Auschwitz Birkenau Research Paper

Walking through the gates of hell, the vibe of death hung heavy in the air like the curtains of smoke climbing from the factories of death. Auschwitz-Birkenau marked the final resting place of many Jews during the Holocaust. The heavy Iron Gate above the main entrance gave a false promise of exchanging work for freedom with the message “Work will set you free.” Opened in 1940, the ashes fell until 1945. With the Soviet Front approaching, the Nazi’s ordered the camp to be abandoned. More than one million Jews walked through those gates, never to be seen again. It is very clear to see why even to this day Auschwitz-Birkenau remains on top of the list of the most brutal death camps in history.

With a meager ration of bread and soup to start

The first instillation of living blocks consisted of twenty buildings, all made of brick. Six of which double story, the other fourteen stood only one story tall. As the prisoners worked to expand their own prison, soon 28 two-story building stood. The majority of which housing prisoners, but each designed to hold 700 after the second story was added. Straw stuffed mattresses that lay on the floor served as the only furniture in the buildings. Later on in their never ending stay, three level bunks were added to each building, each of which was meant to hold three people per bunk. That luxury was unseen due to the fact that up to as many as five or six stayed in each. The latrines were composed of 22 toilets, urinals, and sinks. With over seven-hundred individuals sharing that cramped space in each building it is very clear to see why the spread of disease was a consistent problem. The brick barracks were not the only living quarters inside of the death camp. A large amount of stall-like barracks were installed in sub camps such as Birkenau. They consisted of cramped wooden bunks with only a single row of skylights allowing light to penetrate the dark space. Being stuffed like sardines into a can became a nightly ritual for most prisoners, nevertheless, sleep was the only thing keeping the martyr of exhaustion at