Mass Murder
These concentration camps were actually death camps, or secure locations designated for the mass murder of Jews. They were vastly different from the previous concentration camps. Instead of the Jews being worked to death, the focus was on eliminating large groups of Jews as quickly and as efficiently as possible.
Jews from the conquered lands were treated like herds of cattle. They were rounded up, placed on trains, and shipped to the death camps. Once they arrived, the prisoners were carefully assessed. Those that were deemed weak and frail were immediately executed.
Others waited to be packed into large rooms that had showers. These showers were actually death chambers where a deadly, poisonous gas called Zyklon B was dispensed. While they waited to be executed, the prisoners were isolated in small quarters under inhumane conditions. Most were barely fed from diets that consisted of rotten vegetables, and they lived among human waste. Many eventually died of malnutrition and disease.