Auschwitz 1940-1945
Introduction
Main image: BBC
Surprising Beginnings
Page 1
Column of prisoners: USHMM, courtesy of Joe Schuldenrein
Jerzy Bielecki: Courtesy of Jerzy Bielecki
Side bar
Rudolf Höss: Public domain
Page 2
Heinrich Himmler inspecting pow camp: courtesy National Archives
Soviet Prisoners: BA - Filmarchiv
Hans Friedrich: Bundesarchive, Berlin
Sick prisoners: USIA-PD
Side bar
Model German settlement: BBC
Himmler portrait: USHMM, courtesy of James Blevins
Page 3
Zyklon B warning label: USHMM, courtesy of Instytut Pamieci Narodowej
Block 11: USHMM, courtesy of National Archives
August Kowalczyk: BBC
Side bar
Zyklon B: BA - Filmarchiv
Orders & Initiatives
Page 1
Himmler touring Monowitz-Buna building site: USHMM, courtesy of Instytut Pamieci Narodowej
Auschwitz barracks plan (detail): Panstwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau
Kazimierz Smolen: BBC
Children in Lódz ghetto: Yad Vashem - The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority
Reinhard Heydrich: USHMM, courtesy of KZ Gedenkstaette Dachau
Side Bar
Birkenau Barracks: BBC
Page 2
Cannisters of Zyklon B: USHMM, courtesy of Archiwum Akt Nowych
Crematorium, Auschwitz: BBC
Little Red House: BBC
Eva Votavová: BBC
Side Bar
Zyklon B: BA - Filmarchiv
Michal Kabác: courtesy of Michal Kabác
Page 3
Jewish women and children before execution: Yad Vashem - The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority
Otto Pressburger: courtesy of Otto Pressburger
Large-scale gas chamber: BBC
Side Bar
Adolph Hitler: USHMM, courtesy of Richard Freimark
Crematoria: BBC
Factories of Death
Page 1
Mother of Annette & Michel Muller: courtesy of Annette Muller
French and German officer: Centre De Documenation Juive Contemporaire, Paris
Annette Muller: courtesy of Annette Muller
Children: courtesy of Dr. Serge Klarsfeld
Side Bar
Child: courtesy of Dr. Serge Klarsfeld
Page 2
Oskar Gröning: courtesy of Oskar Gröning
Field cremation unit : BBC
Corruption
Page 1
Prisoners at forced labor: USHMM, courtesy of Instytut Pamieci Narodowej
Women sorting belongings: Yad Vashem - The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority
Helena Citrónová: courtesy of Helena Citrónová
Jews on their way to Gas Chamber: Yad Vashem - The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority
Side Bar
Auschwitz complex: BBC
Oskar Gröning: courtesy of Oskar Gröning
Page 2
Josef Mengele: Yad Vashem - The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority
Eva Mozes Kor: USHMM, courtesy of Belarussian State Archive of Documentary Film and Photography
Children survivors showing numbers on arms: Russian State Archives
Himmler letter (detail): Bundesarchiv Berlin
Ryszard Dacko: courtesy of Ryszard Dacko
Side Bar
Josef Mengele: Yad Vashem - The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority
Murder & Intrigue
Page 1
German tanks entering Budapest: Hungarian Film Archive
Hungarian Jews arriving at Auschwitz: Yad Vashem - The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority
Foreign office, London: BBC
Side Bar
Gas chamber: BBC
Page 2
"Auschwitz Protocol" sketch: FDR Library
John McCloy letter: FDR Library
Aerial reconnaissance photo: USHMM, courtesy of National Archives
Gypsies:
Wladyslaw Szmyt: courtesy of Wladyslaw Szmyt
Side Bar
Aerial reconnaissance photo: USHMM, courtesy of National Archives
Liberation & Revenge
Page 1
Auschwitz prisoners: Public Domain
Child survivors: USHMM, courtesy of Belarussian State Archive of Documentary Film and Photography
Soviet flag over the Reichstag: Yad Vashem - The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority
Side Bar
Prisoners liberated by Russian forces: Yad Vashem - The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority
Pavel Stenkin: courtesy of Pavel Stenkin
Page 2
Pavel Stenkin: BBC
Execution of Rudolf Höss: Panstwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau
Stanislaw Hantz: BBC
Rudolf Höss on gallows (detail): Panstwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau
Side Bar
Moshe Tavor: BBC
Thomas Blatt: BBC
Killing Evolution
Funeral of inmates: USHMM, courtesy of National Archives
Einsatzgruppen killing: USHMM, courtesy of National Archives
Carbon monoxide experiment: USIA-PD
"Hell Van": BBC
Zyklon B canister label: USHMM, courtesy of Ruchana Medine White
Gas chamber: BBC
Side bar
Zyklon B: Bundesarchiv
Victims & Perpetrators
Page 1 (Introduction)
Thomas Blatt: BBC
Pavel Stenkin: BBC
Moshe Tavor: BBC
Hans Friedrich: BBC
Michal Kabác: BBC
Oskar Gröning: BBC
Page 2 (Victims)
Thomas Blatt: BBC
Pavel Stenkin: BBC
Moshe Tavor: BBC
Moshe Tavor (archival): courtesy of Moshe Tavor
Page 3 (Perpetrators)
Women in undergarments: USHMM, courtesy of Zentrale Stelle der Landesjustizverwaltungen
Hans Friedrich: BBC
Hans Friedrich (archival): courtesy of Hans Friedrich
Anti-semitic poster: Krasnogorsk
Michal Kabác: BBC
Luggage collection: Yad Vashem - The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority
Oskar Gröning: BBC
Oskar Gröning (archival): courtesy of Oskar Gröning
Germany & the Camp System
Factors in Hitler's Rise to Power, 1918-1933
German envoys: National Archives
Auschwitz and the Nazi Camp System
Auschwitz II Birkenau: Panstwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau
Nazi Ideology and the Camp System
Nazi hierarchy: National Archives
Maps & Plans
Interactive Map
Auschwitz I, Barracks
Aerial reconnaissance: USHMM, courtesy of National Archives
Barbed wire fence: USHMM, courtesy of Philip Vock
Bunks: Yad Vashem - The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority
Faucets: Yad Vashem - The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority
Auschwitz I, Block 11
Execution wall: USHMM, courtesy of National Archives
Inside Block 11: BBC
Zyklon B warning label: USHMM, courtesy of Instytut Pamieci Narodowej
Zyklon B crystals (from archival promotional film): Bundesarchiv
Auschwitz I, Crematorium I
Gas chamber and crematorium I, original blueprint: Panstwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau
Gas chamber and crematorium I: USHMM, courtesy of Instytut Pamieci Narodowej
Gas chamber and crematorium I, present day (side): BBC
Gas crematorium I, present day (inside): BBC
Auschwitz II, Barracks
Blueprint (744 capacity): Panstwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau
Barracks: Panstwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau
Women's camp (inside): Yad Vashem - The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority
Wooden barrack, present day: Panstwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau
Auschwitz II, Canada
Prisoner object disinfection block: Yad Vashem - The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority
Bundles: Yad Vashem - The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority
Prisoners sorting belongings: Yad Vashem - The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority
Auschwitz II, Crematoria
Original blueprints: Panstwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau
Gas chamber and crematorium II: Panstwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau
Furnaces: Panstwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenauv
Prisoners on train platform: Yad Vashem - The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority
Auschwitz III, Slave Labor System
Bobrek labor camp: USHMM, courtesy of Henry Schwarzbaum
Forced labor, Siemens factory: USHMM, courtesy of Henry Schwarzbaum
Forced labor, Krupp factory: USHMM, courtesy of Instytut Pamieci Narodowej
Prisoners unloading cement, I.G. Farben factory: USHMM, courtesy of National Archives
Auschwitz III, I.G. Farben
Heinrich Himmler: USHMM, courtesy of Instytut Pamieci Narodowej
Heinrich Himmler and IG Farben engineers: USHMM, courtesy of Instytut Pamieci Narodowej
The Buna-Werke at liberation: Panstwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau
Epilogue
Abandoned train: USHMM, courtesy of Mark Chrzanowski
Auschwitz
Model Settlement
Architectural Model plan (1 of 3): Stossberg Plans, courtesy of Niels Gutschow
Architectural Model plan, detail (2 of 3): Stossberg Plans, courtesy of Niels Gutschow
Architectural Model plan, detail (3 of 3): Stossberg Plans, courtesy of Niels Gutschow
Kommandantur plan: Panstwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau
Ringplatz plan: Stossberg Plans, courtesy of Niels Gutschow
Ringplatz plan, detail: Stossberg Plans, courtesy of Niels Gutschow
Train station plan: Stossberg Plans, courtesy of Niels Gutschow
Train station plan, detail: Stossberg Plans, courtesy of Niels Gutschow
Cabinet plan: Panstwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau
Armchair: Panstwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau
Crematoria
Crematorium plan (1 of 3): Panstwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau
Crematorium plan (2 of 3): Panstwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau
Crematorium blueprint (1 of 3): Panstwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau
Barracks
Barracks plan (1 of 5): Panstwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau
Watchtowers plan (2 of 5): Panstwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau
Watchtowers plan, detail (3 of 5): Panstwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau
Housing Barrack blueprint (4 of 5): Panstwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau
Housing Barrack blueprint, detail (5 of 5): Panstwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau
Area Maps
Topographical map: courtesy of Niels Gutschow
"Plan Vom Interressengbeit": Panstwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau
Aerial Photos
Reconnaissance (1 of 6): USHMM, courtesy of National Archives
Reconnaissance (2 of 6): USHMM, courtesy of National Archives
Reconnaissance (3 of 6): USHMM, courtesy of National Archives
Reconnaissance (4 of 6): USHMM, courtesy of National Archives
Reconnaissance (5 of 6): USHMM, courtesy of National Archives
Reconnaissance (6 of 6): USHMM, courtesy of National Archives
Dachau 1974
All pages
All photos & illustration: courtesy of Beryl Korot
Understanding Auschwitz Today
All pages
All photos: BBC
Learning Resources
Introduction
Two Jewish men wearing yellow stars: USHMM, courtesy of Benjamin (Miedzyrzecki) Meed
Soviet soldiers escort prisoners: Yad Vashem - The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority
Russian flag on the Reichstag: Yad Vashem - The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority
Adolph Hitler: USHMM
Front gate, Auschwitz: USHMM, courtesy of Instytut Pamieci Narodowej
Prisoners at liberation: USHMM, courtesy of Belarussian State Archive of Documentary Film and Photography
Timeline
Pre-war
German envoys arrive at Versailles: National Archives
Hitler at Nazi party rally: National Archives
Adolf Hitler: USHMM
Kristallnacht: USHMM, courtesy of National Archives
1939
Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini: National Archives
Two Jewish men wearing yellow stars: USHMM, courtesy of Benjamin (Miedzyrzecki) Meed
1940
Nazi Hierarchy, Hitler, Goering, Goebbels, Hess: National Archives
Jewish families surrender to the SS: USHMM, courtesy of National Archives
1941
Einsatzgruppen soldier executing Jewish civilian:
USHMM, courtesy of Library of Congress
1942
Containers of Zyklon B: USHMM, courtesy of Archiwum Akt Nowych
1943
Jewish resistance members: USHMM, courtesy of National Archives
1944
1944 pocket calendar: USHMM, courtesy of Bert and Irene Fleming
1945
Soviet soldiers escort prisoners: Yad Vashem - The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority
Russian flag on the Reichstag: Yad Vashem - The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority
Nuremberg Trials defendants: National Archives
Post-war
Höss execution: Panstwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau
Defendant Adolf Eichmann: USHMM, courtesy of Israel Government Press Office