A lot of Mauser 98s were made at Mauthausen. It was the home of Steyr, I believe. The people killed must have outlived their usefulness, or succumbed to debilitating illness. Many of the internees were skilled labor, hence their use in machining rifles.
The people killed must have outlived their usefulness, or succumbed to debilitating illness.
Maybe they weren’t your adored great grandparents who were crazy about your dad and loved him more than life.
I think it is just a statement of fact. I’ve read that the work camps had much higher death rates than the Jewish death camps with the furnaces. Perhaps it was the total number of deaths, as there were way more work (slave) camps than death camps. They would work them to death (or killing them when they could no longer work) and bring in more.