Friday, May 17, 2013

Landscape Blog- Gas Chambers at Auschwitz-Birkenau II in Poland


There were seven buildings that existed as gas chambers in Auschwitz.  Crematory I at the Stammlager could contain between 700-800 persons. However, because the capacity of Crematory I was not sufficient for the increasing number who were to be killed if Auschwitz was to play a key role in the extermination of the European Jews the camp administration found two empty houses at the Birkenau camp site and converted them into gas chambers (Auschwitz).
Bunker 1, also called the “Red House” was located at the border of Birkenau camp. The building consisted of four rooms where two were converted into gas chambers. In the rooms the windows were sealed with bricks and there were openings in the outer walls for the gas to enter. Each gas chamber could contain up to 400 victims and the corpses were buried in mass graves nearby (Auschwitz).
Bunker 2, also called the “White House” was located at the west end of the Birkenau camp. Inside there were four rooms converted into gas chambers of different sizes. The daily killing quota was higher in Bunker 2. The difference between the two was that in Bunker 1 all gas chambers had two doors which provided more rapid ventilation after the gassings (Auschwitz).
After reading about these in more detail I got upset. I cannot understand how some people ar so cruel. How do you just throw people into a gas chamber? I could go on and on about this but my main point is I am sad to go visit this place but I am looking forward to gaining a lot more history from visiting.
References:
Auschwitz. "The Seven Gas Chambers at Auschwitz." Auschwitz Gas Chambers. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2013.
Photo References:
http://www.awesomestories.com/images/user/daea7ef5c2.jpg
http://ww2history.com/key_moments/Holocaust/Murder_factory_at_Birkenau/
 
Again, these photos can make me speechless.

View of Birkenau's gas chamber.
 

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