Germans Stop Gassings at Auschwitz

The last gassings in Auschwitz took place in early November. On November 3, 509 Jews were transported to Auschwitz from the labor camp in Sered, Slovakia, and 481 were gassed upon arrival. Shortly afterwards, the gassings were halted by direct order of Heinrich Himmler. Later that month and in December, the technical fixtures in the gas chambers and Crematoria 1 and 2 were dismantled for relocation to the Gross-Rosen camp. Special Sonderkommando units, composed of male and female prisoners, were ordered to clean out the crematorium pits, fill them with human ash from the crematoria, cover them up with soil, and plant the area with grass.