>>17936911
>>17936920
Substanial ammout of Jews died during the forced slave labour yes. Women and Children were murded by nazis first.
>>17936918
Auschwitz was built as a permanent concentration camp and was to continue to serve as a place of confinement for the so-called enemies of the Reich in the future, ‘after victory’. With time, the camp’s role as a centre of mass extermination should be reduced, therefore, within the projects for its expansion emphasis was placed on the construction of reliable water and sanitary facilities in prisoners’ living quarters, as was the case with other concentration camps in German territory.
Due to the fire hazard, in 1944, construction began on 10 firewater reservoirs (out of a total of 17 planned) within the Auschwitz camp complex. One of these, measuring 25 x 5 meters, was built inside the Auschwitz I camp fence, near the so-called Birkenallee. It is likely that during the final stages of construction, the reservoir was equipped with swimming pool elements: starting blocks, a diving board, and a ladder. Survivors’ testimonies provide different interpretations of the reasons for this modification. One theory suggests that camp functionaries (block leaders, kapos) initiated the addition of these swimming pool features. Allegedly, camp physician Eduard Wirths approved the idea under the pretext that swimming would improve prisoners' physical condition and thus increase their ability to work. This theory seems plausible since such modifications could not have been made without the approval of the SS authorities, as they required scarce materials—bricks, iron, and mortar. One survivor, Adam Jerzy Brandhuber, recalled in his memoirs that shortly after the construction was completed, SS officers selected prisoners who appeared healthy, had them change into bathing suits taken from the "Canada" warehouses, and took several photographs near the pool, likely for propaganda purposes.