Nalchik concentration camp

The Nalchik concentration camp or ghetto was a concentration camp established by Nazi Germany in October or November of 1942. It is famous for its systematic torture and murder of inmates.

Nalchik
Concentration camp
Known for	Systematic torture and murder of Jews (and people believed to be Jewish) in the camp during the Holocaust, by Nazi Germany.
Location	Nalchik, German-occupied Russian SFSR
Original use	No known original use
Operational	c. November 1942 – 3 January 1943 (around two months)
Inmates	Russian Jews (or people believed to be Jewish) living in the Caucasus Mountains area, at the time
Number of inmates	about c. 3500 to 4400 inmates
Killed	about c. 160 to 200 inmates (fatally shot to death)
Liberated by	3 January 1943, Soviet Red Army

Prisoners

The camp imprisoned Russian Jews (and people believed to be Jewish). The Nazis targeted people coming from the entire Caucausus Mountains area, not just Nalchik. The German officers in the camp called it "Jewish Colony."

Planned extermination & liberation

By January of 1943, the German officers at Nalchik had made a plan to exterminate all (or nearly all) of the prisoners in the camp. They planned to begin killing people on 4 January. Fortunately, on 3 January, Nalchik was liberated by a nearby Soviet Red Army military unit. The unit had been sent to liberate the city of Nalchik.

Because the camp was liberated early, nearly all of the people imprisoned there survived. Around two hundred people were killed.

After the Holocaust

Nalchik was occupied by Nazi Germany from 28 October 1942 to 3 January 1943. This was a short time compared to other areas like Poland and France, which were occupied for years. Unlike most other concentration camps, almost all of the inmates survived Nalchik, since it lasted just a few months. For these reasons, Holocaust historians and scholars were slow to recognize Nalchik survivors as "true" Holocaust survivors.