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Between 1941 and 1945 about 1.1 million people were killed within the walls of Auschwitz. Auschwitz was the largest of the Nazi's concentration and extermination camps. It was renowned for its experimentation, harshness, and ruthless abuse of its prisoners. At first, Auschwitz was mostly used for the slave labor of its prisons, but in the summer of 1941 Heinrich Himmler, a leading politician of the Nazi party, ordered that Auschwitz build a center for the execution of Jews. It wasn't just Jews who were sent to these death camps, but also POWs, Gay People, Gypsies, and Roma.
Auschwitz was originally supposed to be built by 10,000 soviet POWs that were going to be living there along with Polish prisoners. The plans changed when Jews were unable to move out of the country and were then put into these camps. Soon after, the Nazis decided to commit to a "final solution" and began building camps dedicated to Jew extermination.
Jews arriving at Auschwitz after being transported from Austria - Holocaust Museum
Over 7,000 Nazis were sent to guard Auschwitz, but only a couple hundred have been tried and found guilty of their crimes. Yet the pursuit of justice hasn't stopped, in 2013 German officials said that there were 30 surviving Auschwitz officials who should face persecution.
Image of newspaper headline of the Nuremberg trials - Getty images
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