extermination camps
What was Treblinka built for?
Treblinka was built solely for killing. Victims arrived, were gassed, and then their bodies were burned.
Who carried out the Vel d’Hiv roundup in France?
The French police carried out the roundup.
What did Kurt Gerstein witness?
He witnessed mass gassings in extermination camps.
What does “systematic dehumanization” mean?
It means treating people as numbers, cargo, or objects instead of human beings.
Why was there no “camp life” in Treblinka?
Because it was not a labor camp. It was an extermination center where people were murdered almost immediately after arrival.
What was the difference between the situation in the Netherlands and Belgium?
In the Netherlands, there was more collaboration and fewer survivors. In Belgium, resistance groups helped hide Jews, and about 50% survived.
Who did Gerstein try to inform about the mass killings?
He tried to inform the Vatican, diplomats, and foreign governments.
What is meant by the “bureaucracy of murder”?
The genocide was organized through paperwork, lists, quotas, train schedules, and official coordination, like an administrative system.
Why is Treblinka considered one of the deadliest places in human history?
Because hundreds of thousands of people were murdered there in a very short period of time through a highly organized system.
Why does the case of France show local collaboration?
Because French authorities organized arrests and deportations themselves, rather than the Germans carrying them out directly.
What shows that the world had information but did not act immediately?
Reports reached Sweden and other officials, but they were not urgently forwarded to the Allies, and there was no immediate action.
Why is this period described as a “moral collapse”?
Because many people were forced into impossible choices, collaborated, or failed to resist, showing a breakdown of ethical responsibility.