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one slept on filthy straw. There was sufficient wood-wool (shavings)
available from I. G. Farben.
The food in camp Monowitz was considerably
better in comparison to the other camps which I was formerly in. I attribute
this to the additional food supplied by I. G. Farben. Almost every day we
received, even if in only small quantities, sausage and butter, or sausage and
cheese, or butter alone. In the other camps I ate only turnips for months on
end. We also, like the other employees of I. G. Farben, received an extra
portion of soup daily on the construction sites. The soup varied in quality,
but each time it became better when Dr. Duerrfeld personally intervened after
complaints had been made to him. Dr. Duerrfeld was known among the prisoners as
their good angel. Dr. Duerrfeld did not tolerate any sort of excesses, such as
mistreatment, without taking steps against them. It did not matter, whether
this mistreatment was attempted by the SS or even by members of the I. G.
Farben plant. In each case when he heard about it, he stepped in. There was, in
addition, a strict order from the I. G. Farben management forbidding their
plant employees to attack prisoners. This order was generally known in the
camp.
I. G. Farben intervened for sufficient clothing and working
equipment for the prisoners. I also know that I. G. Farben provided additional
clothing in their own interests. Above all, they sent shoes and winter
clothing, such as jackets, sweaters, gloves, and stockings. In the camp there
was a regular dispensary, that is, sick prisoners were taken care of there by
prisoner-physicians in accordance with regulations, treated and provided with
medicine. When someone reported that he was ill, there were no difficulties,
unless there were “goldbrickers” and fakers involved. I myself was in
the hospital for 2 months because of a laceration of the lung [Lungenriss].
There was also a dental clinic. There was besides this a convalescent block for
those prisoners who were not yet fully able to work after recovering from
illness. For example, after I arrived from Mauthausen, I was in the
convalescent block for 14 days before being assigned to work, together with my
comrades on the transport from Mauthausen, because we could not work because we
were undernourished, and had shrunk to skeletons. In the convalescent block we
did not have to work, we could stay in bed all the time.
There were no
torture chambers and such instruments in Monowitz. Sporting events also took
place in Monowitz, in which every prisoner could take part as he wished. There
was soccer, boxing, concerts, and the theater.
We received assignment
to the places of work from the foremen of I. G. Farben and/or the firms working
for the latter. These people had nothing to do with our discipline, in that
respect only the SS had authority. The SS guard was limited after the plant was
ex- [...panded] |
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