| Chelmno |
| Established: (1st killings December 7-8, 1941) Abandoned: January 17, 1945 Liberated: Shortly after abandonment by Soviets Survivors: 0 Total Victims: 152,000 - 310,000 |
| Source: Edelheit, Botwinick, Feig Go to Previous Camp - Buchenwald Go to Next Camp - Dachau Return to Fast Links Return to Home Page Go to Death Camps |
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| Established in Poland as the first death camp with the pilot extermination program. Victims were killed using carbon monoxide and bodies burned in the nearby woods. The Jewish population of Lodz was killing in Chelmno. Ashes of the victims were thrown into the nearby river or thrown to the winds. There were no housing accommodations at Chelmno for victims - victims were killed on the same day they arrived. Chelmno served no labor needs for the German war effots. The primary aim of Chelmno was the speedy and thorough killing of the 450,000 Jews living in the Warthegau area. The process began with ghetto populations in small towns and villages, then larger cities, and finally Lodz. Chelmno killed 1,000 Jews a day. Victims of Chelmno included Jews from Poland, Germany, Austria, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Holland. Deaths in Chelmno also included 5,000 Gypsies and 1,000 Russian and Polish prisoners of war. The first killings were done by shooting the victims, later gas vans were employed. Belongings of the murdered victims were sold and resulted in a profit for the SS. Chelmno was destroyed after its purpose was fulfilled. |