A Travel to Hell on a Sunny Day. A Photo Story From Auschwitz-Birkenau

In this post I want do share some of the photos I took during my visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau in 2011. The sunny beautiful weather and silence made a big contrast to the horrible actions that took place there during WW2. It's hard to imagine how humans can do something like this to other humans. I post this under #travel because it's a place everyone (who can) should visit, because it's an important piece of our history that must never be forgotten.

June 14th 1940 - The gate to hell opens

Auschwitz was not the first concentration camp, but certainly the most infamous. Over one million people died there.

People were brought from all over Europe

Most of the people were murdered in the gas chambers once they arrived to the camp. Those who were considered fit to work were used as slave labour, but most of them died within six months due to starvation, disease, hard labour, torture, beatings and horrible executions. People were executed by shooting, hanging or gassing.

Things that were taken from the prisoners

The prisoners lost everything they owned, and were given prisoner uniforms. Even gold teeth and women's hair were taken and sold when prisoners died. After the camp's liberation they found 7 tons of hair in the camp's warehouses. they also found cloth made of human hair.

The black wall

A black wall was constructed in front of a brick wall. Thousands of executions by shooting took place here.

Empty Zyklon B canisters

Zyklon B was used in the gas chambers. The gas chamers had showers and water pipes so that it looked just like a shower room. The prisoners were told that they would get a shower and delousing. The women and children were sent first. Zyklon B were dropped into special shafts that opened in the ceiling. People closest to the openings died immediately, the rest within half an hour. The corpses were transported on trolleys to the crematorium right away.

The biggest chambers could execute as many as 2000 prisoners at one time. This operation would require between 5 and 7 kilos og Zyklon B.

Prisoner barracks

Over 1000 prisoners could be placed into a single barrack. The conditions were horrible, and it was close to impossible for the prisoners to sleep. Many died there.

All photos by Dieter Schneider (2011)