1. Opened in 1940 as a Concentration Camp
Auschwitz was established by Nazi Germany in May 1940, initially to hold Polish political prisoners in occupied Poland.
2. Located Near the Town of Oświęcim
The Nazis Germanized the town’s name to Auschwitz; it became a key site due to its railway connections and isolation.
3. Expanded into a Killing Complex
It grew into a complex of three main camps: Auschwitz I (main camp), Auschwitz II-Birkenau (extermination camp), and Auschwitz III-Monowitz (labor camp for IG Farben).
4. The Largest of the Nazi Camps
More than 40 subcamps were affiliated with Auschwitz, making it the largest of all Nazi camp complexes.
5. SS Commandant Rudolf Höss Oversaw Its Growth
Höss was the first commandant and helped design Auschwitz to be a site of mass industrialized murder.
Extermination & Atrocities
6. Site of the Largest Mass Murder in History
At least 1.1 million people were killed at Auschwitz—90% of them Jewish.
7. Gas Chambers Used Zyklon B
Mass executions were carried out using Zyklon B, a pesticide repurposed to kill humans in gas chambers at Birkenau.
8. Jews Were Deported from All Over Europe
Victims were transported from Hungary, France, the Netherlands, Greece, Germany, and beyond—often unaware they were heading to death.
9. Selections Were Made Upon Arrival
SS doctors, including Josef Mengele, decided who would work and who would die immediately. Most—especially women, children, and the elderly—were sent directly to the gas chambers.
10. Children Were Rarely Spared
Fewer than 650 children under 15 survived the camp. Many were experimented on, including twins used in Mengele’s inhumane medical tests.
Labor, Life, and Resistance
11. Forced Labor Was Brutal and Deadly
Inmates were forced to work in slave-like conditions in nearby factories, gravel pits, and the notorious IG Farben chemical plant.
12. Tattooing as Identification Began at Auschwitz
Prisoners were tattooed with identification numbers, often on their forearms—an Auschwitz-specific practice not done in most camps.
13. Starvation and Disease Were Rampant
Malnutrition, overcrowding, and unsanitary conditions led to widespread typhus outbreaks, dysentery, and death.
14. There Were Acts of Resistance
Despite the odds, prisoners organized revolts, smuggled out messages, and documented atrocities. The Sonderkommando revolt in 1944 partially destroyed a crematorium.
15. Some Prisoners Escaped and Reported the Truth
Notably, Rudolf Vrba and Alfred Wetzler escaped in 1944 and compiled one of the first detailed reports on Auschwitz’s extermination process.
Liberation and Legacy
16. Liberated by the Soviet Army
On January 27, 1945, the Red Army liberated Auschwitz, finding about 7,000 survivors and thousands of shoes, clothes, and personal belongings.
17. Evidence of Mass Murder Was Left Behind
The Nazis tried to destroy the gas chambers and crematoria before fleeing, but documents, ruins, and survivors remained as witnesses.
18. Auschwitz Became a Museum in 1947
The Polish government preserved Auschwitz as a memorial and museum to honor the victims and educate future generations.
19. UNESCO World Heritage Site
In 1979, Auschwitz-Birkenau was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site as a symbol of the Holocaust’s horrors.
20. January 27 Is International Holocaust Remembrance Day
This date was chosen to commemorate the liberation of Auschwitz, and to remember the victims of the Holocaust worldwide.
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