AuschwitzAuschwitz was one of the largest and most infamous concentration camps known during World War II. It was located in the southwestern part of Poland commanded by Rudolf Höss. Auschwitz first opened on June 14, 1940, much later than most other camps. It was at Auschwitz that the lives of so many people were taken by the methods of gas chambers, crematoria and even starvation and disease. These methods took "several hundred and sometimes more than a thousand" lives per day. Most of the lives taken were those of Jews, but also Gypsies, Yugoslavs, Poles and many others of different ethnic origins. The best known things about Auschwitz are the process that people went through when entering the camp and during their time there, the conditions of the camp, and the experiments performed by Dr. Josef Mengele. In the concentration camp, Auschwitz, there was an elaborate process that people went through upon arrival. Every day freight cars full of people arrived at the camp. From then on people were ordered to unload all their belongings that they had brought with them. At that point they are immediately told to get in line to make their first selection. Those who were elderly or unable to work, such as children, were automatically sent to the gas chambers. The others were then tattooed with specific identifying numbers, had their hair cut, and were given prisoner uniforms to work with. Those who passed the first selection were then forced to perform forced labor. Every morning and every afternoon the roll call was taken and another selection was made. The SS, German soldiers and doctors stripped the prisoners of their clothes so they could examine them fully... in the middle of the paper... they marched from Auschwitz to different camps. The SS feared that liberation was imminent. They told the prisoners that if anyone stayed behind or stopped they would be killed. Only a small number remained in Auschwitz. On January 27, 1945, the Soviet army finally liberated Auschwitz. In this camp more than a million lives were lost, only sixty-five thousand people survived. Many of these lives died due to gas chambers, crematoria, the effects of experimentation, torture, starvation and many other reasons. Auschwitz will always be seen as a place that will be remembered throughout history. Lives were taken but memories will prevail. Works Cited1. Adler, Jerry. "The Last Days of Auschwitz." Newsweek (1995): 46-59.2. Fischel, Jack R. The Holocaust. London: Greenwood Press, 1998.3. Swiebocka, Teresa. Auschwitz. Indiana University Press, 1993.