1. Persecution and Oppression: Concentration camps were used to incarcerate and mistreat individuals or groups targeted by the Nazis for political, racial, religious, or social reasons. These included:
- Jews
- Roma (Gypsies)
- Jehovah's Witnesses
- Political opponents
- Homosexuals
- Disabled individuals
2. Forced Labor: Prisoners held in concentration camps were often subjected to forced labor under harsh and dangerous conditions. Their work contributed to the Nazi war effort and provided cheap labor for various industries.
3. Medical Experiments: Some camps, like the infamous Auschwitz, were sites for barbaric human experimentation conducted by Nazi doctors. Prisoners endured unimaginable pain and suffering in experiments that aimed to advance racial theories and develop methods of mass extermination.
4. Isolation and Dehumanization: The primary concentration camp system was designed to isolate and remove targeted groups from society. Nazi propaganda portrayed these individuals as "enemies of the state" or subhumans, justifying their confinement and mistreatment.
5. Intermediate Steps: Concentration camps served as transit facilities for prisoners destined for extermination camps, like the most infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau. Jews were often sent through concentration camps as part of a broader process that would send them to extermination camps.
6. Terror and Intimidation: The existence of concentration camps instilled fear and discouraged resistance within the population. It was meant to serve as a warning to anyone who dared to defy or oppose the Nazi regime.