Excessive Labor In Auschwitz Essay

How would someone feel if he lived where he is going to die? This is a feeling the prisoners of the Holocaust experienced every day. They were removed from their homes, separated from their families, and disconnected from all of society. People in the Holocaust, specifically the Jews, were sent to Auschwitz concentration camp to be killed. It was simple; either they would work themselves to death and eventually die of natural causes, or they would be killed immediately. Although Jews were sent to concentration camps to be killed, they still suffered from poor living conditions, excessive labor, and various forms of execution. Living conditions in Auschwitz were similar to the living conditions of a horse in a stable. There were two types

Excessive labor is a form of labor that is way beyond the physical capability of a human. The initial labor the Jews carried out was the construction and development of the concentration camps. Construction of the camps included leveling the ground, constructing buildings, laying pavement for roads, and digging ditches. The next group of laborers is the Sonderkommando, who were also known as the special work unit (The Wiener Library). The laborers were Jewish prisoners who were specially selected because of their strength and fitness. Working in the crematorium area of the camp, they disposed of bodies that were poisoned in gas chambers, “I made a mistake when I said there were no gas chambers at Auschwitz” (David Irving). The average life expectancy of a Sonderkommando was about four months after which they were murdered (The Wiener Library). The least physically demanding job in the camp was sorting the prisoner’s belongings. Once the prisoners arrived at the camp, they were stripped of their belongings and separated from their families. The first half of the prisoners were assigned to collecting the people’s belongings and the other half of prisoners sorted the belongings. The prisoners selected to fulfill this job were extremely