“The ultimate goal must definitely be the removal of the Jews altogether.” was the first statement made on the ‘Jewish Question’ by the most powerful, notorious, and scandalous leader in the world—Adolf Hitler.
Recently a Dutch woman was arrested for her Bad Joke at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. She made a gesture of Nazi salute at the campsite, which is strictly prohibited. After World War II, many countries including Germany and Austria made laws against the use of the Nazi salute and Swastika symbol as they are considered to be terror symbols by the Nazis.
What was Auschwitz Death Camp?
During the World War 2, from 1939 to 1945(till it ended), Nazi Germany created a series of terror and chaos by murdering approximately 1.1 people from all over Europe. The Auschwitz Death Camp, also known as KZ Auschwitz-Birkenau (Konzentrationslager Auschwitz in German) was a concentration and extermination camp specially built for the Polish and Soviet prisoners of the WW II.
When the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939, the part of suburbs, previously called Oswiecim, got connected to The Third Reich (The Third Empire after the Old German Empire and the Weimar Republic). The soldiers, with the order of their Führer (Leader), arrested the Polish political leaders and the Jew Community.
How was the Auschwitz Death camp established?
After the Nazi invasion in Poland, under the command of Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Himmler, a parliamentary organization was set up, called “Schutzstaffel (SS)” – A Protection Team. The Auschwitz camp was divided into two main parts- Auschwitz-I and Auschwitz-II.
Auschwitz-I was the first and oldest concentration camp and was also known as ‘Main Camp’. Prisoners were brought there from the local prisons situated in various parts of Nazi-occupied Europe. The first batch of Polish prisoners was brought there by train on June 14, 1940.
Auschwitz-II was the largest part of the concentration camp which was built by Nazis 3 km away from the main camp. It was also called ‘Birkenau Camp’. From 1942 to 1944, total 40 sub-camps were built, which held around 90,000 prisoners at a time.
What exactly happened at these camps?
The prisoners brought to the concentration camp were isolated from the rest of the world. They were severely punished and were also sentenced to death while being tortured and beaten. Millions of innocent people, especially the Jews were murdered in the gas chambers recklessly.
These concentration camps were indeed death camps. This kind of inhumanity has never been seen. The period of World War 2 showed the world heinous reign and terror by inhuman dictators.
Read more: How Anne Frank’s ‘Diary of a Young Girl’ is a vivid chronicle of the Nazi genocide