Living Conditions In Auschwitz

85 years ago, over a 12 year period, nearly six million Jews were killed in a genocide called The Holocaust. The Holocaust was led by the Nazi Party and Adolf Hitler was their leader. The mass murders took place at concentration camps throughout Europe. The majority of concentration camps resided in Poland and Germany. Many people believe there were only a few concentration camps. “However, researchers found that the Nazis had actually established 20,000 camps between 1933 and 1945” (“How Many Camps,” n.d.). In this paper I will be discussing the largest concentration camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Once the Jews got to the camp, the Nazis took their belongings and gave them very thin clothing. They were separated into groups based on strengths and who could work. The babies and handicapped were immediately killed. “Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke.

In Auschwitz-Birkenau, prisoners were provided rations of food ("Auschwitz-Birkenau: Living Conditions, Labor and Executions"). Jews were given three meals every day; one in the morning, noon and at night ("Auschwitz-Birkenau: Living Conditions, Labor and Executions"). Prisoners who did little work received 1,300 calories and those who did handfuls received 1,700 calories of what was served ("Auschwitz-Birkenau: Living Conditions, Labor and Executions"). They worked tediously for ten or more hours daily. If not at work, their time was prioritized in roll call assemblies, getting in line for food or removing dirt/pests from their own clothing ("Auschwitz-Birkenau: Living Conditions, Labor and

When reading the novel Survival in Auschwitz by Primo Levi, the reader wonders whether his survival is attributed to his will to survive or his luck. Reading the novel Survival in Auschwitz by author Primo Levi leads one to wonder whether his survival is attributed to his indefinite will to survive or a very subservient streak of luck. Throughout the novel, he is time and again spared from the fate that supposedly lies ahead of all inhabitants of the death camp at Auschwitz. Whether it was falling ill at the most convenient times or coming in contact with prisoners who had a compassionate, uncommonly positive disposition, it would seem as though some higher power wanted to spare his life. Although Levi is characterized as a willing and intellelectual individual, it ay be that his personality and chemistry training were the sole reasons for his survival. Or, maybe, Levi was just lucky.

During the Holocaust, the living conditions for the Jewish population were horrifying and unthought of. The lack of sanitary facilities meant they had to remove dirt and pests from clothing by waiting in a line that took up most of the day. The barracks that the prisoners slept in was in terrible conditions and the rooms were damp with leaky roofs (“Auschwitz…”). The health and how the jewish lived was no concern of the Nazi soldiers.

“Then for the first time we became aware that our language lacks words to express this offence, the demolition of a man.”

There used to be places that were known for torture, forced labor, and murder. People were dragged out of their own homes to be brought there. These places were called concentration camps. They were the largest Nazi killing centers and they took the lives of over a million Jews. The camps are an important part of history that we will never forget.

In 1940 Auschwitz was established in the suburbs of Oswiecim. Oswiecim is a Polish city that was annexed to the Third Reich by the Nazis. Auschwitz was established because there were too many Polish people in the local prisons. In 1942 Auschwitz became a death camp and it was the largest known. (http://auschwitz.org/, n.d.) The camp was expanded throughout its existence, this resulted in Auschwitz consisting of three camps. The three camps were Main Camp, Birkenau, and Monowitz. Main Camp was known as Auschwitz I, Birkenau was known as Auschwitz II, and Monowitz was known as Auschwitz III. (Preisler, n.d.) Auschwitz was liberated in 1945. “Historians and analysts estimate the number of people murdered at Auschwitz somewhere between 2.1 million

‘Survival in Auschwitz’, is a book based on the personal experience of the author, Primo Levi, in the death camp at Auschwitz where he was taken prisoner after the arrest. The Nazis took Primo Levi, an Italian Jew and chemist, to the Auschwitz death camp in Poland in 1944, where he and other prisoners endured months of cruel and inhuman treatment, stripped of fundamental rights and forced to work under adverse conditions until death. As the Holocaust survivor, the purpose of writing the book arose from the need to let the world know what was happening at the death camp and level of inhumanity that man can subject his fellow human being to thereby ensuring the memories and stories of the Holocaust will be recognized and live on and are not forgotten.

It is estimated that Nazis established around fifteen thousand concentration camps throughout occupied countries. (Concentration Camp Listing, 2010) These camps, known as “DEATH CAMPS” spread throughout all of Europe under German ruling. It has been estimated to be around 15,000,000 concentration camps that were established from small to large ones. (Concentration Camp Listing, 2010) One of the most commonly known concentration camps was the one located in Auschwitz, this particular concentration camp was were diseases and epidemics prevailed due to poor living conditions. (living conditions, labor and executions) Examples of these

The conditions of the camp were unbearable. The prisoners were barely fed, mainly bread and water, and were cramped in small sleeping arrangements. "Hundreds slept in triple-tiered rows of bunks (Adler 51)." In the quarters that they stayed, there were no adequate cleaning facilities or restrooms for the prisoners. They rarely were able to change clothes which meant the "clothes were always infested with lice (Swiebocka 18)." Those were sick went to the infirmary where also there were eventually killed in the gas chambers or a lethal injection. The Germans did not want to have anyone not capable of hard work to live. Prisoners were also harshly punished for small things such as taking food or "relieving themselves during work hours (Swiebocka 19)." The biggest punishment was execution. The most common punishment was to receive lashings with a whip.

The Parthenon or its full name which is the Periclean Parthenon of Athens is a classical Greek structure ordered by the Athenian General at that time, General Pericles, who was responsible for the construction of many important temples. The Parthenon was considered the best temple built by Pericles. It was built as a replacement for a damaged Athenian temple, which was destroyed by the Persian Empire in 480 BCE. The construction of the Parthenon was in the hands of two architects Iktinos and Kallikrates. The cost of the constructions was 469 silver talents. Soon in the middle of the 5th century BCE the construction of the Parthenon had begun. It had costed 469 silver talents for the construction of the Athenian temple. In 432 BCE, the construction of the Athenian temple finished with the same designs like many other Greek temples. The majority of many Greek temples had the same structural design, with lots of supporting columns to hold up the triangular roof. Inside is an interior room where a statue for all who come to worship is located. The interior room was too small to fit all the worshippers inside, so the worshipper had to stay outside to pray, unless they wanted to bring offerings to Athena. Inside the interior room of the Parthenon was a statue of the Greek Goddess of wisdom, Athena. This is because they believed that Athena had helped the Athenians fight against the Persian Empire. They also

In June, 1940, the Auschwitz Concentration Camp opened; this camp would later be the home and death place of hundreds of thousands of prisoners. Jews, Poles, and Gypsies made up the large majority of prisoners in the camp. Life in Auschwitz included living in undesirable conditions, and being kept on a very strict schedule day in, day out.

In the winter jews would get frostbite, colds, and pneumonia. Many people got sick because the camps were so crowded. Some illnesses that they suffered are, tuberculosis, diarrhea, malaria, and meningitis. Some also got skin disease, rashes, and scabies that got infected. Starvation happened to most Jews because they didn’t get fed enough. They had tea or coffee for breakfast, watery soup for lunch, and a piece of black bread with a small piece of meat or cheese for supper. The bread they had for supper was meant to last for breakfast too. If the prisoners got too weak, they were sent to be

Red and blue lights flash outside the window of a teenage boy’s room. The calm atmosphere of the night is abruptly ruined by frantic shouting and sirens. Paramedics rush frantically in a blur inside the apartment complex and into the room where the boy lays unconscious on the floor. His body is curled up tightly into a ball, arms wrapped around his abdomen. His skin is pale and his face is contorted into a troubled and pained expression. Not far from the him lays an empty bottle of prescription pills and a half-empty bottle of rum. The boy’s family watches the paramedics lift him onto a stretcher before carting him out of the room with solemn expressions. The scene fades out into black.