In this book, which celebrates the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the history of the camp's construction and its evolution into one of the largest mass extermination machines of all time is discussed. Using hundreds of documented German records and architectural plans, it serves as a unique historical source for how architects devised and implemented the terror that we today call Auschwitz.

Based on key documents from the Construction Office archives, this in-depth study uses blueprints, letters, telegrams, work reports, and meeting minutes. It reveals how the SS required political knowledge to install electrical, sewage, and heating systems, as well as to build chimneys and other structures. It explains how various external contractors participated in their collaboration in the genocide and shows how willing they were to produce goods for the SS in exchange for financial rewards.

Immediately after the start of operations at Birkenau in 1941, architectural plans were presented for the construction of new crematoria and gas chambers. By the summer of 1943, Birkenau had been transformed into an extermination camp, but the construction and design for further expansion continued. In November 1944, Himmler ordered the cessation and dismantling of the extermination facilities to hide their murderous activities. When the Red Army arrived on January 27, 1945, most of the camp was still intact. Although the SS had burned the camp's records, they forgot to destroy the construction archive, which was kept in another building. As a result, the Russians found many of the technical drawings, including construction plans that detailed the extermination facilities.

With detailed captions and text, as well as a plethora of rare photographs, this book is an important study for those who designed the murder of over 1 million people.

Pages: 240, Dimensions: 17.2x17.2cm