Nazi euphemisms played an important role in the dehumanizing process of the Holocaust. From the beginning Hitler spoke of the need to "purify" and "cleanse," to rid the Reich of the Jewish "vermin," and to "decontaminate" or "disinfect" the Reich of the Jewish "bacillus."

Ultimately, the "Jewish problem" was solved through the "Final Solution" (Endlösung), a euphemism for extermination. Terms such as "euthanasia" and "mercy death" cloaked the murders of the handicapped (who were designated "unworthy of life"), which were committed for racial reasons--not to ease suffering. "Special treatment" (Sonderbehandlung) in euthanasia installations meant killing by gas.

Euphemisms were used in the death camps and in reference to the massacres conducted by Einsatzkommandos. Instead of "kill" or "murder," terms such as "special action," "evacuation," and "resettlement" obscured the real intent. "Protective custody" (Schutzhaft) of opponents did not mean protection from danger but rather unlimited incarceration without trial. "Jewish residence district" (Jüdischer Wohnbezirk) was substituted for "ghetto." The "East" and "Jewish settlement region" (Jüdisches Siedlungsgebiet) became collective euphemisms for the killing centers of Poland, with the death camps referred to only as "labor," "preferential," or "POW" camps.

Cruel deception and irony also marked the infamous camp-entrance signs: "Work Will Set You Free" (Arbeit Macht Frei). Within the camps, the gas chambers and crematoria received the harmless-sounding names "bath houses" (Badeanstalten) and "special installations" (Spezialeinrichtungen). Seldom has language been so cynically misused.