Mauthausen concentration camp
Prisoners at Mauthausen had to live and work in terrible conditions, which killed many people. This was not accidental. The Nazis made camp conditions terrible on purpose. This was part of their plan to kill everyone who came to the camps. They gave the prisoners so little food that thousands starved. From 1940 to 1942, an average inmate weighed just 40 kilograms (88 pounds). Prisoners were not given adequate clothing or shelter, and many froze to death in the winter. There was no access to water or to basic sanitation. Hygiene was impossible. Contagious diseases spread quickly and killed many people.