The sign outside the Auschwitz I labor camp. Both camps are now operated by the Government of Poland as a state museum in the city of O347wi281cim, about a 30 minute buscar ride from Krakow.

The famous Arbeit Macht Frei sign over the front entrance to the Auschwitz I labor camp, an ironic sign meaning Work will set you free.

A view looking north towards one of the many guard towers along the electrified fence surrounding Auschwitz I.

A row of prisoner blocks at Auschwitz I.

The block at Auschwitz I reserved solely for extermination purposes. While Auschwitz I was primarily a labor camp, some extermination was carried out here, primarily by phenol lethal injection, starvation, or by shooting squad.

A pile of glasses left behind by the prisoners. Prisoners were forced to leave their glasses behind before being led to the one gas chamber on site at Auschwitz I.

A massive pile of handicapped persons materials. Any and all people with permanent physical handicaps were exterminated immediately upon arrival to Auschwitz and any prosthetic legs or crutches were left behind before extermination.

A massive pile about 20 ft x 10 ft by my estimation of personal kitchen belongings left behind by the primarily Jewish inmates at Auschwitz I. The piles of personal belongings left today at Auschwitz are only a fraction of what actually was there, these piles are only what wasnt destroyed before the Red Army liberated the camps.

A close up of a massive pile of suitcases and briefcases. When forced onto the trains with their belongings, the inmates were told falsely that it was a temporary move to help work for the German war effort. They were told to label their suitcases for their eventual false again return to their hometowns within the German Reich.

A larger shot of the pile of briefcases and suitcases. This pile was massive, almost taking up half the room in which the display occupied.

This is by far, in my opinion, depressing display at Auschwitz I. This and the next photo are a massive larger than any of the previous displays of childrens shoes and footwear. Small children younger than 11-12 years old were exterminated immediately, due to being seen as unfit for work. I almost lost it in this room.

A closer view of the childrens footwear.

childrens footwear.

A pile of personal hygiene materials, mostly combs, shaving brushes, and some razors left behind by the inmates.

The straw bedding for new inmates less than 3 weeks spent at the camp in one of the housing blocks.

After approximately 3 weeks or whenever depending on the need for space, inmates graduated to burlap mattresses filled with straw. 2 inmates were assigned per mattress and as many as 200 were kept within one room in one block.

A bathroom in one of the housing blocks. Inmates were allowed indoor bathroom privileges maybe once or twice a week. And even then, the conditions in most of the bathrooms were atrocious.

For inmates that had lasted longer than approximately 2 months, they moved onto these wooden bunk beds. Approximately 4-5 inmates were on each pallet. When the camp quickly became overcrowded and the inmates became morbidly underweight, some 10-11 inmates were forced to sleep on one pallet per bunk.

The stop sign in Polish and German. Crossing that sign within sight of one of the guards was grounds for immediate execution.

The wall were executions by firing squad were carried out. Escapees and injured inmates suffered the majority of firing squad executions. Behind the grey barrier, you can still see bullet holes in the brick wall.

Another photo of the shooting squad wall.

The Auschwitz I Hospital block. Rarely did true medical attention happen here. If an inmate had a minor illness or injury, it just meant a day or two off from the hard work they were performing. Anything more debilitating or permanent was grounds for extermination.

A canister of the cyanide poison most widely used in the gas chambers at Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau, Zyklon-B. The pellets were dropped into pipes and when mixed with water, released the toxic gas that became the industrialized killing method that was most popular at Auschwitz I and Birkenau.

A pile of used canisters of Zyklon-B poison. This is only a mere fraction of what was used at both camps, as a great deal of the evidence of mass killing had been destroyed at both camps before the Red Army could liberate them.

A rose placed by the descendants of a prisoner who had passed away when executed trying to escape the barbed wire fence that bordered the inmates camp and the camp staff area.

The sign and reconstructed gallows where the most infamous Auschwitz commandant, Rudolf Hss, was hung for his war crimes. He was hung here and had his body burned in the crematorium on site at Auschwitz I.

2 of the 4 crematoriums that had not been destroyed at either of the two camps I visited. There is still human ash inside the ovens and the entire crematorium area is still black from the soot.

The carts used by Jewish prisoner sonderkommandos, prisoners forced to carry the dead bodies and put them in the crematoriums for the SS staff on site. This was one section of the building that contained both the gas chamber and the crematoriums at Auschwitz I.

The main gate of the Auschwitz II-Birkenau Death Camp from the museum parking lot.

The main gate to Auschwitz II-Birkenau, looking north.

The sign outside Birkenau, describing how the Nazis razed 7 Polish villages in the area to build the huge camp that was to become Birkenau, and used the bricks from the razed buildings to construct the housing units at the camp.

The famed main gate of Birkenau from within the camp. This sight was always associated with death, as 90 of those who passed through Birkenau passed away.

Looking east, the primarily mens area of Birkenau is almost entirely just brick chimneys left. A few buildings have been reconstructed from the mass of bricks left behind after the Nazis attempted to destroy all evidence of the camp. I had no idea of the massive size of this camp, it appeared to be at least a half mile to the total end of that housing area.

Another view of the main gate with the railroad tracks.

Looking west, the womens and other mens housing area, again defined mostly by single chimneys left. There are hundreds of these chimneys still standing.

An example of the Deutsche Reichsbahn railcar used to transport prisoners to Birkenau. As many as 200-300 could be piled into one of these boxcars for the trip to Birkenau.

The English language memorial plaque at the Birkenau museum stage. There are more than 10 I dont remember exactly plaques, each saying the same message in a different language, ranging from Polish to Yiddish to Dutch to English.

A sculpture made of former gas chambercrematorium material at the museum outdoor stage.

The ruins of one of the gas chamberscrematoriums, untouched since the camp staff detonated explosives in all of the chamberscrematoriums in an attempt to cover up the mass killing that occurred at Birkenau. All is left is a pile of bricks and reinforced concrete.

Inside one of the reconstructed male housing barracks. Early in the camps existence, only 5 per pallet per bunk were assigned. Later as the camp became overcrowded, as many as 10 to 11 were assigned per pallet per bunk.

A look down the housing unit at Birkenau.