Belzec Concentration Camp History
Belzec Concentration Camp: Belzec was an extermination camp located in Southeastern Poland on the Lubin-Lvov railway line (“Belzec Death Camp” par. 1). The camp was built on November 1st, 1941 by the Germans for the sole purpose of slaughtering minority groups (“Belzec Concentration Camp: History & Overview” par. 1). The Jewish Virtual Library estimates that between 500,000-600,000 Jews were incarcerated and killed at Belzec (par. 1). The mass murders were executed with carbon monoxide gas that was released in the “showers” (“Belzec” par. 11). In the spring of 1943, the final corpses were burned and the camp was closed. To discourage locals from rummaging for valuables, the land was plowed and turned into a farm, with a former Ukrainian guard as the farmer (“Belzec Concentration Camp: History & Overview” par. 9). Chaim Hirszman, one of the few prisoners to survive the camp, recounted the horrors he witnessed, “A transport of children up to three years of age arrived. The workers were told to dig a big hole into which the children were thrown and buried alive. I cannot forget how the
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1, 3). The prisoners were from an estimated 20 different nationalities, with roughly ⅓ of them being Jewish (Nawyn par.3). According to Vadasz, approximately 20,000 prisoners became casualties of the war (par. 1). The inmates were either worked to death, died of disease, or were hanged for trying to escape the camp. On May 6th of 1945, the camp was liberated by American soldiers (Nawyn par. 1, 3,). One of the soldiers, COL Polk, wrote home to his wife that "Truly, we have been fighting a holy war as our Chaplain has said. Such sights and such tragedy leave little time for rejoicing. I'm simply drained of emotion by it all. The taste of it is still in my mouth" (qtd. in Nawyn par.
1, 3). The prisoners were from an estimated 20 different nationalities, with roughly ⅓ of them being Jewish (Nawyn par.3). According to Vadasz, approximately 20,000 prisoners became casualties of the war (par. 1). The inmates were either worked to death, died of disease, or were hanged for trying to escape the camp. On May 6th of 1945, the camp was liberated by American soldiers (Nawyn par. 1, 3,). One of the soldiers, COL Polk, wrote home to his wife that "Truly, we have been fighting a holy war as our Chaplain has said. Such sights and such tragedy leave little time for rejoicing. I'm simply drained of emotion by it all. The taste of it is still in my mouth" (qtd. in Nawyn par.