This is how a day unfolded in the worst Nazi concentration camp! | Auschwitz-Birkenau

During the war, while Europe was burning under bombs in an area peace of Poland, a camp was erected to erase people like if they were trash. Auschwitz Birkenhau worked like a machine of constant extermination. Behind the barbelet, everything was organized for destroy anyone who came. Trains unloaded thousands of people every day.

 In a few minutes, the half was sent to gas. The other half received a number, lost their clothes, her hair, her name and spent living under the screams, the blows and fear. The rooms continued to operate non-stop and the ovens burned all day. The prisoners dragged bodies while cleaning up the remains of death. The children were looked after experiences.

 The adults worked until it collapses. Hunger and cold were added to the infections and punishments. Nobody could think, speak or remember who he was. Dying became a part routine. Auschwitz was not a accident. It was thought that way. Each space contributed to erasing the human and every day was as cruel as the previous.

 What was left of a person after spending 24 hours in Aushwitz? Arrival and selection, the line that separates life and death. Between 1942 and 1944, the Nazis transported by freight train more of a million people towards the Auschwitz Birkenau complex. The big one majority were Jews from all of Europe, but there was also gypsies, political prisoners, captured Soviets, homosexuals and other victims of diet.

 They came from the cities occupied, getos or camps temporary. They were arrested by the German police, the SS. or collaborative forces. Many thought they would work. Upon their arrival, a decision immediate and irreversible awaited them. The train stopped after several days of travel. The car was so full that no one could sit down.

 The doors opened suddenly. Some thought it was time to go down, but it was still necessary several minutes for everyone sort. Voices in a language stranger, the shouts and the jostling marked the beginning. They were going down a by one. There was a light artificial and a strong smell of smoke.

 Soldiers in uniform with dogs and weapons, ordered them to advance in line. Nobody knew where they were but several prisoners dressed in stripes shouted at them to walk quickly. The ground was gravel and some stumble on the way down. Women helped young children. Older men wore suitcases. The screaming was constant. To a few meters, several SS officers examined each person with a simple look.

 One of them raised his arm to indicate left or right. Nobody understood what was happening. The soldiers quickly separated the men women. The mothers who tried to stay with their children were forcefully removed. Elderly people went to one side, the young people of the other. The wires were divided without explanation. Some tried to ask questions, but they got no response.

 Women were led by a path, the men by another. The weakest remained behind. A man in a blouse white examined everyone with a look fast. By simply observing the state physically, he decided the fate. If the body seemed strong, he raised his arm to the right. If the appearance seemed fragile, it indicated the left.

 A 17 year old boy was sent with adults. A 40 year old man, having a slight tremor in the leg, was sent in the direction opposite. Nobody knew that this little gesture made the difference between work or die. The decisions were taken in seconds. The officers received strict orders. They didn’t ask questions. They were watching. and decided.

 A woman pregnant tried to follow her husband. She was pushed towards the group of women with children. Another man asked go with his elderly father. He was given a shot in the face with the butt of a rifle. The separations were final. There is no had no possibility of changing group. Those who insisted were removed from the line and dragged to the ground.

 The doctor in charge was precise. Sound gesture was firm. The line of separation became a filter. On the side right. people intended for forced labor on the left side, those who would be sent elsewhere without knowing that it was about death. The newly arrived prisoners did not understand the meaning of each side.

 They believed that all everyone was going to the same place. The mothers with baby were directed directly towards the left. Elderly people too. The injured or sick did not pass the inspection. Nobody didn’t explain anything. Some tried to speak. to show their profession, to present documents. Nothing served.

 The decisions were not reversible. The language of gestures and pushes was the only thing allowed. A line of young women passed through selection. Some were sent towards the right group, those having looking tired on the left. Among them, a teacher tried to hold her little niece. An SS soldier separated her and sent the little girl towards the group of left. The woman never saw her again.

The cars continued to empty. Each contained between four and 100 people. Some hadn’t eaten for days. The bodies were weak, pale faces, eyes pressed. The atmosphere was total confusion. Nobody understood what was happening. The orders were shouted in German. Those who did not obey were beaten. The scene was repeated car after car.

 The suitcases were confiscated at the descent. They were stacked in a separate area. They were told that he would get them back later. This never happened. The sons continued. The separations became faster and faster. It was necessary speed up the process. It was about move thousands of people every day.

 A young person who survived the getto was directed to the right. Sound father, ill, was sent to the left. He tried to join him but was held back by two soldiers. They threw him to the ground and let him bleed. They kicked up and sent back into the queue of those suitable for work. They were crying but had to move forward.

 Women with young children were separated first. We said they were going to a place special. They were deceived. They walked together in silence, believing that they would find their family. In reality, she would never be seen again. The order of arrival determined the speed of the process. A man wearing glasses asked to follow his wife.

 He explained that he was a doctor. We hit on the chest and he was sent in the male group. His wife with two children were separated. Nobody gave an explanation. It all happened in less than 30 seconds. Each step defined the future. Support staff, prisoners already interned, helped organize the son.

 They guided the new arrivals with gestures and words fast. Some whispered warnings. He told them to to appear strong, to stand up straight. He knew that poor posture could signify death. Those who helped were also victims. They had no choice. A woman with white hair was taken by the arm by a soldier.

 She was directed to the left without examination. She doesn’t say anything. She walked in silence. A little girl who came alone was pushed into the group women. She was crying. Nobody consoled her. The chaos was absolute, but the process remained methodical. The train was empty, but the selection continued. The officers noted numbers.

 Doctors examined each face. The threads were getting smaller. The soldiers gave orders with cry. The place was surrounded by barbed wire. We could hear barking. From the smoke continued to escape from a large fireplace. Nobody asked why. A young person who had claimed to be more old man manages to get through the queue right.

 He was 15 years old but to have 18 years old. His thin body betrayed him almost. Another young person of the same age was separated because of its small size. Nobody checked anything. Alone counted the physical impression. The decisions were visual. A woman lives to be separated. She shouted his name. She was struck. Nobody did not intervene.

 Any attempt to Resistance was paid for with violence. Those who obeyed remained standing. The punishment was immediate. Nobody asked questions. The time was counted. The wires were directed to different points of the camp. Some were taken into buildings in brick, others in a zone without construction.

 We didn’t tell them where they were going. They moved forward without answer. The questions were not permitted. There was only one direction. Ahead. The selection process was constant. Every train carried between 1000 and 1500 people. This repeated itself day after day day. Some officers did same gesture hundreds of times per day.

 Zyclomb, the gas that killed in silence. The rooms were designed to look like ordinary rooms. From exterior, the structure imitated a shower block. The doors were metal with small covered windows thick glass. The building was in normal brick and had a ramp access. The environment was clean and silent. German soldiers guided the prisoners with dry indications.

 Everything was thought of to avoid panic. The new ones arrivals were led in groups. We told them that they were going to take a shower. The officers showed entry with firm gestures. No one explained further. The people were moving slowly, not knowing what was happening. Some asked, they got no answer. Inside, the space was vast, the walls were plastered, there had water outlets supposed to ceiling. It was all part of the setup.

The doors have been closing since the exterior. They were sealed by metal bars. A soldier was turning a pressure wheel. From outside, we couldn’t hear anything. To inside, people were waiting for instructions. Some looked at each other confused, others held the children near them. Minutes passed without that nothing happens.

 Then we heard a metallic noise. By small openings in the ceiling began to fall the pellets. Zyclomb was introduced by its openings. It was not a gas the natural state. It was a substance solid. in the form of crystals or small beads impregnated with a compound highly toxic. In contact with air hot, it released harmful vapors.

Two SS soldiers were quickly pouring the contents and closed the hatches. One timed, the other observed through the Judas. In less than a minute, people started to breathe with difficulty. The compound affected the nervous system. It caused a lack of oxygen. The eyes grew irritated. Some collapsed immediately.

Others pushed themselves against the walls the search for air. People were screaming. We heard knocks on the door. The ceiling bore marks the interior. The nails left traces on the cement. Death was not not instantaneous. The average time for the outcome varied between 10 and 15 minutes. It depended on the quantity of substances, the number of people interior, temperature and the age of those present.

 The children and elderly people lose consciousness first. The youngest resisted more, some remained standing, others fell on top of each other others. The bodies were piling up. The procedure was observed by members SS personnel. Some noted details, they kept records. A time when no noise was made hear, they were waiting for a few additional minutes.

 Then they operated the ventilation system. These were turbines installed on the roofs. They expelled the air contaminated. The valves opened slowly. No one entered until the smell had not dissipated. The rooms were built with resistant materials. The walls supported the pressure of the compound. The doors were double sealed.

 The closing system was airtight. The porthole glass was reinforced. The objective was to keep the agent inside without leaks. Every detail had been adjusted after multiple tests. The zyclombé was stored in metal boxes. Each contained between 1 half kg and 1 kg of substance. They were made in factories authorized by the regime.

 Transportation was done by rail. They were unloaded in areas hidden from the camp. Handling required caution. Some soldiers wore gloves and masks during application. Before each session, the SS coordinated the schedules. We checked the lists. We confirmed the number of people in the group. We calculated the dose, we prepared the openings for the introduction of the compound.

 The building was surrounded by armed personnel. No one could approach without authorization. The whole environment was sealed during operation. The design fake showers even included unused pipes. Some nozzles were connected to the wall but not did not release water. It made part of the deception. Sometimes we gave soap to the prisoners.

 We asked them to leave their well-folded clothes. We told them that he would collect them after the shower. Everything was intended to avoid panic before closing. The place had of an artificial lighting system. The light remained on constantly. The rooms had no windows looking outside. The walls do not bore no visible marks.

 Each detail aimed to maintain the illusion of a sanitary installation. Sometimes, we even hung towel racks or fictitious instructions on walls. The participating SS personnel were trained. He knew how much compounds use according to the number of people. Some had participated in previous operations in other facilities.

 Officers were assigned only to this type of task. They were known for their effectiveness. They did not speak to the prisoners. They just carried out the procedure. After each use, the rooms had to be ventilated during several minutes. The opening of doors were controlled. Masks of protection were used. A visual inspection was carried out before allowing access to the group of following staff.

 The procedure was methodical, the margin of error was minimal. Each session was recorded. Hours of use varied depending on the number of arriving trains. During the days of high activity, several sessions were carried out per day. The agent was introduced quickly. The process was repeated without interruption. The officers received clear orders.

The system was automated as much as possible. The testimonies of those who observed the process from the exterior mentions silence initial. Then they describe the screams, the blows, the sound of despair. Since outside, some members of the camp heard what was happening. They don’t could not intervene.

 They knew what the closure of the door. The waiting time was correct. The largest rooms could hold up to 1500 people. Others, smaller in size, were used for smaller groups. The distribution of spaces was designed to maximize the effectiveness of the compound, the height of the ceiling, the position of openings, the direction of the ventilation, everything was calculated.

 The first tests were carried out with Soviet prisoners of war. Then, the method was adapted to two large groups. The zyclombé was considered more effective than others systems previously used. He doesn’t did not require complex machinery. It was easy to transport. He caused death within minutes. He left no visible trace of the exterior.

 The participation of the SS limited to closing, counting, the introduction of the agent. and to the ventilation. They did not enter during the process. They observed from the ublots, they measured time. They kept records on paper. Some took notes. Others were content to give the signal to end. Their role was technical and direct.

 The Ziclombé deposits were reprotected. Only certain officers could access it. Supply was constant. It was stored in special conditions. There were security checks. Each box used was recorded. The daily consumption was counted. Periodic orders were carried out. Logistics was an integral part of the system. The training to handle the zy clombé was specific.

 It included instructions on how to open the boxes, pour out the contents and act in the event of a leak. Simulations were carried out. The errors were sanctioned, discipline was strict. Handling the compound was entrusted to staff selected. The complete process of the entrance of the group until the withdrawal of the agent lasted between 40 and 60 minutes.

Subsequent cleaning took more than time but was not part of this phase. The system was constant. The objective? Maintain flow without interruption. Once use is finished, the rooms were prepared for the next group. The openings were closed, the jumps checked, new boxes put in reserve. The routine was continuous.

 The space had to always be available. The facilities containing rooms were located throughout the camp structures. They were located in demarcated areas. He there were fences, checkpoints guarding and permanent lighting. Access was restricted. Every movement was controlled. Zyclombé was produced by authorized companies.

 He was made in Germany. Its origin was industrial previously used for fumigation of premises. The transformation of its use was part of the plan. He has been adapted on a large scale. Its distribution was kept secret. Camp documents recorded the quantities used, dates and units consumed. The reports were sent to higher authorities.

 The system worked as an operation complete logistics. Each element fit into the chain. The responsible for handling the agent was carrying out their function without expressing emotion. They were doing part of the mechanism, followed the instructions, applied the compound, waited, ventilated, closed, reported.

 Everything happened in silence with precision. The lit oven was burning thousands of people without interruption. The crematorium buildings were located in different areas of the camp. Some were near the main barracks, others further away the gap. Each block had its number. The facilities were visible from several points. They had tall chimneys and reinforced walls.

 In certain sectors, they were surrounded by barbelets. The ovens operated with a combination of coal and gas. The thermal system was continuous. Each unit had several openings. In some models, three, in others up to H. The temperature should remain constant. If she fell, the process slowed down. This is why the initial ignition was prolonged.

 Once activated, it will not didn’t turn off for weeks. Each oven had hatches metal opening outwards. Inside, the loading surface was flat. The lifeless body was introduced using a long shovel metallic. The design allowed rapid entry and combustion uniform. The heat came from a lower chamber. The combustion was powered by teams. Coal or gas was added from outside.

The complete thermal reduction of a single body took between 20 and 30 minutes, but the pace was not linear. During peaks of activity, the ovens were used without pause. The calculations were made by water. The rooms could accommodate up to three leftovers at once. Depending on the size and corpulence.

 It was not a individualized process. Each crematory had a room waiting area, a loading room, a lighting area and a room for control. Signs regulated the air inlet and the direction of the smoke. The pipes carried the gases towards the chimneys. The design aimed to prevent smoke from escaping the sides.

 During the days of more great activity, the teams were organized in blocks from 8 to 10 a.m. We worked day and night. The chimneys kept emitting gray columns. Sometimes the smoke became dense and changed color, which indicated an overload. The temperatures were adjusted and the ducts cleaned. The objective was to maintain the flow.

 Daily volume exceeded 1000 bodies per installation during the most intense phases. At total, all crematoria could be processed between 3000 and 4000 remains per day. This rhythm was only maintained when the trains arrived without interruption. On less busy days, the figure was decreasing. The loading is done in sequence.

 A group entered through a side door, another was waiting outside. The remains which were not completely reduced were pushed to the bottom then removed with long pincers. The basis was turned back on and the next body introduced. The rotation was constant. The heat had to be maintained at all times. The design of the chimneys allowed vertical gas outlet.

 Height exceeded ten meters. The natural draw helped disperse the smoke. Around the screens or tarpaulins were placed. Some areas were hidden by bushes. The aim was to hide activity to new prisoners. The technical reports indicated that the total capacity of the ovens was planned for daily operation uninterrupted.

 The parts were in refractory metal supporting temperatures above 1000°C. When they wore out, they were replaced, repairs were quick and replacement materials were stored nearby. The ignition initial of each oven required several hours. We used wood, oil and dry coal. Once the room at the ideal temperature, the real operation began.

Maintenance was daily, the walls internal were checked, the residues solids removed and ashes cleaned. The ashes were accumulated in steel containers, removed after a certain number of loads, cooled in the open, then sieved to separate large fragments. Some were stored, others dispersed in designated areas.

 The process was part of the routine and the rate of incineration was not never altered. During some periods, the outdoors were used for cremations additional. When the ovens collapsed due to activity excessive, false ones were dug to carry out cremations with wood and liquid fuel. The heat was visible hundreds of meters away.

Smoke enveloped everything. It was of a temporary measure used only in extreme situations. Camp records included notes on fuel consumption, the number of loadings and times estimated. Each crematorium held its own control. The lighting times, pauses and variations of temperature were noted. The reports were sent to the central administration.

 Of Periodic inspections took place. The Odor control was minimal. In certain areas, the wind carried the smoke towards the barracks. Some days, the air was unbreathable. Of masks were distributed in the nearby areas where windows were closed. The constant presence of smoke was part of the atmosphere of the camp.

 The ovens were made by German companies. Some brands were known in the sector industrial. The models had been suitable for intensive use and designed to last. The internal siere was thick. The doors had a double closure and hinges were reinforced. Fire management required basic knowledge of combustion. The oxygen supply was regulated with levers, coal was introduced by compartments side and gas through pipes connected to external tanks.

Each component was protected and submitted constant visual inspections. During operation, the interior of the room reached temperatures above 1200°. The remains turn to dust in less than half an hour. Some bone fragments do not disintegrate and were collected to be crushed separately.

 It was all part of the cycle operational. Each building had an adjacent room for storage of coal. The deposits were filled with wheelbarrows and restocked every week. The gas arrived in sealed cylinder and was placed in ventilated areas. The protocols of Security was minimal. Leaks rare. The system was simple but constant.

 Rotation planning of incineration kept pace arrival of trains. The days of heavy deportation, the schedules were prolonged. The ovens were prepared lubes and never stopped, even at night. The lights remained lit and the sound of the fire was continuous. Crematorium structures included waiting areas, loading corridors, rooms techniques and storage areas.

Everything was connected and the movement was smooth, without interruption or delay. The orders were clear and the sequence followed without margin for error. Some ovens were more modern, equipped with automatic closing mechanisms, heating more quickly, consuming less coal and allowing faster rotation.

 They were installed during subsequent phases. Their use reduced the total time of operation and increased the number daily heat treatment. The Camp diagrams showed the position of each crematorium by relation to the barracks and key installations by prioritizing logistics efficiency. The paths were rectilinear and the entrances aligned to reduce the time between arrival, processing and elimination.

The visibility of the smoke was constant. From any point From the camp, the chimneys were visible. Some days the sky was overcast and the smell permeated the clothes. There is no had no way of avoiding it. The activity of the ovens dictated the rhythm of the place. Some reports mention repairs along the way, replacement of bricks, reinforcement hatches.

 The wear was significant but the system was designed to resist. The materials came from from Germany and the orders were carried out each month. Supplies were never missing. During the last months of the camp, the frequency usage increased. The rhythm became extreme. The chimneys were working without break and coal consumption doubled.

 Some minor breakdowns were reported, but the process did not stop never. The objective was to maintain the operation completes until the end. The ovens were part of the landscape, always active, always on. The fire never went out. He represented the final phase of the system, the closure silent every day. Probe commando, slave of silence.

The Sunder Commando were groups forced prisoners, selected for tasks related to leftovers management humans separated from others and marked by the knowledge of what no one others could not see. On the arrival of transport, the youngest men and the strongest were immediately separated.

 Some didn’t understand why. Others guessed that this was not a favor. After the selection, if their physical condition was deemed good, they could be driven elsewhere, far from the group. They don’t did not return to the common barracks and did not wear the striped uniform. We gave them different clothes, sometimes those of deceased people.

 The newly assigned did not know beginning what was their function. In a few minutes, they discovered the truth. They were led to the gates crematoriums or open fakes. There they saw what happened next gas. Their tasks consisted of move the bodies, pick them up from the ground, stack them, take them out of the rooms, drag them, push them, lift them, all in complete silence.

 The order was clear. No body should stay out of sequence. Some had their eyes open, others had injuries caused by despair. The smell was permanent, the skin damaged, liquids and fragments present. The air was thick, the work never stopped. The rotation was constant. The cander commandos had to cut the hair of corpses using large scissors or razors.

 The hair was collected in bags and sent to be treated. He also had to check the mouth of each body. If teeth in gold were found, they were extracted using forceps and faded separately. Objects had to be sorted personal: shoes, glasses, crutches, belts. Everything was going in separate containers, was washed, counted and stored. Nothing was lost.

Each item of clothing was used for another deported and each object was reused. It was forbidden to throw anything either. The sender commandos were working without a watch. The days were measured by smoke from chimneys. When they went out, they could rest. When they lit again, they returned to their tasks.

 Some days there were no break. They ate near the ovens and slept in barracks special people away from others. He doesn’t never mix with other prisoners. He knew more than anyone who saw this that was happening inside. He recognized the sound of the door closes and knew how long he It was necessary for the screams to die down. The weight of this knowledge made it different, but also threatening for those who commanded.

 It’s why they were regularly replaced. No group stayed long. After several weeks, they were substituted by others and the old ones were eliminated without notice. We called in the courtyard, they were given an order, they were told that it would change function and they never came back. Some understood from the first day it was the end inevitable.

 Sometimes the Sunder commando wrote what they saw on scraps of paper with stolen pencils or improvised ink. They hid his messages in the walls or were buried near the crematoria. Some texts were discovered more late. They described the transport of body, counting children and separation of mothers. One said: “We forces us to pick up those who were alive yesterday.

 We see their face, we hear their voice and now we must push them into the fire.” Another. We can no longer feel our arms. The smell does not disappear. The silence envelops us. Despite the isolation, some tried to warn the outside world. In one case, a group managed to send a note to another area of the camp. It’s not work is something else.

 But the supervision was strict and all attempted contact was immediately punished. Most retained everything memory. The barracks were monitored. He couldn’t go out without authorization, did not receive any visit and did not participate in the parades nor in general censuses. He lived in a world apart. He saw the columns arrive and the ashes leave.

He knew the fate of each new prisoner. The train was a verdict. Some Thunder Commando participated in revolts. In October 194, a group at Birkenhao destroyed partially one of the crematoria having hidden explosives obtained by secret contacts. During the explosion, the smoke mingled with the scream.

 It was an act of despair. The repression was immediate and dozens were executed, but the message remained. The heads of crematoria gave direct orders and did not admit any error. If a body was not loaded at time, the group was punished. If some something went out of sequence, the food was suspended. If someone spoke without authorization, he disappeared.

 The order should be maintained and everything had to flow as on an assembly line. The smell permeated the skin. The Sander Commandos said he couldn’t get rid of smoke. They washed themselves, scratched the skin and changed clothes without effect. The fire remained them. Some started to talk alone. Others stopped eating. Some offered themselves for work more difficult, hoping to finish more quickly.

 The passage of days erased the concept of time. A commando center survivor wrote: “I don’t know how many weeks I spent there. I I only know that I have seen it 100 times same face and then I saw it burn.” Another said: “Every morning was the same. only the things changed body. The new ones followed orders of those who had already been there for a some time.

 Everything was explained to them in a few minutes. How to enter, how to carry, how to push. There is no had no formal training, only examples. The look of a alone was enough for the other understand. Nobody talked much. No questions were allowed. Alone actions mattered. The quarters of work was long. Some worked more than 12 hours in a row.

 In the end he ate bread dry, a liquid soup and slept in narrow bunk beds. He were not allowed to write letters, receiving packages, or be part of the regular structure of the camp. They were invisible to the eyes of others. Sometimes the Sanders commanders found among the bodies acquaintances, brothers, cousins, neighbors. They had to act the same way.

No breaks were allowed. If someone was weakening, he was immediately replaced. Some gritted their teeth, others looked away, but all continued. There was no choice. When one group was eliminated, another took his place. The cycle repeated itself. There were always new ones arrivals capable of fulfilling this function selected by force, age or obedience.

 Never by will. Nobody asked to be there. But everyone knew that to refuse meant dying. The testimonies of survivors are rare. Many have been written in fear, others of memory. Some only tell figures, others scenes. one said: “I saw 1000 in one day, I heard 1000 screams and at the end 1000 silences.” Another.

 When I threw the last, I knew my turn would come soon. The isolation was not only physical, but also mental. The Sanders Commando had no one with whom speak, could not share what he knew. He lived with images that never disappeared. They were sleeping knowing that when they woke up, they would see the same thing.

 Some stopped completely to speak. Others died in silence. The Germans controlled every step. They knew that these prisoners were witnesses keys. That’s why it never lasted long time. Systematic elimination was part of the protocol. At the end of every cycle, everything was erased. The walls repainted, floors cleaned and we started again.

 One of the last testimonies said: “We were promised that if we did the work, we would survive, but we knew that it was a lie.” Another, “The fire passed away one day, but in me, it continues to burn.” It was the Sander Commando, the group who had seen everything, who had not been able speak, who had lived among the flames and the ashes and who had buried under earth the words that others did not want not hear.

 The cabinet of horror, Mengelet and the children. When the trains arrived at Auschwitz, the twins, young children and pregnant women were separated from others. Joseph Mengeley selected them on the ramp, instantly observing physical details. They wore a clean uniform, hair done, shiny boots. With a smile fixed, he asked the prisoners if they were twins, their age or if there had a pregnancy.

 Those who met these criteria were sent to the special barracks. The twins were the goal main. Mengele wanted to understand the secrets of heredity, blood, reproduction. He was obsessed with desire to discover how to create perfect generations. Each case was carefully recorded. Date arrival, physical characteristics, family history.

 The files were classified by age, size, color eyes, hair type. The treatment children was ambiguous. Some remembered that he gave them sweets, took care of their hygiene, speak in a soft voice. Others perceived as a man without emotion who measured them and stitched them without warning. Sometimes he brought clothes clean or visited them in the barracks to observe their condition.

 Sound face was part of the ritual before the suffering. In the laboratory, the twins were subjected to repeated testing. We measured their skulls with rulers special. We compared the shape of teeth, facial proportions, bone density. Samples blood tests were carried out every every other week in equal quantities. If one got sick, the other was removed to allow comparison direct.

 Simultaneous internal inspection was part of the protocol. The interventions were relentless. Of invasive procedures were applied on the body with organ extraction and mutilations without anesthesia. Of harmful substances were used to provoke reactions. Solutions saline, benzen, chloroform. Some children were deliberately exposed to infectious diseases to observe their evolution.

 The symptoms were documented step by step without treatment. Sometimes a twin served as a control and the other as an experiment. A healthy child saw his brother die slowly. Others were tied to chairs to compare their resistance to pain. We plunged into icy water. We burned the skin. We provoked deliberate injury. Women pregnant were observed from the beginning.

 Mengle wanted to follow the fetal development, heredity since the uterus. Forced interruptions of pregnancy, body openings and extractions of reproductive parts were practiced. Some women lost their lives due to infection. Others survived with after-effects permanent. None came out unscathed. The laboratory was an environment strictly controlled.

 There were assistants, scribes, others subordinate doctors. Mengel gave the orders, decided schedules, signed the reports. Drawings and photographs were taken. Of preserved samples. Everything was coldly documented. The barracks twins were separated. They lived together, ate the same thing under constant monitoring.

 They knew that they were different. Some children knew the stages of doctor, I knew when he would come. The fear coexisted with resignation. Some hoped to live longer by being useful. Others did not than count the missing bodies every week. When experiences finished, many were removed from the group and a lethal substance was administered directly.

The bodies were transported to crematorium without external registration. Internal inspections were quick, without ceremony. The tests were archived and the next group was already waiting. Mengele did not explain never his intentions. They were evident by his actions. He was looking for patterns, regularities, fascinated by genetic similarities.

 He felt no remorse. For him, it was data, results, variables. Some testimonies have survived. He related voices, syringes, metal tables. Others spoke of missing brothers without warning. Some remembered the names of their twins like those last words before die. The end of the experiments did not never been announced.

 As we approach the Soviet, the archives were destroyed, the laboratories emptied. Mengele escaped, leaving behind ruin and material. No documents accused him directly. The witnesses recounted what they had seen. At schwitz kept the remains of rusty stretchers, syringes without needles, empty vials. In these rooms, hundreds of children were manipulated, injected, compared and eliminated.

 They were not looking to treat. They sought to understand how to create purity. This office had neither bed nor medicine. He had only coldness, silence and fear. And at the center of everything, the face impeccable by Joseph Mengele noting calmly observes while greeting the next pair of twins. Clear human being, mowing, number and obedience.

As soon as they arrive at the camp, the new arrivals were taken to a room where they were ordered to remove all their clothes. Without distinction of age or sex, they found themselves completely naked. Then, one by one, they passed through a space where they were shaved the whole body, head, armpits, pubis.

 They were shaved quickly, without precaution, with blades that often caused cuts or infections. After the mowing came the tattoo. The guards took a thick needle and wrote them a number on left arm. This series became their new identity. To From that moment on, the prisoners lost their name, no more Pedro, Anna or David. Only the number that was assigned.

 Anyone who uttered his old name was punished or ignored. The order was clear, only the number existed. Camp clothing was uniform and dirty. We distributed shirts torn, worn pants, jackets without buttons. No clothes did not belong to the person who wore it. Everything was recycled from the deceased or former prisoners. Some received women’s clothing, even if they were men or clothes of adults when they were children.

It didn’t matter. The objective was to totally depersonalize. With the clothes, they were given wooden clogs wood, almost always bad size. When walking, their feet were bleeding and covered in blisters. No bandages or adaptation time was not offered. They had to learn to move like this from day one. Many were taken directly to barracks after this process.

 In these first steps, the disorientation was total. Nobody explained anything whatever. Nobody said what followed. Some asked questions but the majority remained silent. They looked around them, recognized lost faces, felt the cold without underwear, without identity, without name. The guards repeated phrases that reduced them to objects.

 He said that they were just numbers, that he had to obey, that they no longer had past or future. The voices were firm, monotonous. The punishment for not not adapting was immediate. Scream. isolation. Psychological isolation began from that moment. In the barracks, no name was used. For example, we asked for the number tel and no one remembered the nicknames nor previous stories.

 The only one thing that was important was to follow the orders, memorize your number, do not mislead when answering. Women underwent the same process. They were stripped together, shorn violently, tattooed without anesthesia. Some were crying, others were trembling. The youngest fell eyes without understanding what is happening was passing.

 The older ones closed the eyes, trying to resist. Nobody consoled them. The number remained for always. Even after their release from camp, many survivors carried on the arm like a indelible scar. Not by choice, but because Auschwitz had imposed it. It was a mark that said: “You have been here, you’ve been reduced, you’ve been deleted.

” The change didn’t stop there. Obedience was obligatory. The body language had to adapt. He doesn’t could raise his head in front of an SS. He could not speak without permission. He had to form straight ranks, move at the same pace, sleep when we told them to keep quiet when they were shouted at him. It was all part of this first shock.

 It was not only physical, it was a direct attack on the mind. From that day on, the prisoners understood that the camp did not want only strong bodies, he wanted submissive minds. The name did not exist plus, the number dominated. The night of first day fell without explanation. The new ones didn’t know what the morning would have in store for them, but they had already understood one thing.

 The camp started by erasing everything they were. Relentless work, slavery legalized. From dawn, the prisoners were forced to line up at outside, whether snow, wind or rain be present. The counting was done standing, motionless, staring ahead them. Those who collapsed were discarded.

 Those who survived this beginning were directed to factories, workshops, mines or farms under armed surveillance. In many case, they didn’t even know what they were going to produce there that day. The Tasks varied by location. Lifting stones, pushing carts, cleaning debris, build walls, carry bags, digging trenches, repairing tracks shod.

 The work gap exceeded 12 hours without break. Anyone who walked more slowly or stopped received blows with a cross, whip or stick. The exhaustion piled up every day. The clothes did not protect from climate. The shoes were sole and cloth. frozen mud penetrated to the waters. The factories installed by companies Germans exploited this hand of free work.

 We produced ammunition, metal parts, textiles. Performance was monitored by counts and supervisors. Those who did not respect the quotas were punished. Some died crushed by machines, others were executed. For example, in the agricultural fields, the rhythm was dictated by the screams and the boots. The sun burned, the rain made it dirty, the ice cut.

 In salt mines or gravel, the air was thick and the blinding dust. The tunnels were narrow and damp. Those who coughing or bleeding remained behind. Oxygen was lacking. The one who tripped and dragged the others along. Many were buried by landslides. In the repair of railway tracks, we dragged sleepers and we hammered nails for hours.

 The back was bent, the fingers were broken, the wounds were becoming infected. Lunch consisted of a clear soup and a piece of bread. We ate while squatting under the gaze of guards. Sometimes the bowl would fall and it there was nothing left. Some tried swallowing dirt or snow. Every calorie was vital, the bodies were contracting.

 Legs were shaking while walking, the feet bled in shoes with holes. At night brought no rest. On returning to block, the counting repeated. If someone was missing, everyone was waiting standing for hours. The dead were dragged. Some did not return not because they were collapsing in the mud and were executed. Others disappeared without explanation.

 Sleep was an uncertain privilege. The barracks were saturated, infested lice and rats. The bodies were sleeping tight with wet clothes and empty stomach. Diseases appeared quickly. dysantria, typhoid fever, scorbu, pneumonia. He there was no treatment. The sick continued to work. Some used rags as bandages. Others bind their legs with ropes so as not to collapse.

 Those who lost their strength were dragged by their comrades to avoid immediate execution. The climate was a constant tormentor. In winter, snow covered everything and the wind froze the lungs. In summer, the sun split the skin. The clothes did not change. No rest at midday. We worked under storms, between lightning, with mud up to your ankles.

 The falls were frequent. The ankles twisted, hands fractured. Nobody could stop. The one who helped an injured person received the same punishment. Some prisoners were sent in special orders. working outside the main camp, he walked miles on foot to reach the place. Many do not were not coming back. Fatigue, illnesses and costs reduced groups.

In some cases he had to wear the corpses of companions who died during the day. The return was slow, silent, under the gaze of the towers. Figures for deaths from exhaustion were accumulating. They were not officially registered. They were only collected at the end of the day and replaced by new prisoners.

 The system was designed to extract every last drop of energy. Name, origin or age did not matter. Everything was transformed into an arm producing without break. The concept of work as redemption was propaganda. In practical, it was a condemnation without end. The days had no limit. The tools were rudimentary and constant monitoring.

 The blows were part of the rhythm. The pain did not heal. She was only accumulate. Slavery at Auschwitz had no visible string. It was an endless chain of tasks, punishment for fatigue, slow deaths by physical us. The body stopped respond, the muscles ruptured, the mind grew dark. The instinct for this movement was the only thing that remained.

 Every day started the same. Every night finished with fewer people and the ovens remained lit, waiting for the bodies of those who could no longer carry one more stone. The stomach empty, die by eating air. Food at Auschwitz was calculated to destroy. Each prisoner received on average less than 1200 calories per day.

 This quantity barely covered a third of what was necessary to survive at rest and even less for those who worked long hours straight. The system was designed to cause a progressive physical weakening until collapse. In the morning, the ration consisted of a black infusion sugar-free, labeled, coffee, but do not containing no grain.

 The liquid, dark and was served hot and constituted the soil contribution until in the afternoon. At noon, we distributed a thick soup made from leftovers rotten vegetables, fermented cabbage or turnips, sometimes mixed with peelings. It contained no salt, no meat, no nutrients. In many cases, insects or pieces of cartilage floated on the surface.

 Some prisoners removed them with their fingers before drinking. Other endorsements without look. In the evening, we gave a piece of black bread the size of a hand. The bread was compact, moist and had a musty taste. Its dough contained siure, beet pulp, potato skin and flour adulterated.

 This piece constituted the most valuable part of the day. We also distributed a leather of rinsed margarine, old cheese or in exceptional cases, a sausage made from leftovers. Those who were not assigned to work special never see matter fat or protein. The end became an obsession. From the first day, the stomach dictated every thought.

Some hid pieces of bread under their shirt. Others counted the crumbs in their palms. The exact times, containers, color of soups was memorized. Taking food without permission could cost you blows or your life. But many tried. Rats, remains on the ground and peelings in trash became part of the menu. The human body deprived of nutrition sufficient slowly deteriorates.

 At At first, the fat disappears. Then the muscles, the face becomes more refined, the eyes sink, arms become bones covered with skin, the skin dries out, cracks, loses its color. The nails break, hair falls out. Edema appears in the legs, hands and faces. The joints make bad. The gait becomes dragging. Breathing becomes difficult.

 Talk requires effort. Thinking becomes late. Weakness turns into a sentence. If a prisoner stumbles, he could get up. If he fell into the file, he lost the food. If he stayed behind at work, he received blows. If he asked for rest, it was replaced by another stronger. The bodies were abandoned in the barracks, trembling, without energy to get up.

 Thinness extreme led to the collapse of organs. The heart was beating slowly. The body temperature dropped. The death occurred during sleep without warning. Many tried to compensate for the lack of food with earth, grass, laurel or paper. Some chew the leather of their shoes, others licked the frosting of windows to deceive the stomach.

 The consequences were serious. Vomiting, diarrhea, infection. The digestive system collapsed, the bleeding intestines, fevers appeared, nausea was constant, the resistance disappeared. In the most extreme cases, some prisoners resorted to fragments recent human remains as only possible source of protein. The need physicality exceeded all limits.

 He covered the nose, closed the eyes and swallowed with effort. The end annihilated any capacity for judgment. He doesn’t It wasn’t about malice but of pure survival instinct. Diseases linked to malnutrition were spreading throughout the camp. Scurvy damaged the genes, caused teeth falling out and causing hemorrhages.

 Pellagra altered the skin with open sores. The berry berry’s legs swelled, tuberculosis, tyfus and ditery multiplied in bodies weakened. No treatment, no rest possible, no future prospects. The climate made the situation worse. In winter, food froze before to arrive at the barracks. The bread hardened like stone. The soup solidified in the jumps.

 In summer, fermentation caused odors unbearable. The soups smelled like vinegar and rancid moisture bread. Nobody was complaining. Every bite was vital. The distribution of food was not fair. The hoods, officials and prisoners privileged, had access to more large portions. Sometimes they stole in the sautés before serving.

 Those who did not belong to this group received the leftovers. The children ate what their parents left. Mothers deprived themselves of give a little more to their children. The elderly people were ignored. If you couldn’t eat by yourself, no one was doing it for you. The testimonies tell of men who became crazy for a piece of bread, women crying over poorly served soup, children keeping a piece of bread for the next day and seeing him fly.

 Of bodies that embraced each other without strength, just so you don’t die alone. The fa was a continuous punishment. She doesn’t didn’t stop with the food. She then continued inside the body, in the mind. The camp had strict rules regarding food. Eat outside schedules were sanctioned. Of inspections were organized to look for hiding places.

 The offenders were punished by costs, isolation or loss of ration. Some hid crumbs in their caps between the socks under the bed. Others dug holes between the boards of the barracks to hide bread. Sometimes they managed to keep a ration for more than a day, but almost always they were discovered.

 The prisoner doctors have recorded the effects of the fa in hidden notebooks. They drew living skeletons, organs atrophied, collapsed lungs. They documented how the heart shrank, how the liver hardened, how the marrow stopped produce blood. Each report showed bodies that had ceased to be bodies. They were hollow structures. The pregnant women could not maintain their pregnancy.

 The fetus does not received no nutrients. A lot lost the child in the first month. Others gave birth to lifeless creatures. Those who who survived remained seriously injured. Hunger affected the hormonal system, stopped menstruation and destroyed fertility. There was no birth in Auschwitz. There was only spontaneous losses and births without a future.

 The guards knew what they were causing. They observed without intervening. Some mocked. They threw pieces of food on the ground to see who threw it on first. He took pleasure to see the prisoners fight for a peeling. He was playing hide bread to observe the reaction. It was an additional form of control.

 The end was a tool of domination. Those who survived the most long were those who found ways to resist without food. Some slept more to consume less energy. Others chewed a crumb for minutes to deceive the stomach. The most resistant were those who didn’t spend any energy talking, walk or think. The objective was to hold. Every day was a goal.

 The smell body changed. Hungry bodies smelled of acid. The sweat was becoming sour. The mouth stank. The skin had a grayish tint, wool was metal, the teeth were loosening, the gums were bleeding, the hands were trembling, the body was a whole signals announcing the end. Some drawings made by prisoners showed figures with swollen bellies with protruding ribs, empty eyes.

Other images depicted cast scenes, wires endless, empty bowls. The artists hid these drawings in double soles or between walls. Many did not survive. Their works, they remained. Food was not just a food, it was a symbol of hope. A piece of bread was a gift, warm soup, a blessing, a change of menu, a party.

 The arrival of a convoy of new prisoners meant that there maybe had someone with hidden food. We exchanged shoes for a potato. We traded shirts for a spoonful of soup. Lose your life by end at Auschwitz was common. There is no had no exact record. Of thousands disappeared without diagnosis, without warning, without witnesses. They went out in the night, at work, in the queue. Nobody buried them.

Nobody wrote down their names. He simply ceased to exist. The end was not an oversight, it was an method. It was a system, it was a slow and silent extermination. Auschwitz took lives with gas, but it also took it with the air. Lesson of terror, killed in front of everyone. In the camp concentration of Auschwitz, the public executions served as visual messages to show what awaited those who disobeyed the rules.

 It wasn’t just eliminations, they were shows carefully orchestrated to break the collective will. The act was prepared first thing in the morning. The prisoners knew than the sound of a siren out of time where the sudden call in the yard was not an ordinary order. It was a signal. Something was going to happen. The victims were selected for different reasons.

 Some had tried to escape, others had helped a sick comrade, took bread, talk with someone else barracks or disobeying an order minor. A simple suspicion was enough. The punishment was exemplary. Little mattered the real cause, the message was the same. Nobody could challenge the camp structure. The SS organized everything.

 They chose the place, climbed the rope, prepared weapons. The hoods helped gather the prisoners, they lined them up by block and ordered them to stay silent. The courtyard was filled with motionless bodies. Sometimes the event coincided with the change of guard so that more supervisors attend to punishment.

 The victim was taken in the center, escorted by soldiers, without being able to speak or resist, sometimes barefoot, sometimes with clothes torn. She had already been hit. The executioner was often an SS, but sometimes other prisoners were obliged to play this role. In this case, the companions had to put on the rope around the condemned man’s neck.

 The scene repeated so often that the procedure was part of the camp routine. Some witnesses remembered the arm of the officer who stood up to give the signal. Then the body remained hanging without a cry, just the crunch rope. The shootings were also common. The prisoners were lined up in front of a wall. The points of impact marked at the creation.

 The shooters positioned themselves in front, rifle ready. It was forbidden to divert the look. The prisoners attended execution without moving or crying. The order was clear, looked at and memorized. This image had to remain engraved as a warning. The most punished were often the Poles, the Russians captured, some Jews speaking several languages and serving of interpreter.

 The witnesses told that the officers were throwing out sentences ironic before shooting. Some laugh, others simply gave order without expression. When there had several blows, the noise reasoned between the barracks like a dry gust. Then came the silence long and thick. After the act, the body remained visible for hours. Sometimes a sign was hung from the neck of the corpse indicating the fault.

Some said thieves, others traitors, others simply saboteurs. The word mattered less than the facts. The body was the real message. From many prisoners remembered the first execution they had seen. Some tried to close their eyes, others counted the seconds to not think. Some vomited, others were forced to clean the blood.

 The women were not spared. In Birquenau too, these punishments took place. Some mothers were trying to see their children executed. Other children attended the loss of their parents. The Capos had an ambiguous role. Some participated out of obedience, others with deliberate brutality. Some showed enthusiasm. He beat the condemned before hanged him, insulted him, spat on him.

Others were content to follow order, face blank. The fear of becoming the next victim was permanent. A mistake and the hood he too became an example. The German officers considered everything this as part of the order of camp. It wasn’t about justice, it was control. The objective was not not to punish a fault, but to guarantee obedience through terror.

Each execution strengthened the power of the SS. The elimination was part of the environment. Some children were playing guessing if There would be a hanging the next day. Some adults were learning to walk without looking up so as not to show their emotions. There were days when the punishments were massive.

 In these case, the courtyard was filled with bodies hung in a row. Some remained so for days swinging at the wind. Others were removed quickly but the image remained. The survivors said that their dream was filled with ropes and blows fire, that the guilt of continuing to living weighed as much as fear. In in certain cases, the executed was obliged to dig your own grave.

 Others were taken to the edge of a trench already open. Some kept vital signs after the shots, but were covered with earth anyway, without verification. There were times where prisoners were used as a target. The SS were betting to see who hit first. The victims did not know that they were participating in a game.

 A cruel variation was execution by crane. The prisoner was hanging by his tied arms in the back. The pressure dislocated the shoulders. Death did not occur immediately. Sometimes he remained suspended like this for minutes, the body trembling. The screams were ignored. No one could intervene. This method was used when officers wanted more punishment educational.

 Fear was the result wanted. Every public execution reconstructed the camp hierarchy. She reminded everyone that there was no room for protest. The escape attempts decreased after each execution. The conversations were shorter. The silence was growing up. The new ones included quickly the rules of the place. He there was no need to explain more.

 It was enough to see the hanged. During inspections official, the executions were suspended. The camp had to show a discipline without violence but frequent visitors find that this was part of a choreography. The days preceding the arrival of inspectors, the yards were cleaned, the corpses disappeared, the gallows were dismantled.

 Once, everything returned to normal. Some prisoners were trying to bury these pictures. Others, on the contrary, wrote on pieces of paper that that they had seen. They hid the testimonies in the walls between stones under the straw. He wanted Does anyone know what was going on? these losses do not remain anonymous.

 These stories then helped to reconstruct what it meant to live under threat constant. When the Red Army approached, the official documents were destroyed, but the stories remained. During the post-war trials, several witnesses recounted these scenes. Some old hoods were interviewed. Some officers recognized their role in the executions, others did not do it all.

 The photos, hidden writings and oral testimonies were pieces keys to understanding the logic of the terror. Auschwitz was not only gas and oven, it was also a school of constant fear, a machine where death was not hiding. She showed herself, she manipulated herself, she repeated herself until looking at a body suspended ceases to impress.

Because in this courtyard, fear was part of the plan. Block 11, die locked up. The building known as of block 11 was in the camp main. From the outside, he looked like another construction in brick, but inside it was different from everything else. These windows were equipped with thick bars and sealed with boards.

 The light didn’t come in, neither did the sound. It was a place where prisoners were cut off from the world. On the ground floor found an SS office and a room waiting. From there, we decided who would go down. The stairs led to basement where the punishments began. The corridor was narrow, the walls were damp.

 There were doors metal locks on both sides. Each led to a more space smaller than a normal cell. Some parts only had a small hole for air. Others were devoid of ventilation. The standing cells were cubicles of less than one square meter. Four prisoners were to enter together, stand without sitting. They spent the night without moving, without be able to turn around.

 The ground was cement. The air became thick after a few hours. Some vomited, others fainted. Pain in the legs, back and neck became unbearable. The next day they were taken directly to work. Then they returned to the same cell. The dark cells were used for isolation total. They measured a little more than a meter long by one meter wide.

 Not window. The walls absorbed sound. Once the door is closed, the prisoners were without contact with the exterior. Those who had made small mistakes or accused without proof. Some passed there three days, others more than one week. Without light, without food, without rest. The punishment included long periods without food.

Some were locked up with the order not to receive water. The body began to fail within a few hours. Lips cracked. The language swelled, the stomach collapsed, those who shouted were ignored. If they knocked on the door, they were bayoneted. Sometimes their clothes. The combination of cold, humidity and weakness completely destroyed the body.

 The The floor of the cells was stained. There was traces of dried blood, nails broken, loose teeth. In in some cases the prisoners lost intestinal control. They were sleeping standing or squatting. leaning against the walls. Hallucinations appeared from the second day. They heard footsteps, voices, animals.

 They spoke alone. Many stopped answer when called. Some died in silence, fetal position. The punishments were decided by the camp officers. The capos were only carrying out the orders. No one explained the duration of confinement. Sometimes they opened the door and out came those who were still alive.

 In the past, we entered only with a wooden siver. The body was dragged down the hallway. He was not returned to the family. None recording was not made. He was simply added to the general list deceased without cause. Inspections of the block were done at night. Of senior officers came down with flashlights.

 They were checking the condition of the walls, the locks, the quality air. They made sure that the prisoners could not hear this that was happening upstairs. It was a enclosed space for internal punishment, designed to break the individual without leave visible traces the exterior. There was a small room for the direct physical torment.

 We used belts, sticks, pipes. Sometimes they should stay in a position for hours. If they fell, they were hit until get up. Some prisoners had to hold bricks, their arms tense. Others were suspended by the cuffs to hooks attached to the ceiling. After the punishment, everyone did not return to their barracks. Some were transferred to the infirmary, others directly at crematorium.

 No recordings were done. Only the memory of the companions of cells persisted. The stories are repeated. God without shine, feet swollen, infected wounds. Block 11 remained silent once the door closed. Nobody wanted to be there led. It was enough to see it to understand the terror that inspired him. There was no need to shout.

 The silence was enough, the metallic noise a lock was enough. Breathing altante behind a nameless door was enough. The schwitz worked like this every day. Trains were arriving. The prisoners were selected, the orders executed, gas, hunger, punishments and work followed one another by rotation.

 The children passed by the tables, the adults by the wires. No one knew if they would see the next day. There was no pause or exception. Everything was designed to crush without leaving a trace. It was the real camp rhythm. Mr.