Lost River Camps

How many concentration camps were there during the holocaust?

I read somewhere there was an estimated 20,000 concentration camps during the holocaust. Is this true?

Public Comments

1. There were many concentration camps: USA (Manzanares) and many in Europe( Germany, Poland, Russia).
2. No...there were about 50 main camps, including both the concentration and death camps (some make the distinction). The wehrmaht (the main German army, not the SS) ran its own camps for POWs other captured subjects that fell under their own jurisdiction, but while POW camps concentrated large groups of people together, they're still different in that they're used purely for military means.
3. There were several main concentration camps specifically designated for extermation such as Auschwitz, Dachau, Treblinka then there were camps that were both for work and extermanation with sub-camps. I actually have the figuires and will post them in about 10 hours. Ok here we go................. The number of KL's in greater Germany has been estimated at various times during 1941, 1942 and 1943 to total from about thirty to about seventy-five, although more than 100 camps sites have been reported. The capacity of KL's (caoncentration camps) in Gernmany was probably about 500,000. A report dated 1943, concerning camps in Poland spoke of the existance of 109 camps in that country divided into the following types:- Nine transit camps 24 KL's 3 forced labour camps 60 smaller forced labour camps 3 camps for priests 9 camps for Jews 1 camp for the "improvement of the Nordic race". The most conservative estimate of the number of persons in "protective custody" in Germany proper in July 1944 was from 170,000 to 370,000. Here is the final 1945 estimates. There were camps in the Baltic States, Belgium, Bulgaria, Channel Isles, Danzig, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, Slovakia and Yugoslavia. Here they are in territorial order: Baltic states: 8 Belgium: 12 Bulgaria: 3 Channel Islands :3 Danzig : 6 Denmark : 4 France: 83 Germany: 329 Greece: 65 Holland: 31 Hungary: 1 Italy: 1 Norway: 29 Poland : 192, but 43 are cross referenced, mostly the result that many locations are known by thier Polish as well as German names. Slovikia: 2 Yugoslavia: 19 and 6 camps unlocated. That's approx: 751 KNOWN CAMPS! The brakdown of camps were the: Konzentratinslager (concentration camps) Arbeitslager (work camps) Zwangslager (forciable detention camps) Zwangsarbeitslager (penal servitude) Zivilgefangenenlager ( detention camp for civilians) Straflager (punitive camps) If needed I can provide more detailed information on each individual camp including camp organization, methods of prisoner identification, camp guards, TV regiments, etc. Hope this helps.
4. Too many !
5. The term "Concentration Camp" is a blanket term that covers a lot of different things. There were six main "extermination camps" : Auschwitz-Birkenau, Treblinka, Sobibor, Belzec, Chelmno and Majdanek. There were two others: Maly Trostenets, which was a secret camp in Belarus, and Jasenovac, which was operated by the Croatian government of the time. There were various types of other camps, including Transit camps, internment camps, prison camps and Labour camps. Some Prisoner of War camps also served as Labour camps (particularly with Russian POW's, where the line between the two was virtually non-existent) Sub-camps, Collection points and Ghettos also served the function of "concentration camps". The number of 20,000 is ridiculously high--there were probably less than 100.
6. No. In 1944 there were 20 concentration camps and 165 satellite camps.