During the holocaust...?

Question

Did german civilians know about the death camps and the exterminations that were occuring? Or did it only come out publicly after the war had ended?

Answer 1

Most of them knew about it.  The ones who lived near the camps could smell the burning flesh.

Answer 2

i think the germans knew something was up, n**i's used propaganda to make the jews look like their enemy and lots of germans grassed up jews thinking they were doing the right thing, whether they knew about the camps i dont know

Answer 3

Most no. For them they were simply internment camps, such as prisons. After all in all reports released by the State, it said the local Jewish population was "evacuated." The common rumor spread and promoted by the government was the Jews were being shipped East, out of Germany.

      Most death camps were built outside of Germany. And even then were built in remote areas. So it's kind of odd to expect most Germans to know about them in an age where there was little to no pervasive journalism, almost no one had TV's, most families didn't even own a radio, etc...

Answer 4

Even high-ranking German generals (Erwin Rommel was one) did not fully know about the extermination camps until quite late in the war, however concentration camps were well known, their purpose (forced/slave labour) required that the inmates come into contact with local populations, who even if they didn't talk with the prisoners, were able to see the effects of their imprisonment. Any direct contact with the prisoners was forbidden and punished.

The recognised extermination camps were kept well away from German public view mostly sited in occupied Poland.

Answer 5

I'm sure that there were some who were aware of it.  But either they were on the side of the n**i's or they were to afraid to speak out because of them.

Answer 6

Hmm this is always open for debate, most German civillians did know what was going on but turned the other cheek, I dont think this happened until the latter part of the war though, some will say they thought the Jews were just being rounded up and sent to work camps so its a grey area still to this day

Answer 7

Those trains weren't going to Disneyland. Of course they knew.

Answer 8

no they knew of course. thats why some of them were hiding.

acually there would be public announcements on the radios from military that would tell them that.

Answer 9

I would say that the the civilians most likely knew of their existence, but probably not the full extent of what was going on. They may not have known exactly what was happening, as the n**i's were really quite good at hiding things, but they probably would have wanted some of it to come out as the n**i's biggest weapon to keep them in power was fear and terror.

So letting the civilians know that if they did something "wrong" or against the state that there was a place for them, was a good way to keep people in check.

Answer 10

They knew about it. Most had a misguided interpretation of the camps. They saw them as something that had to be done to rid themselves of their "problem"...the Jews. Many believed that if it was going on and no one was stopping it then there must be nothing wrong.

Answer 11

They were to busy trading swastika's like pokemon cards.

Answer 12

Corse they did.

Answer 13

they knew, a lot of them deny it that the holocaust ever happened though, this article, just the first one, says what some of the germans thought of the holocaust, saying that it was a Jewish conspiracy ect.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocaust_d...

Answer 14

I think they had a good idea, but were understandably reluctant to admit they new what was going on.  They didn't want to cause a stir because they might be the nest ones to be sent there.

Answer 15

No I don't think so. When the concentration camps were raided the civilians were able to see the dead bodies inside of the camps and most of them were astonished about what was going on around there houses.

Answer 16

It seems like they should have known somthing like that was going on but information in Germany was completely controlled byt the n***s and Hilter knew that although there was a general anti semetic feeling in Germany, that these radical measures would not be supported. It is also thought that even inside the government it was only the most fanatical n***s that knew about it.

Death camps were different from concentration camps. There were no death camps in Germany as Hitler wanted them out of the way and to be kept underwraps so the actual exterminations were carried out in Poland and Czechoslovakia. It was also done under the distraction and cover of the war- a very calculated masecare. Even then it seems that if the allied troops had heard rumours about it going on then the German civillains must have known somthing.

i think that the Germans definatly knew about the concentration camps but possibly did not know the full extent of the holocaust. As controlling as the n**i state was, Hitler knew he could not lose the support of the people and there wouldn't be many- depite what is generally thought- that would have supported the n***s in view of the holocaust.

i hope  this answers your questionX

Answer 17

Most German civilains didn't know about the concentration camps, although they did see a lot of the Jews taken away. The few who did know either didn't care or where to afraid to speak out about it because of HItler and the Gestapo(German police). Through the war there were rumors about the camps, but it wasn't untill after the war that everyone knew they were true.

Answer 18

I don't think the german people knew what was going on to begin with.So much propaganda was put out that Hitler and his cabinet were able to convince the german of whatever they wanted the people to believe.They were very careful that nothing showed the n**i party in a negative light.A new study shows that a great many Germans did in fact know what was going on, although many did not ask questions.The 'night of broken glass' shortly before war broke out was reported in newspapers as an act of heroism.