Birkenau, the death camp, was 3 kilometers from Auschwitz. It was the largest of the death camps where about 1,000,000 Jewish people were murdered. It was both a concentration camp and a center for rapid murder of Jews by means of Zyklon B gas. Most who were brought here were Jews and nearly all were immediately sent to the gas chamber. Only a small percentage was selected for labor in the camp itself.
The process of selection and murder was carefully planned and organized. When the train stopped, veteran prisoners received the victims and gathered their belongings in several barracks in an area called Kanada, which was synonomous with "a place where life is good". The arrivals were lined up in two rows, males and females, and SS doctors performed the selections for either labor or death. Before they entered the chamber they were told that they would be disinfected and ordered to undress. The doors of the chamber were then locked and the gas was introduced. The murdered victims then had gold extracted from their teeth and women's hair shaven. The bodies were then carried to the crematorium ovens and the ashes scattered in the fields.
Here is the platform where the selection process was held
Barracks for laborers
Toilets that needed to be cleaned out by hand by laborers.
Bunkbeds that housed 5 individuals at one time.
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