The name Auschwitz has always epitomized the horror of the holocaust to me but I actually knew very little about the place. Recently I found myself with a few spare days in Katowice, Poland, so since it was nearby, with much trepidation. I signed up for a tour. One thing I had not known was that there was more than one camp at Auschwitz. The one with the famous sign shown below, “work sets you free,” was the first camp, the parent camp while Auschwitz II, better known as Birkenau, was about 8.5 times larger and was designed to be a factory for murder.
Entrance to Auschwitz I
The original Auschwitz was a mere 49 acres and at first held German and Polish prisoners who had to rebuild the dilapidated camp which had been previously used as an army barracks among other things. It included the infamous torture building (block 11), the killing wall, and a “hospital” building. We toured the gas chambers and crematorium as well as living spaces and museum displays.
The selection point by the tracks at Birkenau
At Birkenau, the trains came directly into the camp where they were unloaded and people were selected. About 90% went directly to their deaths. They were sent to the “showers” where they undressed and then went in. The doors were then locked and the gas came in …
