Liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau
Prisoners liberated
from Auschwitz I camp
Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated by soldiers
of the Soviet Union in the First Army of the Ukrainian Front,
under the command of Marshal Koniev, on January 27, 1945. The
photo above shows a few of the 1200 survivors in the Auschwitz
main camp, standing near the "Arbeit Macht Frei" gate.
One prisoner has his arms around the neck of Soviet soldier who
is wearing a fur hat.
Child survivors of
Birkenau
There were 5,800 prisoners, including
611 children, left behind by the Nazis at Birkenau, and 1,200
prisoners abandoned at the Auschwitz main camp. Shown in the
photo above are some of the Jewish children in the Birkenau camp
when it was liberated. The girl on the far right is one of the
twins who were forced to be the subjects of medical experiments
done by Dr. Joseph Mengele.
On January 18, 1945, the Nazis had marched
approximately 60,000 of the prisoners in the three Auschwitz
camps to other camps farther west. This was a "death march"
with those who couldn't keep up being shot and left alongside
the road, including SS guards, according to a survivor. Those
who were too young, too old or too sick to march were left in
the camp.
The VIP prisoners, a group of famous
scientists and intellectuals, were also left behind. According
to Otto Frank, the father of Anne Frank who was a prisoner at
the Auschwitz I camp, the prisoners were given the choice of
whether to join the march or stay in the camp. Otto Frank chose
to stay and he was the only member of his family who survived.
Women survivors in
the barracks at Birkenau
The photograph above is a still shot
from a film made by the Soviet Union after Auschwitz-Birkenau
was liberated. The photo shows two women in the foreground who
are lying on the brick stove down the center of the barrack,
as they huddle under blankets trying to keep warm. These women
had chosen to stay behind when the camp was evacuated on January
18, 1945.
Women marching out
of Birkenau after being liberated
Photo Credit: USHMM
The last roll call, taken on January
17, 1945, showed that there was a total of 16,226 prisoners in
the main camp, called Auschwitz I. Of this number, there were
10,030 men and 6,196 women. The Nazi records from the camp were
turned over to the International Red Cross Tracing Service by
the Soviet Union after the fall of Communism. The total count
from the last roll call was 67,012 prisoners in the three Auschwitz
camps, according to Danuta Czech's book entitled "Auschwitz
Kalendarium."
The last roll call showed that there
was a total of 15,668 prisoners at Birkenau and four nearby sub-camps.
The following figures were published in "Auschwitz Kalendarium":
Babitz 159
Budy 313
Plawy 138
Wirtschaftshof-Birkenau 204
Birkenau Men's Camp 4,473
Birkenau Women's Camp 10,381
Total 15,668
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