This Month In History: January

Written by Lauren Ko 

• Auschwitz Is Liberated.

Auschwitz was the largest concentration camp built by the Nazis. It was known for its brutal conditions and its gassing. On January 27th, 1945, it was liberated, and the prisoners were free, but this was not without its costs. At Auschwitz, some of the worst brutality throughout the war was committed. Auschwitz was located in Poland and consisted of three main camps. More than 1.1 million people died at Auschwitz, 1 million of those being Jews sent straight to the gas chamber. 

In 1944, Auschwitz was running at max capacity, but the war elsewhere wasn’t going too great for the Nazis. The Soviets were close, and many knew it wouldn’t be long before they reached Auschwitz. Many camps started to move the prisoners to other camps that were farther from the fighting, so they wouldn’t be able to testify against the officers and the crimes they committed. In July of 1944, the first concentration camp, Majdanek, was liberated, which caused the officers to panic even more, so they started destroying the evidence of their crimes. They destroyed the lists of Jewish prisoners who had died or been gassed, and they destroyed transport lists, but kept records on the current Jewish prisoners in hopes that Auschwitz would continue to run. 

Between October to December 1944, there were more prisoners going out of Auschwitz than there were going in. The remaining prisoners realized that the officers were going to try and murder them since they were evidence of the genocide committed. They revolted, most were killed, and the survivors were put back to work. The Nazis began dismantling the camp, starting with the crematoriums. The supplies were then shipped to Germany. The officers considered the prisoners the last piece of evidence that needed to be destroyed, so they were forced to go on a death march, where, for six days, 58,000 prisoners would leave camp on foot. They marched 63 kilometres before being loaded into cattle carts. 

With most of the prisoners gone, the officers blew up many of the buildings, attempting to cover their tracks. There were 8,000 remaining prisoners at the camp either couldn’t walk or were too sick to participate in the death march. With the camp abandoned many prisoners had to scavenge for food, but they helped each other as they waited on liberation. The Soviets closed in on the camp and were shot at by the remaining officers. When the army entered they saw horrible things, frozen corpses stacked on top of one another and former prisoners looking like walking skeletons. 

An investigation by the Polish authorities was conducted in 1945 and 1946 into the brutalities that happened at Auschwitz, which led to many of the officers working there being arrested. Today we remember those we were able to return home, but we also remember those who never did and the brutalities that they faced. 

• Debut Of The First iPhone.

On January 9th 2007 Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone, one of the most transformative pieces of technology in the 21st century. Before the iPhone there was no mobile that had done what the iPhone did. Phones were usually just used for calling, simple texting and very simple web browsing. Mobile devices back in the era were often very limited. People carried around devices based on what they needed. An MP3 player for music, a digital camera for photography and a personal digital assistant for basic productivity. A device that combined all these things was unheard of. 

The iPhone was introduced at the Macworld convention in San Francisco. Steve Jobs called it a  “revolutionary and magical product that is literally five years ahead of any other mobile phone” And that it was. Six months later when the phone went on sale it was a huge success. People lined up in front of apple stores in order to be the first person to buy an iPhone. When it debuted it cost $499 for the 4 GB model and $599 for the 8GB model. By November of 2007, more than 1.4 million iPhones had been sold. Soon the iPhone went global, with it debuting in Europe and Asia in 2007 and 2008. Today iPhones are quite common, but with a new one coming out every year they’ve lost some of their novelty. But back in 2000 this was a revolutionary invention, something that had never been done before. 

• Queen Victoria Dies.

On January 22nd 1901 Queen Victoria died at the age of 81. She was an influential queen who reigned for 63 years. Queen Victoria was born on May 24th 1819 to Edward, Duke of Kent and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg Saalfeld. At age 18 she became queen since her uncles who were next in line for the throne had no children and the old King, William IV died. In 1840 she married her husband Prince Albert three years after becoming queen. Together Victoria and Albert had 9 children, who went on to marry more royal families. She is so famous because during her reign the British Empire expanded significantly. She also restored the image of the crown after the unpopular reign of her uncles. She also embraced change. She supported a number of charities focused on education and health. In the 19th century the world was also changing in technology and she embraced and prompted these technologies. Her life was not without its hardships though. In 1861 her husband died at the age of 42. She was deeply hurt and wore black for the rest of her reign and for many years she limited her public appearances. 

Queen Victoria was a very popular and influential ruler who started many trends. One important trend was the white wedding dress. Before her wedding, many people wore their best dress, regardless of the colour. After Queen Victoria wore white at her wedding, it became fashionable for brides to wear white as well. She also helped make Christmas trees popular. Queen Victoria’s husband was German, and Christmas trees came from Germany. When the royal family began decorating their palaces with Christmas trees, many other people started doing the same. Queen Victoria died at the age of 81 from a stroke. She is remembered as one of the most influential queens in British history.

Bibliography:

• “The Liberation of Auschwitz”, The National WWII Museum New Orleans, Published January 27th 2025. Accessed December 10th 2025.

•  “Auschwitz”, Holocaust Encyclopedia, Published March 16th 2015. Accessed December 10th 2025. 

• “Steve Jobs debuts the iPhone”, This Day In HISTORY, Published May 27th 2025. Accessed December 10th 2025.

• “Victoria (r. 1837-1901)”, Royal.uk. Accessed December 10th 2025.