The Liberation of Auschwitz | Facing History & Ourselves
Video

The Liberation of Auschwitz

This footage is among the most famous scenes from the liberation of Auschwitz—a group of surviving children now under the care of nurses.
Last Updated:

At a Glance

video copy
Video

Language

English — US

Subject

  • History
  • The Holocaust

The Liberation of Auschwitz

Among the 2,819 liberated Auschwitz inmates, there were 180 children. 52 of them were under eight years of age. How could they survive this hell? They managed to survive because they were wanted for medical research, instead of mice and rabbits.

But the German murderers with medical degrees were only keen on a particular kind of children. They wanted to experiment on twins. Twins were the special research material of Dr. Mengele and Dr. Schmidt. Children who did not belong to that category were simply murdered. The infants were known by the numbers on their little hands.

The Liberation of Auschwitz

Credit:
Footage courtesy of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

You might also be interested in…

The resources I’m getting from my colleagues through Facing History have been just invaluable.
— Claudia Bautista, Santa Monica, Calif