The weather was super cold and snowing while we made our way through the extermination camp of Majdanek, located in the city of Lublin ( a city Southeast of Warsaw).
Majdanek (1941-44) is one of the six death camps built by the German/Nazi occupation forces and the SS in occupied Poland, located in the city limits of Lublin, Poland. The camp's official purpose was to destroy enemies of the Third Reich, as well as help carry out the extermination of the Jews and to take part in the deportations of Poles. Originally a POW camp for American and Soviet prisoners, camp authorities started using Zyklon B or Cyclone B gas to murder prisoners, and the camp continued to serve that purpose until it was liberated by the Soviet army in July 1944. . The number of victims is estimated to be 78,000, including 61,000 Jews, 12,000 Poles and 5,000 Soviet prisoners of war. Majdanek covered 667 acres of land and housed 45,000 prisoners at one time, with the plan to expand to house 250,000 prisoners (which never happened.) Over 500,000 people from 54 different nationalities and 28 countries passed through this death camp. To kill one person in this camp, it is estimated to cost less the a penny.Among all the death camps, Majdanek is the best preserved and could be in full operation within 48 hours.
Today, Majdanek is a chilling reminder of the Holocaust - 17 tons of ashes are openly displayed in a Mausoleum there (approximately 68,000 bodies that were originally to be used as fertilizer). A bathtub in the crematorium for the head commandant to bathe in since it was the warmest place in all of the camp.As well asthe rolling hills containing 48,000 bodies below as a result of a killing massacre by the SS as a retaliation for the uprising in the Sobibor camp. Three barracks contain over 430,000 pairs of shoes, Authentic nazi, SS and prisoner uniforms are also on display.
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