What happens to children, the elderly, and the sick at Auschwitz?
History · High School · Thu Jan 21 2021
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- At Auschwitz, and indeed in many of the Nazi concentration and extermination camps during World War II, children, the elderly, and the sick were often the most vulnerable and were frequently among the first to be killed. Upon arrival at Auschwitz, individuals were subjected to selection processes.
- Those deemed unable to work, which often included children, the elderly, and the sick, were typically sent directly to the gas chambers. This horrific extermination procedure was part of the Nazis' "Final Solution," their policy of genocide aimed at systematically murdering the Jewish population of Europe, as well as other groups they considered undesirable.
- The living conditions in the camp were extremely harsh, and even those not immediately selected for extermination faced starvation, forced labor, disease, and the constant threat of death. The SS guards and the camp administration showed little to no regard for human life, and survival often came down to an inmate's ability to work or to somehow avoid selection for the gas chambers during periodic "culls" of the camp population.