kapo

A kapo was a type of prisoner functionary at Nazi concentration and extermination camps. They were, whether voluntary or coerced, collaborators who worked under the Schutzstaffel (SS) to carry out administrative tasks or supervise the forced labour of inmates. Given authority over their fellow prisoners, they would often enjoy comparatively better conditions at the camps, such as increased food rations and less physical brutality from SS guards. Due to their privileged status and actions, kapos were highly resented and were frequently lynched by other prisoners when the camps were liberated by Allied forces during the final stages of World War II.