They were used as a solution to the Jewish problem. Initailly they were used to murder the Jews trapped in the Ghettos, then to kill all Jews under the Nazi yoke.
Nazi leaders wanted to keep the existence of extermination camps secret.
Ghettos, concentration camps and extermination camps.
No, but it had the Mauthausen group of camps.
Concentration camps were used for forced prison labor, while extermination camps were built to kill all prisoners.
Nazi leaders wanted to keep the existence of extermination camps secret.
The extermination camps were top secret.
All the main extermination camps were in Nazi-occupied Poland. There were also two in Belarus. Please see the related question.
The Nazi extermination camps (that is, camps built solely for the purpose of killing) were all built in 1941-42. There were 6-8 such camps. Please see the related questions.
All the main extermination camps were in Nazi-occupied Poland. There were also two in Belarus. Please see the related question.
They were built by the SS, using slave labour.
The key distinction was between extermination camps and labour camps ("ordinary" concentration camps).
The burning took place in crematoria in the extermination camps. These were run by the SS.