Camp Design (Auschwitz II)

Auschwitz II was the largest part of the camp. It was split into six sections designated by the letters a to f. Each of these sections were cut off from one another by electrically charged barbed wire fences, as well as a second barrier of barbed wire which surrounded the camp as a whole. As another precaution against escaped prisoners, a line of armed soldiers constantly watched from wooden towers, which ringed the sections.

The men's sections contained wood barracks adapted from stables, while the women's contained partly brick and wood also adapted from stables.

1 and 2: The women's camp 3: Men's quarantine camp 4: Family camp for Czech Jews 5 and 6: The men's camp 7: Family camp for Gypsies 8: Hospital in men's camp 9: Under construction; known as "Mexico" 10: storehouses of stolen goods; known as "Canada" K: Crematories and gas chambers 11: Rail platform; site of "selections"for gas chambers R: Hospital barracks in women's camp W1: Bathhouses; place to get water in women's camp U: Washrooms and toilets without running water continuous lines around sections = electrically charged barbed wire