Standing cells inside Block
11
Entrance to standing
cell through tiny door
The 1998 photograph above shows the reconstructed
entrance to one of the 4 standing cells (Stehzellen) in the basement
of Block II, where prisoners were sent for extreme punishment.
These cells were 3 feet square and had no light coming in at
all, nor any heating or cooling system. Prisoners had to crawl
into the cell through a tiny door, as shown in the photo above.
There was just enough room for four slender men to stand without
touching each other. There was no room to lie down, but if the
prisoners cooperated, one prisoner could sit down while the other
three crowded closer together. The floors of these cells were
covered with excrement left by the occupants.
Prisoners who were being punished were
put into these cells at night, and in the morning taken out to
perform a full 10-hour day of work. This punishment was usually
given to prisoners who had tried to sabotage the work done in
the factories at Auschwitz. Prisoners who escaped and were caught
were put into these cells and left to die.
The reconstructed door, which is shown
in the picture above, opens into the second cell; there is another
cell to the right of the door, which you can see in the photo.
To the left in the picture above, you can see the edge of another
door on the left, which gives you an idea of how small these
cells were. Imagine the problem of removing the dead bodies from
these cells!
When Arthur Liebehenschel replaced Rudolf
Hoess as the camp commandant in November 1943, he ordered the
standing cells to be torn down. The standing cells have been
partially reconstructed, as the picture below shows.
Standing cell with
wall cut away so visitors can see inside
The photograph below shows a window with
bars on it, on the outside wall of Block 11, and just below the
window there is a small black metal box which looks something
like a mail box. There were tiny holes punched into the top of
this box to let a little bit of air into the 4 standing cells
which were behind this wall in the basement. During the winter
when snow covered these holes, the prisoners suffocated. Old
pictures taken when the camp was in operation show that there
were several of these boxes, but there is only one there now.
Air vent for basement
prison cells
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