“A third section [of Auschwitz], Auschwitz III, was constructed in nearby Monowitz and consisted of a forced labor camp called Buna-Monowitz and 45 other forced labor subcamps. The name Buna was based on the Buna synthetic rubber factory on site, owned by I.G. Farben, Germany's largest chemical company. The mainly Jewish inmates who worked at that factory and others owned by German firms were pushed to the point of total exhaustion, at which time they were replaced by new laborers. Auschwitz was first run by camp commandant Rudolf Hoess and was guarded by a cruel regiment of the SS death head unit. The staff was assisted by several privileged prisoners who were given better food, better conditions, and an opportunity to survive if they agreed to enforce the brutal order of the camp.”  

Copyright © 2011 Yad Vashem.
The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority. http://www1.yadvashem.org/exhibitions/album_auschwitz/auschwitz.html

Accessed on 6/7/2011.

[Photograph #78607] 
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Photo Archives.

Accessed on 6/13/11.

Yad Vashem. Photo Archives.
http://collections.yadvashem.org/photosarchive/en-us/12950.html

Accessed on 6/13/11.