The Auschwitz concentration camp had three main sections:
1. Auschwitz I: This section was the main camp and administrative center. It initially housed political prisoners, Soviet prisoners of war, and other groups. It later expanded to include more barracks and became the location of medical experiments, executions, and the imprisonment of Jews, Poles, and other targeted groups.
2. Auschwitz II (Birkenau): This was the largest section of the camp, known for its gas chambers and crematoria. It was primarily used as an extermination camp where the majority of the Holocaust victims were murdered. Birkenau also had barracks for prisoners and served as a transit point for incoming deportees.
3. Auschwitz III (Monowitz): Also known as the Monowitz concentration camp, it was part of the Auschwitz complex and served as a labor camp where prisoners were forced to work for the German war effort. The camp provided slave labor for the nearby IG Farben industrial plant.
Each section of Auschwitz played a distinct and grim role in the larger system of Nazi persecution and genocide during World War II. Understanding the different functions of these sections helps to grasp the magnitude of suffering and atrocities committed at Auschwitz.
