The third part of the main camp was chosen by IG Farben, a chemical manufacturer, as a site for a plant to manufacture a synthetic rubber essential to the war effort called buna. It was located near Dwory and Monowice (Monowitz in German), about 4.3 miles east of Auschwitz I, and it had great railway connections and access to raw materials. As a result of the location and purpose, the camp was often referred to as Monowitz-Buna or Bunalager, until is became Auschwitz III in November 1943.
In April 1941, construction began, which was a result of Heinrich Himmler ordering the Jewish population of Oświęcim be expelled to make room for more skilled laborers brought to work at the plant in February 1941. Initially, about 1,000 workers were on construction from Auschwitz I, but soon the number increased to 7,000 in 1943 and 11,000 in 1944. Each day, the workers were forced to wake up at 3 A.M. to walk the 4.3 miles from Auschwitz I to the plant, arriving exhausted and unable to work. Most died from malnutrition, disease, and physically impossible workload.
On October 30, 1942, Monowitz-Buna began housing inmates, becoming the first concentration camp to be financed and built by private industry. Once inmates starting staying at the camp, they were expected to work at seventy-five percent of their ability, but most could only work at twenty to fifty percent. As a result, the site managers often threatened them with transportation to Birkenau for death in the gas chambers. Each month, the population of Monowitz was reduced by one fifth, and new workers would be sent in from Auschwitz I. Surprisingly, inmates in Monowitz had better survival chances since the factory workers were considered too valuable to send to the gas chambers, if they were still able to work. However, life expectancy averaged only about three months. The camps’ factories were bombed by Allied raids until 1945, when the Soviet Union overran it
Auschwitz 