Auschwitz Poland

Legendary

A Nazi concentration camp where over 1.1 million people died including 960,000 Jews.

Photo by Dennis Jarvis

More than a million people died at Auschwitz. It is the largest number of deaths ever recorded at one place during World War II. Most of them were Jewish men, women, and children, killed simply because of who they were.

Nazi Germany built Auschwitz in 1940. It was located in Poland, near a town called Oświęcim.

The first prisoners arrived on June 14, 1940. There were 728 of them, Polish people the Nazis saw as threats simply for standing against them.

Auschwitz grew into three main camps. Auschwitz I was the first camp built. Auschwitz II, also called Birkenau, became the biggest and deadliest part, built specifically to kill huge numbers of people.

Auschwitz III made prisoners work as forced laborers at a nearby factory.

Most people brought to Auschwitz were Jewish families from all across Europe. They were taken from their homes and put on trains, often without knowing where they were headed.

Many people were killed within hours of arriving. Others were forced to work in terrible conditions until they died from hunger, sickness, or exhaustion.

The camp's first commander was an SS officer named Rudolf Höss. He ran Auschwitz for most of the time it was open. After the war, he was put on trial, found guilty, and executed in 1947, at the very same camp he had once commanded.

Soviet soldiers freed Auschwitz on January 27, 1945. They found about 7,000 prisoners still alive, most of them very sick.

That date, January 27, is now known around the world as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Today, Auschwitz is kept as a memorial and museum. This helps make sure what happened there is never forgotten.

Visitors walk through the original buildings and view photos and belongings left behind by victims. They also see the camp's gate, which still carries its false and haunting message in German: "Arbeit macht frei," meaning "work sets you free."

A visit to Auschwitz is heavy and difficult. But it teaches an important lesson about history and the importance of standing up against hate. Many families visit to learn about the Holocaust and to honor those who were lost.