Nazis were efficient

The underground paper reported that Auschwitz Concentration Camp had killed more than a million people. Once again, the Nazis were efficient. Once the chamber was full, the doors were screwed shut and solid pellets of Zyklon-B were dropped into the chambers through vents in the side walls, releasing toxic HCN, or hydrogen cyanide. Those inside died within 20 minutes; the speed of death depended on how close the inmate was standing to a gas vent, according to Rudolf Hoess, who estimated that about one third of the victims died immediately. Joann Kremer, an SS doctor who oversaw the gassings, testified that: "Shouting and screaming of the victims could be heard through the opening and it was clear that they fought for their lives. When they were removed, if the chamber had been very congested, as they often were, the victims were found half-squatting, their skin colored pink with red and green spots, some foaming at the mouth or bleeding from the ears. [1]

The gas was then pumped out, and the dead bodies were removed (which could take up to four hours). Gold fillings were then pulled from the teeth with pliers by the prisoners who were dentists, and the hair was cut from the heads of the women. [2] The hair was then sent to factories, where it was woven into special fittings for gaskets. [3]

The floors of the chamber was then cleaned its walls were whitewashed. This work was done by Jews who hoped to live a few extra months of life. When these prisoners had dealt with the dead bodies, the SS conducted a close inspection to ensure that all the gold had been taken from the teeth of the corpses. If the inspection found that any gold had been missed, the prisoner responsible was thrown into the furnace alive as punishment. [4]

One Nazi who had been taken captive said,

“Another improvement we made over Treblinka was that we built our gas chambers to accommodate 2,000 people at one time,….The way we selected our victims was as follows: we had two SS doctors on duty at Auschwitz to examine the incoming transports of prisoners. The prisoners would be marched by one of the doctors who would make spot decisions as they walked by. Those who were fit for work were sent into the Camp. Others were sent immediately to the extermination plants. Children of tender years were invariably exterminated, since by reason of their youth they were unable to work. Still another improvement we made over Treblinka was that at Treblinka the victims almost always knew that they were to be exterminated and at Auschwitz we endeavored to fool the victims into thinking that they were to go through a delousing process. Of course, frequently they realized our true intentions and we sometimes had riots and difficulties due to that fact. Very frequently women would hide their children under the clothes but of course when we found them we would send the children in to be exterminated. We were required to carry out these exterminations in secrecy but of course the foul and nauseating stench from the continuous burning of bodies permeated the entire area and all of the people living in the surrounding communities knew that exterminations were going on at Auschwitz.” [5]

To be continued.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holocaust


[2] Piper, Franciszek. "Gas chambers and Crematoria", in Berenbaum, Michael & Gutman, Yisrael (eds). Anatomy of the Auschwitz Death Camp, Indiana University Press and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 1994, p. 163.


[3] Goldensohn, Leon. Nuremberg Interviews, Vintage paperback 2005, p. 298


[4]  Piper, Franciszek. "Gas chambers and Crematoria", in Berenbaum, Michael & Gutman, Yisrael (eds). Anatomy of the Auschwitz Death Camp, Indiana University Press and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 1994, p. 171.


[5] Modern History Sourcebook: Rudolf Höß, Commandant of Auschwitz: Testimony at Nuremberg, 1946 Accessed May 6, 2007