 The army engaged in deportations of civilians to concentration camps.Between September and December 1943, nearly 4,000 civilians were deported from Vitebsk and surrounding areas, because they were suspected of helping "bands" (quotation marks in the original).The action was conducted in cooperation with units of the "SD"; civilians, including women and children, were deported to Auschwitz concentration camp, where they died from starvation and maltreatment or were later gassed.