The Nazis' goal for camps like Buchenwald was Vernichtung durch Arbeit ("extermination through labor").
 This meant that prisoners were being sent to Buchenwald to be worked to death.

Because of the terrible living conditions in the camp, illness was very common and spread quickly.
 Prisoners were also starving.
 Because of this combination of illness and starvation, many prisoners were actually "worked to death" as the Nazis had planned.
 However, many other inmates died from executions, experiments by Nazi doctors, and other causes.

Summary executions of Soviet POWs (executions without a trial) were also done at Buchenwald.
 In 1941 and 1942, at least 1,000 men were chosen to be killed and were sent to Buchenwald, where they were immediately shot in the back of the head.

Nazi doctors also did experiments on prisoners at Buchenwald.
 For example, in 1942 and 1943, they used 729 prisoners to test a vaccine for typhus.
 This meant the prisoners were given the vaccine, and then given typhus on purpose.
 154 of these prisoners died.
 In another experiment, Nazi doctors wanted to see how much of a certain poison was needed to kill a person.
 They gave four Russian POWs the poison.
 When the POWs did not die, they were "strangled in the crematorium" and then "dissected" (cut apart to study their bodies).
 Doctors also burned other prisoners very badly with white phosphorus to test whether a medicine would help similar wounds caused by bombs.
 After the war ended, at the Nuremberg Trials, one of these doctors defended himself by saying that while he was a doctor, he was also a "legally appointed executioner" (meaning the law allowed him to kill people).
The Nazis' goal for camps like Buchenwald was Vernichtung durch Arbeit ("extermination through labor").  This meant that prisoners were being sent to Buchenwald to be worked to death.
Because of the terrible living conditions in the camp, illness was very common and spread quickly.  Prisoners were also starving.  Because of this combination of illness and starvation, many prisoners were actually "worked to death" as the Nazis had planned.  However, many other inmates died from executions, experiments by Nazi doctors, and other causes.
Summary executions of Soviet POWs (executions without a trial) were also done at Buchenwald.  In 1941 and 1942, at least 1,000 men were chosen to be killed and were sent to Buchenwald, where they were immediately shot in the back of the head.
Nazi doctors also did experiments on prisoners at Buchenwald.  For example, in 1942 and 1943, they used 729 prisoners to test a vaccine for typhus.  This meant the prisoners were given the vaccine, and then given typhus on purpose.  154 of these prisoners died.  In another experiment, Nazi doctors wanted to see how much of a certain poison was needed to kill a person.  They gave four Russian POWs the poison.  When the POWs did not die, they were "strangled in the crematorium" and then "dissected" (cut apart to study their bodies).  Doctors also burned other prisoners very badly with white phosphorus to test whether a medicine would help similar wounds caused by bombs.  After the war ended, at the Nuremberg Trials, one of these doctors defended himself by saying that while he was a doctor, he was also a "legally appointed executioner" (meaning the law allowed him to kill people).
Buchenwald concentration camp