Block 11
Block 11 was the name of a building in the Auschwitz concentration camp. The block was in the so-called Stammlager (Auschwitz I main camp) and was intended solely to punish prisoners through torture. Between the tenth and eleventh block 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, while others were punished to stand in four standing cells.[2] In these special compartments (one square metre each, with a hole 5x5 cm for breathing), four prisoners had to remain standing (for lack of space) night after night for several and up to twenty days as punishment; while being forced to continue working during daytime.[3]
It was here the first attempts to kill people with substance Zyklon B were implemented.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Block No. 11
- ↑ Auschwitz-Birkenau - Punishments and executions
- ↑ Jacek Lachendro (2013). "Blok 11 . Kary i egzekucje (Block 11. Punishments and executions)" (in Polish). Państwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau w Oświęcimiu. pp. 1 of 10. Retrieved February 02, 2013.