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Auschwitz Concentration Camp, Oswiecim, Poland

The entrace gate into the secured part of Auschwitz. The sign says "Arbeit Macht Frei", rougly translates to "Work brings freedom"

The grounds are surrounded by 2 sets of high voltage barbed wire. In the distance you can see one of the many watch towers. The thing in the front looked like a bunker.

A big pile of hair. Auschwitz is now a museum, mostly consisting of large piles of the confiscated items from the prisoners. What is on display is only a small part of the items taken as most of the items where either shipped off or destroyed near the end of the war by the Nazis in an attempt to cover up what took place here..

Eyeglasses where also taken from the prisoners, mostly to ship back to Germany and recycled.

The suitcases are marked by the names of the prisoners and their hometowns. As the prisoners thought they were only being moved to a new town, they brought with them all their valuables.

Here are leather shoes, many of them used to belong to children.

A close-up shot of some of the shoes.

Thousands of brushes.

And a close-up.

Most of the prisoners had their pictures taken as they entered the camp. Many of the walls of the museum are covered with arrays of photos.

A close-up of one of the uniforms. The uniforms also indicated something about the prisoner. In this case, the pink triangle was the simbol for a homesexual.

A view of the outside of some of the buildings and surrounding grounds.

This wall between two buildings was a common site of executions by firing squad.

This gallows is outside one of the gas chambers. It was used shortly after the war to execute some of the Nazis convicted of war crimes.

This is an exterior view of gas chambers. The door leads to the chamber that is partially under ground. Off to the right is a smokestack for one of the ovens used to incinerate the bodies.

Here we are inside the gas chamber. Our guide is telling us how those unfit for work where taken here for a "shower", only to be gassed by a cyanide-like gas.

The bodies where then taken out of the gas chambers and put into one of the many ovens like this to dispose of the bodies.

Here is the exit from the incinerators.

Here we are the Auschwitz II Birkenau, a MUCH larger work camp built quickly to accomodate the ever increasing numbers of prisoners.

In the foreground are the tracks used to haul in prisoners in freight cars. In the distance of some of the remaining barracks.

Here were are entering one of the barracks to check out the living conditions.

Here are the bunks where prisoners slept, up to 8 people crowded in per level.

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1998 : Poland & Prague : Auschwitz Concentration Camp
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