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The Evolution of Mass Murder: Forensic Archaeological Perspectives on Mass Violence at the Treblinka Labor and Extermination Camps

The crimes perpetrated at Treblinka extermination camp – which operated from 23 July 1942 until the autumn of 1943 – are well documented by historians. Although few obvious traces exist in the landscape today, the complex of gas chambers, mass graves, cremation pyres, undressing barracks, fences and railway lines that existed here facilitated the annihilation of between 800,000 and 1 million Jews and an unknown number of non-Jewish Poles, Roma and POWs. Despite the notoriety of the camp, investigations of the physical evidence connected to the extermination practices were limited to those undertaken between 1944–46 until forensic archaeological works were initiated by Caroline Sturdy Colls. A combination of archival research, remote sensing, geophysical survey and excavations has since revealed new information about the mechanisms of mass murder, the experiences of the victims and the locations of many important buildings, mass graves and infrastructure. Hence, this work has generated new spatial and material understandings of the processes of extermination within the death camp.

The boundaries of the extermination camp do not define the geographical parameters in which atrocities were perpetrated at Treblinka. Recent research has also demonstrated that Treblinka labour camp and nearby burial sites were also places where mass violence was perpetrated in the extreme. Forensic archaeological investigations at these sites have revealed the range of methods used to torture and kill Jews and non-Jewish Poles, as well as the architecture and killing sites which were used to facilitate this.

Therefore, drawing upon recent historical and archaeological research, this lecture will discuss the evolution of mass violence and murder at Treblinka before, during and after Operation Reinhard. It will consider how geography and (deceptive) narratives surrounding the labor camp were used to facilitate mass killings between 1941 and 1944, and explore the relationships that existed between the camps and killing sites that existed within the space. As well as considering the actions of the perpetrators and experiences of the victims, Caroline Sturdy Colls will discuss the material traces of extermination such as newly discovered mass graves and punishment sites. Ultimately, she will show that the systematic murder of Jews at Treblinka, and their burial within the campscape, began long before the notorious extermination camp was constructed.

About the speaker

Caroline Sturdy Colls is a professor of Holocaust archaeology and genocide investigation and the director of the Center of Archaeology at the University of Huddersfield (UK). Her expertise lies in the investigation of Holocaust landscapes and other sites of mass and interpersonal violence using forensic archaeological approaches. Since 2010, Sturdy Colls has conducted the first archaeological investigations at the Treblinka extermination and labor camps, and she recently completed her monograph Finding Treblinka (Cornell University Press, 2025), which will provide new historical, spatial and material perspectives on the crimes perpetrated there. She has also supervised projects at more than 60 other Holocaust sites. Currently, she is the Principal Investigator on the project “Trawniki: Nexus of the Final Solution”, funded by the Claims Conference. She is also supervising a post-doctoral research project regarding mass grave investigation in Ukraine and has a long-running collaborative project with the Lake District Holocaust Project. Prof. Sturdy Colls has published extensively on the subjects of Holocaust archaeology, forensic archaeology and missing persons. Her notable and recent monographs include Holocaust Archaeologies: Approaches and Future Directions (2015), The Handbook on Missing Persons (2016) and ‘Adolf Island’: The Nazi Occupation of Alderney (2022). Sturdy Colls was a visiting fellow at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2016. In the same year, she was awarded the European Archaeological Heritage Prize for her work in modern conflict archaeology.

The 2024 Holocaust Memorial Lecture is supported by the Office of the Chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis. Free and open to all. Reception to follow lecture.

Questions? Please contact the chair of the Holocaust Memorial Lecture Committee, Prof. Anika Walke.