Initially envisioned as a small labor camp for dissenters, Auschwitz was a low priority for the Nazi elite. When Hitler invaded Russia, an influx of Russian Jews, Communists, and POWs forced the Nazis to develop new ways to deal with their undesirables.

Auschwitz was over-capacity and more people were arriving every day. In order to maintain efficiency, Commandant Rudolf Höss ordered expansions to the camp. Plans for the Final Solution to "the Jewish Problem" are made as the horrors at Auschwitz continue.

Deported Jews arrive in Auschwitz by the trainload; prisoners not immediately sent to the gas chambers face other horrors in the camp.