Chelmno Death Camp Opens: Gas Vans Begin Mass Murder
SS operatives at Chelmno forced Jewish prisoners into sealed vans and pumped exhaust fumes inside, killing approximately 700 people on the first day of operations. This method of industrialized murder preceded the gas chambers and represented the Nazi regime's systematic escalation from mass shootings to mechanized extermination. Over 150,000 people would be murdered at Chelmno before the war ended.
December 8, 1941
85 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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