Holocaust
...Hitler, in an attempt to establish the pure Aryan race, decided that all mentally ill, gypsies, non supporters of Nazism, and Jews were to be eliminated from the German population. He proceeded to reach his goal in a systematic scheme. One of his main methods of doing away with these undesirable was through the use of concentration camps. In January 1941, in a meeting with his top officials the 'final solution' was decided. Jews were to be eliminated from the population. Auschwitz was the concentration camp that carried out Hitler's "final solution" in greater numbers than any other.
CONCENTRATION CAMPS
In Hitler's early days, concentration camps were places that held people in protective custody. Victims for protective custody included those who were both physically and mentally ill, gypsies, homosexuals, Jehovah Witnesses, Jews and anyone against the Nazi regime. Gypsies were classified as people with at least two gypsy great grandparents.
By the end of 1933 there were at least fifty concentration camps throughout occupied Europe. At first, the camps were controlled by the Gestapo, but by 1934 the S.S. (Hitler's personal security force) were ordered, by Hitler, to control the camps.
Camps were set up for different purposes. Some for forced labor, others for medical experiments and, later on, for death/ extermination. Transition camps were set up as holding places for death camps.
Henrick Himmler, chief of the German police, the Gestapo. The work force was poorly organized and working conditions were inhumane. Camps were set up along railroad lines, so that the prisoners would be conveniently close to their destination. As they were being transported, the soldiers kept telling the Jews to have hope.
When the camps were finally opened, most of the families who were shipped out together ended up being separated. Often, the transports...
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