Treatment of Jews 1942-45

- During the years 1942-45, the persecution had increased dramatically. - The war turned persecution to mass murder and genocide, and over 6

million Jews, including people who the Nazis wanted to get rid of were murdered.

Conditions in campsThe concentration camps were like “Hell on Earth”. Even the journey was pure torture. When the people arrived at concentration camps they were split into two

columns. One column was for the people fit enough to do pointless slave labour, and the other column was for the lame and useless. The group of healthy and strong

individuals was made to do hard, laborious job throughout the day. They were beaten inhumanly if they failed to perform their daily tasks or made an error. The camps

were all secured with electric fences and SS guards so there was no chance for escape. There were cramped living spaces and there were also strict daily routines.

The Jews had lost complete rights as German citizens because of the Nuremburg law so therefore they had numbers tattooed on them.

ExterminationMethods of extermination originally began with random shooting. However this method was distressing and inefficient as it was a waste of effort, time and ammunition, especially when Germany was at war. So, the last

policy was “the final solution” where their aim was to kill ALL Jews in Europe using concentration camps. This was decided at the conference at Wansee, January 1942.

With terrible conditions at the concentration camps deadly diseases spread easily. People were forced to do hard slave labour such as working in mines or factories. The hard work and no reward or food caused many deaths but

also because of how weak they all became. Sources which back this up is that 4 crematoria with facilities to dispose large numbers of bodies were built at

Auschwitz-Birkenau. This shows that they were planning on a large number of deaths.Another source shows us that the Nazis made a ‘selection’ of prisoners when they arrived, this showed us how they

wanted to kill them and how they decided who to kill.

Gas chambers: Those selected to be gassed were told they would be cleaned and de-loused in the showers. A large number of people were piled inside a chamber. The guards would then use

“Zyklon B” which were pellets inside a can which then mixes with oxygen and turns poisonous. At the end of the gassing there would be a pyramid of bodies which tells us how people would

fight for air at the small gap at the top of the chamber.Starvation: The people were given basic rations and millions would starve to death.

Suffocation: Cattle trucks were a mode of transport and they had no windows or Labour: The people well enough were forced to do slave labour. This used a lot of effort and

energy and moreover had no food.Medical Experiments: People were used for medical experiments which included experimenting

to create the perfect Aryan type, the ‘master race’

Methods of Extermination

Slave Labour

Prisoners were to do jobs, this included;• Bury the dead bodies• Remove items from bodies• Dig ditches• Work in factories• Operate machinery• Unload gravel & coal from trains• Those who could not complete their work were killed or brutally punished.• Every month there would be a selection and the weaker workers would be sent off to be

killed.

“In January 1945, over 58,000 prisoners were forced to leave Auschwitz camp and marched to other concentration camps in Germany”. This shows how they transported prisoners so they could work in other

camps.Other evidence shows us from the map that they had hospitals in camps, bakeries and small mines where the

prisoners would work.

ConclusionIn conclusion we believe extermination was the main objective of the concentration camps. Although slave labour was a large contribution to

the camps, we have found out that one of the methods of extermination was working to death. Another reason was that there is a lot of evidence

of gas chambers and graves at the camps.

However, it is impossible to come up with a clear conclusion as there are many different sources of evidence supporting each argument. It also depends on each camp you look at as there were separate camps that

focused on one subject, work or extermination.