Well, this death concentration camp was composed mainly from 2 parts; Auschwitz and Birkenau run by Germans (SS H. Himler's pet project) from June 1940 to January 1945. Place was chosen becouse there is very good railway network and lots of potential victims all around, you see, transportation costs needed to be minimal. Auschwitz was the smaller one, Birkenau the bigger, couple of klics from the first one. The first you see, entering the museum now is solid steel gate, with sign "Arbait Macht Frei" which means; work will free You. This place was masive, thousands of acres and then some. All death camp was fenced with double row concrete posts with barb wires under electric currents, mine fields, guard towers, regular German soldiers patrols, etc. Main "procesing" of victims was in Birkenau, whole train transport mainly of Jews, Poles, Roma, Russians and dozens of other nationals, was segregated by German officers into 2 categories; those who didn't make it in very cold or hot temperatures ( no wonder; 50-80 persons in cattle wagon without food or water) and very old, frail, children, sick ones etc ( about 80%) were disposed right away in gas chambers and crematorium. Rest; ( about 20%) young, strong, with skills, were "given" chance to work for 111 Reich, usually lasting 2 to 6 months, dying mostly from malnutrition, hard labour, disease, fireing squad, medical experiments, torture, heavy beatings, "fun killings" etc. Gas chamber I saw was a superior German engineering; heavy concrete bunker with water sprinklers look alike inside, 200 to 300 naked people were pushed inside if nessesary under the pretext of desinfection and cleaning, then gas Ziclon B ( about 4lbs steel can of white granules made by I.G.Farben-still in bussines) was droped into shower piping from roof. Death wasn't quick, 10 to 15 minutes. Everything was utilised, I saw mountains and mountains of glases, human hair, shoes, handbags, artificial limbs, soaps made of bones and fat, clothing, toys, strolers, bibles and other books, fancy tatooed human skin as lamp covers.... oh God. I feel like having a drink or two. 40 years passed and I feel like it was yesterday. Anyway, all of the butchering tools were there, torture chambers, cold water experiments section, "Dr" Mengele "Hospital", and gallow which last Auschwitz comendante was hanged from after US deported him to Poland. Cramatoriums had a hard time to burn all the bodies, so some of them were disposed of in trenches, treated with lime. Ashes were disposed in fields as fertiliser. Number of victims there can only be estimated, about 2,5 to 3 milion+. If anybody has any more inquires, I can answer them to the best of my ability, but not today. Sorry for my spelling, English is not my mother language, not even the second.
