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How did Auschwitz compare with Treblinka, Belzec, and Sobibor?

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Auschwitz: entrance gates — Auschwitz The entrance gates to the Auschwitz concentration camp, near Kraków, Poland; the sign reads “Arbeit Macht Frei” (“Work Liberates”).

Auschwitz differed from the extermination camps of Treblinka, Belzec, and Sobibor primarily in its dual function and scale. While Treblinka, Belzec, and Sobibor were established under Operation Reinhard for the sole purpose of mass murder, Auschwitz functioned as both a massive slave-labour centre and an extermination camp.1

Key differences include:

Operational Scope: Treblinka, Belzec, and Sobibor were devoted exclusively to killing and were closed in 1943 once the ghettos of Poland were emptied. Auschwitz continued to operate as a labour and death camp until the approach of Soviet troops in January 1945.1
Killing Agents: The Operation Reinhard camps primarily used carbon monoxide gas. Auschwitz, the largest and most lethal site, utilized the cyanide-based pesticide Zyklon-B, which was a more efficient killing agent.12
Scale: Auschwitz is estimated to have murdered between 1.1 million and 1.3 million people, making it the most lethal of the Nazi camps. Treblinka, the second deadliest, claimed between 750,000 and 900,000 lives.1

The systematic murder of millions remains a profound moral atrocity, and it is essential to acknowledge the horrific scale of these crimes against humanity.