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that was a real concentration camp. I have never had any reason to
assume anything else other than that camp IV was one of the many workers’
camps, branch camps, of the concentration camp Auschwitz.
Q. Who
administered this camp IV, as you call it?
A. The SS was in charge of
it.
Q. You were never in this camp?
A. No.
Q. I assume
that you talked to the managing directors Dr. Duerrfeld, Dr. Braus, and the
other men, about the employment of these concentration camp inmates. Could you
say that the gentlemen of the management of Auschwitz were enthusiastic about
employing concentration-camp inmates?
A. Not only were they not
especially enthusiastic, but they weren't enthusiastic at all. I believe that
was true from the beginning up to the last minute. At least, I never saw any
signs by Dr. Duerrfeld, Dr. Braus, or Mr. Eisfeld, nor did they give any
indication that they were happy about the employment of concentration-camp
inmates at Auschwitz. On the contrary, I already told this to the prosecution
when I was interrogated. I was present at [more than] one discussion where this
question was very seriously discussed. That is, whether or not we could find
some way to dispose of the employment of concentration-camp inmates, and to put
an end to it. What reasons there were which prevented putting this plan into
action I don't know, but I can imagine that at that time, judging from what I
know today when everything looks much simpler, that at that time, it was only
possible for people who were tired of living to object to such a thing.
Q. What do you think would have happened to Dr. Duerrfeld, had he gone
to the labor office in Katowice, and said, “Mr. President, I don't want to
use the 7,000 concentration-camp inmates. I want German workers”?
A. The president of the labor office would probably have refused to
accept such a statement from Dr. Duerrfeld. The president would have referred
him to the SS, and the final result seems quite obvious to me. The person in
such a position, one who refused, would have become a concentration-camp inmate
himself. It is very likely that that would have happened.
Q. Witness,
quite generally, what was the relationship between Farben on the one hand, and
the SS administration of Camp IV on the other hand?
A. The relationship
between the Farben management and the SS was polite, and, if there is such a
thing, friendly but cool. They were polite, but that was all.
Q. Did
you yourself see any concentration camp inmates working in that plant? At the
construction site?
A. Yes. |
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