19
October 1941, about 12,000 Soviet prisoners of war (POWs) had been deported to Sachsenhausen, 11,000-18,000
of which were killed at the camp. In total, approximately 30,000 inmates died at Sachsenhausen, from a
combination of murder, exhaustion, disease, malnutrition, or pneumonia.
Synagogue
A synagogue is the building where a Jewish congregation meets for religious observance and instruction. It is the
equivalent of a Christian church or a Muslim mosque. The term comes from the Greek word for “assembly.”
Synagogues can also be referred to as temples.
Tattoos
During the Holocaust, concentration camp prisoners received tattoos only at the Auschwitz concentration camp
complex. Authorities introduced the practice of tattooing in order to identify the bodies of registered prisoners who
had died.
Originally, a metal stamp holding interchangeable numbers made up of needles approximately one centimeter long
was used. This allowed the whole serial number to be punched in one blow onto the prisoner's left upper region of
the chest. Ink was then rubbed into the wound. When the metal stamp method proved impractical, a single-needle
device, which pierced the outlines of the serial-number digits onto the skin, was introduced. The site of the tattoo
was changed from the chest to the outer side of the left
forearm. Some Jewish prisoners had a triangle tattooed
beneath their serial number.
Authorities introduced new sequences of numbers in May
1944. This series, prefaced by the letter A, began with “1”
and ended at “20,000.” Once the number 20,000 was
reached, a new series beginning with “B” series was
introduced. Some 15,000 men received “B” series tattoos.
For an unknown reason, the “A” series for women did not
stop at 20,000 and continued to 30,000. Beginning in
February 1943, authorities issued two separate series of
numbers to Roma prisoners registered at Auschwitz: one for
the men and one for the women. Roma prisoners were given
the letter Z (“Zigeuner” is German for Gypsy) in addition to
the serial number.
Luigi Ferri shows the prisoner number tattooed on his arm
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
