Extermination camp

Quick Facts: Who was Extermination camp?

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Extermination camp

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Systematic killing centers established by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust.

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2Day Chrono-Wiki & Primary Historical Archives

Origins & Early Life

Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (German: Vernichtungslager), also called death camps (Todeslager), or killing centers (Tötungszentren), in Central Europe, primarily in German-occupied Poland, during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million people—mainly Jews—in the Holocaust. The victims of death camps were primarily murdered by gassing, either in permanent installations constructed for this specific purpose, or by means of gas vans. The six extermination camps were Chełmno, Bełżec, Sobibor, Treblinka, Majdanek and Auschwitz-Birkenau. Extermination through labour was also used at the Auschwitz and Majdanek death camps. Millions were also murdered in concentration camps, in the Aktion T4, or directly on site.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Additionally, camps operated by Nazi allies have also been described as extermination or death camps, most notably the Jasenovac concentration camp in the Independent State of Croatia. The National Socialists made no secret of the existence of concentration camps as early as 1933, as they served as a deterrent to resistance. The extermination camps, on the other hand, were kept strictly secret. To disguise the mass murder, even in internal correspondence, they only referred to it as "special treatment," "cleansing," "resettlement," or "evacuation." The SS referred to the extermination camps as concentration camps. Their internal organizational structures were also largely identical.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The term "extermination camp" was only used later in historical scholarship and in court cases and serves to further categorize the camps. The idea of mass extermination with the use of stationary facilities, to which the victims were taken by train, was the result of earlier Nazi experimentation with chemically manufactured poison gas during the secretive Aktion T4 euthanasia programme against hospital patients with mental and physical disabilities. The technology was adapted, expanded, and applied in wartime to unsuspecting victims of many ethnic and national groups; the Jews were the primary target, accounting for over 90 percent of extermination camp victims. The genocide of the Jews of Europe was Nazi Germany's "Final Solution to the Jewish question". After the invasion of Poland in September 1939, the secret Aktion T4 euthanasia programme – the systematic murder of German, Austrian and Polish hospital patients with mental or physical disabilities authorized by Hitler – was initiated by the SS in order to eliminate "life unworthy of life" (German: Lebensunwertes Leben), a Nazi designation for people who they considered to have no right to life.

Chronological Milestones & Life Events

1. 1933: 1933 Milestone — The National Socialists made no secret of the existence of concentration camps as early as 1933, as they served as a deterrent to resistance.
2. 1939: 1939 Milestone — After the invasion of Poland in September 1939, the secret Aktion T4 euthanasia programme – the systematic murder of German, Austrian and Polish hospital patients with mental or physical disabilities authorized by Hitler – was initiated by the SS in order to eliminate "life unworthy of life" (German: Lebensunwertes Leben), a Nazi designation for people who they considered to have no right to life.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Extermination camp

True or False: “The term 'extermination camp' was used by Nazi officials openly and frequently in their internal correspondence.”

Answer (FALSE ❌): Nazi officials deliberately concealed the mass murder, referring to it euphemistically as 'special treatment,' 'cleansing,' or 'resettlement.'

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• 13th Dalai Lama — Historical peer (Died in 1933) (1933): Spiritual leader of Tibet who championed national independence and modernization.
• Abolhassan Banisadr — Historical peer (Born in 1933) (1933): Iranian politician who served as the first president following the Islamic Revolution.
• Ada Yonath — Historical peer (Born in 1939) (1939): Pioneering crystallographer known for elucidating the structure and function of the ribosome.
• Alan Ayckbourn — Historical peer (Born in 1939) (1939): Prolific British playwright and director known for domestic farce and ensemble pieces.

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