- Sonderkommandos were Jewish prisoners who had horrible jobs and doomed from the beginning. These workers were typically young males who were in good health. They were forced to clear out the dead prisoners in gas chambers, dispose of the bodies afterwards, remove gold teeth, work in the crematorium by burning the bodies, pretty much anything that the SS guards didn't want to do. Even though their job is awful, that wasn't the worst part of being a Sonderkommando. The Sonderkommandos were destined to be killed from the start of work. The guards would kill them because no one was allowed to see the crimes being committed in the camps.