Additional Resources

• For a historical outline of Auschwitz click here
• For photographs from Auschwitz click here
• For the on-line exhibition: The Auschwitz Album click here

For most, the horror of the journey to Auschwitz was an integral part of the camp experience. The actual journey was similar for most however, there are differences depending upon which country the deportees were traveling from, the differences in seasons and the mode of transport. The length of the journey depended, of course, on geographic location. Those sent from Greece spent between a week and ten days in the cattle cars of the train; those coming from Hungary arrived in three to four days, as did those from France; the transports from different parts of Poland lasted between a few hours and a few days. In every case this was a difficult experience. The inhuman press of people in the cars, the lack of water, food, air to breathe and toilet facilities were the common experience of all those arriving at the camp. In addition, in most cases a number of people in each car died during the journey, usually the oldest and the youngest , and the other people in cars were forced to continue with the dead until they arrived at the camp. Attempts were made to escape from many of the transports, which usually ended in the humiliation or execution of some of the passengers.
The end of this “interim” period came during the selection on the platform, when families and sexes were separated.