Compare And Contrast Auschwitz And Gulag

The men and women who were forced into the slave labor camps of both Auschwitz and the Soviet Gulags were subjected to extreme amounts of mental and physical brutalization. The mental and physical brutalization that took place at the Soviet Gulags and Auschwitz stemmed from the political systems run by both Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. The creation of these camps began for two distinct reasons; Adolf Hitler created Auschwitz with the goal of sending political prisoners there originally from Poland, while Joseph Stalin had the intention to silence the people against him as well as send prisoners who committed rape, murder or other crimes. If you were sent to Auschwitz your fate was already sealed. The only purpose Auschwitz served was

The camp first started as a slave labor camp and the inscription above the gate as one entered the camp read, “Arbeit Macht Frei,” or “Work Makes You Free.” In the beginning of the camps opening many detainees worked to support World War II for the manufacturing of rubber products and ammunitions for the war. As the war progressed and as Auschwitz was near the rail lines more and more prisoners were sent there. Just as the Gulag started as a camp for political prisoners, Auschwitz did and then became a place for human extermination. Unlike the Gulag where most men and women worked under horrific conditions, at Auschwitz the individuals were quickly split into two groups; ones who were fit to work and the others who could not. The unfit people, mainly the elderly, children, pregnant women and the sick were sent to “the showers” and gassed to death. All of these people who were sent to the showers to be poisoned were never registered at Auschwitz and therefore massive amounts of people were never accounted for. “For those prisoners who initially escaped the gas chambers, an undetermined number died from overwork, disease, insufficient nutrition or the daily struggle for survival in brutal living conditions. Arbitrary executions, torture and retribution happened daily, in front of the other prisoners.” (A&E,2009) Further brutalization of humans was carried out by some Auschwitz

The guards beat and whipped the inmates for not doing a job right or fast enough. The overwhelming majority of people lived in cold, barracks or cells with very limited clothing. They were fed little bread or food rations and many died of starvation. The barracks had no showers and the smell of urine and fecal matter was prevalent. Many people also died of Typhus due to the unsanitary conditions. Both camps transported the people in large cattle cars via rail road and the people were treated like animals. This brutalization came from the heads of the dictators in charge and made others believe that their success and power was due to the quieting of others and therefore their ultimate death. “None of which is to say that the camps were not also intended to terrorize and subjugate the population. Certainly prison and camp regimes, which were dictated in minute detail by Moscow, were openly designed to humiliate prisoners. The prisoners' belts, buttons, garters, and items made of elastic were taken away from them; they were described as "enemies" and forbidden to use the word "comrade." Such measures contributed to the dehumanization of prisoners in the eyes of camp guards and bureaucrats, who therefore found it that much easier not to treat them as fellow citizens, or even as human beings.” (Applebaum, 2013). The Gulag consisted of a system of approximately 476 camps with