Block 11
| Block 11 Auschwitz concentration camp | |
|---|---|
| File:Auschwitz - Blok Smierci and The Execution Wall Sk06 C P.jpg Block 11, with the "death wall" to the left | |
| Auschwitz I View of Block 11 (left) as seen from the site of the reconstructed death wall | |
| Block 11 Corridor of Block 11 |
Block 11 was the name of a brick building in Auschwitz I, the Stammlager or main camp of the Auschwitz concentration camp network. This block was used for executions and torture. Between Block 10 and Block 11 stood the "Death Wall" (reconstructed after the war) where thousands of prisoners were lined up for execution by firing squad.[1]
The block contained special torture chambers in which various punishments were applied to prisoners. Some could include being locked in a dark chamber for several days or being forced to stand in one of four standing cells called "Stehzelle" in German.[2] Punishment in these special compartments (one square metre each, with a hole 5 cm × 5 cm for breathing), consisted of confining four prisoners, who were forced by the lack of space to remain standing all night for up to twenty nights, while still being forced to work during the day.[3]
It was at Block 11 that the first attempts to kill people with Zyklon B were implemented in September 1941.[1]
Interrogations
[edit | edit source]Prisoner interrogations involving extreme torture were also conducted within Block 11, often with use of the "Boger Swing" device,[4] (Boger-Schaukel) invented by Wilhelm Boger, an SS officer who served within Auschwitz's Political Department.[5]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b Block No. 11. Jewish Virtual Library
- ^ Auschwitz-Birkenau - Punishments and executions. Archived 2020-04-13 at the Wayback Machine Auschwitz.org
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External links
[edit | edit source]- Error creating thumbnail: File missing Media related to Lua error in Module:Commons_link at line 62: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). at Wikimedia Commons
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