What were extermination camps?
Q: What were extermination camps?
A: Extermination camps (also known as death camps) were built by Nazi Germany during World War II with the goal of killing millions of people as quickly as possible.
Q: How did the Nazis kill people at the death camps?
A: At the death camps, people were mostly murdered by being given poison gas in gas chambers. The Nazis also killed many people in other ways, such as mass executions and extermination through labor (by making prisoners do very hard forced labor without giving them basic necessities to survive). Additionally, some died from starvation, illness, and freezing to death.
Q: Who was sent to the death camps?
A: The Nazis sent many different kinds of people to the death camps; however, about 90% of those killed in these camps were Jewish.
Q: What was Nazi Germany's plan for Jews?
A: Nazi Germany wanted to 'exterminate' or kill all Jews so they would not exist any more; this plan was called the Final Solution or Holocaust.
Q: Did other countries have similar extermination/death camps during WWII?
A: Yes, during World War II, the fascist Ustaše government in the Independent State of Croatia set up their own death camps like Jasenovac where they murdered many Serbs, Jews, and other people - it is estimated that around 750,000 Serbs may have been killed at these death camps.
Q: What happened at Jasenovac specifically?
A: At Jasenovac and other similar Croatian-run concentration/death camp sites during World War II, many Serbs, Jews and others were murdered by Ustaše forces - estimates suggest that around 750 000 Serbs may have been killed there alone.
