The first Nazi concentration camps began to be created in the Third Reich itself immediately after the NSDAP came to power. Their initial goal was to isolate individuals suspected of being opposed to the new regime. The first to get to the Nazi concentration camps back in 1933–34 were their main opponents from the time of the Weimar Republic — communists and socialists. Already in July 1933, the number of those arrested reached the mark of 26 thousand people across the country. However, after
the first stage, when the National Socialist Party established its total power throughout the country, the number of arrests decreased slightly. Moreover, many of the undeservedly arrested were released.
Prewar period
A new round of mass arrests begins already in the late 30s. Now the Nazi concentration camps are intensively replenished by German Jews. In addition to them, various asocial elements like drunkards, homeless people and others often came here. In 1938, in connection with the first territorial acquisitions, while bloodless (Anschluss of Austria), the number of prisoners increases even more. In the same period, the camps begin to gain a unified structure. Concentration of fascist women’s camps appears, for example, Ravensbrück, located in Pomerania. But this whole system reaches a truly appalling scope already in the war period.
Activities during the Second World War
During the war, the camp system was constantly expanding, which is natural. In addition to prisoners from the occupied regions, the number of German political prisoners protesting against the aggressive policy of Germany increased. Camps are emerging not only in the Reich itself, but also in the occupied territories: Majdanek, Treblinka, Auschwitz and dozens of others, more or less known today. The policy of persecution of homosexuals, religious sectarians, gypsies, Jews is gaining momentum. Torture in the Nazi concentration camps also became frequent. After the invasion of the Soviet Union begins the most monstrous stage in the existence of these structures. The Nazi concentration camps literally turn into factories of death. So, the world famous Auschwitz has fully earned since January 1942. The fact is that it was during this period that the NSDAP finally headed for the complete extermination of the Jews, after which they became the main victims of the concentration camps. So, Rudolf Höss, the chief commandant of Auschwitz (not to be confused with a high-ranking member of the NSDAP,
Rudolf Hess, who
time was in British captivity) was the first to invent to use crystals of a pesticide, called "Cyclone B", as a
poisonous substance. And he was very proud of his decision, repeatedly boasting among Nazi officers that this allowed to increase the number of victims and make Auschwitz the most effective death machine in the entire Nazi system. Another diabolical innovation of this concentration camp was the construction of huge gas chambers, which allowed to increase their
throughput. Thus, the concentration system of Nazi bonzes has become one of the most important tools in the infamous occupation policy and the mass destruction of people in the occupied territories.