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A. I must say again that no German foremen nor any SS-men introduced
themselves to us when we came to Auschwitz.
Q. Well, how could you
recognize that he was an IG foreman?
A. Because of the fact that he did
not wear a uniform, as we did; furthermore, because of the fact that the
building where such work was carried out was expressly designated as an IG
building.
Q. May I put to you that according to my information,
hundreds of other firms were working on the plant. Therefore, it can be
possible that you arc speaking of a foreman belonging to another firm. Could
one not say that you are right that the employer was I. G. Farben. but the
foreman to whom you refer may not have been an employee of IG? Would you say
that with certainty?
A. I can say it with certainty. In this building
where this case occurred there was only the IG responsible because I heard by
conversation how the kapo received his work slip, and he then referred to
German foremen; and on that work slip I. G. Farben was mentioned, and no other
firm.
Q. Witness, was this foreman a German?
A. Yes.
Q.
How do you explain that? You are a German and that foreman was a German. How is
it possible that a normal human being, as this foreman must have been, could do
an act like that ? I assumed that he had the benefit of the same education as
you or I —
A. Counsel, I don't have to explain to you the
psychology of national socialism. The German foreman was a German. He belonged
to the master race; he was a National Socialist. I myself was a Jew; therefore
I had no civilian status. I was only a number; and I do not want to describe to
you now how we were designated there.
Q. But Witness, you would agree
with me that this national socialism ideology regarding the master race was not
accepted by all Germans You just said there were foremen of the
Mannesmann-Roehrenworks, who did not act like that at all.
A. Counsel,
we are now dealing with the famous problem of the collective guilt or
individual guilt.
Q. Witness, I really do not want to go into that. I
only want to say that it cannot he assumed that the IG management gave an order
to beat inmates to death: that cannot be assumed, can it?
A. Counsel,
why did they then use inmates to erect their plants at Auschwitz, and why did
they bring us to Auschwitz from all parts of Europe in order to give our blood
there for years and years, and lose our relatives?
Q. I have put a very
clear question to you. Do you believe there was a directive or a permission by
the management of the IG permitting foremen to beat inmates to death? Yes or
no? |
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