Originally Posted by albundy73:
“There is a four part documentary on netflix called the nazi death squads. It is about the extermination of the jews in the soviet union countries following the german invasion. Its interesting but very sad. Over one and a half million died. Whats most horrific is the ss didnt kill them. They watched while locals killed the jews. This was before the gas chambers in western europe. Most were killed by being forced to climb into pits and then shot.”
Indeed, this was the method of choice for years before the 'forced labour camps' (as none of them at that time were 'death camps' were used to kill the 'undesirables' (Jews, Poles, gypsies, homosexuals etc etc).
Entire villages were put to death in this way. They were taken into woods, where either large pits had been dug or they were forced to dig them and then told to remove their clothing and they were shot in rote (as one line of bodies was lined up on the edge of the pit and were shot, then fell into it the next lot were then lined up for the same treatment). Men, women, children - all met the same fate indiscriminately. Because they were not human beings to those murdering them. They were 'things' to be eradicated.
Originally Posted by Beenbag:
“Hi Sife,
I guess they don't teach history like they used to.
Going by your age I can see why you want lots of info. But not in reading matter .
Along with Annette's excellent choice,you could check out the following:-
World at War (t.v. Series, prob. on YouTube)
Escape from Sobibor(film based on a true story of an escape from a concentration camp)
Schindler's List (powerful film a German industrialist helping camp inmates into the safety of his factory)
Hope this has been of help
And remember 'Arbrecht Mach Frei'”
Schindler's Ark (the book which inspired the film) is also an interesting read. If you really want to do some proper research there are hundreds of books about the Holocaust (I have many of them). 'The Holocaust' by Martin Gilbert is a weighty tome, but charts the entire progression from the 20s through the 30s as the Jewish community in Germany was gradually rendered less than human by the Nazi party. It started off very insidiously until by the end neighbours and ex-friends were turning on their Jewish or half-Jewish neighbours/friends and giving them up to the Nazis.
Originally Posted by Eurostar:
“Yes, the gas chambers and extermination camps were introduced because shooting people couldn't keep up with the numbers of people they actually wanted to kill.
Historians have pointed out how utterly insane the Holocaust was at all levels, transporting millions of people to the East to be murdered bang in the middle of a war. Apart from the immorality and utter depravity of it, it made no sense logistically or militarily or from any other point of view. But it goes without saying the regime was run by a complete nutjob (certainly not a 'genius') and he was surrounded by many other fruitcakes.”
indeed, those 'poor' German soldiers who were murdering men, women and children for no other reason than being Jewish had some sleepless nights and were 'stressed' after committing their heinous acts. That's when Zyklon B (which had been tested, if I remember correctly, on disabled and mentally ill Germanic people and found to be an effective killer) eventually became the method of murder.
Originally Posted by Eurostar:
“A quite insane thing to be doing in the middle of a world war of course, but it was an insane regime and they were insane people. Even in 1944 when the war was effectively lost and the Wehrmacht was retreating on all fronts, Auschwitz was still up and running and the trains were still arriving.....a most cynical and depraved regime.”
It certainly was. But the proponents of this were normal, sane people. It's difficult to reconcile.
Originally Posted by jra:
“That was partly it. The other main reason being it was 'less traumatic' for the Nazis to gas people, as in distancing themselves from the true horrors, rather than shoot them directly.”
Indeed.
Not to forget that as the war drew to a close and the Germans knew they were losing, they instituted the 'marches of death' which resulted in those who had survived the conditions of the camp and the work that took their lives (and the gas chambers for children and women of a certain age etc etc) dying in droves on the road to deeper into Germany.
And bear in mind Hitler was never credited in writing with this. It was all done on his behalf by his henchmen. He distanced himself (or made sure he was distanced) so that the finger of blame could not be pointed in his direction, But unfortunately for him, too many people knew who had effectively ordered all of this (even of those orders came from those close to him)....