Concentration Camps

The term is most strongly associated with the several hundred camps established
by the Nazis in Germany and occupied Europe in 1933–45, among the most
infamous being Dachau, Belsen, and Auschwitz.

In March 1933, the first concentration camp, Dachau, opened outside of Munich,
Germany. It was used primarily for political prisoners and was the longest running
camp in operation, until its liberation in April 1945.

There were four different types of concentration camps:

● Concentration Camps​: For the detention of civilians whom the regime

perceived to be a security risk of some sort.There were 938 camps and
subcamps.
● Forced-Labor Camps and transit camps​: Forced labor camps were
utilized for pointless and humiliating labor, imposed on prisoners without
proper equipment, clothing, nourishment, or rest. Transit camps functioned
as temporary holding facilities for Jews awaiting deportation. These camps
were usually the last stop before deportations to a killing center. There were
1,830 forced labor and transit camps.
● Prisoner-of-War Camps​: For Allied and Soviet prisoners of war. There
were 559 POW camps, but this figure does not include the tens of thousands
of POW subcamps that existed.
● Killing Centers​: Established primarily or exclusively for the assembly-line
style murder of large numbers of people immediately upon arrival to the site.
There were 5 killing centers.
Other/Innocent Victims
Although Jews were Hitler's main focus they were not the only targets,
Communists, Gypsies, Homosexuals and the Disabled, Hitler believed they were
inferior or they did not believe in what he believed in.

Homosexuals were the second most targeted, books about homosexuals or

sexuality in general were burned. Homosexuals within the nazi party itself were
murdered. The Nazi’s decided that the disabled didn’t measure up to their level so
they had to go, the disabled were in a mass murder. Gypsies and Communists were
killed as well.
Ghettos
The Nazis created ​ghettos ​or segregated areas within a city to separate and control
the Jews. D​uring World War II, the Nazis created over 400 ghettos in order to keep
Jews separated from the non-Jewish population and from neighboring Jewish
communities. The reason behind this separation was to stop the Jews, viewed by
the Nazis as less than people, from mixing with and tainting the superior Aryan
race.

Nazi officials also believed that the Jews would die due to the unfavorable living
conditions of the ghetto, including lack of food, water, and living space.The
ghettos also served as round-up centers that made it easier to exterminate large
numbers of the Jewish population later.
“Final Solution” and Kristallnacht
The “Final Solution” by Hitler and the Nazis was to kill everyone who wasn’t of
the “master race” which according to the Nazi’s was the Aryan race. The SS
(Hitler's elite security force) killed entire towns of Jews and other victims, and
genocide in concentration camps caused conditions to worsen and more and more
people died.

Kristallnacht or the “night of broken glass” happened in the night on November 9th
in 1938. On this night, Nazis attacked Jewish persons and property. The name
Kristallnacht, which translates to “night of broken glass” is represents the broken
glass that was left after the Nazi’s destruction. An estimated 91 Jews died in these
attacks.
The Mind Of Hitler
Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany on the 30th of January in 1933. His
power was the result of the impact of the Great Depression, the weaknesses of
Weimar democracy (the type of government in Germany at the time) and the
growing strength of the Nazi party.

The mindset and determination of Hitler based on the idea that the Aryans were the
“superior race.” He built his platform in support of German nationalism, racial
purity and global expansion. These things caused him to take any means necessary
to end the lives of groups of people who didn’t meet his ideal standard. The reason
behind Hitler hatred of Jews in particular is unclear. He was the mind behind the
destruction of 11 million lives. Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945. About
two weeks later the Nazi party surrendered.