Isolation

The next step in removing Jews from Nazi-controlled territory was to gather them into confined areas. In Germany, and later in Austria, France, Holland etc., this was done by relocating Jewish families and communities to concentration camps surrounded by barbed wire and controlled by armed guards. Some were forced labor camps, most were brutal, with limited food and harsh treatment. Men were seperated from women and children.

In Poland, where the number of Jews was enormous, a concept from the middle ages was revived - the Ghetto. This was a system of gathering Jews from their homes into a town, or a designated part of a city, and closing them off from the rest of the world. Ghettos were locked, guarded, and in essence huge jails. In most cases, there was no work, no health care, and little food. Disease and starvation took their toll.