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Rosa Luxemburg was a Marxist and a leader of the radical wing of the German Social Democratic Party. Her work was burned in Nazi Germany in 1933. Learn more.
Learn about conditions and the treatment of prisoners in Ravensbrück, the largest concentration camp for women in the German Reich.
The Herzogenbusch concentration camp in the Netherlands began functioning in January 1943. Learn about its establishment, administration, prisoners, and conditions there.
Communist ideas spread rapidly in Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries, offering an alternative to both capitalism and far-right fascism and setting the stage for a political conflict with global repercussions.
Jews were the primary targets for mass murder by the Nazis and their collaborators. Nazi policies also led to the brutalization and persecution of millions of others.
The Storm Troopers (SA) established the Oranienburg camp near Berlin in March 1933. The first prisoners were German political prisoners, primarily Communists and Social Democrats. Oranienburg became known for the maltreatment of inmates. Here, the Nazis attempt to undermine the charges of brutality by showing the "normal" prisoner routine. Oranienburg was gradually deactivated, closing by 1935. Most of the other early camps were also closed, to be replaced with larger camps run by the SS.
Irmgard Huber was head nurse of the facility at Hadamar, one of 6 major "euthanasia" killing centers in Nazi Germany. Learn more about her role.
The Nazi treatment of Soviet prisoners of war (POWs) was determined by Nazi ideology. Cruel conditions included starvation, no medical care, and death.
The SS oversaw policing, intelligence, and the camp system in Nazi Germany. Learn more about the Schutzstaffel and its rise to power.
The SS established the Mühldorf camp complex in mid-1944 as a satellite system of Dachau to provide labor for the production of the Messerschmitt 262 jet fighter.
To implement their policies, the Nazis had help from individuals across Europe, including professionals in many fields. Learn about the role of the military.
The Mauthausen concentration camp was established following the Nazi incorporation of Austria in 1938. Learn about the harsh conditions in the camp.
Under Adolf Hitler, the Nazi regime was responsible for the mass murder of 6 million Jews and millions of other victims. Learn about Hitler in the years 1924-1930.
The Oranienburg concentration camp was established as one of the first concentration camps in Nazi Germany on March 21, 1933. Learn more
Learn about the establishment and history of the Dachau subcamp München-Schwabing, and the role of Eleonore Baur (also known as Schwester Pia or Sister Pia).
Learn about the origins and legacy of Pastor Martin Niemöller's famous postwar words, “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out…”
Learn more about the Law for the Imposition and Implementation of the Death Penalty, which the Nazis enacted after the Reichstag Fire Decree in 1933.
During the Weimar Republic (1919-1933), eugenics gained popularity in Germany. Learn more about the pseudoscience of “racial hygiene.”
Protestant pastor Martin Niemöller emerged as an opponent of Adolf Hitler and was imprisoned in camps for 7 years. Learn about the complexities surrounding his beliefs.
The Spanish Civil War (1936–39) was the bloodiest conflict western Europe had experienced since the end of WWI in 1918. It was a breeding ground for mass atrocities.
Esterwegen was part of the Nazi regime’s early system of concentration camps, created to hold people arrested as opponents of the new regime.
The 71st Infantry Division participated in major WWII campaigns and is recognized for liberating the Gunskirchen subcamp of Mauthausen in 1945.
The 30th Infantry Division participated in major WWII campaigns and is recognized for liberating the Weferlingen subcamp of Buchenwald in 1945.
In 1933, the Nazis established the Hainichen labor camp in Sachsen, Germany. Learn more about the camp, its closing, and the prisoners.
The High Command Case was Case #12 of 12 Subsequent Nuremberg Proceedings against leading German industrialists, military figures, SS perpetrators, and others.
Explore a timeline of key events during 1941 in the history of Nazi Germany, World War II, and the Holocaust.
After WWII, many Holocaust survivors, unable to return to their homes, lived in displaced persons camps in Germany, Austria, and Italy. Read about Rothschild Hospital DP camp.
After World War II, the Rothschild hospital in Austria was primarily concerned with the rehabilitation of sick displaced persons. It also served as a lager for political prisoners and as a hostel for 600 refugees.
SS Chief Heinrich Himmler was chief architect of the "Final Solution." Learn more about Himmler, one of the most powerful men after Hitler in Nazi Germany.
The 63rd Infantry Division participated in major WWII campaigns and is recognized for liberating several of the Kaufering subcamps of Dachau in 1945.
Adolf Hitler established himself as absolute Führer, or leader, of the Nazi Party by 1921. Learn more about Hitler in the years 1919-1924.
Despite Hitler’s popularity, there was also opposition. Learn more about German resistance, which ranged from non-compliance to assassination attempts.
Paragraph 175 was a German statute that criminalized sexual relations between men. The Nazis revised Paragraph 175 in 1935 to make it broader and harsher.
The first conviction for the crime of genocide came after the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, when Jean-Paul Akayesu was found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity.
The Gestapo was Nazi Germany’s infamous political police force. It enforced Nazism’s radical impulses and perpetrated crimes against targeted groups. Learn more
The Uckermark camp was one of the so-called youth protection camps that the Nazi regime established for young people who were alleged to have strayed from Nazi norms and ideals.
What is the difference between a “concentration camp” and a “killing center”? Learn about the history of these terms and what they meant in the context of Nazi oppression and murder.
Learn about Fürstengrube subcamp of Auschwitz, including its establishment, administration, prisoner population, and forced labor and conditions in the camp.
The Flick Case was Case #5 of 12 Subsequent Nuremberg Proceedings against leading German industrialists, military figures, SS perpetrators, and others.
The Ohrdruf camp was a subcamp of the Buchenwald concentration camp, and the first Nazi camp liberated by US troops.
The 84th Infantry Division participated in major WWII campaigns and is recognized for liberating two Neuengamme subcamps, Hannover-Ahlem and Salzwedel, in 1945.
Learn about the history of the Bergen-Belsen camp during WWII and the Holocaust until its liberation by British forces in April 1945.
March 22, 1933. On this date, the SS established the Dachau concentration camp in Germany.
Learn more about Bremen-Farge, a subcamp of Neuengamme where the majority of prisoners were used to construct an underground U-boat shipyard for the German navy.
The French government established the Gurs camp in 1939, before the war began and before Germany occupied France. Gurs initially served as a detention center for political refugees and later held German Jewish refugees. In June 1940, France signed a...
A war crimes investigation photo of the disfigured leg of a survivor from Ravensbrück, Polish political prisoner Helena Hegier (Rafalska), who was subjected to medical experiments in 1942. This photograph was entered as evidence for the prosecution at the Medical Trial in Nuremberg. The disfiguring scars resulted from incisions made by medical personnel that were purposely infected with bacteria, dirt, and slivers of glass.
Rudolf Hilferding was a well-known socialist. Also Jewish, he was persecuted by the Nazis and later died in prison. His books were burned in Germany in 1933.
Arnold Zweig was a German novelist and playwright. The Nazis denounced him as a pacifist, and his works were burned in 1933. Learn more.
In July 1936, the SS opened the Sachsenhausen concentration camp as the principal concentration camp for the Berlin area.
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