Auschwitz Auschwitz was not one but three different concentration and execution camps. Each camp had it own purpose. The first camp was called Auschwitz I. It was mainly used as a central camp for Nazi officers, producing economic and military-industrial enterprise, and holding enemies of the Nazis. It was originally used in 1940 to hold Poles and soviet POW's (Prisoners of war). It became a death camp for Jews in 1941-42. The second camp of the …showed first 75 words of 526 total…

…showed last 75 words of 526 total…holes in the roof. These gas chambers were sometimes disguised as showers or bathing houses. After the gas cleared the bodies were taken to the crematorium to be disposed of. Another way of execution was the firing line. The prisoners were told to stand by the "black wall". Then the Nazis would line up and shoot them. Then the corpses were usually taken to large holes where the bodies were thrown into a "mass grave".