Prisoners at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Iconic photo - c. 1942
Silver gelatin print
Condition good/very good (The photo shows a white reflection of the lamp - this is not a damage to the photo)
18 x 24.3 cm
Very rare photo

A powerful visual, historical, and symbolic document from one of the most decisive moments of the 20th century.

Inmates building the Krupp factory in Auschwitz, 1921-43. Other companies, such as IG Farben, IBM or Siemens, also benefited from the slave labour in the camp.

Although at the Auschwitz gate the well-known inscription ‘Arbeit macht frei’ (‘Work sets free’) could be read, this was only a macabre metaphor used by Nazis.

For the work imposed to inmates had a clear goal–the extermination of Jews, Poles, Soviet POWs and others deemed enemies to the Reich.

Auschwitz female and male prisoners were forced to work at a frenzied pace during working days of more than 11 hours with barely no rest or tools.

They performed a range of very diverse tasks, such as loading heavy materials, mining, producing chemicals, weapons and fuel or building infrastructures. Other forced chores very common at the camp were the sorting of the belongings robbed to prisoners or the incineration of bodies in the crematoria.

As World War II protracted and the German army began to draw back at the front, the SS decided, nonetheless, to obtain more benefit from these ‘assets’ in order to propel the German war machinery.

So, it began to ‘rent’ the people confined in Auschwitz as cheap workforce to private companies that paid a nominal fee to the German Nazi state in exchange for their exploitation.

During those exhausting working days, when the prisoners were attacked constantly with blows and screams, death from fatigue or work accidents were commonplace.

(Auschwitz Memorial)

Highly Valuable Historical Collectible

A direct visual record of one of the most iconic moments of WWII.
Rare in this format and with such clarity.
Ideal for collectors of military history, war photography, World War II memorabilia, or historical archives.
Also suitable for museums, research institutions, or thematic exhibitions.

A direct window into history. This original D-Day photograph doesn’t just show soldiers landing on the French coast — it captures bravery, sacrifice, and the true scale of a war that changed the world. A rare and deeply moving historical piece.

Ideal for:

World War II collectors

Historical archives or museums

Lovers of diplomatic and military history