The camp was initially used for interning Polish intellectuals and resistance movement members, then also for Soviet Prisoners of War. Common German criminals, "anti-social elements" and 48 German homosexuals were also imprisoned there. Jews were sent to the camp as well, beginning with the very first shipment (from Tarnów). At any time, the camp held between 13,000 and 16,000 inmates; in 1942 the number reached 20,000.[citation needed] The entrance to Auschwitz I was—and still is—marked with the sign “Arbeit Macht Frei”, or “work makes (one) free”. The camp's prisoners who left the camp during the day for construction or farm labor were made to march through the gate to the sounds of an orchestra. Contrary to what is depicted in several films, the majority of the Jews were imprisoned in the Auschwitz II camp, and did not pass under this sign.
The SS selected some prisoners, often German criminals, as specially privileged supervisors of the other inmates (so-called: kapo). Although involved in numerous atrocities, only two were ever prosecuted for their individual behavior; many had "little choice about their actions". The various classes of prisoners were distinguishable by special marks on their clothes; Jews and Soviet Prisoners of War were generally treated the worst. All inmates had to work in the associated arms factories, except on Sundays, which were reserved for cleaning and showering and upon which there were no work assignments.
The harsh work requirements, combined with poor nutrition and hygiene, led to high death rates among the prisoners. Block 11 of Auschwitz (the original standing cells and such were block 13) was the "prison within the prison", where violators of the numerous rules were punished. Some prisoners were made to spend the nights in "standing-cells". These cells were about 1.5 square metres (16 sq ft), and four men would be placed in them; they could do nothing but stand, and were forced during the day to work with the other prisoners. In the basement were located the "starvation cells"; prisoners incarcerated here were given neither food nor water until they were dead.
Gallows in Auschwitz I where camp commandant Rudolf Höß was executed on April 16, 1947
In the basement were the "dark cells"; these cells had only a very tiny window, and a solid door. Prisoners placed in these cells would gradually suffocate as they used up all of the oxygen in the cell; sometimes the SS would light a candle in the cell to use up the oxygen more quickly. Many were subjected to hanging with their hands behind their backs, thus dislocating their shoulder joints for hours, even days.
The execution yard is between blocks 10 and 11. In this area, prisoners who were thought to merit individual execution received it. Some were shot against a reinforced wall which was reconstructed after the war; others suffered a more lingering death by being suspended from hooks set in two wooden posts, which also still exist. On September 3, 1941, deputy camp commandant SS-Hauptsturmführer Fritzsch experimented on 600 Russian POWs and 250 ill Polish inmates by cramming them into the basement of Block 11 and gassing them with Zyklon B, a highly lethal cyanide based pesticide. This paved the way for the use of Zyklon B as an instrument for extermination at Auschwitz, and a gas chamber and crematorium were constructed by converting a bunker. This gas chamber operated from 1941 to 1942, during which time some 60,000 people were killed therein; it was then converted into an air-raid shelter for the use of the SS. This gas chamber still exists, together with the associated crematorium, which was reconstructed after the war using the original components, which remained on-site.
Double barbed wire fence
Electrified fencing around Auschwitz concentration camp. The double fence perimeter carried lethal voltages designed to kill escapees
Zyclon-B, highly lethal cyanide poison canisters
Prisoner's luggage
Prisoner's Barracks
The courtyard of the "Death Wall"
Inside the crematorium
Standing-Cells
These cells were about 1.5 square metres (16 sq ft), and four men would be placed in them; they could do nothing but stand, and were forced during the day to work with the other prisoners.
The Death Wall
The execution yard is between blocks 10 and 11. In this area, prisoners who were thought to merit individual execution received it. Some were shot against a reinforced wall which was reconstructed after the war; others suffered a more lingering death by being suspended from hooks set in two wooden posts, which also still exist.
Where roll-call occured outside the camp kitchen
Gallows in Auschwitz I where camp commandant Rudolf Höß was executed on April 16, 1947.
Entrance to the gas-chamber at Auschwitz 1
Interior of the gas chamber of Auschwitz I
Interior of the crematorium of Auschwitz I. This facility was much smaller than those of Auschwitz II
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