January 27 is Holocaust Remembrance Day
A billboard at Auschwitz-Birkenau shows photos of prisoners being intaken at the concentration camp where about 1 million Jews and other victims were killed during World War II under Adolph Hitler's Nazi regime.
COURTESY PHOTO/ANA CAROLINA ESCOBAR ARCE
In light of the observance of Holocaust Remembrance Day, which seeks to ensure the world never forgets the atrocities associated with World War II and the Nazi regime, below are facts to provide perspective on the severity of the events of that time.
Death toll:
Jewish population in Poland beforeWWII: ~ 3.3 million
Jewish population in Poland after WWII: ~ 300,000
Jewish population of USSR before WWII: ~ 3.02 million
Jewish population of USSR after WWII: ~ 1.9 million
Jewish population of Europe before WWII: ~ 9.51 million
Jewish population of Europe after WWII: ~ 3.55 million
Total estimated Jewish deaths: ~ 6 million
Total estimated Roma deaths: 250,000-500,000
Deaths at Auschwitz: ~ 1 million
Treblinka 2 Concentration Camp: ~925,000
Beltzec Concentration Camp: 434,508
Sobibor Killing Center: ~ 167,000
*Chelmno Killing Center: ~ 167,000
Nazi-occupied USSR: ~1.3 million
*Chelmo Killing Center was the first stationary facility where poison gas was used for the mass killing of Jewish people.
Editor’s note: The numbers above are not comprehensive. The number of operations used by the Nazis to facilitate the Holocaust was extensive and the death tolls listed above are minimum numbers. The number is expected to be greater in most cases, except where an exact number or range of numbers is provided.
For more information on the Holocaust, visit www.ushmm.org.
SOURCE: U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum