““Close your eyes and do what you need.” As Jews were forced to work in Gas Cameras in Holocaust on January 27, 03:49 to share: at least 1.3 million people were sent to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, almost 90% of them Jews (photo: Getty Images) Like Auschwitz-Birkenau, a special unit of Jewish prisoners called the Sondercomand had the task of sending its compatriots-Jews to gas chambers, as well as to remove and cremate the bodies of the dead.”, – Write On: ua.news
“Close your eyes and do what you need.” As the Jews were forced to work in gas chambers in Holocaust At least 1.3 million people were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, almost 90% of them Jews (photo: Getty Images)
In death camps, created by Nazi Germany, such as Auschwitz-Birkenau, a special unit of Jewish prisoners called the probecommand had the task of sending its compatriots-Jews to gas chambers, as well as to remove and cremate the bodies of the dead. About 100 participants of those detachments survived the Holocaust. Much of the fact that we know about how the Nazi murder machine worked was obtained from their testimony. On the rights of cooperation, NV publishes the Air Force material that they demanded from such probecommands.
Attention: The article contains images of dead bodies and descriptions of mass murders
They were called probecommands-members of a special unit created by the Nazis to work in death camps, such as Auschwitz-Birkenau, during the Holocaust.
But they were not German military or even allies.
Squads of the probecommands consisted of Jewish prisoners deported to Auschwitz from 16 different countries. Their work was nourished by the Nazi murder machine.
“I worked in crematoriums. I transferred the bodies of people from gas chambers to furnaces, ”Dario Gabbai says.
The former prisoner of the Auschwitz concentration camp was one of the last eyewitnesses to “the final resolution of the Jewish issue” – the Nazi plan for the destruction of Jews in Europe. As a result, six million Jews were killed.
Getty ImagesThe Auschwitz-Birkenau complex is the place of the greatest mass murder in human history. According to various estimates, 1.1 million people were killed there, of whom more than 90% were Jews. This is more than the total number of deaths of the United Kingdom and the US for the whole war.
Auschwitz-Birkenau was finally liberated by the Soviet troops on January 27, 1945. Now this day is the day of memory of the Holocaust victims.
Women’s hair
Sonder team members were forced to assist in the murder. The murders themselves were carried out by Hitler’s elite paramilitary units known as SS.
And the members of the probecommand had to look at the bodies before the cremation – to look for golden teeth or hidden valuable things.
Getty ImagesGabbai had a specific task to cut and collect the hair of killed women.
Deads later, he spoke about his feelings for the USC USC Shoh Foundation, who has interviewed those who survived the Holocaust.
“I told myself how to survive me? Where is God? ” Gabbai said.
One Pole advised him to be courageous, and he perceived this advice seriously.
“I told myself, I’m a robot… Close my eyes and do what I need to do, do not demand unnecessary. ”
Testimony
In the 1980s, the Israeli historian of the Holocaust Professor Giden Graifes began exploring the history of the probecomand.
Gideon GreifDr. Graif has documented the experience of 31 member Sondercommands in his first book about them “We cried without tears. “
One of those with whom Dr. Graifa spoke was Jaakov, brother Dario Gabbai.
Yaakov, saw two cousins who were brought to the gas chamber. He ordered them to sit closer to the gas release place for rapid painless death.
“Why did they have to suffer so much? ” He later said Dr. Grifu.
The State Museum Auschwitz-BirkenauJoseph Zakar was the first of the members of the Sondercommand, which was met by Dr. Graif in 1986. He was often directed to work where women had to undress.
“I turned away that they would not be embarrassed, ”Zakar said.
Shaul Seauan had to get the bodies of the victims of the gas chamber and put them in elevators that took them to the crematoriums. He told Dr. Grifu how he tried not to pull the bodies through dirt and debris on the floor of gas chambers.
Other members of the sonder teams saw a group of naked Polish children began to sing Shema Yisrael, a Jewish prayer. After that, they obediently entered the gas chamber.
Pits for burning bodies
Israeli Holocaust Memorial “Eating ”says that the murders increased after the deportation of Hungarian Jews in May 1944.
“In just eight weeks, about 424,000 Jews were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. “
The State Museum Auschwitz-BirkenauThe speed of murder was much higher than the possibilities of crematoriums. But the German officer responsible for the crematorium, Otto Mall, was relentless and ordered the probecommand to dig pits for burning.
The secret photo taken by one of the probecommand members clearly shows how the bodies were burned in the open air pit. Later, the picture became a valuable proof of what happened in the camp.
A failed uprising
Sondercommands were given relatively more food and they had better living conditions than the rest of the prisoners, which received only watery soup.
But this work had little defended. Every six months, the Nazis killed members of the sonder teams and attracted recruits.
The Nazis applied many punishments to cause fear. The members of the probecommand were shot, thrown into the campfire, tortured, beaten, dragged with gravel.
Getty Images“They were in a state of constant shock. They saw thousands of Jews killed every day. It was a big test to stay alive, ”says Dr. Graif.
They were also placed separately and were observed all the time. However, one day they tried to repel. This The event is known as the uprising of the probecomand.
“The two brothers participated in the planning of the Saturday uprising on October 7, 1944. It was a Jewish uprising. It was a story of courage. It should be written in gold letters, ”says Dr. Graif.
On that day, some of the protractors attacked their SS guards using stones and set fire to one crematorium. The uprising was quickly suppressed, and 451 members of the probecommand were shot.
Documentation of atrocities
Other members of the pro-team, such as Marseille Nadzhari, recorded their anger on paper shreds.
“I am not sad that I will die, but I am sad that I will not be able to take revenge as I would like to, ”Nadzhars wrote in November 1944.
Getty ImagesHis records say that the ashes of each adult victim weighed about 640 grams.
The Greek Jew hid his 13-page manuscript in a thermos, which closed the plastic lid. Then he placed the thermos in a leather bag and buried it.
The notes left by the Nadzhars and others were found in many years and thoroughly decrypt. Now they are known as scrolls Auschwitz.
They provide valuable information about the extent of crimes.
Searching for justice
Only about 100 members of the probe team managed to survive the war. Some of them were actively involved in lawsuits over military criminals.
Henryk Tauber testified against the commander of the SS Otto Molla.
Gideon Greif“Several times, Mall threw people into burning pits alive, ”Tauber recalled during a trial at the US military tribunal.
In the end, Molla was sentenced and hung for participation in the Death March.
However, many criminals have not been punished. Of the Auschwitz staff, only about 800 appeared to the court, as the BBC/PBS documentary series says “Auschwitz ».
Dr. Graif testified against the suspected Nazi criminals in European courts, where they are still being judged.
In the end, Gabbai moved to Los Angeles and died there in 2020. In 2015, he visited Auschwitz for the 70th anniversary of the camp liberation. He told the BBC that helps him hold on.
“I said (to myself) that this war will ever end and when it is over, I will be able to survive and tell the stories of the world. “
- “I died 90%.” Henri’s story that survived in Auschwitz
- Last surviving Liberator of camp Auschwitz died at 98
- “No one will understand what I have experienced while killing children” – the story of the midwife Auschwitz