The dramatic revolt at Auschwitz: When the prisoners fought back

The camp now simply known as Auschwitz was established in 1940 and eventually became the largest of the Nazi concentration and extermination camps.

It was situated near the town of Oświęcim in Poland and consisted of three main camps: Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II-Birkenau, and Auschwitz III-Monowitz.

At its peak, it held over 100,000 prisoners from right across the different parts of Europe. In April 1940, the very first transport of Polish political prisoners arrived at the site and, throughout the course of the war, Jews, Romani people, Soviet POWs, and others deemed ‘undesirable’ by the Nazi regime joined them. 

By early 1942, the camp's role had been expanded to include the mass extermination of the Jewish people. The part of the camp known as Auschwitz II-Birkenau, which had been built in 1941, became the primary site for this inhuman act.

Here, a series of gas chambers and crematoria were used to murder thousands daily in order to implement Hitler’s ‘Final Solution’.

In addition to the systematic mass killings, prisoners faced grueling forced labor, ongoing starvation, and were even victims of cruel medical experiments.

Tales of the sadistic SS guards that enforced a regime of terror within its fences explain how they managed to maintain sufficient control over the prisoners to carry out these various punishments. 

Sadly, some of the inmates were ordered to assist in carrying out these crimes. One of the most notorious group were the ‘Sonderkommando’: groups of prisoners, who themselves were predominantly Jewish, were forced to assist with the disposal of gas chamber victims.

If they refused to do so, they themselves were killed. It is important to note that these units did not actually participate in the killings themselves, which were carried out by the SS, but they were eyewitness to the atrocities.  

Understandably, the conditions fueled a growing atmosphere of angry discontent among the prisoners. In particular, the members of the Sonderkommando, who faced the chilling reality of the crematoria every day, became the driving force for action.

By 1944, they had become determined to resist the SS guards. Inmates like Zalman Gradowski and Yaakov Kaminski secretly coordinated efforts to secretly obtain weapons and plan an uprising.

They were able to establish limited contact with the nearby Polish civilian resistance, who provided some support in their planning.

However, with limited physical resources, the prisoners knew their chances of success were slim.  

Then, in September 1944, they received a small but significant shipment of gunpowder from women working in a nearby munitions factory.

This, when combined with a series of hand-made and makeshift weapons that they had gathered, gave them hope. So, the leaders held a number of clandestine meetings to ensure that the other prisoners were sufficiently equipped and ready for the attempted overthrow.

By October, they had finally decided that they were ready and to launch it on October 7, 1944. The ultimate aim was to destroy the gas chambers and kill as many SS guards as possible.

Even if they failed, the prisoners hoped to inspire future acts of resistance that could disrupt the Nazi extermination efforts further. 

The revolt at Auschwitz finally began on October 7, 1944, with a sudden burst of violence. Early in the morning, the Sonderkommando attacked the SS guards with hammers, axes, and improvised explosives.

They specifically targeted Crematorium IV, where many of their friends and families had perished. They managed to kill three guards and seriously wound twelve others.

In addition, the explosion they triggered at the crematorium caused significant damage and rendered it temporarily inoperative.

For a brief moment, it seemed their desperate plan was succeeding as they had hoped. 

The prisoners even attempted to breach the camp's perimeter, with some managing to cut through the barbed wire and escaped into the surrounding woods.

However, by this time, the SS had quickly regrouped after the initial shock and unleashed a brutal counterattack. Nazi reinforcements arrived and they were armed with machine guns and flamethrowers.

Over the next few hours, the SS would spread out across the camp to hunt down the rebels.  

By the end of the 7th of October, the revolt had been completely suppressed. The leaders were rounded up and questioned about how many inmates had been involved.

Then, on October 8, the SS executed 451 Sonderkommando members and recaptured the few who had escaped. These executions took place in front of the remaining inmates to serve as a clear warning against any copycat uprisings they may have planned.

But the SS did not stop there and, over the next few days and weeks, were on the lookout for any further resistance.

They increased surveillance and intensified their control over daily camp activities. For the prisoners, the atmosphere grew even more oppressive. 

A series of interrogations were carried out by the SS and many prisoners endured severe torture, under which they revealed the names of other participants.

These people were then identified and killed. After the damage caused to Crematorium IV, the Nazis moved quickly to construct of a new gas chamber, which would restore the camp back to its full capacity for mass extermination. 

Thankfully, the complete restoration of the camp would never be completed. By January 1945, the approach of Soviet forces encouraged the Nazis to attempt a cover-up of their crimes.

They began dismantling the gas chambers and forced the remaining prisoners on death marches back towards Germany.

Sadly, these marches resulted in the deaths of thousands. On January 27, 1945, Soviet troops arrived at and liberated Auschwitz, but found only a few survivors.  

But was the revolt at Auschwitz a failure? Even though the revolt had been crushed, it did have some limited success. The temporary destruction of one of the crematoria meant that it did delay some of the Nazis' killing operations.

In fact, this may have saved the lives of some of the people in the camp. As a result, the courage displayed by the rebels can be a reminder to future generations of the importance of standing up to oppressive forces, even if the chances of success are small.

Today, many tourists travel to Auschwitz to see the site of these tragic stories. If you ever get the chance to do so, it is worth remembering the bravery of the few in an attempt to save others.