Auschwitz Received First Prisoners on May 20, 1940

On May 20, 1940, the first group of 30 prisoners arrived at the newly established Auschwitz concentration camp from Sachsenhausen. Approved by Heinrich Himmler and overseen by Rudolf Höss, the camp would become the largest complex of concentration and extermination camps created by Nazi Germany during World War II and the Holocaust.

Approximately 1.3 million people were sent to Auschwitz, with around 1.1 million murdered—primarily Jews, but also Poles, Roma, and Soviet prisoners. The camp was liberated on January 27, 1945, a date now recognized as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Also on this date in history: In 1946, Cher, the "Goddess of Pop," was born in California; in 1988, Romanian doctor Ana Aslan, inventor of the anti-aging drug Gerovital H3, died; and in 1990, Romania held its first free elections since World War II, won by Ion Iliescu and the FSN. Actor Ion Dichiseanu died on May 20, 2021.