Lost River Camps

How did the Nazis determine who to take to concentration camps?

Ive had so much schooling on the Holocaust, but for some reason I was shocked to realize the other day that I couldn't answer this question. I know Jewish people were taken to concentration camps, and I'm knowledgable on a lot of the history, I just don't know what the nazis used to determine who to take. Was it strictly religious, or heritage based? What if you were of Jewish background but a Christian? Even if you were of Jewish background or faith, how did the nazis know? I'm ashamed I can't answer this question. Could someone help me out?

Public Comments

1. When I visited the Auschwitz Death Camp in 2007, there was a room with all the different classifications. Different stars and colors...for political prisoners, homosexuality, etc.
2. Well The Nazis were known for there records so they would go far back to see if you were full blooded Jewish part Jewish even if you weren't Jewish yourself you were still considered a "Jew" they determined if you were currently Jewish by church records. Nazis also sent blacks and homosexuals to concentration camps. The Nazis they were decendents from the ancient Aryan race and everyone else was inferior and the perfect person was blond hair and blue eyed.
3. What many people tend to forget is that Hitler and the Nazis would have never risen to such power in Germany and in Europe if there was not some popular commonality between them all. Antisemitism is certainly not limited to their era, nor is it limited to that part of the world. To assume that kind of thinking began with them and ended with their passing would be incredibly naive. Hitler was an elected official. He was loved by not only the Germans, but also most of the Europeans. Many Europeans welcomed Hitler into their countries. They helped the Nazis track down Jews and other undesirables. With revisionist history, many people falsely assume that all of Europe hated the Nazis. Not true. The sad fact is that even many Jews helped to turn in other Jews to the Nazis. If Hitler were to get up on a stage at an awards ceremony and thank everyone that helped him he would have to thank the Austrians, Germans, Italians, the French(Vichy), and so forth. If you were to visit Germany today, which is now reunited for some inane reason, you will find that there are white supremacist, antisemitic, and Nazi groups existing in Germany today. In fact, the majority of Germans still hate Jews. They refuse to accept the existence of Israel and support many of the groups that are now stating that the US over reacted in their war on terrorism as many Europeans are now doing. We have fought Europeans like Hitler and Mussolini before and if necessary we shall fight them again and again. The hatred is both religious based (Roman Catholic, Lutheran) and heritage based (Prussian, European culture, antisemitism). The Nazis knew because people were their eyes and ears. People loved them and they hated the Jews as much as they loved the Nazis. In European literature, the Jews have been compared to rats infecting a plague. Shakespeare spoke of this in England. Even in the USA, you hear stereotypes and myths about the Jews murdering Jesus and being in the mafia and all that. In Europe, this is one hundred times worse. The Nazis were compared to the pest control man you would hire to get rats or roaches out of your house. In Europe, the Jew is the vermin on their society. Gypsies were also considered part of the problem. Gays and lesbians perverted society and failed to procreate and build the fatherland and produce offspring and also had to be eliminated. To an American, this seems as alien to Americans as not showering every day and putting perfume and cologne on shirts and getting two day's wear out of clothing as the Europeans do. When we live in a democratic society, we tend to think that everyone believes as we do, and this is not the case. Hitler was a European. Roosevelt was an American. Different men- different views of the world. May I also add that the "Master race" and Aryan belief is an illusion created by the Nazis into leading Germans and Europeans to believing that they were somehow superior to other ethnic groups. The reason for the blue eyes and the blond hair resulted from years of being defeated and over-run by other nations and ethnicities. In fact, if you were to do DNA genetic testing, you would find many similar enzymes between Germans, Poles, Russians, Western Europeans, Eastern Europeans. This can be found because of years of being defeated by other military groups. This is not a fact of superior breading, but a trait of an inferiority complex that is quite common among white trash Aryan nation prison inmates throughout Europe and America for people such as Charles Manson.