Auschwitz: The Death Camp of the Century

Faith Robinette, Ashley Ingram and Alyssa Berry Junior Division Group Website Thesis statement In the United States at about 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn into presidency. Meanwhile halfway across the world in Poland, Adolf Hitler was working on his "Final Solution,"

Auschwitz, known as the worst death camp in history. Hitler's command began slaughtering thousands of innocent Jews, gypsies, Romans, Disabled beings, and countless other humans. All humans including those being held at Auschwitz had human basic rights, however Hitler and his ideology persuaded his followers to believe it was their responsibility to carry out his Final Solution and execute every Jew. How we chose our topic Although very graphic and violent, we chose our topic of Auschwitz because we felt it was one of the most interesting things to learn about. We first began with the whole topic of the Holocaust and decided covering this whole topic was too broad and extensive for this assignment. As we started to research more and understand the Holocaust, we found that Auschwitz was marked as a major concept that led to many life- changing events. Not only did we find it interesting, it touched our hearts to think of all the innocent people being slaughtered for a pointless and biased cause.

How we conducted our research We conducted our research as a group and cooperated very well together, making it easier and more efficient to get things done. We started out researching the whole holocaust, but soon after decided that in order to complete the project sufficiently we had to narrow down our topic. The narrowing down process happened halfway through the assignment deadline and it was an intense moment where we all had to

decide what actions we were going to take. Deciding on Auschwitz was an easy decision based on our feelings and prior research.

How we selected our presentation category and created our project Once deciding on our narrowed topic the research process fell into place and we began to understand Auschwitz and decide on our presentation category. With little time left after changing our topic, we selected our presentation category by figuring out how much research we had and how time we had left to complete the whole assignment. We chose the website presentation because we thought it would be the best option based on our research level and gathered information. We created our project with a series of mistake, lots of time, intense seriousness, and little playfulness. When creating the website we chose colors that were dark and dreary. This decision was based on the amount of death and loss, and we felt that colors would set the stage for reading the tragic events. Pictures were also chosen to fit the information and provide a glimpse of the tragic episodes that took place at the camps. The process was long and hard, but we definitely learned many things about the Holocaust and the concentration camps that deeply affected our history.

How our project relates to the NHD theme Our project goes with the NHD because we were supposed to choose something to do with rights and responsibilities in history. Our topic marked major impacts in history and is important because Auschwitz was a key element of the Holocaust that changed and destroyed many lives. Not many individuals can read information or research the Holocaust without being influenced or moved

emotionally in some way. Auschwitz was a major component of the Holocaust and was the grounds were most people suffered and endured pain without realizing they were facing their last days with no rights. Without this information, many would not understand the cruel reality of Hitlers Final Solution, or get witness firsthand knowledge of his cruel inhumane actions that took place. Not only did Auschwitz and its commanders kill and slaughter 1.1 million Prisoners in the 1940s, it still influences the minds and hearts of people today. This information is not only important in history it should represent actions that we must prevent and avoid in our modern society. Prejudice and violence are merely acts that are consumed and executed in an individuals mind. People must understand and prevent these types of violence that should have been prevented then. No rights were given to the prisoners,but the only responsibility was for the Nazis to kill the prisoners,and follow the rules of Hitler.

Secondary Sources Jocks, Michael . I can't let Hitler win. 2013. Photograph. THE FLNEUR'S TURTLEWeb. 16 Dec 2013. <http://theflaneursturtle.com>. Annotation: Its a picture of the entrance of Auschwitz.I found this source on a website called THE FLNEUR'S TURTLE.I used this source as a picture for our website for our background because I think it shows a good picture of Auschwitz and since the website is

about Auschwitz it is a good picture to show viewers so they may understand what the entrance of one of the worlds biggest slaughtering places in the world. Pike, John. Aerial Reconnaissance Imagery of Auschwitz. 1994. Photograph. GlobalSecurity.org Web. 16 Dec 2013. <http://www.globalsecurity.org/index.html>. Annotation: Its a picture of an aerial view of the camp,Auschwitz.I found this source on a website called GlobalSecurity.org.I used this source as a picture for our website in order to show Auschwitz from above for our page with our thesis so the viewers could see what Auschwitz would look like from above. Rights and Responsibilities. 201. Photograph. Namib High School, Swakopmund. Web. 16 Dec 2013. Annotation: Its a picture of the words rights and responsibilities I found this source on the website Namib High School.I used this source by putting it as a picture for one of my website pages to show what that page was about . United States , Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum . United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC, 10 Jun 2013. Web. 17 Dec 2013. <http://www.ushmm.org/>. Rosenberg, Jennifer. "Auschwitz." About.com 2oth Century History. Jennifer Rosenberg, n.d. Web. 17 Dec 2013. <http://www.about.com/

Primary Sources: Rees, Laurence . "Auschwitz 1940-1945."Auschwitz:Inside the Nazi State. Community Television of Southern California. Web. 17 Dec 2013. <http://www.pbs.org/auschwitz/40-45/>.

Annotation:ITs a website with lots of information about Auschwitz,and quotes of the Auschwitz survivors .We found this source on Auschwitz:Inside the Nazi State.We used this source as a helping tool to help us find a primary source,so we found a quote. Parafjanowicz, Dr. Janina . "Janina's story." The Survivor of Auschwitz. Dr. Janina Parafjanowicz, 25 march 1994. Web. 17 Dec 2013. <http://www.timewitnesses.org/english/survive.html>. Annotation:Its a website about a story of a girl who survived Auschwitz.We found this source on a website called Janina's story.The Survivor of Auschwitz.We used this source as a tool to help us find a primary source of first hand knowledge of the survivors a Auschwitz. Burk, Jeannine. "Jeannine Burk." Survivor Stories. Jeannine Burk, n.d. Web. 18 Dec 2013. <http://www.holocaustsurvivors.org/>. Annotation:Its a website About Holocaust Survivors. We found this source on a website called Survivor Stories. We used this source as a tool to help us find a primary source of first hand knowledge of the people who survived Auschwitz.