From+Ghettos+to+Death+Camps?

= From Ghettos to Death Camps =  The Holocaust transportation trains played a crucial role in the overall goal of the "Final Solution." Jews from Germany and Europe at the time were deported by rail to the death camps in mainly Poland, where they were killed. The Germans tried to disguise what they were doing by calling it a quote, "resettlement to the east." The victims were told they were being taken to labor camps, but in reality, from around 1942, Jews that were captured and put on a train meant that they were going to a death camp. The Germans used both freight and passenger cars for the deportations. They did not give the Jews food or water, even when the trip went on for days even when the Jews had to wait for other trains to pass. The people left in sealed freight cars suffered from intense heat in summer, and freezing temperatures in winter. Aside from a bucket, there was no bathroom or any other sanitary items. Due to the lack of food and water, many Jews died before the trains reached the camps. A quote found from a book unburned from the trains states, "There is no hope left, no signs for prosperity and no food for thought. Family is second priority to survival" (Rice 19). Armed guards shot anyone trying to escape. Between 1941 and 1944, millions of people were transported by rail to the death camps and other killing sites.