the term "extermination through labor" was first used during world war ii. most of the nazi ss did not use the term ("vernichtung durch arbeit" in german). however, albert bormann, joseph goebels, otto georg thierack, and heinrich himmler used the term during the fall of 1942, while talking about moving prisoners to concentration camps. thierack and goebbels specifically used the term. the phrase was used again during the nuremberg trials after world war ii ended.