Auschwitz-Birkenau

By Geoffrey Z.

  • Creation

    On April 1940, Rudolf Hoss was sent to administer and create the Auschwitz-Birkenau Death Camp.

  • Opening

    The first day Auschwitz-Birkenau opened, welcoming prisoners.

  • First Deportation

    On this day, German Jews were transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau.

  • Zyklon B

    Zyklon B was first used on September 3, 1941.

  • Auschwitz II(Birkenau)

    Birkenau, the second part of the camp, was built to store the prisoners and exterminate more of them.

  • Mass Gassings

    In Jan. 1942, massive gassings started, killing many.
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    Slovak Jews and French Jews

    Trainloads of Slovak Jews and French Jews were loaded to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
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    Additional 4 Chambers/Crematorium

    From June 18, 1942 to July 30, 1942, four gas chambers and four crematoriums were constructed to speed up the gassing process.

  • Medical Experiments

    Medical Experiments were done onto ill prisoners at Auschwitz-Birkenau.

  • Dutch Jews

    Deportation of Dutch Jews began.

  • Belgian Jews

    The deporting of Belgian Jews started on July 22, 1942.

  • Croatian Jews

    The deportation of Croatian Jews first started on August 1942.

  • Valuables

    On September 26, 1942, SS guards started taking valuable possessions from the prisoners. The prisoners' clothing were given to German families. Watches, pens, and clocks were distributed to the troops. By Feburary 1943, 800 boxcars of goods left Auschwitz.

  • Jews from Greece

    Started on March 1943, Jews from Greece were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
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    Reconstruction

    Gas Chambers and Crematoriums II and IV at Auschwitz were newly rebuilt from March 22, 1943 to March 31, 1943.

  • Gas Chamber/Crematorium V

    The birth of the fifth gas chamber and crematorium took place on April 4th, 1943

  • Rebuilt of Gas Chamber/Crematorium III

    Newly built gas chamber/crematory III opens at Auschwitz. With its completion, the four new crematories at Auschwitz have a daily capacity of 4,756 bodies.

  • Jews in Rome

    Started on October 16, 1943, Jews in Rome were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau Death Camp.

  • Jews from Athens

    Transportation of 5,200 Jews from Athens to Auschwitz-Birkenau Death Camp happened on April 14, 1944.

  • Hungarian Jews

    Jews from Hungary first arrived at Auschwitz on this day. By May 24th, an estimated 100,000 Hungarian Jews have been gassed. 88 pounds of gold was collected from May 16 to May 31.

  • Last usage

    The last using of the gas chambers occurred on October 30, 1944.

  • Destruction

    Heinrich Himmler, an overseer of the concentration camps during the Holocaust, ordered the crematoriums to be destroyed to make sure there was no evidence of the killing.

  • FREEDOM!

    On this day, the Soviet Army came to the rescue.However, only a few thousand people remained. Nearly 1 million Jews had been killed, 70,000 Poles, 21,000 Gypsies, and 15,000 Soviet Prisoners of War.