The Disappeared[]
The term "Disappearance", or "Disappeared", has come to mean in the wizarding world those who vanished due to efforts of the Death Eaters to utilize the muggle population for their own ends during the war. Those who were Disappeared may have either been killed, ransomed or placed into the extensive system of forced-labor camps that the Death Eaters created, first in the north of England, then later in France, to drive the production of essential items. There were different types and levels of imprisonment- while most associate the term "Disappearance" generally with death, the outcome was different for some muggles that this applied to.
Why were people Disappeared?
- To strike fear into the hearts of the wizarding populace, particularly those with targeted family members or who were Muggleborn.
- To create a labor force to mobilize war production without wasting wizarding resources for those things that did not require magic or were dangerous.
- To perfect a forced-labor camp system with the intention of eventually putting the ideas into practice globally upon wizarding domination of the muggle world.
Who was Disappeared?
There were two main factors involved in the deliberate choice of muggles for the camps: Location and Relation.
The Death Eaters held the north of England for an extended period of time. Typically speaking, it was often easiest for them to target muggles from the industrial cities of the North. Urban centers with high crime rates made it easy for Death Eaters to remove citizens without attracting much attention from the muggle police.
Relatives of wizards were also targeted deliberately. The families of ranking soldiers, activists, protestors, political figures, etc. were often taken in an attempt to frighten the public and cripple the morale of the Light forces.