23. Often the prisoners’ labor was building the camp in which they were housed
When Auschwitz opened in June 1940, the camp was limited to a half-dozen two-story, Polish army barracks and 14 single-story structures. One of the first jobs of the prisoners during their forced labor was the addition of second stories to the smaller buildings. In the spring of 1941, the prisoners built eight additional buildings. When completed, the existing camp was designed to hold about 700 prisoners. Unfortunately, it was already occupied by 1,200. Until bunks were added, the prisoners slept on the floors on straw mattresses. These were taken up in piles during the work day.
The practice of using the prisoners as slave labor to build their own prison continued throughout the expansion of Auschwitz-Birkenau. And was used by other camps. Once the camps were large enough, earlier arrivals were often executed and replaced with new prisoners. The new prisoners continued to expand and operate the camp, or were hired out as slave labor to German manufacturers or construction projects. The commercial industries which hired slave labor from the camps paid them wages. But these were lower than those paid civilian workers. In any case, the wages were not to the laborer, but to the SS.