extermination camp
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extermination camp
A camp that was set up during the Nazi period specifically for the systematic mass murder of people, especially Jews, Sinti and Roma, as well as other persecuted groups.
Auschwitz-Birkenau war das größte nationalsozialistische Vernichtungslager.
Auschwitz-Birkenau was the largest Nazi extermination camp.
The word is made up of 'Vernichtung' (extermination/destruction) and 'Lager' (camp). 'Vernichtung' comes from the verb 'vernichten' (to destroy, to wipe out). So the meaning is literally a 'Lager zur Vernichtung' (camp for the extermination) of people.
Die systematische Vernichtung von Minderheiten war das Ziel dieser Lager.
The systematic extermination of minorities was the goal of these camps.
This term is inseparably linked to the Nazi period and the Holocaust. It is used specifically for the camps set up by the Nazis for the purpose of mass murder.
Schüler lernen im Geschichtsunterricht über die Verbrechen in den Vernichtungslagern.
Students learn in history class about the crimes committed in the extermination camps.
In historical contexts, the word is often used with certain verbs. Typical phrases are 'in ein Vernichtungslager deportiert werden' (to be deported to an extermination camp), 'aus einem Vernichtungslager befreit werden' (to be liberated from an extermination camp), or 'die Errichtung von Vernichtungslagern' (the establishment of extermination camps).
Millionen Menschen wurden in die Vernichtungslager deportiert.
Millions of people were deported to the extermination camps.
labor camp
'Arbeitslager' and 'Vernichtungslager' are both terms for camps connected with extreme violence and persecution. However, they must not be equated. In an 'Arbeitslager' (labor camp), prisoners were forced to do hard labor. A 'Vernichtungslager' (extermination camp) was set up during the Nazi period specifically to murder people systematically and on a mass scale. The risk of confusion arises because both terms are connected with camps, terror, and 20th-century history. For learners, the important point is: 'Arbeitslager' emphasizes forced labor, while 'Vernichtungslager' emphasizes planned mass murder.
Die Ausstellung erinnert an die Opfer eines Vernichtungslagers aus der Zeit des Nationalsozialismus.
The exhibition commemorates the victims of an extermination camp from the Nazi period.
Der Lehrer erklärt, dass die Häftlinge im Arbeitslager schwere Zwangsarbeit leisten mussten.
The teacher explains that the prisoners in the labor camp had to do hard forced labor.