Appellplatz

Appellplatz (also spelled as Appelplatz) means "the place for roll call" in the German language, used in English in its Holocaust context. In German the word existed well before the Holocaust and is therefore used outside this context as well.

The roll calls were called by the German word Appell. This was one of the dreaded words of a day. Upon the call the inmates had to arrange themselves into neat columns, and this process could take several hours. After that the command "Attention! Caps off!" followed. From this moment on, any slight disorder in the rows could lead to heavy beating or death. "When the SS-man passed by nobody dared even to breathe," writes Oliver Lustig.

Therefore for weakened inmates, especially "Muselmänner", an Appell survived meant a day survived.

References

*Oliver Lustig, "Dicţionar de lagăr",
**Bucharest, Cartea Românească, 1982
**Bucharest, Hasefer, 2002 ISBN 973-630-011-0