Revier was a term
used in Nazi camps to designate the medical facility for inmates. It was abbreviated from the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
word (
infirmary
Infirmary may refer to:
*Historically, a hospital, especially a small hospital
*A first aid room in a school, prison, or other institution
*A dispensary (an office that dispenses medications)
*A clinic
A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambu ...
). The Reviers were managed by
Capos who most often did not have medical training. The conditions in reviers varied drastically,
in most camps, a trip to the Revier was virtually a death sentence.
Extermination camps
In
extermination camp
Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (german: Vernichtungslager), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocaust. The v ...
s (as well as in many
labor camp
A labor camp (or labour camp, see spelling differences) or work camp is a detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in penal labor as a form of punishment. Labor camps have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons (especi ...
s, where
extermination through labor
Extermination through labour (or "extermination through work", german: Vernichtung durch Arbeit) is a term that was adopted to describe forced labor in Nazi concentration camps in light of the high mortality rate and poor conditions; in some ...
was practiced) the name revier was immediately associated with death in many respects. Death was to be expected immediately upon entrance to a revier: An "insufficiently" sick person could be classified as
malingerer
Malingering is the fabrication, feigning, or exaggeration of physical or psychological symptoms designed to achieve a desired outcome, such as relief from duty or work.
Malingering is not a medical diagnosis, but may be recorded as a "focus of c ...
, who was avoiding labor. The penalty was death. Even being admitted into the revier gave little hope: while the medical personnel (inmates) could be highly qualified doctors, they could not offer any help beyond very basic
first aid
First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with either a minor or serious illness or injury, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery. It includes initial in ...
. For example, the supply of
medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
was very limited. In addition, rations for the sick were lower than for the inmates who could work and no
hygiene
Hygiene is a series of practices performed to preserve health.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases." Personal hygiene refer ...
was maintained. Finally, at any moment the residents of a revier were subject to extermination for various reasons (e.g. a threat of an
epidemic
An epidemic (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time.
Epidemics ...
, due to overcrowding or deemed incurably sick).
References
{{reflist
Sources
Medicine in the concentration camps of the Third Reich
Terminology of Nazi concentration camps