Killing Centers of World War Two

Only two decades after World War I, the deadliest and most widespread war of all time broke out. It became known as World War II. World War II started when Germany invaded Poland in 1939.The Nazis played a major role in this war of monumental proportions (World War II). Adolf Hitler was the master mind behind the schemes of the Nazis (Adolf Hitler). The Nazis established killing centers for efficient mass murders (Killling Centers: An Overview). Unlike concentration camps, which served as labor and detention centers, killing centers were only used for killing non-Aryan individuals. He organized, implemented, and executed the terror that that the Nazis brought upon millions of innocent human beings. He was behind the systematic extermination and ethnic cleansing of six-million Jews and millions of non-Aryans, such as the Gypsies and the Jehovah’s Witnesses (Adolf Hitler).

It is estimated that the Nazis killed anywhere from five to seven million innocent Jews over the period of World War II (The Holocaust: An Introductory History). The Nazis killed Jews in many different ways. They predominantly killed them in gas chambers and by shooting them. Overwork, starvation, and disease killed some non-Aryans as well (Methods of Murder). There were gas chambers at almost every Nazi camp, including the concentration camps. In the gas chambers, people usually died within a few minutes from lack of oxygen. While being guarded, prisoners were forced to carry the dead bodies. These prisoners, known as sonderkommandos, were ordered to remove all the valuables from the corpses. The bodies were either buried in mass graves or burned in ovens. One of the most evil things the Nazis did was how they tricked the Jews into going into the chambers. The guards would tell them that they were going to shower to get rid of lice, but then the guards shut and lock the doors and threw Zyklon-B pellets into the chambers (Bachrack 52). The chemicals that were mainly used in the chambers were carbon monoxide and Zyklon-B (Poison Gas). Healthier Jews who weren’t selected for death early on were put to hard work as sonderkommandos and other tedious labor. Over 1 million Jews were shot by SS commandos. These commandos followed the troops as they invaded different places, and then they would round up all the Jews, shoot them, then throw the bodies into ditches (Methods of Murder). One other way the Nazis had of exterminating the “non-desirables” was the gas trucks. The Jews were forced into the trucks that were hermetically sealed, and then exhaust from the truck was transported into the area filled with Jews, who suffocated fairly quickly (Methods of Mass Murder). The Nazis were relentless in their pursuit of making the Aryan race the dominant species.

Approximately seven million people were slaughtered because of the Nazi’s killing processes. It was Hitler’s regime’s only goal to exterminate non-Aryans (Victims). Even Germany had people who did not agree with the Nazi policies, and some were even willing to die for their beliefs. One such group was the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Hitler felt very threatened by them because, from the beginning, the Jehovah’s Witnesses stood firmly beside their beliefs and they would only recognize one God (The Holocaust: Non-Jewish Victims). Similar to the Jews and Jehovah Witnesses, the Gypsies were senselessly murdered by the Nazis. The Gypsies were known for being a nomadic group and they had been prosecuted throughout history. The Germans thought the Gypsies were racially and physically degenerate and inferior and that made them worthless (The Holocaust: Non-Jewish Victims)

After the Germans killed the Jews, they had to find somewhere to dispose of the bodies. They did not have very many ways to dispose of them. The two main ways were mass graves or creamtion. Most experts believe it was during the 1870s that the use of the cremation ovens began. These ovens were very efficient at the job they did. In 1874 times were recorded for how long it took to cremate bodies. A 47 pound child could be cremated in 25 minutes, a 144 pound woman in 50 minutes, and a 227 pound man in 55 minutes. Most of the people who were killed during the Holocaust were cremated (Body Disposal at Auschwitz).

World War II was one of the deadliest and most horrific events that occurred in history and Adolf Hitler was at the forefront of the most evil and malicious part of this horrible war. He was quoted as saying, “I do not see why man should not be just as cruel a nature.” – Adolf Hitler. That is the way he ruled over the Jews and other “non-desirables.” The killing centers were some of the worst places to ever exist on this Earth. From the way they killed people to how they disposed of the so called “non-desirables.” The Nazis were the most evil group of murders to ever exist. Reasons for the Holocaust were secrets only known to Hitler and the ones in his regime. The only way we will be able to prevent such a tragedy from ever occurring again will be to learn from the mistakes of the Nazis and never be so cruel as to murder someone because we do not agree with what they believe.