Auschwitz was one of many concentration camps during the Holocaust; the only difference was that Auschwitz was the biggest and most brutal Nazi death camp that caused terror to millions of prisoners. Auschwitz was located near Oswiecim, Poland and stretched several miles long. Thousands of prisoners were held captive within Auschwitz and had no choice to obey the rules the SS men set for them. Those who did obey the rules were put to death instantly. Thousands of prisoners prayed that they would one day be set free; however, many prisoners spoke their last words within the barbed wires of Auschwitz. Rudolf Hoss was one of the three commandants of Auschwitz. Hoss was born on November 25, 1900. When Hoss was younger he wanted to become a Priest; however, after his father died in World War I, he decided that he did not want to be a Priest anymore ("Rudolf Höss"). Since Hoss ended his plans to become a Priest, in 1916 he joined the German Army. While apart of the German Army, Hoss was “wounded three times and was twice awarded the Iron Cross” (Bulow, Louis). It was not until 1922, Hoss met Adolf Hitler in which he immediately joined the Nazi Party. Shortly after joining the Nazi Party, Hoss was sentenced to ten years in prison for helping with the assassination of Walter Kadow (Höss, Rudolf). Hoss was released early as part of the general amnesty. Shortly after being released from prison in 1928, Hoss joined the Schutzstaffel (SS) and on “August 1, 1938, Hoss was appointed as adjutant of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp until his appointment as commandant of the newly-built camp in Auschwitz in early 1940” ("Rudolf Höss"). On April 27, 1940, Heinrich Himmler declared that a new camp be created near Oswiecim, Poland; declaring... ... middle of paper ... ...centration camp” (Gloria Hollander Lyon). Lyon proved that the concentration camps did change any people’s views on their religion. Prisoners of Auschwitz stood strong to their beliefs the entire time within the camps. Those who survived even kept practicing Jewish customs. Today, Auschwitz is still recognized for being the center of the Holocaust. Almost seven decades have past and Auschwitz is still being discussed. Museums have even been established to recognize the millions of lives that were lost due to Auschwitz. Individuals cannot forget what happened within all the concentration camps because once individuals forget, the chances of something happening like this again is very likely. Currently, parts of Auschwitz still stand in Poland. Auschwitz will always be remembered as the biggest and most brutal Nazi death camp that caused terror and genocide.
Kaiserwald and Auschwitz were both concentration camps used for the destruction of the Jewish race during the holocaust. Both camp’s are to blame for the deaths of many. Survivors of both camps live the rest of their lives with PTSD, anxiety and depression. Though they were freed they are stuck living a life sentence.
The Holocaust will forever be known as one of the largest genocides ever recorded in history. 11 million perished, and 6 million of the departed were Jewish. The concentration camps where the prisoners were held were considered to be the closest one could get to a living hell. There is no surprise that the men, women, and children there were afraid. One is considered blessed to have a family member alongside oneself.
Life in Auschwitz was definitely not what many people think it was. Life was hard, housing was rough, the guards were mean and brutal and the different things that could happen to you were terrifying. One day in there would have killed most people and they lived like that for years. Every day was a constant battle for their lives and they never got a break. So many people died from getting sick or from the things the guards would do and no one could save them. The food was bad and they had to hurt each other to get more food so that they wouldn’t starve. They were forced to turn against each other to survive when they never should have had to. Life was never the same for those who went to Auschwitz and survived. As for those who didn’t survive; they never saw a better day.
“There was no God in Auschwitz. There were such horrible conditions that God decided not to go there.” Linda Breder, Holocaust survivor. If, all of a sudden, the population of Rio de Janeiro vanished one day, people would take notice almost instantly. However, when six million Jewish people were killed in the concentration camps during WWII, people turned a blind eye, even when they were fully aware of what was happening.
Holocaust concentration camps were located around Central or Eastern Europe (around Germany and Poland). Many of these camps were death camps that were created solely to murder in...
The Holocaust not only affected the areas where it took place, it affected the entire world. Even though Jewish people were the main victims in the Holocaust, it also left lasting effects on other groups of people. Both the Nazi and Jewish decedents still feel the aftermath of one of the most horrific counts of genocide that the world has ever encountered. The cries of the victims in concentration camps still ring around the globe today, and they are not easily ignored. Although the Holocaust took place during World War Two, the effects that it had on the world are still prominent today.
The Auschwitz complex was located in Poland and was composed of three main camps (Auschwitz). Auschwitz I, the central camp, was constructed in 1940 and covered approximately 15 square miles (Auschwitz). Auschwitz II, Auschwitz- Birkenau, was constructed in 1941 and became the extermination camp of the Auschwitz complex. In 1943, four large crematorium buildings were constructed (Auschwitz). The Auschwitz-Birkenau crematoriums were the targets of the proposed bombings during WWII. . Auschwitz III was constructed in 1943 and was primarily a labor camp (Auschwitz). These camps composed the largest and most infamous Nazi death camp.
“Concentration camps (Konzentrationslager; abbreviated as KL or KZ) were an integral feature of the regime in Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945. The term concentration camp refers to a camp in which people are detained or confined, usually under harsh conditions and without regard to legal norms of arrest and imprisonment that are acceptable in a constitutional democracy” (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum). The living conditions in these camps were absolutely horrible. The amount of people being kept in one space, amongst being unsanitary, was harsh on the body. “A typical concentration camp consisted of barracks that were secured from escape by barbed wire, watchtowers and guards.
“The agony of the Jews under Hitler is too important and too outrageous to be forgotten; yet it can be remembered it seems, only in ways that distort its meaning and deny its importance… When Auschwitz became a social myth, a metaphor for modern life, people lost sight of the only lesson it could possibly offer: that it offers, in itself, no lessons (Rosenfled).
Commandant Hoess blamed his responsibility and pledge to Hitler that it was not up too him to determine whether the extermination of Jews was necessary or not. (Hoess, 144) Hoess claims that after the mass exterminations began to occur in Auschwitz he was no longer happy and dissatisfied with himself for his participation. (Hoess, 156) He was initially able to escape capture by the allies, but British police arrested Hoess on 11 March 1946. Two days prior his poison phial had broken preventing him from committing suicide. (Hoess, 173) He was then turned over to Polish authorities where he was tried for the murder of millions in Poland; Rudolf Hoess was executed 2 April 1947. (The History of Auschwitz, 2005) Hoess served three and half years as Commandant of Auschwitz and nine years in SS Camp Service. (Hoess, 157)
“Auschwitz.” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. 10 June 2013. Web. 24 March 2014.
The Auschwitz Concentration Camp was a camp used to hold Jews during the Holocaust; the Auschwitz Camp was the largest camp of its time. Auschwitz had three main complexes and 36 sub-camps. The three main camps were Auschwitz 1-Stamlagger, created in 1940, built for Polish Political Prisoners, the second camp was named Auschwitz 2-Birkenau, created in 1941, there was more than a hundred thousand prisoners and the building was used for Mass Killing center, it had Crematoria and Gas Chambers. They killed over 2,000 Jews a day in Auschwitz. The third camp was called Auschwitz III-Monowitz, created in 1944, used for supplied forced labor.
First of all, to get a proper understanding of the events in my book, I did some research to paint a picture of the holocaust. The reason that the Germans started the holocaust a long time ago was because they believed that the Jewish people were minions of the devil, and that they were bent on destroying the Christian mind. Many Christians in Germany were also mad at them for killing Jesus in the Bible. Throughout the holocaust, Hitler, the leader of Germany at the time, and the Nazis killed about six million Jewish people, more than two-thirds of all of the Jewish people in Europe at the time. They also killed people who were racially inferior, such as people of Jehovah's Witness religion, and even some Germans that had physical and mental handicaps. The concentration camp that appears in this story is Auschwitz, which was three camps in one: a prison camp, and extermination camp, and a slave labor camp. When someone was sent to Auschw...
...throughout Europe as they did in Auschwitz and Majdanek. These horror stories are only a few out of the hundreds of camps that the Nazis built during World War Two. The Holocaust was a devastating event for the Jewish population as well as many other minorities in Europe. The Holocaust was the largest genocide that has ever occurred. Horrific things went on in Auschwitz and Majdenek that wiped out approximately 1,378,000 people combined. This death toll is extremely high compared to smaller camps. These camps were some of the largest concentration/death camps that existed during the Holocaust. The Holocaust was a tragic time where millions of people considered undesirable to the Nazis were detained, forced to work in the harshest of conditions, starved to death, or brutally murdered.“The Holocaust was the most evil crime ever committed.” –Stephen Ambrose