Selection
Selection, a word that had every Jew fearing for their life. When prisoners first arrived at Auschwitz they had to go through the process of selection. After evacuating the cattle cars they were transported in they were stripped of their valuables and separated by gender. Then came the job of the infamous Josef Mengele. With the flick of his wrist he determined the fate of thousands of innocent men, women, and children. The word "left" sent prisoners immediately to their death. While the word "right" sent them to work difficult labor in terrible conditions. These horrors were described by the words, "The unfortunates were led to an area where they could see great flames belching from the chimneys and could smell the odor of what was called the bakery" (Kjelle 181-182). During this time, Mengele had no mercy. For example, all children under fifteen years of age were instantly sentenced to death by gas chamber. Also, the sick, elderly, and those unfit for work went along with them. In his twenty-one months at Birkenau Mengele sent over four hundred thousand people to their death. This earned him the nickname "Angel of Death". The angel of Death thought the lives of these victims were frivolous and always walked with his head held high. Overall, Dr. Josef Mengele was most known for his vile selection duties.
This photo is an example of one of the selections at Auschwitz that was taken in 1944. Specifically these prisoners are Hungarian Jews.