In the concentration camps, death camps, and labor camps, the guards pitted inmates against one another by giving some of them positions of authority. These were the “kapos,” or the work detail leaders, and the “block elders,” who functioned as monitors of the barracks.
In exchange for better food, warmer clothing, and more comfortable sleeping arrangements, kapos and block elders organized and disciplined the rank-and-file prisoners according to the wishes of the SS. Although some used their authority to improve conditions in the camps, most mistreated and exploited the prisoners under their authority in much the same way the SS did. They felt compelled to do so in order to preserve their privileges and their lives, but they also became accustomed to their power and gradually lost their feelings of solidarity with their fellow prisoners. Whatever their attitudes and actions, the other prisoners inevitably viewed them with mistrust and disdain, as instruments of the oppressive camp authorities. This dynamic directed the wrath of the desperate camp prisoners towards each other, as was the SS guards’ intention.
In concentration camps and labor camps with mixed populations, political prisoners and criminals were typically in charge of the Jews, Gypsies, and Soviet prisoners of war. In death camps and other camps whose populations were primarily Jewish, specially chosen Jewish prisoners were given the positions of authority. Kapos and block elders had authority, however, only as long as they acted exactly as the SS required.
