This camp had upwards of 300 barracks. It was built after the Nazi's realized that Auschwitz I wasn't large enough to handle the amount of prisoners that they had or were planning to have. This camp had atleast 3 crematoriums. There were 1.7 million people that went through this and Auschwitz I camps. When they freed the existing prisoners, there were only around 2,500 left. These particular pictures are of the train tracks that ran right through the middle of the two sections of this camp. This would have been were they were brought in and then seperated into those who would live and those who would be gased. It was difficult to smile for a picture, but we wanted to remember it. How do you pose in such a place? As we stood there looking at the view, I wondered what it must have been like to step out of the cramped train and see the barbed wire...what did they feel? Did they have any idea that some of them would die within an hour? Did they hope for their loved one's quick death, or did they hold on to the hope that they would all be free? I'm determined to go back to the U.S and find books about real people who survived these camps. I want to know their stories now that I've seen where they were forced to live.
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