https://padlet.com/maham_saleem/o8kt3gn9n22n Maham Saleem en-us 2017-11-21 16:39:42 UTC 2025-11-24 11:50:24 UTC hello@padlet.com maham_saleem https://padlet.com/maham_saleem/o8kt3gn9n22n/wish/209177356 The layout of the camp was set out in such a way that all housing units looked completely identical (in Auschwitz I).In these "cabins" many prisoners were forced to stay in cramped spaces with hundreds of other prisoners. A short distance away from Auschwitz I, was Birkenau, there resided 800 prisoners and an extension of work camps for people to work, and even father away was Auschwitz II, which was just a larger scale version of Auschwitz I]]> 2017-11-21 16:49:41 UTC https://padlet.com/maham_saleem/o8kt3gn9n22n/wish/209177356 maham_saleem https://padlet.com/maham_saleem/o8kt3gn9n22n/wish/209181561 Some of the jobs that were held in Auschwitz were mostly skill-based jobs.  jobs such as people who work with metals, shoes, and repairing. Prisoners who were previously skilled in such areas were given these types of jobs and were expected to perform the jobs to the expectations that the guards wanted. In exchange for work, the prisoners would get food. However, the food was not fit for them to gain energy from or be able to replenish them. Sometimes the food was given in larger amount to those who did work that directly benefited the guards, as was the case for Vladek, when he fixed the shoes of a guard who then gave him a whole sausage. ]]> 2017-11-21 16:59:00 UTC https://padlet.com/maham_saleem/o8kt3gn9n22n/wish/209181561 maham_saleem https://padlet.com/maham_saleem/o8kt3gn9n22n/wish/209313060 From my own understanding, the way that prisoners survived consisted of three main methods, which were creating alliances with other prisoners, saving essential items in case of an emergency or other situations, and trying your best to stay out of trouble/out of sight from guards.
Creating alliances with other prisoners would be a way to survive because it creates a fall back system, although you may not be able to 100% trust other people, you can at least have a way to look out for each other, especially in a time where you're on the brink of death.
Saving essentials, such as clothing items, food, luxuries (the prisoners were given cigarettes), etc, would prove helpful in the future in case you need to barter with other prisoners to get what you need. This also goes back to the idea of creating alliances because you probably wouldn't trade items with a complete stranger who could possibly double-cross you by telling guards and potentially get you in trouble. Saving items could also be helpful in case you need specific items when you don't have them. For example, if you save small pieces of cloth over time, you could possibly have enough to sow a small blanket by the time winter came around, a simpler example could, however, be to just save small bits of food in case you ever go extremely hungry
Trying your best to stay out of trouble, and/or out of sight from guards would be an important survival method because you could build a reputation as someone who wasn't someone who causes too many issues and followed the rules. And by doing this you could be ignored by guards if you're lucky.]]> 2017-11-22 02:03:59 UTC https://padlet.com/maham_saleem/o8kt3gn9n22n/wish/209313060 maham_saleem https://padlet.com/maham_saleem/o8kt3gn9n22n/wish/209317761 In my opinion, the three most terrifying aspects of Auschwitz would be:
1. How easily people could turn on you just to save themselves, even though I said that creating alliances with others is good, completely trusting people could potentially harm you just as bad as if you decided not to make alliances. An example of this would be how Anja was snitched on by people that she knew when she was seen talking to Vladek. So in that same way, the fact that you need to put that much caution into simply wanting to create alliances, in fear of being outed is terrifying. 
2.  The fact that at any unexpected moment you could be killed because of either something you didn't know was wrong or because you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time is a terrifying thought to think of, but it was basically what the camps were based on.
3. If you have no previous work experience in any field that proves beneficial to the Nazis, you would clearly be seen as useless and probably be killed off way quicker than someone who would be experienced. Which was probably why children and elderly would be gassed/died faster than someone who held a job and died from starvation or exposure, or also be gassed. This is a terrifying thought to consider because you come to a place where you are sent to die, but if you just happen to have work experience, you get a chance at life and the millions of people who could never have thought that something like this could happen in their lives, immediately regret never taking work experience that could have saved them for even a few months longer when they came to Auschwitz.

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