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Killing Centers: In Depth
View this term in the glossary
In German-occupied Europe during World War II, the killing center was a facility established exclusively or primarily for the assembly-line style mass murder of human beings. Those few prisoners who were selected to survive, temporarily, were deployed in some fashion in support of this primary function. The killing centers are sometimes referred to as "extermination camps" or "death camps."
Concentration camps served primarily as detention and labor centers, as well as sites for the murder of smaller, targeted groups of individuals. Killing centers, on the other hand, were essentially "death factories." German SS and police murdered nearly 2,700,000 Jews in the killing centers either by asphyxiation with poison gas or by shooting.
The Chelmo killing center in German-occupied Poland was the first stationary facility where poison gas was used for the mass murder of Jews. The SS and police began killing operations at Chelmno on December 8, 1941. At least 172,000 people were killed there between December 1941 and March 1943 and in June/July 1944.
View of the village of Chelmno. To the left of the church is the Schloss, one of two sites of the Chelmno camp. The Schloss, an old country estate, served as the reception and killing center for victims until it was demolished in April 1943. Chelmno, Poland, 1939–1943.
Young German soldiers assist in the deportation of Jews from the Zychlin ghetto to the Chelmno killing center. The Nazis planned this deportation to fall on the Jewish holiday of Purim. Poland, March 3, 1942.
Jews from the Lodz ghetto are forced to transfer to a narrow-gauge railroad at Kolo during deportation to the Chelmno killing center. Kolo, Poland, probably 1942.
Jews carrying their possessions during deportation to the Chelmno killing center. Most of the people seen here had previously been deported to Lodz from central Europe. Lodz, Poland, January–April 1942.
Sossia and her husband, Isadore, were the parents of seven boys. The Frenkiels, a religious Jewish family, lived in a one-room apartment in a town near Warsaw called Gabin. Like most Jewish families in Gabin, they lived near the synagogue. Sossia cared for the children while Isadore worked as a self-employed cap maker, selling his caps at the town's weekly market.
1933-39: Because of the Depression, Isadore's business had fallen off, but the Frenkiels managed to continue providing for their family. Shortly after the Germans invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, they occupied Gabin. They shot 10 people in the street and took away others, such as doctors and teachers. Then the German soldiers doused the synagogue with gasoline and burned it.
1940-45: In 1941 a cousin visited the Frenkiels after escaping from a transport. He confirmed rumors about the killing of Jews, warning them: "They put you in trucks, gas you, then throw your body into a burning pit." Sossia's 3-year-old son cried, "Will they burn me, too?" Isadore urged his cousin to tell the Jewish elders. He met with them, but they did not believe his story. In May 1942, two months after three of Sossia's sons had been deported for forced labor, the Germans rounded up all the Jews in Gabin.
In May 1942 Gabin's Jews were deported to the Chelmno killing center. Sossia, Isadore and four of their sons were placed in a sealed van and asphyxiated with exhaust fumes.
Isadore and his wife, Sossia, had seven sons. The Frenkiels, a religious Jewish family, lived in a one-room apartment in a town near Warsaw called Gabin. Like most Jewish families in Gabin, they lived in the town's center, near the synagogue. Isadore was a self-employed cap maker, selling his caps at the town's weekly market. He also fashioned caps for the police and military.
1933-39: Isadore felt the pinch of the Depression, but although business was poor, he was able to provide for his family. Shortly after the Germans invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, they occupied Gabin. Ten people were shot in the street; others, such as doctors and teachers, were taken away. The Germans rounded up the Jewish men and held them in the marketplace while soldiers doused the synagogue with gasoline and set it on fire.
1940-42: In 1941 the Frenkiels heard rumors that the Germans were evacuating some towns and deporting the Jews to a death camp. A cousin visited the family after escaping from a transport and said the rumors were true. "They put you in trucks, gas you, then throw your body into a burning pit," he said. Isadore's 3-year-old son ran to his mother crying, "Will they burn me, too?" Isadore urged his cousin to tell the Jewish elders. He met with them, but they did not believe his story and told him to leave town.
In May 1942 Gabin's Jews were deported to the Chelmno killing center. Isadore, Sossia and four of their sons were placed in a sealed van and asphyxiated with exhaust fumes.
Family members say goodbye to a child through a fence at the ghetto's central prison where children, the sick, and the elderly were held before deportation to Chelmno during the "Gehsperre" action. Lodz, Poland, September 1942.
Postwar photograph of a building in Dabie where the possessions of Jews killed at the nearby Chelmno killing center were stored. Dabie, Poland, June 1945.
Postwar photo of a church in the village of Chelmno. Jews were kept in this building en route to the Chelmno killing center. Chelmno, Poland, June 1945.
Chelmno was the first killing facility to begin operations, in December 1941. It was located in the Reich province Wartheland, which encompassed a part of Poland annexed to Germany. At Chelmno, a former aristocratic manor house served as the reception area. Members of a special detachment of SS and police subordinate to the Higher SS and Police Leader for Wartheland guarded the facility and killed people in trucks, in which the exhaust pipes had been reconfigured to pump carbon monoxide gas into sealed paneled spaces behind the cabs of the vehicles. The bodies were then driven into a nearby forest, where mass graves had been dug. The Germans killed at least 172,000 people at Chelmno between December 1941 and March 1943 and then again in June and July 1944. Almost all of the victims were Jews, but there were also approximately 4,300 Roma (Gypsies) victims, as well as an undetermined number of Poles and Soviet prisoners-of-war.
Rozia was the second-oldest of nine children born to religious Jewish parents in Starachowice, a town in east-central Poland. Their small one-story house served as both the family's residence and their tailor shop. The tailoring was often done in exchange for goods such as firewood or a sack of potatoes. Rozia worked in the shop sewing women's clothing.
1933-39: Rozia married a Jewish tailor from Radom, a large town some 60 miles south of Warsaw. The couple settled in Starachowice, and they ran a tailor shop there. Rozia's two young daughters were born before Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939.
1940-45: At 4 a.m. one morning in October 1942, SS guards herded the town's Jews into the marketplace. The guards segregated the "able-bodied" adults--those who could be used as forced laborers--from the children and the elderly. Rather than be separated from her two young daughters, Rozia joined them in their line. By 10 a.m. the selection was over; the column of 4,500 Jews where Rozia, her daughters and her mother stood was marched to waiting cattle cars in the rail yard.
The transport was sent to the Treblinka killing center, where Rozia, her daughters and her mother were gassed.
Operation Reinhard (Einsatz Reinhard) became the code name for the German plan to systematically murder the approximately two million Jews residing in the so-called General Government.
To implement “Operation Reinhard,” the SS and police constructed three killing centers: Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka. The Belzec and Sobibor killing centers were located in Lublin District. The Treblinka killing center was located in Warsaw District. All three Operation Reinhard killing centers were managed by SS and police officials assigned to the staff of the Lublin SS and Police Leader. In addition, specially trained police auxiliaries guarded these camps and facilitated the murder operations conducted there. These auxiliaries trained at the Trawniki training camp, a special camp located in Lublin District.
Belzec began operations in March 1942, concurrent with the deportations of the Jews from Lublin and Lwów (L'viv). Sobibor began its operations in May 1942, with the deportation of Lublin District Jews from rural regions. Treblinka II began operations in July 1942, concurrent with the major deportation of Warsaw Jews in summer 1942.
The victims of the Operation Reinhard killing centers included Polish, German, Austrian, Dutch, French, Czech, and Slovak Jews as well as Roma (Gypsies), Soviet prisoners of war, and Poles. The SS and police killed the majority of prisoners deported to the Operation Reinhard killing centers by locking them in stationary gas chambers into which truck engines pumped deadly carbon monoxide gas. A minority of prisoners were killed by shooting.
Small numbers of prisoners were selected from each transport to support the main function of the camps: the killing of human beings. Members of these detachments, often called Arbeitsjuden (“work Jews”) and sometimes collectively referred to as a Sonderkommando (Special Detachment), worked in the killing area. They removed bodies from the gas chambers and initially buried them in mass graves. In late 1942 and 1943, the Jewish forced laborers had to exhume the buried bodies and burn them in huge trenches on makeshift “ovens” made of rail track.
Other prisoners selected for temporary survival worked in the administration-reception area, facilitating detraining, disrobing, relinquishment of valuables, and movement of new arrivals into the gas chambers. They also sorted the possessions of the murdered victims in preparation for transport to Germany, and were responsible for cleaning out freight cars for the next deportation. German SS and police personnel and the Trawniki-trained auxiliaries periodically murdered the members of these detachments of Jewish laborers, and replaced them with persons selected from newly arriving transports.
In the Operation Reinhard killing centers, the SS and their auxiliaries killed approximately 1,526,500 Jews between March 1942 and November 1943. In total, the SS and their auxiliaries murdered 1.7 million Jews killed in Operation Reinhard killing centers and related actions.
Approximately 300 prisoners survived the three camps. Almost all of those who survived did so by escaping Treblinka or Sobibor killing centers during uprisings in August and October 1943, respectively.
Belzec ceased operations in December 1942. Sobibor and Treblinka closed down in November 1943.
Auschwitz-Birkenau
The largest killing center was Auschwitz-Birkenau, also known as Auschwitz II. It was located in Upper Silesia, a province of interwar Poland that was annexed directly to Germany. SS authorities established Auschwitz-Birkenau in the spring of 1942.
Unlike Chelmno and the Operation Reinhard killing centers, the Auschwitz concentration camp complex was not subordinated to the regional SS and police leader, but was part of the concentration camp system under the SS Economic-Administration Main Office. Auschwitz-Birkenau was originally designated as a forced-labor camp for large numbers of, initially, Soviet prisoners of war and, later, Jewish forced laborers to be deployed on SS-inspired construction projects. Auschwitz-Birkenau developed into a killing center in the first weeks of its existence. From the first transports of Slovak Jews in spring 1942, the SS established a practice of selections, in which those arriving Jews who were unable to work were sent directly to two makeshift gas chambers.
During spring 1942, in the wake of the Wannsee Conference, Himmler and the RSHA designated Auschwitz-Birkenau as the “final” destination for the European Jews (excepting the Jews of Wartheland Province, the Generalgouvernement, and the occupied Soviet Union). In response, SS authorities constructed four enlarged and “improved” gas chambers in Auschwitz-Birkenau; these were completed in early 1943. Like other concentration camps but in contrast to other killing centers, the SS used Zyklon B gas (prussic acid) in the gas chambers at Auschwitz-Birkenau.
The largest of its kind, the Auschwitz camp complex was essential to implementing the Nazi plan for the “Final Solution.” Learn about survivors’ experiences there in the following oral histories.
Irene and Rene were born Renate and Rene Guttmann. The family moved to Prague shortly after the twins' birth, where they were living when the Germans occupied Bohemia and Moravia in March 1939. A few months later, uniformed Germans arrested their father. Decades later, Irene and Rene learned that he was killed at the Auschwitz camp in December 1941. Irene, Rene, and their mother were deported to the Theresienstadt ghetto, and later to the Auschwitz camp. At Auschwitz, the twins were separated and subjected to medical experiments. Irene and Rene remained separated for some time after their liberation from Auschwitz. The group Rescue Children brought Irene to the United States in 1947, where she was reunited with Rene in 1950.
Barbara was born in the province of Arad in northern Transylvania, Romania. She went to school until the Hungarian army occupied the area in 1940 and she was no longer allowed to attend. After the Germans occupied Hungary in 1944, discrimination against Jews intensified. Barbara and her family were forced into the Oradea ghetto. She worked in the ghetto hospital until she was deported to the Auschwitz camp. At Auschwitz, she worked in the kitchens to receive extra food. She was deported to another camp, and later forced on a death march. Toward the war's end, the Red Cross rescued Barbara. She returned to Arad after World War II and worked as a biochemist.
Following the German occupation of Hungary in March 1944, Bart was forced into a ghetto established in his home town. From May to July 1944, the Germans deported Jews from Hungary to the Auschwitz killing center in occupied Poland. Bart was deported by cattle car to Auschwitz. At Auschwitz, he was selected to perform forced labor, drilling and digging in a coal mine. As Soviet forces advanced toward the Auschwitz camp in January 1945, the Germans forced most of the prisoners on a death march out of the camp. Along with a number of ill prisoners who were in the camp infirmary, Bart was one of the few inmates who remained in the camp at the time of liberation.
Cecilie was the youngest of six children born to a religious, middle-class Jewish family. In 1939, Hungary occupied Cecilie's area of Czechoslovakia. Members of her family were imprisoned. The Germans occupied Hungary in 1944. Cecilie and her family had to move into a ghetto in Huszt and were later deported to Auschwitz. Cecilie and her sister were chosen for forced labor; the rest of her family was gassed upon arrival. Cecilie was transferred to several other camps, where she labored in factories. Allied forces liberated her in 1945. After the war she was reunited with and married her fiance.
Cecilie was the youngest of six children born to a religious, middle-class Jewish family. In 1939, Hungary occupied Cecilie's area of Czechoslovakia. Members of her family were imprisoned. The Germans occupied Hungary in 1944. Cecilie and her family had to move into a ghetto in Huszt and were later deported to Auschwitz. Cecilie and her sister were chosen for forced labor; the rest of her family was gassed upon arrival. Cecilie was transferred to several other camps, where she labored in factories. Allied forces liberated her in 1945. After the war she was reunited with and married her fiance.
Fritzie's father immigrated to the United States, but by the time he could bring his family over, war had begun and Fritzie's mother feared attacks on transatlantic shipping. Fritzie, her mother, and two brothers were eventually sent to Auschwitz. Her mother and brothers died. Fritzie survived by pretending to be older than her age and thus a stronger worker. On a death march from Auschwitz, Fritzie ran into a forest, where she was later liberated.
Fritzie's father immigrated to the United States, but by the time he could bring his family over, war had begun and Fritzie's mother feared attacks on transatlantic shipping. Fritzie, her mother, and two brothers were eventually sent to Auschwitz. Her mother and brothers died. Fritzie survived by pretending to be older than her age and thus a stronger worker. On a death march from Auschwitz, Fritzie ran into a forest, where she was later liberated.
In 1942, Hana was confined with other Jews to the Theresienstadt ghetto, where she worked as a nurse. There, amid epidemics and poverty, residents held operas, debates, and poetry readings. In 1944, she was deported to Auschwitz. After a month there, she was sent to Sackisch, a Gross-Rosen subcamp, where she made airplane parts at forced labor. She was liberated in May 1945.
Volosianka was annexed by Hungary in 1939 and occupied by the Germans in 1944. Helen was about 13 when she and her family were deported to the Uzhgorod ghetto. They were then deported to various camps. Helen and her older sister survived Auschwitz, forced labor at a camp munitions factory, and Bergen-Belsen. When Helen was too weak to move, her sister would support her during roll call and drag her to work, knowing that labor was the only chance for survival.
The Germans invaded Poland in September 1939. Leo and his family were confined to a ghetto in Lodz. Leo was forced to work as a tailor in a uniform factory. The Lodz ghetto was liquidated in 1944, and Leo was deported to Auschwitz. He was then sent to the Gross-Rosen camp system for forced labor. As the Soviet army advanced, the prisoners were transferred to the Ebensee camp in Austria. The Ebensee camp was liberated in 1945.
The Germans invaded Poland in September 1939. Leo and his family were confined to a ghetto in Lodz. Leo was forced to work as a tailor in a uniform factory. The Lodz ghetto was liquidated in 1944, and Leo was deported to Auschwitz. He was then sent to the Gross-Rosen camp system for forced labor. As the Soviet army advanced, the prisoners were transferred to the Ebensee camp in Austria. The Ebensee camp was liberated in 1945.
Germany invaded Belgium in May 1940. After the Germans seized her mother, sister, and brother, Lilly went into hiding. With the help of friends and family, Lilly hid her Jewish identity for two years. But, in 1944, Lilly was denounced by some Belgians and deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau via the Mechelen camp. After a death march from Auschwitz, Lilly was liberated at Bergen-Belsen by British forces.
In 1939, Slovak fascists took over Topol'cany, where Miso lived. In 1942, Miso was deported to the Slovak-run Novaky camp and then to Auschwitz. At Auschwitz, he was tattooed with the number 65,316, indicating that 65,315 prisoners preceded him in that series of numbering. He was forced to labor in the Buna works and then in the Birkenau "Kanada" detachment, unloading incoming trains. In late 1944, prisoners were transferred to camps in Germany. Miso escaped during a death march from Landsberg and was liberated by US forces.
In 1939, Slovak fascists took over Topol'cany, where Miso lived. In 1942, Miso was deported to the Slovak-run Novaky camp and then to Auschwitz. At Auschwitz, he was tattooed with the number 65,316, indicating that 65,315 prisoners preceded him in that series of numbering. He was forced to labor in the Buna works and then in the Birkenau "Kanada" detachment, unloading incoming trains. In late 1944, prisoners were transferred to camps in Germany. Miso escaped during a death march from Landsberg and was liberated by US forces.
In 1939, Slovak fascists took over Topol'cany, where Miso lived. In 1942, Miso was deported to the Slovak-run Novaky camp and then to Auschwitz. At Auschwitz, he was tattooed with the number 65,316, indicating that 65,315 prisoners preceded him in that series of numbering. He was forced to labor in the Buna works and then in the Birkenau "Kanada" detachment, unloading incoming trains. In late 1944, prisoners were transferred to camps in Germany. Miso escaped during a death march from Landsberg and was liberated by US forces.
Morris grew up in a very religious Jewish household and was active in a Zionist sports league. When the Germans invaded Poland in September 1939, Morris's town was severely damaged. Morris's family was forced to live in a ghetto, and Morris was assigned to forced labor. After a period of imprisonment in Konskie, a town about 30 miles from Przedborz, Morris was deported to the Auschwitz camp. He was assigned to the Jawischowitz subcamp of Auschwitz. In January 1945, Morris was forced on a death march and was sent first to the Troeglitz subcamp of the Buchenwald concentration camp and then to Theresienstadt. After the war, he stayed for a time in Czechoslovakia and Germany before immigrating to the United States.
The Germans invaded Poland in September 1939. When Makow was occupied, Sam fled to Soviet territory. He returned to Makow for provisions, but was forced to remain in the ghetto. In 1942, he was deported to Auschwitz. As the Soviet army advanced in 1944, Sam and other prisoners were sent to camps in Germany. The inmates were put on a death march early in 1945. American forces liberated Sam after he escaped during a bombing raid.
Irene and Rene were born Renate and Rene Guttmann. The family moved to Prague shortly after the twins' birth, where they were living when the Germans occupied Bohemia and Moravia in March 1939. A few months later, uniformed Germans arrested their father. Decades later, Irene and Rene learned that he was killed at the Auschwitz camp in December 1941. Irene, Rene, and their mother were deported to the Theresienstadt ghetto, and later to the Auschwitz camp. At Auschwitz, the twins were separated and subjected to medical experiments. Irene and Rene remained separated for some time after their liberation from Auschwitz. The group Rescue Children brought Irene to the United States in 1947, where she was reunited with Rene in 1950.
Rene and his twin sister Irene were born Rene and Renate Guttman. The family moved to Prague shortly after the twins' birth, where they were living when the Germans occupied Bohemia and Moravia in March 1939. A few months later, uniformed Germans arrested their father. Decades later, Rene and Irene learned that he was killed in the Auschwitz camp in December 1941. Rene, Irene, and their thier mother were deported to the Theresienstadt ghetto, and later to Auschwitz. There, the twins were separated and subjected to medical experiments. After the war Rene stayed with a doctor's family in Kosice, Czechoslovakia, before moving to the United States and being reunited with Irene.
Mayer grew up in a rural town that was occupied by Hungary in 1940. After Germany occupied Hungary in March 1944, Mayer and his family were forced into a ghetto. They were then deported to the Auschwitz camp in Poland, where Mayer's parents and brothers perished. Mayer was selected for forced labor, and was later transferred to a satellite camp of Dachau, in Germany. He was liberated from Dachau in 1945. Sponsored by a children's committee, he immigrated to the United States.
Following the German occupation of Hungary in March 1944, Bart was forced into a ghetto established in his home town. From May to July 1944, the Germans deported Jews from Hungary to the Auschwitz killing center in occupied Poland. Bart was deported by cattle car to Auschwitz. At Auschwitz, he was selected to perform forced labor, drilling and digging in a coal mine. As Soviet forces advanced toward the Auschwitz camp in January 1945, the Germans forced most of the prisoners on a death march out of the camp. Along with a number of ill prisoners who were in the camp infirmary, Bart was one of the few inmates who remained in the camp at the time of liberation. He survived to be liberated by hiding in the camp even after many other prisoners had been forced on a death march in January 1945.
Ruth was four years old when the Germans invaded Poland and occupied Ostrowiec. Her family was forced into a ghetto. Germans took over her father's photography business, although he was allowed to continue working outside the ghetto. Before the ghetto was liquidated, Ruth's parents sent her sister into hiding, and managed to get work at a labor camp outside the ghetto. Ruth also went into hiding, either in nearby woods or within the camp itself. When the camp was liquidated, Ruth's parents were split up. Ruth was sent to several concentration camps before eventually being deported to Auschwitz. When Ruth became sick, she was sent to the camp infirmary, managing to escape just before a selection. After the war, Ruth lived in an orphanage in Krakow until she was reunited with her mother.
Ruth was four years old when the Germans invaded Poland and occupied Ostrowiec. Her family was forced into a ghetto. Germans took over her father's photography business, although he was allowed to continue working outside the ghetto. Before the ghetto was liquidated, Ruth's parents sent her sister into hiding, and managed to get work at a labor camp outside the ghetto. Ruth also went into hiding, either in nearby woods or within the camp itself. When the camp was liquidated, Ruth's parents were split up. Ruth was sent to several concentration camps before eventually being deported to Auschwitz. When Ruth became sick, she was sent to the camp infirmary, managing to escape just before a selection. After the war, Ruth lived in an orphanage in Krakow until she was reunited with her mother.
During the deportation of Hungarian Jews in the spring of 1944, Auschwitz-Birkenau reached peak killing capacity: the SS gassed as many as 6,000 Jews each day. By November 1944, the SS had killed more than a million Jews and tens of thousands of Roma, Poles, and Soviet prisoners of war in Auschwitz-Birkenau. At least 865,000 Jews were killed immediately upon arrival. The overwhelming majority were killed in the gas chambers.
Unlike Chelmno and the Operation Reinhard killing centers, Auschwitz-Birkenau also functioned as a forced-labor camp and as a holding pen for groups of Jewish and Romani (Gypsy) families. Indeed, the facility never lost its original function as a forced-labor camp, though its primary function became mass murder in 1942. In 1944, the SS liquidated the inhabitants of the Jewish family camp, virtually all of whom had been deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau from Theresienstadt. The SS also liquidated the inhabitants of the Gypsy family camp, families deported from Germany, Austria, and the Czech lands. In these operations, nearly 10,800 Jews and nearly 2,900 Roma were killed in the gas chambers.
The Operation Reinhard Camps and Chelmno were dismantled after their murderous work was done. Auschwitz-Birkenau, on the other hand, continued to serve as a concentration camp for forced laborers after the destruction of the gas chambers in November 1944. Most of the prisoners, however, had been evacuated by foot or on trains prior to the liberation of the camp by units of the Soviet Army on January 27, 1945.
Soviet prisoners of war arrive at the Majdanek camp. Poland, between October 1941 and April 1944.
Credits:
Dokumentationsarchiv des Oesterreichischen Widerstandes
Though many scholars have traditionally counted the concentration camp Lublin, located near the Majdan suburb of Lublin in the Generalgouvernement and often known as “Majdanek” (little Majdan), as a sixth killing center, recent research had shed more light on the functions and operations at Lublin/Majdanek. Like Auschwitz-Birkenau and unlike Chelmno and the Operation Reinhard killing centers, Lublin/Majdanek was designated to be a large-scale forced-labor camp, initially for Soviet prisoners of war and, later, for Jews. At the time the SS established it in November 1941, the camp had the designation “Prisoner of War Camp of the Waffen SS Lublin” and was subordinated to the SS and police leader in Lublin District. Later it became a part of the concentration camp system.
Unlike Auschwitz, Lublin/Majdanek never lost its primary function as a forced-labor and concentration camp. In November and December 1942, 24,000 Jews arrived there who would have been destined for the Belzec killing center, had the Germans not decided in October to shut Belzec down. However, the majority of Jews deported to Majdanek had been pre-selected as potential forced laborers during ghetto operations, at the railroad station in Lublin, or even in the Sobibor and Treblinka killing centers themselves.
While the camp was under construction from November 1941 until the late spring of 1943, the general living conditions in Lublin/Majdanek were appalling, resulting directly in the death of the majority of its prisoners or weakening them sufficiently that the SS then killed them in the gas chamber because they were incapable of work.
Recent research has revealed that no more (and possibly fewer) than 170,000 prisoners passed through the main camp at Lublin/Majdanek, nearly half of whom were Jews and most of the rest Poles, Soviet prisoners of war, Soviet civilians, and Czechs. As many as 80,000-90,000 of the prisoners were Jews. The SS killed 60,000-72,000 of the Jews, though less than half were killed upon arrival and not all of these victims were killed in the gas chambers. The majority of the Jewish victims at Lublin/Majdanek died as a result of brutal conditions or mistreatment or were sent to the gas chambers in small groups only after being registered in the camp and then being deemed incapable of work. Perhaps as many as 20,000 were shot weeks or months after their arrival in the camp, including the last 18,000 Jewish prisoners, who were shot on November 3, 1943 as part of Operation “Harvest Festival” (Unternehmen Aktion Erntefest) in ditches dug just outside the camp.
Between March 1942 and November 1943, Jewish prisoners made up the majority—at times the overwhelming majority—of prisoners at the Lublin/Majdanek concentration camp. After the “Harvest Festival” murders in November 1943, Jews made up the smallest percentage of prisoners in Majdanek (357 out of 6,565 in December 1943, 5.44%). The SS evacuated virtually all of the surviving prisoners from Majdanek to other concentration camps further west between April and July 1944, leaving only a few hundred prisoners to be liberated by Soviet troops on July 23-24, 1944.
Secrecy Surrounding the Killing Centers
The SS considered the operations of the killing centers to be top secret, classified information. As with other aspects of the "Final Solution of the Jewish Question" as well as with all matters related to operations of SS-run camps, the perpetrators were sworn to secrecy and could face prosecution in the event of unauthorized disclosure of information.In part to uphold this secrecy and in part due to health and space reasons, the SS leadership ordered the camp authorities in the autumn of 1942 to henceforth burn the bodies of those murdered at the killing centers and to exhume the bodies of those already buried in order to burn them. At the Operation Reinhard killing centers and Chelmno, the corpses were burned on “open air ovens” made of rail track. Special detachments of Jewish forced laborers were brought in from outside to perform this grisly task at Belzec and Chelmno and to complete it after the Treblinka II and Sobibor uprisings. After the job was done, the members of these detachments were shot by the SS or their Trawniki-trained auxiliaries. At Auschwitz-Birkenau, large crematoria were built with the new gas chambers in 1942-1943. Detachments of Jewish laborers, known as Special Detachments (Sonderkommando) and made up of persons selected from incoming transports disposed of the corpses until the gassing operations ceased in November 1944.
The Operation Reinhard killing centers were completely dismantled and the land was re-landscaped to camouflage the sites as agricultural estates. At the first killing center, Chelmno, camp officials dismantled the camp and destroyed the so-called manor house before abandoning the site in April 1943. The site was used again as a gassing site briefly between late spring and summer of 1944, primarily for the Jews of the Lodz ghetto. SS demolition experts likewise destroyed the gas chambers at Auschwitz-Birkenau following the last gassings, in November 1944, but the camp continued to function as a concentration camp until the arrival of Soviet troops on January 27, 1945.
Last Edited: May 14, 2021
Author(s):
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC
Critical Thinking Questions
How did the functions of the camp system expand after World War II began?
Where were camps located?
To what degree was the local population aware of the killing centers, their purpose, and the conditions within? How would you begin to research this question?
What do the killing centers demonstrate about the complexity and the systematic nature of the German efforts to abuse and kill the Jews?
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