Appells were roll calls of prisoners in German concentration camps and death camps during World War II. Appells were routinely conducted in the morning and in the evening, but it was common for extra roll calls to be announced in the middle of the night or at mealtimes. Inmates stood on appell until all prisoners were located and counted, and while guards made selections for labor, medical experimentation, or death. The guards frequently subjected prisoners at appells to humiliating insults, body inspections, and beatings, and sometimes left them standing for hours in the hot sun or in harsh winter conditions. Guards also used the appells to make examples of inmates who were found guilty of infringing camp rules. Prisoners were hanged, shot, or torn apart by trained dogs as rows of their fellow inmates, standing at attention, were forced to watch.
