Auschwitz

Auschwitz was a concentration camp complex established by Nazi Germany during World War II around the Polish city of Oświęcim (German: Auschwitz) in the annexed part of Poland. Auschwitz was the largest of all German concentration camps and, at the end of the war, consisted of Auschwitz I (the base camp (German: Stammlager) southwest of the city), Auschwitz II-Birkenau (the Vernichtungslager (extermination camp) west of the city), Auschwitz III-Monowitz (a labor camp east of the city near the IG Farben factory), and dozens of subcamps. Approximately 1.3 million people were deported to Auschwitz.[2] Of these, approximately 1.1 million perished; the majority of the victims were gassed.[3] The name Auschwitz has become symbolic of the extermination and concentration camps built by the German National Socialists (Nazis) in numerous locations throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II. Millions of people, mostly Jews, but also members of other ethnic minorities and political prisoners, perished in such camps.