitz they were always running to get to
their next task and that he and the other prisoners were always full of fear. He had also
mentioned about how at Auschwitz they were always stepping over dead bodies and you
could hear the peoples bones crack beneath them. Mr. Wiesel said that the people were
not treated as people they were treated as slaves who never got a break. He talked about
Cotugno 4
all the harm that the camps caused prisoners including, diseases, starvation, and mental
issues.

Holocaust Sources

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Holocaust Sources

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Holocaust Sources

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Cotugno 1

You might also like