To what extent did regular Germans in the 1930s and 40s know about the concentration camps? Were they aware of their existence or the atrocities committed inside? Or were they fed lies about the nature of these institutions?

by dejmo

I am asking because I'm Chinese and I only know a handful of people in my circle who are aware of the Uighur concentration camps. The vast majority of people seem to be entirely unaware of their existence. And then you get people who know about the institutions, but who believe they are really just professional training schools. Then there are people who think it's a mixture of prison and education center, and believe it is indeed right to round up extremist "pre-criminals". I can hardly imagine anyone from China to know that completely innocent Uighurs are incarcerated and tortured, and still be supportive of the practice.

King-of-Mars
CaptEdmundBlackadder

You may also find Tapping Hitler's Generals a useful read. There is an enduring myth that the regular German armed forces were at worst unsure what was going on, and at best, had no idea. In reality, the overwhelming majority of officers were not only fully aware, but even if they found it a bit distasteful considered it a price worth paying.

SquirrelMagnaCarta

There is also a great book entitled "What We Knew: Terror, Mass Murder, and Everyday Life in Nazi Germany" which is a compilation of oral histories from people who during that time, ranging from Nazi soldiers who said they had no idea the Holocaust was happening to Jewish Germans who spoke about anti-Semitism occurring well before the 1930s. It simply documents and lets the reader draw conclusions about what they people are saying, but provides some empirical evidence in the back of the book. I was introduced to the book when I visited Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg.