Auschwitz II

Auschwitz II-Birkenau was the largest of all Auschwitz camps in the complex of over forty. This camp was opened in March of 1942 and stayed open for three years. While it was in business, it served as the center for the extermination of Jews. Later in 1944, it also became a place where prisoners were kept before being transferred to labor camps to help boost the German industry. While in this camp about ninety percent of prisoners died, and nine tenths of these prisoners were Jews, twenty thousand Gypsies, Soviet POWs, and other prisoners. This camp had gas chambers that were capable of killing about 2,000 people a day. Later in 1944, 6,000 people a day were being killed using the gas chambers. This was the first time gas chambers were used to kill people. The prisoners in this camp were not treated very well as one would imagine. However, many might not know how terrifying the living conditions truly were.