What was in the concentration camps?

Question

When you first arrive in the concentration camp was there a sign?
Was it abreit macht frei?
or something else

Answer 1

Sumthing like that, yes.

Answer 2

Arbeit macht frei or “work liberates”, was cast in iron over the main gate into the Auschwitz concentration. Not to be confused with the Auschwitz death camp Birkenau, which is the camp you would arrive at via trains. Auschwitz was a series of camps. Death camps and concentration camps are not the same thing. In Germany concentration camps were more like political prisons in the ‘30s that grew into a complex across Germany to detain all variety of undesirables. Eventually they started building death camps for certain classes of people in Poland, there were no death camps in Germany.

Concentration camps weren’t uniform in any manner, sometime they would be generic catch alls for whomever they wanted to stick in them at the moment, others would be specialized to deal with certain types of people, political dissident, captured partisans or criminals. These camps were originally run by the Gestapo, and later the SS. POW camps for Allied soldiers were controlled by the luftwaffe, German Air Force, because they were the least Nazified branch of the German military. However, the Germans did use concentration camps for Soviet POWs, those they simply didn’t execute in the first place, there was a mutual lack of respect between the Germans and the Russians, and neither side wound up with many prisoners by the end of the war.

So what you are referencing is the phrase over Auchwitz. Which when it was made was somewhat less cruel than it may appear to be, since the Germans often released dissidents after a stay, and the concentration camps, while horrible, weren’t meant to be killing people through attrition like later in the war. But this phrase was specific to Auchwitz, and was only popularized after the war.

Answer 3

When first entering the camp of Auschwitz I, the prisoners saw over the main entrance the words; "Arbeit Macht Frei" (work will give you freedom).

These words were to promote the false hope that hard work by the prisoners would result in their freedom: however, the sad truth was that the prisoners were doomed to slave labor and death was the only real escape.

The names of Treblinka, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Dachau, Chelmno, Sobibor, Belzek and Majdanek are indelibly stamped on history.

Inmates of these camps were Communists, democrats, socialists, political criminals, homosexuals, gypsys, the mentally ill and of course, Jews.

Answer 4

Arbeit Macht Frei and often the road was paved with headstones from Jewish cemeteries.

Answer 5

WHen u arrived at Auschwitz, usually by train, u were taken in, and crammed into a cabin with other people everywhere, you got separated from ur family and didnt get feed. u were forced to do labour and if u didnt work hard enough u got shot. also u got shot if someone felt like shooting u. there were also gas showers that many people were gassed to death in. Watch Schindler's List, its a good movie.

Answer 6

First you have to be more precise. Who's concentration camps are you referring to and in what time frame. If it was during WWII, then was it the Nazi, Nippon or the US camps. The US camps were actually called 'Internment Camps' by the way.

Answer 7

well were studying them and u get killed in gas chambers u will starve to death even 1 little thing they will shoot u. it says when u arrive work will set u free but thats a lie. u will literty die there!!!!!!!!!! There was no grass because the prisoners actully ate the grass.

it is still up there so if u ever go to germany go see the camp.

Answer 8

Work Will Make You Free.

http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/education/projects/webquests/holocaust/main.html

http://photo.net/photo/pcd0075/dachau-arbeit-56.4.jpg

http://www.spaz.org/files/workfree.gif

Answer 9

ther is a sign at dachau, no birds or even grass grows there it is a stilling place, least it was back int he 80s, work makes you free i belive is the translation

Answer 10

I never arrived their but as for as I know there was jewish people that were going to be killed.