These facilities, frequently misrepresented, were locations within concentration and extermination camps where inmates’ clothes and bodies were subjected to processes intended to eliminate disease-carrying insects such as lice. The stated purpose was to prevent the spread of typhus and other infectious diseases within the camps. For example, Zyklon B, later infamously used in gas chambers, was initially employed for delousing purposes. Misinformation has connected these facilities to the systematic murder of individuals during the Holocaust.
The existence of these facilities is often exploited by Holocaust deniers to suggest that the camps were purely for labor and sanitation purposes, thereby attempting to minimize or negate the scale and intent of the genocide. Understanding the true function of these centersthe attempt to control disease in severely overcrowded and unsanitary conditionsis critical for countering these false narratives and maintaining historical accuracy. Delousing, while presented as a hygiene measure, occurred within a system of persecution and dehumanization.
