Yitzhak Balsam was just under 15 years old when Germany invaded Poland in September 1939. Like other Jewish men in Praszka, he was forced to build roads outside of town. Yitzhak was later deported to several camps, including Auschwitz, and was imprisoned with 60 men after attempting to escape from a death march. He was later sent to Mauthausen for forced labor and to the Gunskirchen camp to die. In May 1945, he was liberated.
These maps add geographic context to Yitzhak's experience.
![Poland, 1933 [LCID: pol19010]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/76d5ee55-e22a-47e6-b0a3-6a9addda8f24.gif "Poland, 1933 [LCID: pol19010]")
![German invasion of Poland, September 1939 [LCID: pol81270]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/6f64cd83-2013-4aa2-9574-2421cdbde257.gif "German invasion of Poland, September 1939 [LCID: pol81270]")
![Killing centers in occupied Poland, Auschwitz indicated [LCID: auc72090]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/e5cff139-fe9b-4da7-a7fd-58856674718d.gif "Killing centers in occupied Poland, Auschwitz indicated [LCID: auc72090]")
![Auschwitz environs, summer 1944 [LCID: auc42030]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/341a5fd2-ed4d-4067-b988-f7b0fe940fdb.gif "Auschwitz environs, summer 1944 [LCID: auc42030]")
Auschwitz was the largest camp established by the Germans. It was a complex of camps, including a concentration, extermination, and forced-labor camp. It was located at the town of Oswiecim near the prewar German-Polish border in Eastern Upper Silesia, an area annexed to Germany in 1939. Auschwitz I was the main camp and the first camp established at Oswiecim. Auschwitz II (Birkenau) was the killing center at Auschwitz. Trains arrived at Auschwitz-Birkenau almost daily with transports of Jews from virtually every German-occupied country of Europe. Auschwitz III, also called Buna or Monowitz, was established in Monowice to provide forced laborers for nearby factories, including the I.G. Farben works. At least 1.1 million Jews were killed in Auschwitz. Other victims included between 70,000 and 75,000 Poles, 21,000 Roma, and about 15,000 Soviet prisoners of war.
Item View![Major death marches from Auschwitz, January 1945 [LCID: auc72080]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/04d8c8d8-53fe-4d04-b3fb-438c2fab113b.gif "Major death marches from Auschwitz, January 1945 [LCID: auc72080]")
![Major Nazi camps in Europe, Mauthausen indicated [LCID: mau72070]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/c74f6097-7576-440f-8a61-fd733727071d.gif "Major Nazi camps in Europe, Mauthausen indicated [LCID: mau72070]")
![Mauthausen environs, April 1945 [LCID: mau42030]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/8c60c10d-cc85-44a0-ab7b-9c5f88e3d54d.gif "Mauthausen environs, April 1945 [LCID: mau42030]")
A map of the Mauthausen concentration camp environs in April 1945.
Item View![Mauthausen concentration camp, April 1945 [LCID: mau22042]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/70436bda-a6c8-4d1f-ae6b-b4b35d6b3594.gif "Mauthausen concentration camp, April 1945 [LCID: mau22042]")
A map of the Mauthausen concentration camp in April 1945.
Item View![Major camps in Austria, Gunskirchen indicated [LCID: gun72020]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/5ea114bc-cd0a-4c52-a5d4-296066c0e540.gif "Major camps in Austria, Gunskirchen indicated [LCID: gun72020]")
We would like to thank Crown Family Philanthropies, Abe and Ida Cooper Foundation, the Claims Conference, EVZ, and BMF for supporting the ongoing work to create content and resources for the Holocaust Encyclopedia. View the list of donor acknowledgement.
