Nazi Killing Centers: An Overview

During World War II, Nazi Germany created five killing centers for the sole purpose of murdering Jewish people on a mass scale using poisonous gas. These killing centers were Chełmno (Kulmhof), Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, and Auschwitz-Birkenau. In English, Nazi killing centers are sometimes referred to as “extermination camps” or “death camps.”

The Nazis created these five killing centers as part of the “Final Solution”—the Nazi plan to murder Europe’s Jews. In late 1941 and early 1942, Nazi German authorities began to murder Jews in gas chambers at killing centers. The Nazis had previously used gas chambers to murder people with disabilities in T4 killing centers.  

Of the six million Jewish people murdered by the Nazis and their partners in the Holocaust, approximately 2.7 million of them were murdered at the five killing centers. Most of the victims were murdered using poisonous gas, but a smaller number of Jews were also murdered at the killing centers through deprivation, disease, torture, and shootings. While the details of the killing process differed between killing centers, in all cases the Nazis deceived, terrorized, and dehumanized their victims before murdering them.  

Before the Mass Murder of Jews: The T4 Killing Centers for the Murder of People with Disabilities

In the first months of World War II, Nazi authorities established killing facilities as part of the mass murder of people with disabilities. Specifically, these killing facilities were part of the Euthanasia Program, also called “Operation T4” (Aktion T4). These killing facilities are also referred to as “killing centers.” Nazi German authorities created six T4 killing centers: Grafeneck, Brandenburg, Hartheim, Sonnenstein, Bernburg, and Hadamar. The T4 administrators used pure, chemically created carbon monoxide gas to asphyxiate patients. 

Nazi German authorities began murdering people with disabilities at the T4 killing centers in January 1940. The Euthanasia Program was officially halted in August 1941. By this time, Nazi authorities had murdered about 70,000 people with disabilities in the gas chambers of the T4 killing centers. However, they later continued to murder people with disabilities by other means, including drug overdoses, lethal injection, and starvation. In total, the Nazis murdered about 250,000–300,000 people with disabilities in the Euthanasia Program and other killing actions. 

In 1941, the Nazis began to use three of the T4 killing centers to murder certain concentration camp prisoners as part of a secret killing program known as Aktion 14f13. Eventually, the Nazi authorities dismantled the gas chambers at the T4 killing centers. Numerous T4 staff members later served as personnel in the killing centers of Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka.

Photo

Hartheim castle “euthanasia” killing center (Photo)

Hartheim castle, a “euthanasia” killing center where people with physical and mental disabilities were killed by gassing and lethal injection. Hartheim, Austria, date uncertain.

Credits:

• US Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Andras Tsagatakis

• View Archival Details

The Creation of Killing Centers for the Mass Murder of Jews

Nazi killing centers took on their most extreme form in the genocide of Europe’s Jews. 

In 1941–1942, the Nazis created five killing centers for the sole purpose of murdering Jewish people on a mass scale using poisonous gas. In fall 1941, construction began on the killing centers of Chełmno (Kulmhof) and Belzec. Then, in spring–summer 1942, the Nazis built three more killing centers: Sobibor, Treblinka, and Auschwitz-Birkenau. All five killing centers were located in German-occupied Poland, which was home to millions of Jewish people. By the end of 1942, the Nazis had murdered more than 1.5 million Jews at these killing centers. 

The SS and police under SS leader Heinrich Himmler created and administered all five killing centers. However, the killing centers fell under several different SS and police administrative structures. They were located in several different jurisdictions of German-occupied Poland. In all cases, SS and police officials served as the commandants and senior staff of the killing centers. Guard forces varied by camp.

Deportations of Jews to Killing Centers

The Germans and their helpers transported Jewish people to killing centers from within German-occupied Poland and from all over Europe. Deportation transports to killing centers usually took place by train, but in some cases by truck or ship. They often included entire families and sometimes entire communities. Even before arriving at the killing centers, victims were subjected to overcrowded and inhumane conditions. The perpetrators frequently denied them food, water, medical care, and bathroom facilities. Elderly people, sick people, and infants sometimes died on the transports. When Jewish people arrived at the killing centers, they were often weakened from the journey and terrified of what was to come. 

The Fate of Jews at the Killing Centers

Almost all of the Jewish people deported to the killing centers were murdered immediately upon arrival. Most were murdered in gas chambers. Others were shot. Some Jews were taken into forced labor before they were killed.

Gas Chambers at the Killing Centers

From December 1941 to late 1944, Nazi mass gassings of Jewish people in killing centers took place at a shocking pace and scale. The first mass gassing of Jews at a Nazi killing center occurred at Chełmno (Kulmhof) on December 8, 1941.

The type of gas used for mass murder at the killing centers varied. At Chełmno, the Nazis used carbon monoxide produced by the engines of gas vans. At Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka, the Nazis murdered their victims with carbon monoxide gas produced by stationary diesel engines. And, at Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Nazis used lethal gas produced by exposing pellets of Zyklon B (a pesticide) to air. Victims suffered an inhumane, terrifying, and painful death in the gas chambers.

Jewish Forced Labor at Killing Centers

The perpetrators forced small numbers of Jewish prisoners to help carry out the killing process. These forced laborers had to sort victims’ belongings, search corpses for valuables, and dispose of corpses in mass graves or crematoria, among other tasks. In all of the killing centers except Chełmno, the forced laborers had to shave the victims’ heads. The SS treated the Jewish prisoners at the killing centers with extreme cruelty and violence. Most did not survive for very long. A small number of these Jewish prisoners escaped. Their descriptions of the killing centers are invaluable sources of information on Nazi crimes. 

Chełmno (Kulmhof): The First Killing Center for the Mass Murder of Jews 

The killing center at Chełmno (Kulmhof in German) was the first of the five killing centers to start operation. It was established by German authorities in the Warthegau, a region of German-occupied Poland. The Nazis created Chełmno specifically to murder Jews from the Warthegau whom the Nazis deemed incapable of work. The German authorities operated Chełmno in two periods. The first period was from December 1941 to April 1943. The second period was from June 1944 to January 1945. At Chełmno, the Nazis murdered people in gas chambers in the back of large vans using carbon monoxide produced by the vans’ engines. 

The Nazis murdered at least 156,300 people at the Chełmno killing center. At least 152,000 of these victims were Jews. The overwhelming majority were Polish Jews from the Warthegau, including tens of thousands from Łódź. Approximately 4,300 of the victims were Roma (derogatorily referred to as “Gypsies”). An undetermined number of non-Jewish (ethnic) Poles and Soviet prisoners of war were also murdered at Chełmno. 

Only seven Jewish men are known to have escaped the Chełmno killing center. Of them, only six survived the Holocaust.

Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka: The Operation Reinhard Killing Centers

Three killing centers—Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka—were located in the General Government. The General Government was an administrative unit of German-occupied Poland that included the cities of Warsaw, Kraków, Radom, Lublin, and Lwów. The Jewish population of the General Government was large. It included the Warsaw Jewish community, which was the biggest in the world. 

In the fall of 1941, Nazi Germany began to implement “Operation Reinhard”—the Nazi plan to systematically murder Jews in the General Government.  SS and police authorities established Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka as part of Operation Reinhard. The Nazis deported Jewish people from throughout the General Government to these killing centers. There, they murdered them in gas chambers using carbon monoxide produced by stationary diesel engines. The Nazis also deported Jews from other parts of Europe to these killing centers.

At the Operation Reinhard killing centers, almost all of the prisoners were murdered immediately upon arrival. Very small numbers were kept alive and forced to work in the killing centers. Fewer than 200 people survived the Operation Reinhard killing centers.

Belzec Killing Center

Nazi German authorities began constructing Belzec on November 1, 1941. It was located in a rural area about 45 miles northwest of Lwów and just over 150 miles east of Kraków. From March through December 1942, the Nazis systematically murdered Jewish people at Belzec using carbon monoxide gas. Approximately 435,000 Jews were murdered at Belzec. Among them were Jews from ghettos in the Polish cities of Kraków, Lwów, and Lublin. At Belzec, the Nazis also murdered Jewish people from central Europe who had been deported to ghettos in the General Government. An unknown number of non-Jewish (ethnic) Poles and Roma were also killed there. The Nazis dismantled Belzec in June 1943 and attempted to cover up evidence of their crimes.

Only three men are known to have survived the Belzec killing center and the Holocaust.

Sobibor Killing Center

The Nazis operated the Sobibor killing center from April 1942 until mid-October 1943. It was located in a rural area approximately 46 miles west of the city of Lublin. At Sobibor, the Nazis murdered at least 167,000 Jews. Among those murdered there were Jews from the surrounding Lublin district. There were also Jewish victims deported from the Netherlands, Austria, and France who were killed at Sobibor. 

In October 1943, Jewish prisoners at Sobibor staged a revolt. Dozens of people managed to escape during the uprising and survive the Holocaust. The Nazis dismantled Sobibor after the revolt. They tried to destroy evidence of their crimes by disguising the site.

Treblinka Killing Center

From July 1942 through September 1943, the Nazis murdered approximately 925,000 Jewish people at the Treblinka killing center. Most were killed in the gas chambers using carbon monoxide gas. The Treblinka killing center (officially designated as Treblinka II) was not located near a major city. It was in a rural area approximately halfway between the cities of Warsaw and Białystok. Almost a third of those murdered at Treblinka were Jews from the Warsaw ghetto, most of whom were sent to Treblinka during the Great Action in summer 1942. Among those killed at Treblinka were Jews deported from Bulgarian-occupied Thrace and from the Theresienstadt ghetto. 

Jewish prisoners at Treblinka revolted on August 2, 1943. Dozens of Jews managed to escape and survive the Holocaust. In fall 1943, German authorities dismantled the Treblinka killing center and tried to disguise the site.

Other Camps Associated with Operation Reinhard

There were also other camps that the Nazis used as part of Operation Reinhard. 

Most notably, the Lublin concentration camp (known as “Majdanek”) served as a place to concentrate Jews who were temporarily spared from the killing centers in order to perform forced labor. German officials often sent Jews already chosen for labor to Majdanek. Occasionally, transports of Jews underwent a selection process at this camp. In those cases, German authorities murdered the Jews considered unfit for labor, either by shooting or in the camp’s gas chambers. The Majdanek camp also included a storage depot for plundered goods. There, the Nazis held property and valuables taken from the Jewish victims murdered at the three Operation Reinhard killing centers.

Another camp associated with Operation Reinhard was Trawniki. The Germans used the Trawniki camp for several purposes, including training police auxiliaries to serve as guards at Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka. 

Auschwitz-Birkenau Killing Center

The Nazis established the Auschwitz-Birkenau killing center in spring 1942. It was part of the larger Auschwitz concentration camp complex. Auschwitz-Birkenau was located near the town of Oświęcim in German-occupied Poland. The Auschwitz camp complex functioned as both a concentration camp for registered prisoners and as a killing center.

Auschwitz-Birkenau operated as a killing center from March 1942 until October/November 1944. SS officials typically carried out a selection process at Auschwitz. They sorted Jews from incoming transports into two groups: a smaller group of prisoners who would be exploited for forced labor and a much larger group of prisoners who would be killed immediately in gas chambers. At Auschwitz, the Nazis murdered Jewish people using hydrogen cyanide released from Zyklon B pellets. Prisoners chosen for forced labor worked in the Auschwitz camp, subcamps of Auschwitz, and in other Nazi camps. A small number of the prisoners chosen for forced labor were assigned to units called Sonderkommandos. Among other tasks, the Jewish prisoners in the Sonderkommando were forced to burn the bodies of murdered Jews in burning pits or crematoria. A group of Jewish Sonderkommando prisoners staged a revolt in October 1944, destroying one of the crematoria. 

Approximately one million Jewish people were murdered in the Auschwitz camp complex. The overwhelming majority were murdered in the gas chambers. Among the victims were Jews from nearby parts of German-occupied Poland and from the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, Hungary, Norway, Slovakia, Germany, Austria, Croatia, and the Czech lands. The Nazis also murdered some 70,000 non-Jewish (ethnic) Poles; about 21,000 Roma; about 15,000 Soviet POWs; and about 12,000 other people in the Auschwitz camp complex.

To try to hide the evidence of mass murder, the Nazis destroyed the remaining gas chambers at Auschwitz-Birkenau between November 1944 and January 1945. Soviet forces liberated a small number of prisoners in Auschwitz on January 27, 1945.

Tens of thousands of Jews survived deportation to Auschwitz-Birkenau because they were selected for forced labor. Most of the survivors were people who had been deported to Auschwitz in 1944. 

Photo

Hungarian Jews at Auschwitz-Birkenau (Photo)

Selection of Hungarian Jews at the Auschwitz-Birkenau killing center. Poland, May 1944.

Credits:

• Yad Vashem Photo Archives

• View Archival Details

How many Jewish people did the Nazis murder in killing centers (also called “death camps” or “extermination camps”)?

In total, the Nazis and their partners murdered six million Jewish men, women, and children in the Holocaust. At the five killing centers, the Nazis murdered approximately 2.7 million Jews. This was almost half of all victims of the Holocaust.

Table 1. Number of Jewish victims murdered by the Nazis at killing centers