Operation Reinhard Research Paper

Holocaust Which Holocaust extermination camps were a part of Operation Reinhard? The Holocaust was the systematic killing of Jews and other racial groups, led by the Nazi regime and collaborators in Europe during World War II. The Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler, believed Germans were racially superior and Jews were a threat to that superiority (history.com). According to USHMM.org, Operation Reinhard was the codename of the Nazi plan to exterminate the Polish Jews in the General Government. The General Government “was the part of German occupied Poland not directly annexed to Germany” (ushmm.org). The three extermination camps associated with Operation Reinhard were Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka II. The Belzec extermination camp was established

The location of the camp allowed for easy railway access. The construction of the Belzec killing center began in November 1941 (ushmm.org). Operations then began in March 17, 1942 and ended in December 1942 (jewishvirtuallibrary.org). The Belzec killing center was purposely constructed to follow the plan of Operation Reinhard. German SS, police officials, and a police auxiliary guard unit ran the camp (ushmm.org). The first commandant of Belzec was SS Colonel General Christian Wirth, who played a key role in the T4 euthanasia program (jewishvirtuallibrary.com). SS Colonel General Christian Wirth began commanding in March 1942 to June 1942 (ushmm.org). Christian Wirth previously participated in the genocide of many through his aid in the euthanasia program. The second commandant was SS First Lieutenant Gottlieb Hering who began commanding June 1942 to June 1943 (ushmm.org). The purpose of the Belzec extermination camp was to annihilate Polish Jews in General Government. At Belzec, people majority of those deported were murdered after arrival, unless assigned as a

According to USHMM.org, Treblinka II was “located near the Polish village of Wolka Okraglik along the Malkinia-Siedlce railway line.” The location for Treblinka II was chosen because it was in a sparsely populated area, in the General Government, and had an easy railway access. Treblinka II began operations July 1942 and ended October 1943 (britannica.com). Treblinka II was run by German SS, police officials, and a police auxiliary guard unit (ushmm.org). The first commandant was SS 2nd Lieutenant Dr. Irmfried Eberl, who commanded from July to August 1942 (ushmm.org). The second commandant was SS Captain Franz Stangl, he commanded from August 1942 to August 1943 (holocaust.cz). Franz Stangl previously commanded Sobibor before commanding Treblinka II. The third commandant was SS 2nd Lieutenant Kurt Franz who commanded from August 1943 to November 1943 (ushmm.org). Kurt Franz had worked with Franz Stangl before and replaced him in Treblinka II. The purpose of Treblinka II was to murder Jews in the General Government. Men and women were murdered after arrival, a couple were even forced into labor (theholocaustexplained.org). The people interred in the camp were Jews, Roma, and Poles (ushmm.org). The races of those interred were Thracian, Slovak, Polish, Czech, Austrian, German, French, and Macedonian (ushmm.org). The males and females were accepted but separated in the camp. People were