NiiGht..

Why were the prisoners tattooed or marked on their forearms? Does this action have a religious implication? Why?
Jews in the Holocaust were tattooed to be identified by the “authorities” of the camps. These were the reasons they gave for the tattoos, but I think there are more foolish reasons for tattooing Jews, reason for making Jews feel as nothing.
I think these types of actions were psychological, if the Jews had a number in which they were called by the officers, so they would feel as if they were Germany’s property and to try to keep them in line, as if the other actions were not enough for them.
Germans tried to make them understand that they had no rights, and of course they didn’t have an identity, they had no name for the society, so they were given numbers just to be known by the officers. Jews didn’t have value in front of Germany, so how could they make them suffer a little bit more? Tattoos.
Tattoos are not allowed by the Torah, this document is the most important book for Jews, and it’s supposed to be written by Moises himself. Tattoos are against this law, so Jews were even more humiliated by having a tattoo in their forearms. They were suffering because of their believes and Germans made them go against it.

Who were the Kapos? Why did their fellowmen fear these leaders?
The Kapos were prisoners who were trusted by the SS officers, they took charge of other prisoners in the camps, and they received orders from Nazis.
If they obeyed all those orders, they would gain personal power and privileges from all the officers, so they would live better than the others.
They were in charge of distributing the food, or they just collaborated on others Jew’s death. Most of them were persecuted after the war because of their crimes and brutality, their punishment could be prison or even death.
They were feared because of their brutality, most of them seemed to enjoy these actions. They had the right to whip prisoners of minor charges. The worst parte is that some of them were Jewish, and they treated others with harsh treatments.

How did SS officers select their victims? Support your answer.
They select Jews because of the physical appearance, plus they had to do some proves, like running. They had to have the appearance of being strong enough to work on the factories, of being efficient.
If the SS officers saw a person who was too skinny, a slow person, and a weak man, so they would surely write his number down. After the selection, they would have to go to the crematoria.

Page 71
“Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you.” For the first time, his voice quivered. “In a few moments, selection will take place. You will have to undress completely. Then you will go, one by one, before the SS doctors. I hope you will all pass. But you must try to increase your chances. Before you go into the next room, try to move your limbs, give yourself some color. Don’t walk slowly, run! Run as if you had the devil at your heels! Don’t look at the SS. Run, straight in front of you”
He paused and then added:
“And most important, don’t be afraid!”

This was an example of how they had to show themselves in front of the SS officers. This was an advice from a Blockälteste, he knew how the SS would choose their victims, so he tried to tell them how to act, because they were doing that, acting.

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/kapos.html
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_was_a_Kapo_or_Capo_in_the_Holocaust