Auschwitz is a small European town with a massive historical significance. Located in southern Poland, Auschwitz was Nazi Germany’s most lethal concentration, extermination, and slave labor camp. The events that took place here are among the cruelest and most shocking human history has ever witnessed. Over one million people were killed here during the holocaust, and 90 percent of them were Jews. Roughly 22,000 Romani and 150,000 Poles were also killed or died during a series of brutal acts by Nazis at this camp. In this article, we will discuss important Auschwitz concentration camp facts to educate our audience. Read on to learn more.

A place for cruel Nazi experiments

 

At Auschwitz, Nazis performed cruel experiments. Starvation, hypothermia, electroshock, and exposure to toxic substances are only a few examples of the savagery shown by Nazis here.

 

The main camp doctor, Joseph Mengele, was obsessed with carrying out inhuman experiments on twins.

Rudolf Höss commanded the camp for three years

 

From 1940 to 1943, Rudolf Höss was the commandant of the camp.

 

After Höss was arrested in 1943, he confessed that they had killed over 2.5 million people, and over half a million had died from diseases and starvation during his time at the camp.

Jews weren’t the only ones that got killed here

 

Though the majority of Auschwitz victims were Jews, people from many other nationalities died here as well.

 

As mentioned earlier, roughly 22,000 Romani and 150,000 poles were killed or died due to diseases and starvation at the camp.

 

Soviet war prisoners and Jehovah’s people are the other known victims of brutality at Auschwitz.

A Nazi guard fell in love with a Jewish prisoner girl

 

This is among the most famous Auschwitz concentration camp facts. Franz Wunsch, who was a Nazi guard and in chard of the gas chambers fell in love with a Jewish prisoner girl.

 

Her name was Helena Citronova.

 

He fell in love with her after she sang birthday songs for him.

 

At first, she didn’t reciprocate his feelings, but over time she somehow fell in love with him, too. Wunsch had saved Helena and her sister several times from being sent to gas chambers, and this is perhaps the reason she had developed feelings for him.

 

Later, Wunsch was arrested for his crimes, and Helena along with her sister supported him in trials.

Some survivors are still alive today

 

In January 1945, roughly 7000 prisoners were liberated from Auschwitz camp.

 

Most of them have since died because of the infections they picked up during their time at the camp. However, some of the survivors who were children or healthy adults are still alive today.

 

Apart from above-mentioned, the most horrific Auschwitz concentration camp facts include:

 

• Genetic testing and sterilization of prisoners
• Use of Zyklon B gas to kill prisoners
• Terrible living conditions for prisoners

 

Auschwitz had at least 40 sub-camps, and all of them were places of extreme torture. At one camp, you can even find a room full of shoes from 80,000 prisoners.

Summary

• Location: Southern Poland
• Polish name: Oświęcim
• Operated from: 1940 to 1945
• Number of prisoners: at least 1.3 million
• People killed: at least 1.1 million