Kapo

The system of prisoner functionaries – block and room leaders, kapos and their assistants – let the SS control thousands of people with few men of its own. A kapo received better food and clothing and was spared hard labour and beatings, but answered to the SS for getting the work done. Kapos were chosen from various groups of prisoners, including Germans, Poles and Jews. Their conduct ranged from cruelty towards fellow prisoners to helping them and joining camp resistance, as at Sobibór and in the Auschwitz Sonderkommando.

The origin of the word is uncertain; it is often linked to the Italian capo, 'head' or 'boss'. After liberation prisoners sometimes took revenge on hated kapos, and some were tried alongside camp staff.