Auschwitz, located in Poland, was Germany's largest and most horrendous concentration camp. It was established by order of Heinrich Himler on April 27, 1940. At first, it was small because it was a work camp for Polish and Soviet prisoners of war. It became a death camp in 1941. The reasons for the epidemics and contagious diseases that prevailed in Auschwitz concentration camp included the dreadful living conditions, which varied during the years that the camp in operation, …showed first 75 words of 687 total…

…showed last 75 words of 687 total…were also executed at Auschwitz concentration camp. Beginning in September 1941, executions were also carried out using poison gas. At least 2,000 Soviet prisoners of war were put to death in this way. After the dismantling of the Death Wall in 1944, larger groups of Poles sentenced to death by the police summary court were executed in the gas chambers. In 1946 Poland founded a museum at the site of the Auschwitz concentration camp in remembrance of its victims.