"MAIDANEK. Extermination camp located in
German-occupied Poland about 2
miles from Lublin. It was regarded as in the same class as Belzec and
Sobibor. Like Belzec, Maidanek was originally a labor camp but was
transformed into a death camp ... Unlike Belzec, it had some
industrial activity. Non-Jewish prisoners were admitted. At first
death was induced by carbon monoxide asphyxiation, but later
hydrocyanic, or prussic, acid fumes were used following successful
tests at Belzec. It is estimated that 1.5 million inmates were gassed
at Maidanek.* After Russian troops discovered the camp on July 23,
1944, Konstatin Simonov, a Soviet writer, wrote a full account of the
death camp for Pravda. In a special issue the London Illustrated News
published photographs of the gas chambers and ovens at Maidanek."
(Snyder, Dr. Louis L, Encyclopedia of the Third Reich. Paragon
House, New York, 1989.) * Maidanek victim estimates are
unreliable; the total is probably far less than the one provided
above.
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Maidanek (Majdanek)
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