Block 11 was the name of a brick building in
Auschwitz I
Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed int ...
, the ''Stammlager'' or main camp of the
Auschwitz concentration camp network. This block was used for executions and
torture
Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts ...
. Between
Block 10 and Block 11 stood the "Death Wall" (reconstructed after the war) where thousands of prisoners were lined up for execution by firing squad.
[Block No. 11.]
Jewish Virtual Library
The block contained special
s in which various punishments were applied to prisoners. Some could include being locked in a dark chamber for several days or being forced to stand in one of four
standing cells called "Stehzelle" in German.
Auschwitz-Birkenau - Punishments and executions.
Auschwitz.org Punishment in these special compartments (one square metre each, with a hole 5x5 cm for breathing), consisted of confining four prisoners, who were forced by the lack of space to remain standing all night for up to twenty nights, while still being forced to work during the day.
It was at Block 11 that the first attempts to kill people with Zyklon B were implemented in September 1941.
Interrogations
Prisoner interrogations involving extreme torture were also conducted within Block 11, often with use of the " Boger Swing" device, (''Boger-Schaukel'') invented by Wilhelm Boger
Wilhelm Friedrich Boger (19 December 1906 – 3 April 1977) known as "The Tiger of Auschwitz" was a German police commissioner and concentration camp overseer. He was infamous for the appalling crimes which he had committed at Auschwitz ...
, an SS officer who served within Auschwitz's Political Department.
See also
* Auschwitz concentration camp
References
External links
*
{{Coord, 50.0251, N, 19.2035, E, source:wikidata, display=title
Auschwitz concentration camp