Shoah Page #18

to rush to the rear doors,

and are mainly found lying there

at the end of the operation.

So the front axle is not overloaded.

Secondly:

The lighting must be

better protected than now.

The lamps must be enclosed

in a steel grid

to prevent their being damaged.

Lights could be eliminated,

since they apparently are never used.

However, it has been observed

that when the doors are shut,

the load always

presses hard against them

(against the doors)

as soon as darkness sets in.

This is because the load

naturally rushes toward the light

when darkness sets in,

which makes

closing the doors difficult.

Also, because

of the alarming nature of darkness,

screaming always occurs

when the doors are closed.

It would therefore be useful

to light the lamp

before and during

the first moments of the operation.

Third:

For easy cleaning of the vehicle,

there must be a sealed drain

in the middle of the floor.

The drainage hole's cover,

8 to 12 inches in diameter,

would be equipped with a slanting trap,

so that fluid liquids

can drain off during the operation.

During cleaning,

the drain can be used

to evacuate large pieces of dirt.

The aforementioned technical changes

are to be made

to vehicles in service

only when they come in for repairs.

As for the 10 vehicles

ordered from Saurer,

they must be equipped

with all innovations and changes

shown by use

and experience to be necessary.

Submitted for decision

to Gruppenleiter H D,

SS-Obersturmbannfiihrer Walter Rauff.

Signed Just.

END OF THE FIRST ERA

FRANZ SUCHOMEL:

SS UnterscharfiJhrer

[ Suchomel Singing In German]

Looking squarely ahead, brave and joyous

At the world

The squads march to work

All that matters to us now is Treblinka

It is our destiny

That's why we've become one

with Treblinka

In no time at all

We know only the word

of our Commander

We know only obedience and duty

We want to serve,

to go on serving

Until a little luck ends it all

HurrayJ

[ Lanzmann, In German]

Once more, but louder.

[ Suchomel]

We're laughing about it but ifs so sad.

- [ L anzmann j No one is" laughing.

- [ Suchome/ j Don 7' be sore at' me.

You want History.

I'm giving you History.

Franz wrote the words.

The melody came from Buchenwald.

Camp Buchenwald,

where Franz was a guard.

New Jews who arrived in the morning...

- New worker Jews?

- Ja.

They were taught the song,

and by evening all of them had to sing it.

- [ Lanzmann ] Sing it again.

- All right.

[ Lanzmann ]

It's very important. But loud!

Looking squarely ahead,

brave and joyous

At the world

The squads march to work

All that matters to us now is Treblinka

It is our destiny

That's why we've become one with Treblinka

In no time at all

We know only the word

of our Commander

We know only obedience and duty

We want to serve, to go on serving

Until a little luck ends it all

Hurray N'

Satisfied?

That's unique.

No Jews know that today!

[Train Approaching ]

[ Lanzmann ]

How was it possible in Treblinka

in peak days...

Mm-hmm.

To process 18,000 people?

18,000 is too high.

- But I read that figure in court reports.

- Sure.

To process 18,000 people.

To liquidate them.

Mr. Lanzmann, that's an exaggeration.

Believe me.

How many?

12,000 t015,000.

But we had to spend half the night at it.

- Ja.

In January,

the trains started arriving at 6 A.M.

Ja?

Always at 6 A.M.?

- Not always.

Often.

- Yes.

- The schedules were erratic.

- Yes.

Sometimes one came at 6 A.M.,

then another at noon,

maybe another late in the evening.

You see?

- So a train arrived.

I'd like you to describe in detail

the whole process.

During the peak period.

- Uh-huh.

[ Lanzmann ]

Hmm?

[ Suchomel ]

The trains left Malkinia station,

for Treblinka station.

[ Lanzmann ]

How many miles from Malkinia to Treblinka?

[ Suchomel]

About six miles.

Treblinka was a village.

A small village.

As a station,

it gained in importance

because of the transports of Jews.

There were at least 30 to 50 cars.

They were divided

into sections of 10 or 15

shunted into Treblinka Camp,

and brought to the ramp.

The other cars waited, loaded with people,

in Treblinka station.

The windows were closed off

with barbed wire,

so no one could get out.

On the roofs were the hellhounds,

the Ukrainians or Latvians.

The Latvians were the worst.

On the ramp, for each car,

there stood

two Jews from Blue Squad

to speed things up.

They said,

Get out, get out. Hurry, hurry!

There were also Ukrainians and Germans.

[ Lanzmann ]

How many Germans?

[ Suchomel ]

3 to 5.

- No more?

- No more. I can assure you.

How many Ukrainians?

- Ten.

- [ Lanzmann Repeats Phrase]

[ Lanzmann ]

10 Ukrainians, 5 Germans.

Ja, ja.

2... 20 people from the Blue Squad.

Men from the Blue Squad

were here and here.

They sent the people inside.

The Red Squad was here.

- Ja?

- So the Red Squad was here.

- What was the Red Squad's job?

The clothes...

to carry the clothes

taken off by the men

and by the women

up here immediately.

How much time elapsed

between unloading at the ramp

and the undressing,

how many minutes?

For the women,

let's say an hour in all.

- [ Repeats Phrase]

An hour, an hour and a half.

A whole train took 2 hours.

- Yes.

In 2 hours, it was all over.

- Between the time of arrival...

- Und... and...

and death.

It was all over in 2 hours?

- 2 hours, 2 1/2 hours, 3 hours.

A whole train?

Yes, a whole train.

And for only one section,

for 10 cars, how long?

I can't calculate that

because the sections

came one after another,

and people flooded in constantly,

understand?

Usually, the men waiting

who sat there, or there,

were sent straight up via the funnel.

The women were sent last.

At the end.

They had to go up there too,

and often waited here.

5... at a time.

50 people.

60 women with children.

They had to wait here

until there was room here.

- Naked.

- Naked.

In summer and winter.

- In winter?

- In winter.

[ Lanzmann ]

Winter in Treblinka can be very cold.

[ Suchomel] Well, in winter,

in December, anyway after Christmas.

- J a.

- Bu! e van before Christmas it was cold as hell.

Between 15 and minus 4.

I know:
At first

it was cold as hell for us, too.

We didn't have suitable uniforms.

It was cold for us too.

But it was colder for...

- For those poor people.

- In the funnel.

In the funnel, it was very, very cold.

- [ Repeats Phrase]

- Ja.

Can you...

describe this funnel precisely?

What was it like? How wide?

- Ja. Ja, der Sch/auch. ..

How was it

for the people in this funnel?

It was about 13 feet wide.

- Das Isl'...

- As wide as this room.

[ Repeats Phrase]

On each side were walls

this high or this high.

- Walls?

- No, barbed wire.

Woven into the barbed wire,

uh, were branches of pine trees.

- Mm-hmm.

- You understand?

It was known as camouflage.

There was a Camouflage Squad of 20 Jews.

They brought in new branches every day.

- From the woods?

- That's right.

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