1 Feb 1940

Poland
21 Feb 1940

Poland
1 May 1940

Poland
14 Jun 1940

Poland
15 Jul 1940

Poland
1 Sep 1940

Poland
22 Nov 1940

Poland
19 Dec 1940

Poland
  • Archbishop Sapieha of Krakow, Poland sent a letter to Auschwitz Commandant Rudolf Höss requesting permission for Christmas mass to be held in the camp for Catholic prisoners. Höss turned down the request because the camp rules did not permit religious observations, but did agree that approximately 6,000 one-kilogram food parcels could be sent to all the prisoners over the holidays. ww2dbase [Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Rudolf Höss | Oswiecim | CPC]
1 Mar 1941

Poland
9 Mar 1941

Poland
6 Apr 1941

Poland
  • A transport of 1,021 prisoners from Pawiak Prison in Warsaw, Poland arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp. Famous actors Bronislaw Dardzinski, Tadeusz Hertman Kanski, Stefan Jaracz, Zbigniew Nowakowski, and Leon Schiller were among them, arrested for the murder of actor Igo Sym who collaborated with German propaganda efforts. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
17 Apr 1941

Poland
28 Jul 1941

Poland
  • A special commission created on Heinrich Himmler's orders arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp to select prisoners within the framework of the "Euthanasia Program" for the incurably ill, extended in 1940 to Jews and in the middle of 1941 to prisoners of concentration camps. The 573 selected, most were sick Polish prisoners from Block 15, were told that they were to be transferred to other camps for easier work because of their conditions. At last moment, two German criminals Johann Siegruth and Ernst Krankemann were added to the list. The 575 were sent to Sonnenstein Castle under the supervision of Franz Hössler and were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning in a gas chamber disguised as a shower room. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
3 Sep 1941

Poland
16 Nov 1941

Poland
20 Nov 1941

Poland
3 Dec 1941

Poland
24 Dec 1941

Poland
25 Dec 1941

Poland
13 Mar 1942

Poland
15 Mar 1942

Poland
20 Mar 1942

Poland
22 Mar 1942

Poland
26 Mar 1942

Poland
  • A transport of 999 female Slovakian Jews from Poprad, Czechoslovakia arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland; they were the first Slovakians sent by Adolf Eichmann's RSHA IVB4 office. Coinciding with the arrival of the Slovakian Jews was the arrival of the first transport of female prisoners from Ravensbrück Concentration Camp in northern Germany, also containing 999 Jews. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
30 Mar 1942

Poland
27 Apr 1942

Poland
27 May 1942

Poland
31 May 1942

Poland
10 Jun 1942

Poland
  • At Auschwitz Concentration Camp, about 50 Polish prisoners in the penal company attempted to escape while working at a drainage ditch in Birkenau; it was the first mass escape in the history of the camp. 9 were able to escape successfully. In response, the SS guards executed 20 prisoners by firing squad and sent 300 prisoners from the penal company in the gas chamber. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
12 Jun 1942

Poland
  • During the morning roll call at Auschwitz Concentration Camp, 60 Polish prisoners were called out. They were shot at the Death Wall in the courtyard of Block 11 in retaliation of clandestine resistance organizations in Silesia region. The victims were transferred to Auschwitz between 1940 and 1942 from Sosnowiec, Katowice, and Krakow. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
20 Jun 1942

Poland
30 Jun 1942

Poland
4 Jul 1942

Poland
17 Jul 1942

Poland
  • Heinrich Himmler visited Auschwitz-Birkenau camp in Poland for two days to inspect the construction of crematoriums, inspect the expansion of prisoner barracks, and observe the extermination of two trainloads of Dutch Jews. ww2dbase [Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Heinrich Himmler | Oswiecim | CPC]
28 Jul 1942

Poland
27 Aug 1942

Poland
9 Sep 1942

Poland
30 Sep 1942

Poland
12 Oct 1942

Poland
28 Oct 1942

Poland
30 Oct 1942

Poland
1 Nov 1942

Poland
3 Nov 1942

Poland
4 Nov 1942

Poland
7 Nov 1942

Poland
8 Nov 1942

Poland
14 Nov 1942

Poland
  • Two transports containing a total of 2,500 Jews from Ciechanow ghettos, Poland arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp; 633 men and 135 were registered into the camp, and the remaining 1,732 were killed in gas chambers. On the same day, 1,500 Jews from Bialystok District 2 in Poland arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp; 82 men and 379 women were registered into the came, and the remaining 839 were killed in gas chambers. Finally, the SS doctors of Auschwitz Concentration Camp sent 110 prisoners from the Auschwitz I hospital to Birkenau Concentration Camp to be killed in the gas chambers. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
18 Nov 1942

Poland
28 Nov 1942

Poland
2 Dec 1942

Poland
  • Two transports arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp on this date. The first transport from Westerbork Concentration Camp in the Netherlands arrived with 826 Jews; 77 of them were registered into the camp, and the remaining 749 were gassed. The second transport from Grodno ghetto arrived with 1,000 Jews; 178 men and 60 women were registered into the camp, and the remaining 762 were gassed. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
3 Dec 1942

Poland
5 Dec 1942

Poland
6 Dec 1942

Poland
10 Dec 1942

Poland
  • Three transports arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp. The first was from the Netherlands with 927 Jews; 39 men and 3 women were registered, and 885 were gassed. The second was from Berlin, Germany with 1,060 Jews; 137 men and 25 women were registered, and 898 were gassed. The third was from Malkinia, Poland with about 2,500 Jews; 524 were registered and about 1,976 were gassed. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
29 Dec 1942

Poland
  • In the afternoon, prisoners Otto Küsel, Jan Baras, Mieczyslaw Januszewski, and Dr. Boleslaw Kuczbara escaped from Auschwitz Concentration Camp. Otto Küsel, a German Jew with horse cart driving responsibilities, loaded up four cabinets for transport with the other three hidden inside, reaching an open field in the production area without being checked by SS guards due to the appearance of his usual duty. Mieczyslaw Januszewski came out, wearing a SS uniform and wielding a rifle, and sat next to Küsel. They left the camp after Januszewski produced a false SS identification. They made contact shortly after with the resistance group Polish Home Army. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
9 Jan 1943

Poland
13 Jan 1943

Poland
  • Three transports arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp, each containing 1,210 German Jews from Berlin (1,083 of them were sent directly to the gas chambers), 750 Dutch Jews (88 men and 101 women were registered, and the remaining 561 were gassed), and 2,000 Jews of Zambrów ghetto in Poland (148 men and 50 women were registered, and the remaining 1,802 were gassed). ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
14 Jan 1943

Poland
24 Jan 1943

Poland
29 Jan 1943

Poland
  • Kurt Prüfer of German engineering firm J. A. Topf und Söhne visited the Central Construction Office of Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland, inspecting the Crematoria II, III, IV, and V construction progress; he estimated the launch of Crematorium II to be around 15 Feb, Crematorium III around 17 Apr, Crematorium IV around 28 Feb, and Crematorium V's completion date depended largely on weather. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
31 Jan 1943

Poland
1 Feb 1943

Poland
4 Feb 1943

Poland
6 Feb 1943

Poland
  • All female prisoners at Auschwitz Concentration Camp were gathered for a general roll call at 0330 hours then marched outside the camp. They were kept outdoors until 1700 hours, then were ordered to run back to the camp, prodded by swinging clubs. About 1,000 women died during this forced march. Those who were not able to keep up but survived were rounded up and sent to block 25 in the BIa sector of the camp, from which location they would later be transported to the gas chambers. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
11 Feb 1943

Poland
14 Feb 1943

Poland
  • Commandant Rudolf Höss of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp issued Garrison Order No. 3 which instructed the SS guards to "maintain an appropriate distance from the prisoners" to order to prevent the spread of typhus which was rampant among the prisoners. ww2dbase [Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Rudolf Höss | Oswiecim | CPC]
23 Feb 1943

Poland
26 Feb 1943

Poland
  • The first transport of Roma and Sinti arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland; they were assigned to the BIIe sector at Auschwitz II-Birkenau and housed in what was called the "Gypsy camp" (Zigeunerlager); this sector would eventually grow to house 23,000 Sinti and Roma people; 20,000 of them would not survive the Holocaust. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
28 Feb 1943

Poland
  • A mistake in record-keeping at Auschwitz Concentration Camp caused registration information of the women's camp in Birkenau to be in a state of confusion. All female prisoners of Birkenau camp were gathered for a prolonged roll call which lasted the entire day to re-confirm camp records; at the same time, a selection also took place among the women, which condemned some of them to the gas chambers. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
2 Mar 1943

Poland
  • At 2140 hours, Auschwitz Concentration Camp commandant Rudolf Höss was informed that 15,000 Berlin Jews were being transported to the camp; he ordered that the prisoners must be kept in good health during the journey so that they could work at Auschwitz. ww2dbase [Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Rudolf Höss | Oswiecim | CPC]
3 Mar 1943

Poland
  • The 32nd transport from Berlin, Germany arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland in two trains, totaling 1,758 German Jews and 158 Norwegian Jews. 535 men and 145 women were registered into the camp from the first train, and 50 and 164 were registered from the second train. The remaining 1,022 were killed in gas chambers. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
5 Mar 1943

Poland
  • During a test run of Crematorium II at Auschwitz-Birkenau, it took 40 minutes to cremate 45 bodies. An observing commission, which included engineers from the firm J. A. Topf and Sons and SS officers, complained that the amount of time it took was too long. They instructed the prisoners who operated the crematorium to keep the generators running for several days to increase the temperature. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
7 Mar 1943

Poland
22 Mar 1943

Poland
23 Mar 1943

Poland
30 Mar 1943

Poland
31 Mar 1943

Poland
4 Apr 1943

Poland
  • The German SS Central Construction Office reported to Auschwitz Concentration Camp that Crematorium V had been completed in Auschwitz II-Birkenau, and its administration was now turned over to the camp administration. According to the firm that built the crematorium, J. A. Topf und Söhne, it had the capacity to cremate 768 bodies each day. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
18 Apr 1943

Poland
20 May 1943

Poland
24 May 1943

Poland
25 May 1943

Poland
30 May 1943

Poland
25 Jun 1943

Poland
19 Jul 1943

Poland
  • 12 Polish prisoners of Auschwitz I camp were executed by hanging in front of the kitchen during roll call for helping three fellow prisoners escape. The men were Stanislaw Stawinski (No. 6569), Czeslaw Marcisz (No. 26891), Janusz Skrzetuski-Pogonowski (No. 253), Edmund Sikorski (No. 25419), Jerzy Wozniak (No. 35650), Józef Wojtyga (No. 24740), Zbigniew Foltanski (No. 41664), Boguslaw Ohrt (No. 367), Leon Rajzer (No. 399), Tadeusz Rapacz (No. 36043), Józef Gancarz (No. 24538), and Mieczyslaw Kulikowski (No. 25404). ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
24 Jul 1943

Poland
2 Aug 1943

Poland
10 Aug 1943

Poland
21 Aug 1943

Poland
8 Sep 1943

Poland
9 Sep 1943

Poland
5 Oct 1943

Poland
21 Oct 1943

Poland
22 Oct 1943

Poland
  • Block 11 of Auschwitz I concentration camp held a trial that sentenced 76 men and 19 women to death; they had been transferred from the prison in Myslowitz. The trial was presided by the new head of the Kattowitz Gestapo, SS-Obersturbanfuehrer Johannes Thümmler, who was never punished after the war and passed away in old age in May 2002. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
23 Oct 1943

Poland
  • A transport of prisoners from Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp arrived at Gas Chamber II of Auschwitz Concentration Camp. In the undressing room, one of the Jewish women seized SS man Josef Schillinger's pistol and shot Schillinger and another guard, Wilhelm Emmerich. Other prisoners joined in to attack other guards, but the SS eventually took control of the situation. Schillinger died on the way to the hospital; Emmerich survived the wound, but became permanently disabled. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
2 Nov 1943

Poland
3 Nov 1943

Poland
11 Nov 1943

Poland
  • Liebehenschel became the new commandant of Auschwitz Concentration Camp as his predecessor, Höss, was promoted to become the chief inspector of concentration camps. A report dated on this date noted that the total number of prisoners in Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau Concentration Camps and all subcamps was 54,673 men and 33,179 women, for the total of 87,852 prisoners. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
19 Nov 1943

Poland
  • En route to a gas chamber at Auschwitz II in Poland, Bina Braun and Rosa Theberger attempted to escape but was caught and shot, and the rest were gassed. The list of 394 prisoners killed on this day was stolen and smuggled to the resistance leader in Auschwitz I camp, who sent the list on to Krakow, Poland on 21 Nov and then to London, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
30 Nov 1943

Poland
1 Dec 1943

Poland
2 Dec 1943

Poland
8 Dec 1943

Poland
16 Dec 1943

Poland
20 Dec 1943

Poland
  • The Rapportführer of the quarantine camp at Auschwitz II-Birkenau Concentration camp (Sector BIIa) gave an order to flog the whole first row of prisoners for too little springy posture at the roll call, which took place during the cold wind and falling snow. Four prisoners were then transferred to the camp hospital due to the flogging. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
25 Dec 1943

Poland
31 Dec 1943

Poland
  • As of this date, Auschwitz Concentration Camp had a population of 85,298 prisoners (55,785 men and 29,513 women). In the month of Dec 1943, 5,748 male and 8,931 female registered prisoners died at Auschwitz; these numbers did not include those killed in gas chambers immediately after arriving without being registered. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
4 Jan 1944

Poland
  • At Auschwitz Concentration Camp, SS Doctor Eduard Wirths notified fellow medical officers at Auschwitz III-Monowitz that, as of this date, corpses of deceased prisoners should be identified and then sent directly to the crematoria, bypassing the previous procedure of sending the corpses to the morgue at Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau first. Death reports, however, must still be filed at the orderly room of prisoners' hospital in Auschwitz I by noon time of the same day that the corpses were sent to the crematoria. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
12 Jan 1944

Poland
1 Feb 1944

Poland
2 Feb 1944

Poland
6 Feb 1944

Poland
22 Feb 1944

Poland
  • Auschwitz III commandant SS-Hauptsturmführer Schwarz ordered that night shift workers not be assigned to do any day shift work, the prisoners be given seven to eight hours of rest per day, and roll call be limited to five to ten minutes; his motivations were to maintain a high level of productivity from the forced laborers in his camp. On this date a total of 73,669 prisoners were in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp; Auschwitz I housed 17,177 male prisoners, Auschwitz II housed 18,378 male and 24,637 female prisoners, and Auschwitz III housed 13,477 male prisoners. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
23 Feb 1944

Poland
26 Feb 1944

Poland
5 Mar 1944

Poland
8 Mar 1944

Poland
10 Mar 1944

Poland
18 Mar 1944

Poland
  • At 1100 hours, Auschwitz Concentration Camp prisoner Rudolf Friemel married forced laborer Margarita Ferrer at the camp's Registry Office. It was the only case where a prisoner was allowed to marry in the camp. They had met in Spain when Rudolf Friemel, an Austrian, fought as a volunteer for the Spanish Republicans in the civil war. Friemel was executed by hanging on 30 Dec 1944 for a failed attempt to escape Auschwitz. Ferrer and their child survived the war. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
25 Mar 1944

Poland
4 Apr 1944

Poland
5 Apr 1944

Poland
7 Apr 1944

Poland
16 Apr 1944

Poland
2 May 1944

Poland
8 May 1944

Poland
9 May 1944

Poland
  • Rudolf Höss returned to Auschwitz Concentration Camp and ordered the expansion of the rail platforms, the activation of Crematorium V, the reactivation of Bunker 2 (gas chamber), the digging of five pits, among other items, in preparation for the arrival of Hungarian Jews at Auschwitz. ww2dbase [Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Rudolf Höss | Oswiecim | CPC]
11 May 1944

Poland
12 May 1944

Poland
  • 39 German Sinti children, 20 boys and 19 girls, arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp. They were separated from their parents as a part of Eva Justin's dissertation "The fate of Gypsy children and their offspring raised in alien environments". She became a professor at Berlin University in 1943 and the paper was published in 1944. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
16 May 1944

Poland
  • A transport of Jews from Hungary arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp in occupied Poland. Adolf Eichmann, in charge of all transports to the camps, arrived to oversee and speed up the extermination process personally. ww2dbase [Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Adolf Eichmann | Oswiecim | CPC]
21 May 1944

Poland
  • Four trains arrived at the Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland with 12,438 Hungarian Jews (3,013 from Viseu de Sus (Felsövisó), 3,274 from Nyiregyháza, 3,290 from Sátoraljaújhely, and 2,861 from Mukacevo (Munkács)) and 2,000 Jews from Yugoslavia. 1,102 were registered into the camp; 2,698 were sent to the gas chambers. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
23 May 1944

Poland
3 Jun 1944

Poland
  • Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp's electric fence, which had previously been turned off during the daylight hours to save energy, was now on throughout the entire day in response to the numerous escape attempts by Hungarian Jews. On the same day, four transports brought 11,569 Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz (2,937 from Nagyszölös (Vinogradov), 2,499 from Kassa Kosice, 2,972 from Nagyvárad (Oradea), and 3,161 from Szilágysomló (Simleu Silvaniei)). ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
7 Jun 1944

Poland
20 Jun 1944

Poland
24 Jun 1944

Poland
26 Jun 1944

Poland
30 Jun 1944

Poland
  • A transport of 2,044 Jews from Athens and Corfu Island in Greece arrived at Auschwitz Concentration Camp in occupied Poland; 455 men and 175 women were registered into the camp while the remainder were gassed. On the same day, another transport of 1,000 Jews from the Fossoli di Carpi transit camp in Italy also arrived; 180 men and 51 women were registered while the remainder were gassed. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
7 Jul 1944

Poland
2 Aug 1944

Poland
12 Aug 1944

Poland
25 Aug 1944

Poland
29 Aug 1944

Poland
14 Sep 1944

Poland
  • 800 Gypsy children, more than 100 of whom were boys between 9 and 14 years of age, were executed at Auschwitz Concentration Camp in occupied Poland. ww2dbase [Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
15 Sep 1944

Poland
18 Sep 1944

Poland
28 Sep 1944

Poland
7 Oct 1944

Poland
  • Jewish prisoners of the Sonderkommando of Auschwitz II-Birkenau Concentration Camp organized a large revolt and escape. Crematorium IV was set on fire, while SS guards came under attack. During the havoc, some of the prisoners were successful in cutting through the perimeter fencing and got outside, but the SS guard responded and successfully rounded up all escapees and killed them all. After the revolt was put down in the camp, about 250 prisoners, including leader Zalmen Gradowski and Józef Deresinski, were dead. Three SS men were also killed; ten were wounded. Four Jewish women who had stolen the explosives from their workplace at the Union-Werke armaments factory, which were used during this revolt, were later hanged. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
28 Oct 1944

Poland
31 Oct 1944

Poland
1 Nov 1944

Poland
26 Nov 1944

Poland
  • Heinrich Himmler ordered the destruction of the crematoria at Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp in attempt to hide evidence of mass killings. Dismantling work of Crematorium II of Auschwitz Concentration Camp began on the same day. First, the motor that pumped the air out of the gas chamber was removed and sent to Mauthausen Concentration Camp. Then, pipes were removed and sent to Gross-Rosen Concentration camp. Other equipment were removed in order and shipped into various parts of Germany. ww2dbase [Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Heinrich Himmler | Oswiecim | CPC]
1 Dec 1944

Poland
25 Dec 1944

Poland
30 Dec 1944

Poland
  • 150 female prisoners of Auschwitz Concentration Camp were employed in the demolition squad (Abbruchkommando), working on the demolition of crematorium III. 50 female prisoners worked in the forestry-demolition squad (Gehölz-Abbruchkommando), which was filling in the incineration pits and covering them with grass and planting small trees on the grounds of crematorium IV. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
1 Jan 1945

Poland
5 Jan 1945

Poland
  • The last session of the police summary court of the Kattowitz Gestapo took place in block 11 in Auschwitz I camp. Around 100 Polish prisoners were condemned to death, to be executed by firing squad on the next day. The court was presided by Johannes Thuemmler. These prisoners were under the jurisdiction of the Gestapo and not of the commandant of the concentration camp. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
6 Jan 1945

Poland
  • Four Jewish women, Ella Gartner, Róza Robota, Regina Safir, and Estera Wajsblum, were executed by hanging in the female camp of Auschwitz Concentration Camp; they had smuggled explosives out of their workplace which were used during the 7 Oct 1944 uprising in the camp. About 100 other Auschwitz prisoners were also executed on this date, having sentenced to death by the Kattowitz Gestapo on the previous day; they faced a firing squad at Auschwitz II-Birkenau and were sent to Crematorium V. These prisoners were among the last to be executed at Auschwitz. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
17 Jan 1945

Poland
  • 67,012 prisoners were present at Auschwitz Concentration Camp's last evening roll call; they would soon embark on the Death March. Meanwhile, Nazi doctor Josef Mengele began to destroy his laboratories at sector BIIf of Birkenau camp; he would soon evacuate the camp with records of his experiments on twins, dwarfs, and disabled people. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
18 Jan 1945

Poland
27 Jan 1945

Poland
  • Reconnaissance troops of the Soviet 100th Infantry Division discovered the prisoners' infirmary at the Auschwitz Concentration Camp at about 0900 hours. The remainder of the division arrived 30 minutes later. Soviet troops entered the main camp in the afternoon where they fought off the remaining German resistance at the cost of 231 lives. By this time, only 7,000 prisoners remained to be liberated in the entire Auschwitz system; the bulk of had been marched away previously. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
16 Apr 1947

Poland Photo(s) dated 16 Apr 1947
Rudolf Höss being prepared for hanging, Auschwitz Concentration Camp, Poland, 16 Apr 1947, photo 2 of 2Rudolf Höss being prepared for hanging, Auschwitz Concentration Camp, Poland, 16 Apr 1947, photo 1 of 2Rudolf Höss arriving at the site of his execution, Auschwitz Concentration Camp, Poland, 16 Apr 1947Rudolf Höss on the gallows, Auschwitz Concentration Camp, Poland, 16 Apr 1947

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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