We would like to thank Crown Family Philanthropies and the Abe and Ida Cooper Foundation for supporting the ongoing work to create content and resources for the Holocaust Encyclopedia. View the list of all donors.
![Women survivors huddled in a prisoner barracks shortly after Soviet forces liberated the Auschwitz camp. [LCID: 31450b]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/thumb/8fdec1b8-47fa-40f1-9a27-06e7262bad5e.jpg.pagespeed.ce.gnMcUJQXDC.jpg)
Featured Article
Auschwitz
The largest of its kind, the Auschwitz camp complex was essential to carrying out the Nazi plan for the "Final Solution." Auschwitz left its mark as one of the most infamous camps of the Holocaust.
Must Reads
![View of a section of the barbed-wire fence and barracks at Auschwitz at the time of the liberation of the camp. [LCID: 11058]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/thumb/389b1f5e-c012-466b-bed2-73111a783f19.jpg.pagespeed.ce.fePa0TRUgY.jpg)
![Adolf Hitler poses with his cabinet shortly after assuming power as chancellor of Germany. [LCID: 79487]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/thumb/1b9f0457-bda2-4b6f-8fae-9a13eff86f8b.jpg.pagespeed.ce.UYh6YATFdc.jpg)
![Illustration from an antisemitic children's primer. [LCID: 10640c]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/thumb/4c6348d1-d3e6-4be3-aae5-b12761f4f20a.jpg.pagespeed.ce.ZYVA_641w6.jpg)
![Jews are forced into boxcars destined for the Belzec killing center. [LCID: 63444]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/thumb/eae02616-41b4-4697-9938-c1648fb6ea14.jpg.pagespeed.ce.Ie88eOPs6G.jpg)
Explore the Encyclopedia
ID Cards
Explore the ID Cards to learn more about personal experiences during the Holocaust
Browse A-Z
Find articles, photos, maps, films, and more listed alphabetically
Discussion Questions
How and why was the Holocaust possible?