Concentration camps
Between the years 1933 and 1945, the Nazis of Germany established more than twenty thousand camps for imprisoning its victims numbering several millions. These camps were utilized as transit camps serving as way stations that were temporary, forced hard labor camps, as well as extermination camps which were exclusively or basically built for carrying out mass murders. From the moment the Nazi regime rose to power back in the year 1933, it constantly built thousands of detention facilities mainly aimed at eliminating and imprisoning its perceived state enemies. Most of the prisoners, who were detained in the concentration camps in the early days, were German social democrats, socialists, communists, homosexuals, Jehovahs Witnesses, Roma (Gypsies), and individuals who were accused of being deviant with what was perceived to be social behaviors. These detention camps were commonly known as the concentration camps due to the fact that those detained in them were basically physically concentrated in a single location.
The first Germans concentration camps were established shortly after the appointment of Hitler as chancellor of the nation at the beginning of 1933. Within two weeks after the Nazis rose to power, the Schutzstaffel (SS) that is protection squadrons, the Sturmabteilungen (SA) that is, the Storm Troopers, the Nazis party elite guard, the local civilian and the police organized several detention camps for imprisoning the perceived and the real opponents opposed to the Nazi policy. The authorities of the country established numerous camps allover the country on an unplanned basis in order to handle properly the masses of prisoners who were being arrested because of being alleged of being subversives. Larger camps were established by the SS in Oranienburg which is in the north of Berlin Lichtenburg, in Saxony Dachau, located in the northwest of Munich and Esterwegen, which is near Hamburg. In the Berlin, the facility of Columbia Haus held inmates who were under Gestapos investigation until 1936.
After the SA gave the SS independence in 1934, during the Rhm purge wake, Hitler who was the countrys chancellor by then empowered Heinrich Himmler, who was the SS Reich leader to centralize all the management of the camps and also formalize all the camps in the country in a systematic manner. After the last month of the year 1934, the SS was given authority to be the only agency in the country with formal authority of establishing and managing the detention facilities, however the civilian local authorities went on with the task of managing and establishing detention camps and forced labor camps throughout the country. By 1937, the concentration camps that still existed were only four and they were Buchenwald, near Weimar Sachsenhausen, near Berlin Dachau, near Munich and the Lichtenburg concentration camp in Saxony that was mainly used for imprisoning the female inmates.
Eicke, the commandant of the concentration camp of Dachau developed procedures and an organization for guarding and administering the concentration camp. The commandant issued regulations clearly stipulating how the prisoners were to be treated and duties that were supposed to be carried out by the perimeter guards. The practice, structure and organization that were developed by Eicke in governing the Dachau concentration camp became the most preferred model and were therefore adopted by the Nazi regime throughout the nation as the concentration camps increased.
The concentration camp of Auschwitz was one of the oldest camps in Germany, it was also the largest and the most complex of its kind in the entire nation to be established by under the Nazi regime. This particular concentration camp comprised of three major camps which were all used to imprison people for purposes of forced labor, whereby the inmates in this facility were basically laborers. One of the three camps within the Auschwitz camp was also used for a long period of time as a major center for killing prisoners. The three camps of Auschwitz were located about thirty seven miles to the west Krakow, located near the border of prewar German-Polish, which is in the upper region of Silesia, a region where the Nazis annexed in the late 1930s after they invaded and conquered Poland. The authorities of SS are the ones that established the three camps of Auschwitz near the Oswiecim Polish city. The complex camp of Auschwitz was under the concentration camps of Inspectorate. Until the year 1942, the concentration camps of Inspectorate were an SS agency head office.
The bureaucratic, systematic and state sponsored murder and persecution of the prisoners and all the individuals opposed to the Nazi policy was known as the Holocaust. Through the Holocaust, more than six million people of Jew origin were persecuted and murdered by the Nazis together with its supporters and collaborators. The Greek word, Holocaust, means sacrificing by the use of fire. The Nazis of Germany after rising to power, believed and spread a propaganda throughout the country and in the neighboring nations that the Germans were much more superior racially as compared to the Jews who they perceived to be inferior. The Nazis perceived the Jews to be a foreign threat to the racial community of the Germans and thus had to be eliminated by all means to ensure that the so called superior racial society of Germany does no lose its superiority to the Jews in future.
During the Holocaust era, the authorities of Germany also targeted several other groups of people as a result of their inferiority that was perceived by the Nazis. It was the policy of the Nazi that all the inferior races needed to be eliminated from the world scene. Some of the races besides the Jews that fell in the inferiority bracket of elimination included some Slavic people such as Russians and Poles Roma (Gypsies), and the disabled individuals. The Holocaust was also used for persecuting other groups of people on behavioral, ideological and political grounds. The main groups of people that were persecuted on these grounds included the homosexuals, the Jehovahs Witenesses, the Socialists and the Communists.
By the time the Nazi regime rose to power, the population of the Jewish people in Europe was more than nine million. The greatest number of the Jews who were living in Europe lived in nations where the Nazi regime had a lot of influence or would eventually occupy during the era of the second global conflict. By the mid 1940s, the Nazis together with their supporters and collaborators had killed almost two thirds of the Jews living in Europe, which was part of their final solution that is, murdering all the Jews living in Europe. Despite the fact that the Jews who were considered by the Nazis to pose the greatest threat to the people of Germany, and were thus the main targets of the Nazi racism, there were other victims as well. These included about two hundred thousand Roma (Gypsies), a similar number of physically and mentally disabled patients who were mainly Germans. The latter victims were living in various institutional settings in the country, and they were killed through a program known as Euthanasia.
As the tyranny of the Nazis spread across the entire European continent, the Germans together with their supporters and collaborators murdered and persecuted millions of people. About two to three million prisoners of the soviet war were killed or died due to neglect, starvation, maltreatment or disease. The Nazis mainly targeted the Polish who were non-Jewish for murdering and deported several millions of Soviet and Polish civilians in Germany to do forced labor.
The chief method that was used to kill the prisoners that were held in various camps across the country was basically poisoning. The poison gas that was used for killing the prisoners was mainly obtained from IG Farben, which was a chemical company based in German. The prisoners also died in huge numbers due to torture, starvation andor mass shootings. Originally, most of the prisoners were killed efficiently through the use of carbon monoxide, the inmates to be killed were in most cases locked in gas chambers before the poisonous gas could be introduced and kill them all. Millions of prisoners died out of starvation and diseases as the Nazis neglected them intentionally so that they could die in great agony without using a lot of war resources. Others were made to work without food or water and they could finally die while working. There were several prisoners who were killed by the management of the camps for breaching the camp rules and regulations, most of such offenders were killed by hanging. The Nazis allowed the German doctors to carryout very fatal medical experiments on the prisoners held at the camps, many prisoners on whom such fatal experiments were carried out died either immediately or shortly after.
There were several concentration camps in Germany that were specifically designed and equipped for carrying out mass killings especially through the use of gas chambers. In most early concentration camps, exhaust smokes from tank engines or truck engines were forcefully pumped into gassing vans that were completely sealed, they could also be pumped into gas chambers that were specifically constructed for such purposes, or they could be pumped into sealed railroad vans. There was also the use of Zyklon-B pellets in some later concentration camps to kill the inmates. The sick prisoners in the detention facilities were in most cases killed through the use of lethal injections. However, none of the above mentioned methods of killing people supplanted the number of prisoners who died as a result of fatal beatings, hangings and shootings.
Concentration camp survivors
Despite the fact that there millions of people around the world who for one reason or the other can claim that life is very brutal, however, very few of their experiences if any, can compare to what the victims of the Nazis went through during the Holocaust era. Up and until these victims could either escape or die, their lives were characterized by intense constant suffering, mistreatment and fear. The Holocaust survivors constitute the first group of victims of genocide to be examined systematically. Having the chance of following the post war adjustment for the Holocaust survivors for six decades, has made it possible for the rest of mankind to understand clearly the lifelong consequences of such group and personal trauma.
The genocide survivors are completely transformed individuals. These people talk of having lived three distinct lives before, during and after the Holocaust period. These survivors have gone through shattering of all the basic assumptions of humans that is, there is safety in the world and that there are people who are ready to extend protection and care. The victims of the Holocaust genocide are filled with terrifying memories, which involuntarily in several occasions intrude through one way or another into their daily lives. The smells, sensations and sights connected with the past trauma they went through can be recalled vividly. Again, the genocide survivors hope to continue with their normal lives but the tragic experiences they went through during the period of the genocide never departs from them completely. With several tragic exceptions, these survivors are constantly seeking to gather the shattered bits and pieces of their lives before the genocide took place, and grafting the remnants in order to compose themselves in the post genocidal era. However, contrary to emotional trauma victims, who can easily bury and forget their evil encounters in the past, the genocide survivors remain more committed to the remembrance and memories of all their loved ones, whom they lost in the Holocaust.
The basic human dignity of the inmates imprisoned at the concentration camps was greatly abused by the Nazis and the prisoners did not have any human rights at all and they therefore lived at the mercy of the Nazis. The life of the prisoners in the camps was awful, they had to wake up everyday at half past four in the morning and a roll call was performed in order to determine whether all the prisoners were present at the facility. The prisoners were forced to go to work while wearing camp fatigues that were stripped, they were not allowed to put on under wears and they had to wear wooden shoes which were very uncomfortable especially because they could not put on socks. In most cases, they had to wear ill fitting pair of wooden shoes that made them to experience a lot of pain as they walked.
The prisoners had to work for more than twelve hours each day during the summer season while during winter they could work for slightly lesser time. They did not have any rest periods for any reason and they had to work throughout whether they were healthy or sick. During the periods of the roll calls, all the prisoners had to remain standing until all the roll call was over irrespective of the number of hours it would take or the prevailing weather conditions, especially if there was a missing inmate. Even though the prisoners at the camps performed tasks that were very difficult and energy consuming, they were only provided with bread and water rations which were hardly enough. As a result most the prisoners could become weak very fast and as well as being vulnerable to various illnesses, from which they could easily die. Everyday after roll calls, all the prisoners could be subjected to either collective or individual punishments. There was also constant torture in the camps and in most cases the prisoners could be punished or tortured while naked thus lowering their human dignity significantly.
The medical experiments which were normally performed on the prisoners by the Nazi doctors further lowered the human dignity of the prisoners. The doctors could carryout a wide range of experiments on the prisoners which were very dehumanizing to say the least. The doctors could test the X-rays efficacy as a device that can be used for sterilization by administering over doses to the female inmates. The doctors were also not only allowed but encouraged by the Nazis to perform some fatal experiments that could kill the prisoners in a lot of agony. The human dignity of the prisoners was also abused through the manner in which some of them were brutally murdered in the eyes of either their loved ones or other prisoners. The prisoners faced all forms of assault including physical and sexual assault where female inmates could be raped before their relatives and husbands as well as being made to stay naked for long periods of time even during cold weather conditions. The human dignity of the prisoners simply did not exist since they had no human rights at all.
Recognition and our responsibility
The last battles of the second global conflict in the theatre of the Europeans together with the surrender of the Germans occurred between the end of April and the start of May 1945. Towards the end of April 1945, the Allied military forces managed to close in Benito Mussolini in Milan, he was the Italian dictator, was captured by the partisans from Italy. At the time of his capture, Mussolini was attempting to flee from Italy and go to Switzerland. He was executed the following day following his capture together with other fascists who were captured together with him. On the closing day of the same month, fierce battle raged allover Berlin where the Nazis troops led by their leader, Hitler, were crashed. When Hitler finally realized that he had eventually lost the battle and was not willing to suffer the same fate as the Italian dictator, Mussolini, he opted to commit suicide while in his bunker he died along with his mistress, Eva Braun. Without Hitler, the Nazis of Germany were as good as defeated in the battle and they could hardly go on with the fighting.
Shortly after the death of the Nazi leader, the Germany forces had no alterative but to surrender. The Nazis first surrendered unconditionally in Italy their commander in chief and SS General agreed to stop the fighting in the country. Germany would soon surrender and stop its forces from fighting in all other regions where it had a lot of influence and occupied during the period of the second global conflict. Since the Nazis of Germany and their supporters and collaborators were the main players of the second global conflict, their defeat and eventual surrender marked the end of the conflict. However, the bomb that was dropped in Hiroshima, Japan is one of the major factors that brought to an end the WWII.
The Nuremberg trials comprised of a series of tribunals and trials that were most remarkable for prosecuting the outstanding members of the economic, political and military leadership of the regime of the Nazis following its defeat and surrender in the WWII. These trials and tribunals were mainly held in Germans Nuremberg city between 1945 and 1946 at the Justice Palace. Through these trials the world was in a position to give its verdict concerning the atrocities and humanitarian crisis that was brought about by the Nazis. One of the main objectives of the verdict that was given by the international community over the magnitude of the Holocaust genocide was to ensure that a repeat of the same did not take place ever again in history of mankind. The Nuremberg trials were done not only to punish the perpetrators of the genocide crimes during the Holocaust era, but also to deter other leaders and regimes with similar intentions from perpetrating such crimes and to aware that they will one day be made accountable for all the crimes humanitarian crimes they have committed.
For the individuals who were found guilty by the Nuremberg tribunals and trials, for crimes against humanity, they were sentenced to death through hanging. This is the most severe punishment which any individual can be put through. It was mainly meant to instill fear to the totalitarian leaders who use their positions to oppress others and commit several humanity crimes especially to the minority and their chief opponents. The punishment sentences that were passed by the Nuremberg tribunals and trials were final and the defendants could only appeal through them and not to any other courts of law anywhere in the world. Due to the fact that these were international tribunals, the sentence that was awarded was perceived to be the position of the world on matters concerning humanitarian crimes.
The anxiety age and the lost generation age were ages in which the world witnessed modern totalitarianism as well as well as fascism. By the end of the 1930s, the liberal democracies in Switzerland, Scandinavia, France and Britain were realities. However, in other places across the European continent, various forms of totalitarian dictators showed their really ugly faces and heads. Totalitarianism appeared to be the future wave and it swept across most parts of Europe, with devastating effects on its victims. In fact, the century belonged to the right according to Mussolini, the Italian dictator. Totalitarianism was full blown in the mid twentieth century and it was a real nightmare for the entire world and the individuality of the humans was actually subsumed below the might of the collectivism of totalitarianism. The totalitarian state was very swift at rejecting all the values believed to be liberal and instead exercised absolute control over virtually every aspect of the lives of those it governed.
The totalitarian leaders most of whom were from Europe such as Hitler of Germany, Mussolini of Italy and many other European leaders ruled their people by the sword. Several crimes humanity crimes were committed by the totalitarian leaders, especially on individuals who were in one way or the other opposed to their policies and methods of governance. To make matters worse, these leaders also looked for ways and means of exerting pressure on their neighbors to make them comply with this inhuman form of governance. There was very little if any human dignity and the subjects could be made by these regimes to go through terrible ordeals in the hands of these governments and their supporters and collaborators. People could be persecuted and murdered without trial and therefore no one in these nations lived a life in which he or she could enjoy all the human rights. To make matters worse, these regimes could invade other nations and force them to comply with their totalitarian principles. If the invaded governments were weak then its people were made to live under the brutal leadership of totalitarianism.
There are several crimes that have been committed in the history of mankind in which people have been made to go trough very severe ordeals. In more recent history, Iraqi people went through a very difficult time under the leadership of their former leader Saddam Hussein. People who were opposed to the leadership of this leader were persecuted and murdered in the open in order to make others fear. Women and young girls were raped and killed and no one in the country was allowed to oppose the regime of Hussein or they risked being persecuted. People in the country lived in constant fear, not knowing what their leader might do next since he ruled in a very brutal manner and no one was spared, not even his close allies who went against his will. It took the intervention of the United States and the entire international community to bring the situation in the country under control. Hussein was also accused of manufacturing weapons of mass destruction and the main target of these weapons is not yet known although it is largely believed to be the American government and its people.
Conclusion
It is in no doubt that the genocide that was perpetrated by the Nazis between 1933 and the end of WWII is one of the worst and most devastating experiences the world has ever experienced. Through the Nuremberg tribunals and trials, the international community attempted to give its verdict in order to ensure that a repeat of such horrific tragedy does not reoccur in future. This particular genocide is a great lesson to be learnt by all generations of mankind of how poor leadership, bad government policy and propaganda can mean to its victims. It is therefore very important for all the world leaders today and in the future to ensure that no other genocide of this or lesser magnitude ever takes place. In the recent history, there have been instances of poor leadership that has led to mass suffering of people resulting into a humanitarian crisis. The leadership of the former Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein is a good example where the Shias were discriminated against by his leadership which favored the Sunnis.
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