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AUSCHWITZ:
Technique
and Operation
of
the Gas Chambers © | |
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Page 236 |
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On 12th April, Huta covered themselves vis à
vis the Bauleitung by telling them that since the floors of the
Krematorium III [“II” in the text] basements had only a single layer
of damp proofing, Vedag refused to give the usual guarantee of two
years and that under these conditions Huta were unable to do so.
On 13th and 14th April. Messing worked on the air extraction
system of Leichenkeller 2 of Krematorium Ill, calling it in his
timesheets “Auskleidekeller / Undressing cellar”.
On 16th
April, Topf & Sons wrote to the Bauleitung concerning the
damaged blowers of the forced draught installation of Krematorium II
[designated “I” in the letter, even though the subject of this
letter is without doubt Kr II and III], requesting them to be
returned to Erfurt immediately on removal. Topf credited the
Bauleitung with the sum of 3.705 RM, but refused to return the metal
ration coupon arguing that they could no longer use it for other
orders.
Having received an order from the Bauleitung on 16th
April for the fittings for ONE “Gastür / Gas [tight[ door” (which
was ready on 20th), the Auschwitz DAW metalworking shop that same
day requested the iron required for FIVE such doors [for worksites
30a and 30b, Krematorien III and IV]. The metalworking shop was
killing two birds with one stone, for the fittings to be produced
were for the “Gastür” of Krematorium III and for the four doors of
the two [at this date!] gas chambers of Krematorium IV.
From 17th to 24th April, a gang from Messrs Josef Kluge of
Gleiwitz covered the dissecting table of Krematorium III with
granite ["Terrazzo"] and took it to the Krematorium, where it was
installed.
From 19th to 22nd April, Messing continued work
on the air extraction system of Leichenkeller 2 of Krematorium III,
still calling it the “Auskleidekeller / Undressing cellar”.
Worksite 30a was deserted on 1st and 2nd May, despite the
fact that it was way behind schedule (it should have been finished
on 10th April] because of the Labour Day holiday. Nobody was gassed
on these two days.
On 4th May, Janisch replied for the
Bauleitung to the Huta letter of 12th April [Document 56].
The scapegoat was naturally somebody who was absent, damp proofing
foreman Krause of Vedag, meanwhile called up in the Wehrmacht, who
had authorized the single layer of proofing material. His
replacement refused it, saying that two layers were necessary for
Vedag to be able to give their two-year guarantee. The Bauleitung,
probably tired of these futile arguments which were holding up work
on Krematorium III, was conciliatory on this matter, agreeing that
work should continue with two layers provided a damp proofing
guarantee was given, and waiving the guarantee with respect to the
work already done with only a single layer.
In the
afternoon of the same day, SS Major Alfred FRANKE-GRICKSCH, adjutant
to SS General Maximillian VON HERFF [Documents 57 and 57a], Head of
the SS Central Personnel Office [SS Personal Hauptamt, 98 99
Wilmersdorferstraße, Berlin-Charlottenburg], accompanying the
General on a tour of inspection in the “General Government” [the
half of the Polish territory occupied by the Germans and placed
under the authority of Hans Frank], arrived in KL Auschwitz
(although reported, the presence of General von Herff is doubtful).
Franke- Gricksch visited Krematorium II and is supposed to have
witnessed the gassing of those unfit for work from a convoy of
2,930 Greek Jews (from the Salonika ghetto). Following this visit,
between the evening of 4th May and 16th May, he wrote a
report on what he had seen at Auschwitz Birkenau for his chief, von
Herff, and for Reichsführer SS Himmler. This report was entitled:
“JEWISH RESETTLEMENT ACTION” [Document 58]. |
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| Document 57 |
Document 57a |
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| Documents 57
and 57a (Personal archives) |
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Maximillian von Herff, Alfred
Franke-Grisch’s chief. Born in Hannover on 17th April 1893, died in
September 1945 in a prison camp in England.
Left: As SS
Brigadier-General, probably in August 1942, when he was made Head of
the SS Central Personnel Office, a position he held until May 1945.
Right: Wearing the uniform of the highest rank he held: SS
Lieutenant-General |
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On 5th May, the Auschwitz DAW metalworking
shop received an order from the Bauleitung, made out the previous
day for the production of “2 handrails [for stairways ], each 7.70
in long, 1 m high (see sketches 1 and 2)” and “2 handrails,
each 12.20 m long, 1 m high each (see sketch 3)” “for the 2nd
basement stairways” [die 2- ten Kellertreppen]. This order
requesting delivery for 14th May, was not completed until 25th. [As
the original orders of the “WL metalworking shop / Schlosserei WL”
are not in the possession of the PMO, the three sketches are not
known.] A study of Bauleitung drawings 2003 and 2197 reveals that
the two 7.70m guardrails, at different form, were for the access
stairways to the basement vestibules of Krematorien II and III
(running from the north yard of Kr II and the south yard at Kr III)
[Figures 1 and 2] . The two others of 12.20 m, identical in
form, were for the access stairways to the undressing rooms
(Leichenkeller 2) of Krematorien II and III [Figure 3]. They
were removed when Krematorien II and III were dismantled in December
1944 and found intact in the “Bauhof” after the Liberation of the
camp [Document 59].
On 11th May, Jährling wrote an
urgent telegram to Messrs Topf of Erfurt, signed by
Kirschneck and sent by the civilian employee Ludwig at 18.01 hours,
requesting that Prüfer set out for Auschwitz without delay and that
the drawings and calculations for the chimneys and the installation
instructions for the temporary Demag III goods hoist [for
Krematorium III] be sent at once. This telegram does not state which
building(s) the chimneys were for. |
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[This urgent telegram was the first of a series, the
total number of which is not known, reflecting the general air of
panic reigning in the Bauleitung. The crematorium situation in
Birkenau had suddenly deteriorated as the remaining telegrams in
the series show: Krematorien IV and II, handed over on 22nd and
31st March respectively, WERE OUT OF ORDER. with damaged chimneys;
Kr III, although not completed, could have been operational IF it
had been possible to feed the furnaces with corpses from the
basement, but this was not the case, as the goods hoist could not
be installed because the instructions were not available! (Messing
started installing in on 17th May and completed the job on 9th
June), Only Krematorium V was functioning correctly.]
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Hearing nothing from Topf, Jährling sent a
second urgent telegram on 14th May, this time signed by Bischoff,
requesting the static and thermal calculations for the chimneys of
Krematorien II and IV and insisting that Prüfer should come to
Auschwitz [Document 60]. The civilian employee Schwender sent
the text at 1600 hours . This telegram in fact confirmed a telephone
conversation between Jährling and Topf in the morning, in which he
had learned that Prüfer was on a business trip in the Rhineland. but
would do his best to arrive in Auschwitz by Monday 17th May. Only
ONE AND A HALF HOURS LATER. Schwender sent another urgent telegram
to Topf, signed by Bischoff and, in view of the late hour, dated and
filed the next day [Document 61]. In this telegram, Jährling
requested the urgent study of an installation to obtain hot water
from the waste incinerator of Krematorium III, then under
construction, to supply about one hundred showers (probably to be
located in an annex building built on the southern wall of the
Krematorium). Prüfer was supposed to bring the relevant drawings
with him on 17th May. [This plan was never implemented, although
such installations were built in other camps, for example in the
crematorium of K L Natzweiler (Struthof) where the incinerator was
the main source of heat for the showers]. Although this request for
a hot water system for a hundred NORMAL showers was in no way
criminal it was recorded in the Krematorium III, worksite 30a, file
under the heading “SONDERMASSN[AHMEN] / SPECIAL MEASURES” because
the funding was connected with these measures, the killing and
cremation of Jews unfit for work.
On Monday 17th May,
it is more than likely that Prüfer arrived at Auschwitz as arranged.
As we have no formal proof we cannot be categorical, but if Messing
began installing the lift of Krematorium III precisely on 17th May,
this was not simply a whim on his part, but because he had received
the installation instructions brought by Prüfer. The engineer was
certainly present on 18th [Topf letter of 9/6/43]. According to
subsequent telegrams it is clear he had not brought the drawings and
calculations required for the repair of the chimneys of Krematorien
II and IV, and in fact he could not reasonably produce them until he
had seen the location and extent of the damage. It was only after
inspecting Krematorien II and IV that the following decisions could
be taken, after consultation with Bischoff: repair Kr II as quickly
as possible, abandon the operation of the Kr IV furnace completely
and improve the operation of Kr V by fitting its gas chambers (and
those of Kr IV, still intact) with an air extraction system. |
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[This abandonment of Krematorium IV was not formally
stated (and for good reason! This is particularly evident on
reading the letter of 28th June 1943 on the throughput of the
Krematorien), but it can be deduced from several pieces of
evidence: subsequent correspondence between the Bauleitung and
Topf makes no mention of its repair; Camp Commandant Hoess in his
memoirs states that “Number III [Kr IV] failed completely after a
short time and later ceased to be used altogether”; after the
first fifty days (22nd March to 10th May 1943), during which time
operations had to be interrupted at least once for repairs to
fissures that had appeared in the furnace, and during which time
less than 10,000 victims were cremated (probably 6,000), not a
single member of the Sonderkommando reports having worked on the
furnace of Krematorium IV. What is more, Krematorium V being of
identical design, it was to be feared that it would suffer the
same damage unless it was used more moderately. Despite the fact
that Kr V had to be “handled with care”, it absolutely had to go
on being used until Krematorium III came into service. It was then
mothballed, barely operational. In 1944, despite repairs the
furnace of Krematorium V was as inefficient as ever and operations
were frequently interrupted by breakdowns, so open air cremation
ditches were dug near the gas chambers. It would appear that
Krematorium V really worked for only two months in 1943,
annihilating about 15,000 victims. In summer, 1944, it can
be“credited” with about 50,000 people gassed, but they were
cremated in the open-air ditches.]
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AUSCHWITZ:
Technique
and operation
of the gas chambers
Jean-Claude Pressac
© 1989, The
Beate Klarsfeld Foundation |
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