INTRODUCTION
Around the time frame of World War II, the event known as The Holocaust had taken place. During the Holocaust a place was needed to contain and punish those who were enemies to Germany. The majority of the residents in these places would be Jews. These places were created and were known as concentration camps. These camps were spread out throughout almost all of Europe and were home of some of the most horrifying images and events in the history of human kind. Millions of Jews and others were enslaved, starved, gassed, burned, and murdered in these camps. The living spaces were small and over populated as well as living conditions were less than poor. In these camps if you were not killed, than you would have no quality of life. Their days would consist of painstaking, back breaking work, little to no nourishment and constant torture. It was said that some were considered lucky if they survived for over four weeks in certain camps.
Today all of these concentration camps have been shut down. However some of them still have much use. After being evacuated and shut down, there are still camps that are being occupied, whether they have been converted into museums, memorials, or prisons, they are not deserted. This strikes a question. Why do we choose to memorialize these events? Some of the most terrifying events in all of history had taken place from inside those barb wired fence but, there is still a need to remember what happened. There are camps today that have been turned into some of the most popular museums out there and, there are some that have just been left alone and left to remain a graveyard. What is the reason for this? What makes one worth memorializing as opposed to another?
There are many reasons why this could be. Some of the concentration camps were huge areas made to contain hundreds of thousands of people. These specific ones could be memorials to all those who had perished in the camps as well as giving an actual visual for people to see the true horrors that were present behind the gates and fences. These camps have been maintained as time progress so that they are still in accessible conditions. Others have been completely demolished with only stones and memorial sculptures left to remind us of that camp. This could be from being attacked by the allies or like others been disease infested and burned down to stop them from spreading. Then there are those that have just vanished in time, leaving nothing behind. This could be said for smaller camps as well as the most heinous and sadistic camps that were used for medical experimentation on the inmates. This shows that there are reasons that certain things are chosen to be memorialized and remembered as opposed to others.
WHAT YOU WILL OBSERVE
In the following pages you will read a brief history of three concentration camps. The three that have been chosen are different in how they are represented in the present day. You will also witness images from the camps both from when they were operating and what they have become now. Some of the images may be disturbing as a warning.