Westerbork Concentration Camp Research Paper

Westerbork Concentration Camp Westerbork Concentration Camp was one of the transit camps the Germans built. In this camp the Jewish Security Service chose those who would die. The purpose of this paper is to inform about the environment of the camp, when the camp existed, and why the Germans created the camp.

During WWII the Germans made the brutal environment. Westerbork was located in the Netherlands. Westerbork had weird things like, it had a classroom, a restaurant, a hairdresser, and an orchestra so it wasn't that ruff. Westerbork was 500x500m, and surrounded by barbed-wire, 7 watchtowers, and 24 wooden barracks were constructed. It was always crowded when the Germans brought more Jews. The Jewish Security Service chose their own people

Westerbork originally opened on October 9th by the Dutch government. The cost of constructing the camp was about 1.25 million gulden. Westerbork opened at this time because there were Jewish refugees out there trying to get away from the Nazis. The first refugees arrived in Westerbork on October 9th 1940. The camp came under the control of the Ministry of Justice on 16 July 1940. When the Germans invaded the Netherlands in May 1940, there were 750 refugees residing in the camp. In late 1941 they decided that Westerbork was an ideal place in which to assemble the Jews of Holland before their deportation. The first arrived at the camp on 14 July, and the deportation to Auschwitz left the following day. On July 1, 1942, the German authorities took control of the camp, Westerbork became officially a transit camp. Between July 1942 and September 1944 almost 100,000 Jews would pass through the Westerbork

The Germans created the camp for many reasons, first it was for transporting Jews to other camps. Second, it was for making the Jews feel horrible about themselves physical and emotional. Thirdly, it was for the Jews when they first arrived and to hold them until they get transported to another camp to be gassed. In a resolution proposed by the Minister of Home Affairs and approved by the Dutch cabinet on 13 February 1939, it was determined to construct a camp to house the refugees from Germany that live in this country. Those Jews who had been caught in hiding within Holland were labelled convict Jews and were placed in a punishment block, Barrack 67, the north-eastern corner of the camp. On 8 February 1944, a transport of more than 1,000 Jews was deported from Westerbork to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Among them were 268 of the camp´s hospital patients, including children with scarlet fever and diphtheria. The final transport from the Netherlands to Auschwitz was on 3 September 1944. Two days later the camp was crowded with members of the NSB (Dutch Nazi Party), who tried to flee to Germany after false rumours of an invasion of the country by allied forces (Mad Tuesday). The 93rd transport from Westerbork, to Bergen-Belsen, left on 15 September 1944. After this deportation, less than 1,000 inmates remained in Westerbork. On 12 April 1945, as the allied forces approached Westerbork,