1. Gas chambers: The most notorious method was the use of gas chambers. These were purpose-built facilities designed to exterminate large numbers of people efficiently. Poisonous gas, often Zyklon B, was introduced into the chambers and killed those inside.
2. Shooting and Mass Shootings: Mass shootings played a significant role, particularly during the early stages of the Holocaust. Victims were gathered and executed by firing squads or machine guns, often in remote locations such as forests or ravines.
3. Mobile Killing Units (Einsatzgruppen): These specially formed SS units were responsible for mass killings in Eastern Europe. They carried out systematic executions of Jews, Roma, intellectuals, and other perceived enemies behind the advancing German lines.
4. Starvation: In ghettos and concentration camps, Jews were subjected to starvation and extreme deprivation of food. Millions of people died from malnutrition and related diseases.
5. Medical Experiments and Abuse: Nazi doctors and scientists conducted brutal medical experiments on Jewish prisoners. They inflicted pain and suffering, resulting in the deaths of many.
6. Forced Labor: Jews were often forced into hard labor under brutal conditions. They worked in factories, mines, and other industrial settings, where many died from exhaustion, starvation, disease, or accidents.
7. Deportation and Death Marches: Jews were forcibly deported from their homes and taken to ghettos, concentration camps, or extermination camps. Many faced grueling conditions during these deportations, known as death marches, and perished due to starvation, disease, and exhaustion.
It's important to note that the Holocaust was not a single event but rather a series of coordinated actions and policies implemented by the Nazi regime. The systematic killing of Jews was the central aim, and it was carried out using various methods to achieve their genocidal goals.