Auschwitz-Birkenau

Auschwitz-Birkenau was a concentration camp established by the Nazis during World War II. It was located in Poland, about 35 miles west of Krakow - the location of one of the larger Jewish ghettos. It is difficult to know the exact number of people who passed through the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, now a place of remembrance and education.

Auschwitz-Birkenau in Schindler's List

As Oskar Schindler planned to move some of his Jewish workers to a newly-built factory in Czechoslovakia, some 300 of his female employees were mistakenly sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Schindler had to bribe the commandant at the camp in order to have his Schindlerfrauen (Schindler women) released from Auschwitz-Birkenau and sent on Czechoslovakia. It is also at this same camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, where some Schindlerfrauen feared they would be gassed in a shower but were sprayed with water instead.

More About Auschwitz-Birkenau

The entire Auschwitz-Birkenau area was composed of about 15 square miles in a swampy area. Construction began on phase one of the concentration camp in May of 1940, and the Nazi's continued to expand the camp until the SS (Schutzstaffel - Nazi Special police force) evacuated the camp in January of 1945. In all, Auschwitz-Birkenau comprised of: Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II Birkenau, and Auschwitz III along with 50 sub-camps built for special purposes, sometimes to provide labor for neighboring factories. The entire area was surrounded by electric barbed wire fences.

The Birkenau portion of the camp, larger than phase I, was specifically built to be an extermination camp or death camp. It is estimated that over a million people were sent to the gas chambers immediately after arriving at Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Schindler's List

You can learn more about the life of Oscar Schindler and his efforts to save Jewish victims from the Auschwitz-Birkenau and an almost certain death at Schindlerslist.com. You can also watch the Schindler's List trailer and buy the new DVD from Universal Home Video & DVD.