[WW2] - Auschwitz

Nicht mehr einsatzfähige Frauen u. Kinder

De bortsorterade står utanför grinden till Krematorium 2. De har
kanske någon timma kvar att leva. Innan dagen är slut kommer
dessa kvinnor och barn att ha kvävts till döds och förvandlats till
aska i en planerad, industriell process. Från platsen där de står
kommer de att gå förbi en liten trädgård och nedför några trappsteg
in i ett omklädningsrum. Efter avklädningen går de in i den
angränsande gaskammaren som rymmer upp till 2000 människor.
Den massiva dörren stängs, ljuset släcks och Zyklon B-kristallerna
med cyanväte släpps ner. Efter ventileringen av gasen
tar de judiska Sonderkommandofångarna ut kropparna för att
bränna dem i krematorieugnarna. Hela denna process tog ofta
inte mer än någon timme eller två.

"---With sufficient concentration of hydrogen cyanide in the air, death comes almost immediately. The SS-men employed at the crematoria at Auschwitz did not give themselves the trouble to calculate the proper quantity for each gas-chamber, which by a quick death would save the victims from agony. They poured into the chambers the contents of the cans of cyclon and to make sure kept their victims under the gas for about 25 minutes. During period of greatest gassing activity in the summer of 1944 they shortened this period to 10 minutes, at the same time for reasons of economy reducing the amount of cyclon from 12 to 6 cans.---"

Hela denna process tog ofta
inte mer än någon timme eller två.

This means that there were only 30 reliable ovens operating in Kremas II and III during the Hungarian operation.

The eyewitness testimony from those who were there states that there were two areas utilized for open air burnings. One was the area near the White Bunker which, as noted earlier, had been utilized in 1942 and 1943. It was reactivated on a full time basis for the Hungarian operation. The other area was located behind Krema V where pits were dug to burn the gassed. Hoess mentions pits in the wooded area outside of the camp where the White Bunker was located and pits near Krema V. Sonderkommando Henryk Tauber told of the pits dug along Krema V and the wooded area near the White Bunker. Sonderkommando Filip Müller wrote of the cremation pits at the White Bunker and Krema V. Sonderkommando Alter Feinsilber testified as to the pits near the Bunker and Krema V "which were expressly dug to burn the Hungarian Jews." Two prisoners who escaped from Auschwitz on May 27, 1944, while the Hungarian operation was taking place, spoke of pits near the White Bunker that were 50 by 100 feet. Miklos Nyiszli, a Hungarian Jewish doctor who arrived in May 1944 and had first hand experience with the work of the Sonderkommando, wrote of the ditch at the White Bunker being 18 by 150 feet with "a welter of burning bodies" Paul Bendel, a French doctor and Sonderkommando, wrote of three pits of 20 by 40 feet dug near Kremas IV and V because the crematoria could not handle the bodies.

How credible was this testimony? The witnesses who knew first hand were the Sonderkommando, workers who burned the bodies of the gassed victims. Sonderkommando Filip Müller wrote that during the Hungarian operation their number increased from 450 to 900. Feinsilber also placed the number at 900. Tauber mentioned 1000. Nyiszli states that there were 860 such workers clearing the dead. Unfortunately, no documentary evidence is available for mid-May through mid-July, the time of the Hungarian deportations. However, a camp document dated July 28, 1944 lists 870 stokers (Heizer) and 30 wood unloaders (Holzablader) assigned in two 12 hour shifts to the four crematoria. A similar report from August 29 shows 874 workers assigned to the four crematoria in two 12 hour shifts. These two reports on the strength of the crematoria detail further reinforce the credibility of the eyewitnesses. This extremely high number is far beyond any amount that would be needed for a normal death rate. There is no benign explanation for this number, and deniers have never addressed the issue.