The Overlooked Victims of Nazi Persecution

The Forgotten Five Million

The Holocaust is most commonly remembered for the systematic murder of six million Jewish men, women, and children, targeted by the Nazi regime as part of its plan to eradicate Jewish life in Europe. However, an additional five million individuals also fell victim to the Nazis’ brutal policies, representing a wide range of groups deemed “undesirable” or threats to the regime’s ideology. These victims included Romani people, who faced near-total annihilation in some regions; political dissidents, such as communists, socialists, and trade unionists, who opposed Nazi rule; individuals with physical or intellectual disabilities, whom the Nazis considered a burden on society and subjected to forced sterilization and euthanasia programs; Jehovah’s Witnesses, persecuted for their refusal to swear allegiance to the state or serve in the military; and homosexuals, targeted under harsh anti-gay laws.

Misconceptions About the Holocaust’s Beginnings

A common misconception is that the Holocaust began as a deliberate, coordinated attempt to annihilate the Jewish population. However, the early years of Nazi rule focused on consolidating control and eliminating political opposition. These actions laid the foundation for later genocidal policies. Scholars often debate the role of intent in defining genocide, emphasizing that explicit documentation or statements are typically required. In the case of the Holocaust, the “Final Solution”—the systematic plan to exterminate the Jewish population—was not formalized until 1942, nearly a decade after Dachau’s establishment. Early measures included the 1935 Nuremberg Laws, which institutionalized racial discrimination and stripped Jews of their civil rights, laying the groundwork for later, more extreme actions.

Dachau: The First Concentration Camp

In March 1933, the Nazi regime opened Dachau, the first concentration camp of the Holocaust. Initially established to imprison political dissidents—communists, socialists, and trade unionists—Dachau was a tool for consolidating Nazi power. Over time, the camp’s purpose expanded to include the incarceration of various groups the Nazis deemed undesirable, such as Jews, Romani people, homosexuals, and others. Dachau became a prototype for the broader network of concentration camps that would later facilitate mass incarceration, forced labor, and extermination during the Holocaust. By the war’s end, over 200,000 people from more than 30 countries had been imprisoned in Dachau, with approximately 41,500 deaths.¹

Silencing Dissent: The First Targets

The Nazi regime’s first victims were political dissidents. With the passage of the Enabling Act in March 1933, Adolf Hitler was granted dictatorial powers, enabling the systematic silencing of opposition.² This law allowed the Nazis to bypass the Reichstag (German Parliament) and enact laws without its consent, effectively dismantling the democratic structure of the Weimar Republic.³

From 1933 to 1938, thousands of communists, socialists, and trade unionists were arrested, tortured, and often killed.⁴ The Reichstag Fire Decree, enacted after the Reichstag building was set on fire in February 1933, was used as a pretext to arrest and suppress political opponents. By the end of Hitler’s first month in power, over 27,000 political dissidents had been jailed. Many of these individuals were sent to Dachau, the first Nazi concentration camp, where they faced inhumane treatment and frequently perished.

In Dachau, political prisoners were subjected to brutal forced labor, malnutrition, and severe physical and psychological abuse. The camp’s infrastructure was used to experiment with different methods of repression and control, which would later be applied across the entire concentration camp system. The SS guards at Dachau were notorious for their cruelty, and the camp became a model for other concentration camps established by the Nazi regime.

A Notable Resister: Martin Niemöller

Martin Niemöller, a Christian pastor who resisted the state-controlled German Evangelical Church, became one of the most prominent political prisoners. Initially a supporter of Hitler, Niemöller became disillusioned with the regime as it sought to interfere with church affairs and imposed the Nazi ideology on religious institutions. He co-founded the Confessing Church, which opposed the Nazification of the German Protestant Church and defended church autonomy.

Niemöller’s outspoken resistance led to his arrest in 1937. He spent years in Sachsenhausen and Dachau, enduring harsh conditions and constant threats to his life. Despite his imprisonment, Niemöller’s resolve did not waver, and he continued to inspire others to resist the regime.

Jewish prisoners, in contrast, were not incarcerated in large numbers until 1938, following the Kristallnacht pogrom, which marked an escalation in Nazi policies against Jews. During Kristallnacht, Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues were destroyed, and thousands of Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps. This event signaled the beginning of more aggressive anti-Jewish policies and the transition from persecution to systematic genocide.⁵

The T-4 Program: A Prelude to Genocide

The Nazis escalated their campaign of extermination in 1939 with the launch of the T-4 program, a state-sponsored euthanasia initiative targeting individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities. This program sought to create a “racially pure” society by eliminating those deemed “unworthy of life.” Victims of the T-4 program were subjected to forced sterilization, starvation, and euthanasia in gas chambers, a chilling precursor to the methods later used in the broader Holocaust.

Arbitrary Criteria and Systematic Murders

The criteria for inclusion in the T-4 program were often arbitrary, influenced by pseudoscientific racial theories and eugenics. Physicians, nurses, and bureaucrats identified individuals who did not meet the regime’s vision of a productive citizen. These determinations ignored the victims’ humanity and potential. From children with congenital disabilities to adults with chronic illnesses, victims were murdered through lethal injections, starvation, and gas chambers disguised as showers. Families were often misled with false reports of natural deaths.

Implementation and Methods

Six main killing centers were established: Hadamar, Hartheim, Sonnenstein, Grafeneck, Bernburg, and Brandenburg. At these centers, patients were systematically killed and their bodies cremated. The staff involved in these operations were often sworn to secrecy, and the buildings used were disguised as medical facilities to deceive the public. In many cases, death certificates were falsified to cover up the true cause of death.

The Genocide of the Roma and Sinti

The Romani people were targeted under the same genocidal policies as Jews. Known as the “Porajmos,” or “Devouring,” the genocide of Roma and Sinti resulted in the deaths of an estimated 250,000 to 500,000 individuals across Europe. In Auschwitz-Birkenau alone, approximately 23,000 Roma and Sinti were imprisoned, many of whom perished in gas chambers or from starvation, disease, and abuse. Despite their suffering, their plight remains underrepresented in Holocaust studies and public discourse. Notably, on the night of August 2, 1944, known as “Zigeunernacht” (Gypsy Night), nearly 3,000 Roma and Sinti prisoners were killed in the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

The systematic deportation of Roma and Sinti to concentration camps began in earnest in 1942. Families were rounded up and transported in overcrowded cattle cars, often without food or water for days. Upon arrival at camps like Auschwitz, they were subjected to brutal selection processes. Those deemed unfit for labor, including the elderly, sick, and young children, were immediately sent to the gas chambers. Those who survived the initial selection faced grueling forced labor, medical experiments, and inhumane living conditions.

Roma and Sinti prisoners were often subjected to horrific medical experiments. Dr. Josef Mengele, known as the “Angel of Death,” conducted experiments on twins, including many Roma and Sinti children. These experiments included injecting chemicals into their eyes to change their color, amputating limbs, and infecting them with diseases. The survivors of these experiments were often left with permanent disabilities or were killed once they were no longer useful to the Nazis’ pseudo-scientific research.

The Persecution of LGBTQIA Individuals

The Nazi regime’s persecution of LGBTQIA individuals, particularly gay men, was enforced under Paragraph 175 of the German Criminal Code. This law, which criminalized homosexual acts between men, was broadened and harshly enforced by the Nazis as part of their agenda to eliminate homosexuality from German society.

In 1933, the Nazis began dismantling gay communities and organizations. The Institute for Sexual Science in Berlin, a pioneering center for LGBTQIA research and advocacy, was destroyed. In 1936, the Gestapo established the Reich Central Office for the Combating of Homosexuality and Abortion to centralize the persecution of gay men. Around 100,000 men were arrested, with 50,000 convictions, and an estimated 5,000 to 15,000 were sent to concentration camps. There, they were forced to wear pink triangle badges and endured particularly brutal treatment. The mortality rate for gay men in camps was disproportionately high due to targeted abuse, medical experiments, and systematic executions.

Pierre Seel: A Voice for the Silenced

One of the few openly gay Holocaust survivors to share his story was Pierre Seel. Arrested in 1941 at age 17, Seel was sent to the Schirmeck-Vorbruck camp, where he endured severe abuse and witnessed the execution of his partner, a traumatic event that haunted him for the rest of his life. Seel’s imprisonment was marked by relentless torture, starvation, and forced labor. He was subjected to brutal beatings and humiliations designed to break his spirit and dehumanize him. The psychological and physical torment he suffered was compounded by the constant fear of death and the overwhelming sense of isolation.

After decades of silence, Seel found the courage to speak out about his experiences. In 1994, he published his memoir, I, Pierre Seel, Deported Homosexual, which provided a harrowing account of the persecution of gay men during the Holocaust. His book was one of the first to address this specific aspect of Nazi atrocities, highlighting the often-overlooked suffering of LGBTQIA individuals under the regime. ⁶Through his testimony, Seel not only shed light on the brutal treatment of gay men in concentration camps but also became an advocate for the recognition and remembrance of LGBTQIA Holocaust victims.

Dachau: A Laboratory for Atrocities

Dachau became infamous for its brutal conditions. Prisoners endured extreme malnutrition, grueling forced labor, and medical experiments, including submersion in freezing water—procedures that often resulted in death. Additionally, prisoners were subjected to high-altitude experiments, testing for the limits of human endurance, and testing various drugs and treatments for injuries.⁷ Initially a site for imprisoning political enemies, Dachau evolved into a symbol of Nazi inhumanity and served as a proving ground for the methods later used in the Holocaust.

The medical experiments conducted at Dachau were particularly horrific. Dr. Sigmund Rascher, a Luftwaffe physician, conducted high-altitude experiments to study the effects of sudden decompression on the human body.⁸ Prisoners were placed in low-pressure chambers that simulated altitudes of up to 68,000 feet, often resulting in excruciating pain, loss of consciousness, and death. Rascher also conducted hypothermia experiments, where prisoners were immersed in ice-cold water to study the effects of extreme cold on the human body. These experiments aimed to find ways to treat German soldiers suffering from hypothermia on the Eastern Front.

Other medical experiments included testing the effects of various chemicals and drugs. Some prisoners were subjected to mustard gas and other toxic agents to evaluate potential treatments for chemical warfare injuries.⁹ The experiments were not only inhumane but also scientifically invalid, as they were conducted without any ethical considerations or consent from the subjects.

Forced Labor

In addition to medical experiments, Dachau prisoners were forced to work on various construction projects, including the expansion of the camp itself and the construction of nearby infrastructure. ¹⁰ This forced labor was grueling and often deadly, with prisoners receiving minimal food and rest. The SS guards overseeing the labor were notoriously brutal, frequently beating and killing prisoners who were unable to keep up with the demanding work.

The psychological and physical torture at Dachau was relentless. Prisoners were subjected to arbitrary punishment, including beatings, whippings, and prolonged periods of standing or kneeling in stress positions. ¹¹The SS guards used various methods to instill fear and break the prisoners’ spirits, including mock executions and solitary confinement.¹² Many prisoners were driven to the brink of madness by the constant abuse and dehumanization

A Call for Comprehensive Memory

As the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz approaches, it is vital to remember all its victims. The focus on Jewish victims, while essential, should not obscure the stories of Romani people, individuals with disabilities, LGBTQIA individuals, and political dissidents who suffered alongside them. These groups faced the same brutality and dehumanization, yet their narratives remain underrepresented in mainstream Holocaust remembrance.

The lessons of the Holocaust resonate today, serving as a stark warning about the dangers of unchecked authoritarianism, racism, and dehumanization. Only by acknowledging the full scope of these atrocities can we ensure their lessons endure and their victims are honored.