Ww2 Concentration Camp Essay

For many people during WWII, life in concentration camps was a cruel and unjust fate. Before we dive into this topic, it is important to define what a concentration camp is. A concentration camp is defined as a guarded compound for the detention or imprisonment of aliens, members of ethnic minorities, political opponents, radical or pacifist groups, etc. Its savage conditions and inhumane treatment of innocent victims left an indelible mark on their souls. The prisoners' physical suffering was only matched by the psychological torture they endured: starvation, sleep deprivation, overcrowding and substandard living quarters, incessant labor for little pay, and no freedom to move around. Furthermore, prisoners were frequently subjected to gruesome

The Nazis routinely subjected prisoners to all-day hard labor. If they did not perform their duties well enough, they were beaten until they passed out. These prisoners were not fed a nutritious diet and were not getting the vitamins they needed every day. “The soup was unappetizing, and newly arrived prisoners were often unable to eat it, or could do so only in disgust. Supper consisted of about 300 grams of black bread, served with about 25 grams of sausage, or margarine, or a tablespoon of marmalade or cheese. The bread served in the evening was supposed to cover the needs of the following morning as well” Due to the prisoners not getting enough food, starvation was the largest problem in these concentration camps. When your body does not get enough food to produce the energy it starts to use everything in your body that is stored up. For example, this would be any type of muscle mass, fat, and tissues that are in the organs. Once everything was finally used up by the prisoners it would cause them to get sick. Overcrowding is another type of torture in these camps. These camps had built rooms for long-term workers, which could hold up to 1000 people. Another source of disease is the large number of people in these camps. When combined with a lack of hygiene and a large population, disease was extremely common. It is impossible to have any kind of privacy or alone time in these camps. As previously stated, overcrowding is another reason why there was not enough food, water, and supplies for everyone at the camp. For example “In every camp, Allied soldiers encountered appalling scenes. Bergen-Belsen was liberated by British forces on 15 April 1945. It had become exceptionally overcrowded after the arrival of survivors of the death marches. Thousands of unburied bodies lay strewn around the camp, while in