Page "Buchenwald concentration camp" Paragraph 29

A primary cause of death was illness due to harsh camp conditions, with starvation — and its consequent illnesses — prevalent.

Malnourished and suffering from disease, many were literally " worked to death " under the Vernichtung durch Arbeit policy ( extermination through labor ), as inmates had only the choice between slave labour or inevitable execution.

Many inmates died as a result of human experimentation or fell victim to arbitrary acts perpetrated by the SS guards.

Other prisoners were simply murdered, primarily by shooting and hanging.