Packages of hair shorn from Auschwitz prisoners. These packages were weighed, labeled, and prepared for shipment out of the camp. This photograph was taken after Soviet forces liberated the Auschwitz camp complex in January 1945.
During World War II, Nazi German authorities collected hair shorn from concentration camp prisoners and from Jewish women murdered in the gas chambers of killing centers. Camp authorities shipped the hair to German companies, which used it to manufacture felt, yarn (thread), fabric (haircloth), stockings, and socks.
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