Anna, Melissa, Liam, Emira Concentration camps Anna, Melissa, Liam, Emira

What they were- Concentration camps were massive prisons run by the SS, they were feared heavily by the people. They were also known as ‘re-education camps’ and were a place where enemies of Hitler and the Nazis were taken. The people put into concentration camps were forced to do hard labour. The conditions were horrible and over time the camps became very crowded.

Where they were The first concentration camps were in Dachau, near Munich and Sachsenhausen, near Berlin. They continued to build the camps all throughout the Nazis reign and by 1945 there was 42,500 camps and other incarceration sites, all over Europe, in places they had invaded. There were 6 concentration camps in the greater German Reich; sauchsenhausen, Buchenwald, Flossenburg, Mauthausen and Ravensbruck.

Who was sent there The people sent there included- German Communists, Socialists, Social democrats, Gypsies, Jehovahs witness, Homosexuals, Political opponents and others accused of going against the Nazis. Each prisoner wore different colours badges to show why they were in the camps.

What they looked like A lot of them were made of old military bases, there was machine gun posts stationed at the entrances and the prisoners were kept in barrack style houses that were surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards. There were huge watch towers that loomed over the Camps-it was very cramped.

Treatment of prisoners Prisoners were beaten, endured to suffer starvation, subjected to horrible work- Forced to test out the military boots (run until they couldn’t) The life expectancy of going to a camp like Daucha was 10 days, most died from exhaustion due to the hard work and horrible treatment. They were forced to sleep in small places that were cramped, damp and cold. When your friend went to the camps they would most likely not come back.

Why they were effective in wiping out the opposition. These were effective as much of Hitler’s oppostion were sent to these camps were they would be tortured and would eventually die. People were frightened to say anything or go against the Nazi government or they would be sent to these camps, this meant the full of Germany was under Hitlers control as the fear crippled them as a nation.