Auschwitz-Birkenau
Nazi Germany's largest concentration camp and extermination camp, located in southern Poland. It consisted of three camps (prison, extermination, and forced labor), established in 1940, 1941 (Birkenau), and 1942. Able-bodied Jewish prisoners were sent to a slave-labor camp, while the aged, the weak, and children and their mothers were killed. Some prisoners were also subjected to medical experiments, conducted by Josef Mengele. The camp was gradually abandoned in 1944–45 as Soviet troops advanced. The total number who died at Auschwitz is estimated at between 1.1 million and 1.5 million, 90% of which were Jews; also among the dead were some 19,000 Roma (Gypsies), who were killed in July 1944, and some 83,000 Poles. Much of the camp was later converted into a museum and memorial. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979.
Now open to the public, Auschwitz has received more than 10,000 visits. Many go to see how hard it is to live in a place such as this and how hard it must of been to be cramped in a death facility. Where bodies were burned in cremations (places were they stacked tons of bodies to be burned and killed, if not already.) Many and many Jews were killed and tortured here. Separated from their families, Jews who were placed here hoped for the best. The day they could be set free, and live their own lives.
Now open to the public, Auschwitz has received more than 10,000 visits. Many go to see how hard it is to live in a place such as this and how hard it must of been to be cramped in a death facility. Where bodies were burned in cremations (places were they stacked tons of bodies to be burned and killed, if not already.) Many and many Jews were killed and tortured here. Separated from their families, Jews who were placed here hoped for the best. The day they could be set free, and live their own lives.