14 Dec.
45
the Waffen-SS, the Police, or the
Wehrmacht Engineers courageously climbed down the shafts to bring out
the Jews and not infrequently they then stumbled over Jews already
dead or were shot at. It was always necessary to use smoke candles to
drive out the Jews. Thus one day we opened 183 sewer entrance holes
and at a fixed time lowered smoke candles into them, with the result
that the bandits fled from what they believed to be gas into the
center of the former ghetto, where they could then be pulled out of
the sewer holes there. A great number of Jews who could not be counted
were exterminated by blowing up sewers and dugouts.
"The longer the resistance lasted, the tougher the men of the
Waffen-SS, Police, and Wehrmacht became. They fulfilled their duty
indefatigably in faithful comradeship and stood together as models and
examples of soldiers. Their duty hours often lasted from early morning
until late at night. At night search patrols with rags wound around
their feet, remained at the heels of the Jews and gave them no
respite. Not infrequently they caught and killed Jews who used the
night hours for supplementing their stores from abandoned dugouts and
for contacting neighboring groups or exchanging news with them.
"Considering that the greater part of the men of the Waffen-SS
had only been trained for 3 to 4 weeks before being assigned to this
action, high credit should be given to the pluck, courage, and
devotion to duty which they showed. It must be stated that the
Wehrmacht Engineers, too, executed the blowing up of dugouts, sewers,
and concrete buildings with indefatigability and great devotion to
duty. Officers and men of the Police, a large part of whom had already
been at the front, again excelled by their dashing spirit.
"Only through the continuous and untiring work of all involved
did we succeed in catching a total of 56,065 Jews whose extermination
can be proved. To this should be added the number of Jews who lost
their lives in explosions or fires but whose number could not be
ascertained."
THE PRESIDENT:
Major Walsh, in the section that you are just upon now, ought you not to
read the opening paragraphs of this document, which set out the amount
of the losses of the German troops?
MAJOR WALSH: I will do so, Sir. On Page 1 of the translation, I quote.
The title: "The Warsaw Ghetto is no more."
"For the Führer and their
country the following fell in the battle for the destruction of Jews
and bandits in the former