Auschwitz was a complex of concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany during World War II. Located in occupied Poland, it became one of the most notorious symbols of the Holocaust, where millions of Jews, Romani people, and other targeted groups were systematically murdered. The camp consisted of three main parts: Auschwitz I, the administrative center; Auschwitz II-Birkenau, the extermination camp; and Auschwitz III-Monowitz, a labor camp. Established in 1940, it was liberated by Soviet forces in January 1945, revealing the horrific conditions and atrocities committed there.