The State Museum Of Auschwitz-Birkenau & Remember.Org Present

Birkenau Krematorium V

Birkenau Krematorium V gas chambers had four rooms, which are just over the low brick wall and beyond.

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Birkenau Krematorium V

Krematorium V began operations on April 4, 1943.
It had a cremation capacity of 768 corpses in a 24-hour period.

As you continue scrolling, you see a field reaching to the far corner, and four memorial stones.

Just to their left and past the shaded area is where the burning pits for the Krematorium were located.

The problem for the Nazis was not how many people they could gas, but how to dispose of all the corpses.

At peak periods such as the Hungarian “Aktion” (May-June 1944), these pits greatly increased disposal capacity.

First, a layer of wood was placed in the pit, next a layer of corpses, finally petrol waste was poured over the bodies, and the layering repeated a second time.

Trenches were dug in the sides to catch the fat run-off, as throwing it back on the flames made them even hotter.

Scrolling past the Shaded Area, you can see in the distance the ruins of Krematorium IV, and to its right, The Sauna.

Krematorium V’s gas chambers had four rooms, which are just over the low brick wall and beyond.

All photos and videos are Copyright Alan Jacobs and Remember.org.

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