Understand What the Holocaust Is Article (3-4): The Killing Centers, Ghettos, and Responsibility for the Holocaust By The Truth and Knowledge Center – Writer Alkrty https://h-alkrty.blogspot.com/

Understand What the Holocaust Is-
Article No (3-4)

Author: Alkrty

July 11, 2025

Understand What the Holocaust Is

Article: Liberation, Survival, and the Aftermath of the Holocaust

By The Truth and Knowledge Center – Writer Alkrty

https://h-alkrty.blogspot.com/

 

Understand What the Holocaust Is

Article (3-4): The Killing Centers, Ghettos, and Responsibility for the Holocaust

By The Truth and Knowledge Center – Writer Alkrty

 https://h-alkrty.blogspot.com/

 

The Holocaust (1933-1945) was the systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million European Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies and collaborators. The era began in January 1933, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power, and ended in May 1945 with the defeat of Nazi Germany by the Allied Powers.

In late 1941, the Nazi regime began building specially designed, stationary killing centers in German-occupied Poland. In English, these killing centers are often referred to as “extermination camps” or “death camps.” Nazi Germany operated five main killing centers: Chelmno, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, and Auschwitz-Birkenau. These centers were built for the sole purpose of efficiently murdering Jews on a mass scale. The primary method of murder was poisonous gas released into sealed gas chambers or vans.

German authorities, supported by their allies and collaborators, deported Jews from across Europe to these killing centers. To deceive the victims and the public, they referred to these transports as “resettlement actions” or “evacuation transports,” though they are commonly called “deportations.” Most deportations took place by train, using Europe’s extensive railway system. In many cases, Jews were forced into overcrowded freight cars; in other instances, they were crammed into passenger cars.

The conditions during these trips were horrific. Jews of all ages were forced to stand for days without adequate food, water, bathrooms, heat, or medical care. Many perished before even arriving at the killing centers.

Most Jews deported to killing centers were gassed almost immediately upon arrival. Some, whom German officials deemed healthy or strong enough, were selected for forced labor.

“My mother ran over to me and grabbed me by the shoulders, and she told me 'Leibel, I'm not going to see you no more. Take care of your brother.'” Leo Schneiderman describing arrival at Auschwitz, selection, and separation from his family

At all five killing centers, German officials forced some Jewish prisoners to assist in the killing process. These prisoners, known as Sonderkommandos, were forced to sort through victims’ belongings, remove bodies from gas chambers, and dispose of corpses through mass burial, in burning pits, or in specially designed crematoria.

Nearly 2.7 million Jewish men, women, and children were murdered at these killing centers.

Ghettos: Instruments of Isolation and Control

Ghettos were designated areas in cities or towns where German authorities forced Jews to live in overcrowded, unsanitary, and often sealed conditions. Guards prevented Jews from leaving without permission. Ghettos varied in duration - some existed for years, while others lasted only months, weeks, or even days before deportations or mass killings.

The first ghettos were created in 1939-1940 in German-occupied Poland, with the largest in Warsaw and Lodz. After Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, ghettos were also established in newly occupied eastern territories. In 1944, temporary ghettos were set up in Hungary to centralize Jews before deportation.

The main purpose of the ghettos was to isolate and control large Jewish populations in eastern Europe. They concentrated local Jewish residents but also later received deportees from other parts of Europe.

Forced labor became central to life in many ghettos, supporting the German war effort and paying for ghetto administration. The work was grueling, and conditions were dire: little food, poor sanitation, and no medical care. Hundreds of thousands died from starvation, disease, exposure, and exhaustion. Others were murdered outright through beatings, shootings, torture, and other brutal acts.

Despite these conditions, Jews sought to maintain dignity and a sense of community. Schools, libraries, welfare services, and religious life continued, often underground. The Oneg Shabbat archive in Warsaw and clandestine photography stand as powerful forms of spiritual resistance. Many ghettos also developed underground armed resistance movements, the most famous being the Warsaw ghetto uprising in 1943.

Beginning in 1941-1942, the Nazis began “liquidating” ghettos - a term they used to describe the mass murder and deportation of ghetto residents. Most ghetto residents were either shot in nearby killing sites or deported to killing centers, where they were murdered.

Who Carried Out the Holocaust?

The Holocaust and the "Final Solution" were not carried out by a single individual but by a vast network of people, institutions, and collaborators.

At the highest level, Adolf Hitler inspired, approved, and supported the genocide. Yet, he did not act alone. Key figures such as Hermann Göring, Heinrich Himmler, Reinhard Heydrich, and Adolf Eichmann directly coordinated and implemented mass murder.

Millions of Germans and Europeans were involved. Nazi leaders relied on German institutions, Axis allies, local bureaucracies, and individuals. Organizations included the Nazi Party, SA (Stormtroopers), SS (Schutzstaffel), Sicherheitsdienst (SD), Gestapo, Order Police, and Waffen-SS. The German military (Wehrmacht), railways, healthcare systems, civil service, and private companies also played critical roles.

Countless Germans soldiers, policemen, bureaucrats, businessmen, lawyers, engineers, doctors, and ordinary citizens chose to support or participate in persecution and genocide. Some cheered public humiliations, denounced Jewish neighbors, or looted Jewish property. Their motivations ranged from ideological conviction and antisemitism to greed, fear, careerism, and indifference.

Nazi Germany’s allies and collaborators included European Axis powers and regimes like Vichy France. Local police forces helped round up Jews across Europe. Auxiliary units composed of local police and civilians participated in massacres, particularly in eastern Europe.

Many individuals, unaffiliated with any government or group, also played roles by betraying Jews’ hiding places or by taking over their homes and belongings. Even passive bystanders contributed through their silence and inaction.

Who Were the Other Victims?

The Holocaust refers specifically to the murder of six million Jews. However, the Nazis also targeted millions of others they deemed “enemies” of the state.

Political opponents, including leftists, trade unionists, and anyone suspected of criticizing the regime. These were the first to be imprisoned in concentration camps.

Jehovah’s Witnesses, persecuted for refusing to swear loyalty to the Nazi state or serve in the military.

Germans deemed “undesirable”, such as men accused of homosexuality, habitual criminals, so-called "asocials" (including beggars, prostitutes, and alcoholics), and Black Germans, who faced sterilization and persecution.

People with disabilities, who were subjected to forced sterilization before the war and mass murder under the so-called Euthanasia Program once the war began.

Roma (Gypsies), Poles (especially elites and intellectuals), Soviet prisoners of war, and Soviet officials all targeted for mass murder based on racist and ideological beliefs.

The Holocaust was a continent-spanning catastrophe enabled by a vast web of collaborators, ideologies, and institutions. It stands as one of the darkest chapters in human history, a deliberate, systematic effort to annihilate entire peoples and destroy the foundation of human dignity.

References

1United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (n.d.). Holocaust Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/

Yad Vashem: The World Holocaust Remembrance Center. (n.d.). https://www.yadvashem.org/

Berenbaum, M. (1997). The World Must Know: The History of the Holocaust as Told in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Johns Hopkins University Press.

Friedländer, S. (1997). Nazi Germany and the Jews: The Years of Persecution, 1933-1939. HarperCollins.

Hilberg, R. (1985). The Destruction of the European Jews. Yale University Press.

Please note that: This article is part of the series “Understand What the Holocaust Is.

By The Truth and Knowledge Center – Writer Alkrty

https://h-alkrty.blogspot.com/