World War II: The Holocaust


One of the most horrific terms in history was used by Nazi Germany to designate human beings whose lives were unimportant, or those who should be killed outright: Lebensunwertes Leben, or "life unworthy of life". The phrase was applied to the mentally impaired and later to the "racially inferior," or "sexually deviant," as well as to "enemies of the state" both internal and external. From very early in the war, part of Nazi policy was to murder civilians en masse, especially targeting Jews. Later in the war, this policy grew into Hitler's "final solution", the complete extermination of the Jews. It began with Einsatzgruppen death squads in the East, which killed some 1,000,000 people in numerous massacres, and continued in concentration camps where prisoners were actively denied proper food and health care. It culminated in the construction of extermination camps -- government facilities whose entire purpose was the systematic murder and disposal of massive numbers of people. In 1945, as advancing Allied troops began discovering these camps, they found the results of these policies: hundreds of thousands of starving and sick prisoners locked in with thousands of dead bodies. They encountered evidence of gas chambers and high-volume crematoriums, as well as thousands of mass graves, documentation of awful medical experimentation, and much more. The Nazis killed more than 10 million people in this manner, including 6 million Jews. (This entry is Part 18 of a weekly 20-part retrospective of World War II)

Warning: All images in this entry are shown in full, not screened out for graphic content. There are many dead bodies. The photographs are graphic and stark. This is the reality of genocide, and of an important part of World War II and human history.

Read more
Hints: View this page full screen. Skip to the next and previous photo by typing j/k or ←/→.

Most Recent

  • Howard Ruffner / Getty

    When the National Guard Arrived at Kent State, Images From 1970

    Photographs from a pivotal day in American history

  • ESA, NASA, CSA, STScI

    Photos of the Week: May Day, Campus Protests, Snake Festival

    Devastating floods across Kenya, a pagan fire festival in Scotland, antler gathering in Wyoming, pro-Palestinian demonstrations at many American colleges, and much more

  • John Ricky / Anadolu / Getty

    Photos of the Week: Wheelbarrow Race, Count Binface, Orange Skies

    A volcanic eruption in Indonesia, a tilting tower in Taiwan, the Tokyo Rainbow Pride Parade in Japan, protests opposing Israel’s attacks on Gaza in the United States, and much more

  • Lukasz Nowak1 / Getty

    Chile’s Amazing National Parks

    Images of several of Chile’s national parks, encompassing a wide variety of environments