For five long years, the name of Auschwitz aroused fear among the populations of Nazi-occupied territories. When Nazi forces invaded Poland in September of 1939, the Polish town of Oswiecim, outside of Krakow, was incorporated within the Third Reich. The SS changed the name to Auschwitz.
The SS converted some pre-war Polish army barracks into what became known as KL Auschwitz I. In April 1940, Rudolf Hoss was appointed its first commandant. And in June of that year, the Nazi Gestapo dispatched the first political prisoners to KL Auschwitz I.
In the beginning, the imates were Polish prisoners of war, followed by intellectual political prisoners. However, the SS soon began deporting Jews, homosexuals, gypsies, and general social and ethnic "undesirables" to KL Auschwitz I... these men, women and children were "relocated" from their homes in all parts of Europe, packed into train box cars, and began a journey into the unknown. Most died along the way. Those that survived could not begin to imagine the nightmare that awaited them.....
..... a nightmare where no escape was possible. Except, as the SS guards taunted, through the creamatorium chimney.
