Chelmno

Chelmno, also known as Kulmhof, was a Nazi German extermination camp established in December 1941 during World War II. It was located in the village of Chelmno nad Nerem in occupied Poland, approximately 50 kilometers north of Łódź. This camp was the first dedicated extermination facility created by the SS for the purpose of mass murder as part of the Holocaust.

The primary method of killing at Chelmno was by gas vans. Victims, predominantly Jews from the Łódź Ghetto and surrounding areas, were transported to the camp under false pretenses, often told they were being resettled. Once at Chelmno, they were ordered to undress and then herded into sealed vans that would then drive around until the carbon monoxide exhaust fumes suffocated the occupants. The bodies were then taken to nearby pits and buried or, in later phases of the camp's operation, cremated.

Chelmno operated in two distinct phases. The first phase lasted from December 1941 to March 1943, during which an estimated 150,000 to 170,000 people were murdered, overwhelmingly Jews. The second phase, from June 1944 to January 1945, saw the resumption of killings, though on a smaller scale, targeting remaining Jewish prisoners and Polish civilians. The total number of victims is estimated to be around 200,000, making Chelmno one of the deadliest extermination camps. The camp was dismantled by the Nazis in 1945 as Soviet forces approached.