New research shows there were more Nazi ghettos and camps than previously thought
Researchers working at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum have brought to light shocking new evidence that the number of camps and ghettos used by the Nazis in carrying out the Holocaust was far greater than previously thought.
The team of researchers, led by Geoffrey Megargee, have painstakingly catalogued over 42,500 camps used by the Nazis to conduct the imprisonment and murder of millions of victims. They also found that 15 to 20 million people were either imprisoned or killed, a much greater number than has previously been believed.
Megargee, speaking to The Independent, pointed towards the complexities of the Holocaust that the research highlights: “There is a tendency for people to see the Holocaust as consisting of Auschwitz and perhaps a few other places. It’s important to understand that the system was much larger and more complex than that; that many more people knew about it and took part in it; that it was central to the entire Nazi system; and, moreover, that many other countries had their own camp systems.”
This new groundbreaking research demonstrates the ongoing relevance of the Holocaust and the ongoing need for Holocaust education. 70 years after the event, we still do not know the full extent of Nazi crimes against Jews, Roma and Sinti, Homosexuals, Soviet POWs, ethnic poles, people with disabilities and others targeted for persecution. This underscores the continuing importance of Holocaust education in schools, colleges and in higher education.
Karen Pollock, the Trust’s Chief Executive, said: “The Nazis’ determination to systematically wipe out the Jews of Europe is well documented, but this new research demonstrates the horrifying scale of their murderous intentions and the apparatus put in place to achieve them. When this unique research project concludes in 2025 there will sadly only be a handful of survivors left to share their testimony, making it even more important for us to continue to further our understanding of what happened during the darkest period in our shared history.”