Jack 8-1 Treblinka World War II was perhaps one of the most serious wars in the world’s history. During this time, over 6 million Jewish prisoners were killed in concentration camps. In more severe cases, death camps. Death Camps were specifically made to kill off the Jewish population. Right next to Auschwitz, Treblinka had the highest number of killings. Although it is not as well-known as other concentration camps, it is most definitely just as serious. In November 1942, after the establishment of the first camp, Treblinka I, the Operation Reinhard authorities established a killing center known as Treblinka II that is located around a mile away from the first camp. The construction began April 1942. It was near Polish village of Wolka Okraglik along the Malkinia-Siedlce railway line. The labor camp, death camp, and Malkinia station were all connected by a rail spur that the Germans built. The camp was hidden by woods so that it wasn’t seen. Treblinka was constructed in the shape of a trapezoid, 400 meters by 600 meters (Chris Webb, online).Watch towers as high as 8 meters were placed on the four corners. Barbed-wire surrounded the place with branches woven into it. Also, trees were planted around the perimeter. Both of these things served as a camouflage to keep it hidden. The layout of the camp was split up into 3 sections. One of these was the living area. This is where the Germans and staffs living quarters were. Another was the
Administration area, where the Jewish prisoners arrived. Finally, probably the biggest portion of the camp was the killing section. This contained the gas chambers where the prisoners were killed. The staff of Treblinka consisted of around 25 to 35 SS and police officials, who all wore grey uniforms of the Waffen-SS. They were all responsible for the killings of the prisoners. They carried pistols, just incase of an emergency. Also there were between 90 to 150 Ukrainian guards, all whom were prisoners of war and suited for this purpose. These