Auschwitz: Hitler's Final Solution

Initially envisioned as a small labor camp for dissenters, Auschwitz was a low priority for the Nazi elite. When Hitler invaded Russia, an influx of Russian Jews, Communists, and POWs forced the Nazis to develop new ways to deal with their undesirables.

Auschwitz was over-capacity and more people were arriving every day. In order to maintain efficiency, Commandant Rudolf Höss ordered expansions to the camp. Plans for the Final Solution to "the Jewish Problem" are made as the horrors at Auschwitz continue.

Deported Jews arrive in Auschwitz by the trainload; prisoners not immediately sent to the gas chambers face other horrors in the camp.

Auschwitz-Birkenau soon became the largest concentration camp in the Nazi State. In a camp so big, corruption was rampant. From the guard's theft, to camp brothels, and Dr. Mengele's illegal human experiments, the crimes committed here are shocking.

In 1944 an end to the war was in sight. The remaining Jews in Nazi occupied territories were sent to die in the camps. The Allied powers finally learn about Auschwitz-Birkenau, but make the controversial decision not to bomb the nearby rail lines.

Allied forces discover the horrors left behind by the Nazis; the Soviet army liberates the remaining prisoners of Auschwitz-Birkenau, but the suffering continues for many of the survivors.