Punishments were a contributing factor to the death of so many. The rules at Auschwitz, made by the SS guards, were vaguely formed in order to kill more people. For example, prisoners were punished for having dirty shoes because it was against the order of tidiness, but prisoners were also punished for having clean shoes because it indicated a lack of work (“Auschwitz Concentration”). Prisoners were punished if they took too long in the restrooms, did not work hard enough, or were out of line in any way. There were also collective punishments when someone in the camp tried to run away or when someone showed resistance. The harshness of punishments depended on the attitude and mood of the guard that day. Guards punished people for the mere enjoyment of having power and of watching others suffer and die (Duffy et al.; “Auschwitz Concentration”).

Most people that were taken to Auschwitz were gassed upon arrival, but even the people chosen to live did not live long. The average life expectancy for men was three months. For women it was almost half as long (Appuratus of Death 162; Hartfeldt; “Auschwitz Concentration”; Heckman).

Shooting was a major cause of death. Within Auschwitz was the “black wall” where executions by firearms took place. Prisoners were forced to stand against the blood stained wall, and the guards shot them one by one. Other prisoners were forced to watch. Guards carried firearms at all time, and guns were used often because they were an easy way to quickly get rid of problems. Guards would have contests with each other when they were bored over who had the best aim, and the innocent prisoners were the targets (“Auschwitz Concentration”; Duffy et al.; Chodoff).

The only reason that Auschwitz was established was for the extermination of Jewish lives during the Holocaust. That is exactly what it did. It used torture as a way of death. Guards were cruel and brutal to each of the innocent prisoners. The prisoners had to endure terrible day-to-day routines, excruciating labor, insignificant amounts of food, inhumane living conditions, deadly illnesses, punishments, and medical experiments. Victims of Auschwitz lost their identity to a tattooed number and a colored patch. Each prisoner was treated as an animal. All of these terrible things led to millions of deaths of innocent lives and the largest human grave in history.

Torture and punishments were major ways of killing people, but the main purpose of the camp was mass extermination. The most efficient, easiest, and most useful way to get rid of the Jews was the gas chambers located throughout the camp. The gas chambers were large rooms that were disguised as showers and had heavy, metal, lockable doors and no windows because most of them were underground (Duffy et al; Apparatus of Death; “Auschwitz 23/11/01”). There were five gas chambers that could overall kill 8000 people in a twenty-four hour period (Gutman and Berenbaum 165; Apparatus of Death 154). These chambers included areas where prisoners had to undress before going into these “showers” (Apparatus of Death 154; “Auschwitz Concentration”). After the maximum number of people was in the chamber and the doors were shut and locked, then Zyclon B came pouring out of the showerheads. It only took 5-7 kilograms of the deadly gas to kill hundreds at a time. Records show that at least twenty tons of Zyclon B was delivered to Auschwitz bet

Some topics in this essay:
Apparatus Death, Hartfeldt Duffy, Gutman Berenbaum, Alder Eighty, Josef Mengele, War II, Concentration” Marks, Concentration” People, Concentration” Shooting, Hitler Dressed, “auschwitz concentration”, duffy et al, duffy et, et al, apparatus death, gutman berenbaum, “auschwitz 23/11/01”, gas chambers, roll call, prisoners forced, apparatus death 154, people killed, world war ii, “auschwitz concentration” prisoners, people killed daily,