“..Those who have not lived through .. experience will never know ..those who have will never tell ..not really ..not completely.” Elie Wiesel.
I cannot even begin to comprehend what those like Elie Wiesel went through, and through our communication, I declined to ask him that question. For me, the depth of support necessary for me to broaden out the breadth of search for understanding is in my commitment in Always to Remember, Never to Forget. This search for me is more necessary for 6,000,000 very good reasons, all of whom are Jewish. It occurred to me, as I came away from each of the 6 Death Camps that Hitler had erected in Poland, that I had felt something strange, unknown, even spiritual, a belonging of sorts. By my last visit, I had not wished to return to Poland, for varying reasons, least of all the exhausting impact each visit had upon me.
“..We travelled by train in 3rd. class passenger coaches ..arrived early in ..morning at another camp ..Belsen. ..We had never heard this name before and had no idea what it was like. ..as soon as we marched into ..camp ..we could see that it was even larger than Westerbork ..and much worse. ..barbed wire ..guard towers ..electrified fences ..SS ..with bloodhounds ..machine guns ..searchlights. ..a real concentration camp.” Paul Oppenheimer.
But! I had fulfilled my promise to a Jewish Survivor who had simply suggested I visit, the Death Camp he had left, Belsen. I was disinclined to even suggest that I had seriously focused the need to present only 6 Camps, which exemplified the criteria set aside for the systematic, mechanised and industrial Slaughter each Death Camp was designed for. The ramifications for me have been immense, while attempting to hold true to this clear understanding. It then emerged that many Polish Survivor’s, communicated their strongly held belief that Poland, and the gentile Poles hated them. I could never accept in such sweeping terms, such generalisations that would condemn more people than necessary to the accusation of a hatred for their fellow man.
“..Bitterness ..pain fill ..Children’s recollections of those poles who hunted them ..betrayed them ..handed them to ..common enemy ..of cruelties perpetrated by other children ..of every human ignominy. ..there are few such testimonies ..reason ..simple ..painful ..children ..are not here to record their stories.” Maria Hochberg-Marianska.
In that, I could not in all honesty, accept that all Poles hated the Jews even when it was apparent many Polish Jewish Survivors felt this so profoundly, and expressed it coherently. I decided to go back to Poland to visit those Museum’s and their Curator’s to see for myself if such a profound bias, bigotry and hatred as antisemitism is, would the government of the day within Poland allow for the unvarnished truth to be on display within such institutions as were dependent upon Polish government sponsorship, and even tolerance. It was of little consequence to the Polish Jewish Survivor that I was helped to get to Sobibor by a Polish Lady, a Lady who proved a great person. Also! I was assisted on my return from Belzec by another Polish Lady who proved equally a generous soul. Even though these were just two Polish People who sought to afford me assistance, and proved their human traits, this could not answer for what the Survivor truly held a belief in.
“..I didn’t want to go back to Poland. Poles were killing a lot of Jews who returned to claim property ..homes ..other possessions. My Parents were dead. There was nothing to go back to.” Bianca Lerner.
Bianca’s Father had been Murdered in a Ghetto while her Mother was transported away from her and was Gassed within Treblinka, and quite literally, there was nothing to go back to. Nothing was left of Family, really. Nothing was to be allowed to be reclaimed from those who stole from the destroyed Jews, of their former Neighbours. Matched to what I was learning however, there were occasions where Poles either were being obstructive, once misdirecting me toward Treblinka, or were completely ignorant of the role they played within the Polish infrastructure of travel. On another occasion a coach driver, who left me stranded on the wrong side of Belzec, when his Coach clearly passed the front gates to this Death Camp, left me with a long trek through knee high snow and minus 18 degrees of cold. But all things considered, the Poles I spoke to and with proved friendly and listened to me about my work. Most of these Poles knew of the depth of Polish wrongs, which their government were seeking to set aside, and the level of anti-Jewish feeling that had permeated their Country, before, during and even after Hitler’s forces had relinquished their hold upon their Polish territory.
“..attitude of ..non Jewish population ..almost all Poles ..was hateful. They rejoiced at our misfortune ..enriched themselves with Jewish property.” Betzalel Papial.
The demand to hold tightly to what had not belonged to them, and deprive more than 3,000,000 Polish Jews a right to what should be passed down, leaves an indelible stain upon the morality and ethical well being of the state and its People. Bias, even antisemitic bigotry, could not dissuade many from this next generation away from the truth that hatred is so pervasive, it infects as it infests the well being of entire nations. I have found from certainty from what Elie Wiesel declares, and that while not all victims were Jews, All Jews Were Victims. For myself, I would add to that to ensure, and that remains a given in my search within my research, that while not all Poles are guilty, Not All Poles Are Innocent. Also, and we need not just insinuate our accusation to know of the persistence of the Polish Pogroms against Polish Jewry. It is unedifying to attempt to defend the indefensible. My journey began with 4 year old Tovah ‘Tokele’ Olshak, Murdered in Sokoly by gentile poles on February 17th. 1945, along with 6 other Jewish Survivors murdered by locals, Tokele, is included in these shameful murders.
“..When ..Poles saw how ..soldiers were victimising us they piled on ..too. ..a German guard was marching me ..some other men to ..nail factory. ..a Polish boy ran up ..stabbed me in ..hand.” William Schiff.
Remember, this is even after the Reich’s killers had left and this situation for Polish Jewry was repeated all too often too followed on July 4th. 1946 when 42 of Kielce’s Surviving Jews were murdered by local Poles. Can this be considered post Holocaust, and not allowing for them to join with the more than 18,042 of their fellow Jews of Kielce who were murdered. In total, and so as to satiate the same Hitler hatred, these Jews of Kielce are as the other Jews of Kielce, Murdered within the same framework as Hitler demanded. I always bear this in mind when we think we know what we must need to know in relating facts to the integrity of those People we apply them to! In this, and while we cannot be certain that only 6,000,000 Jews were consumed, we can be practically be certain that such is their number, lost, concealed within the detail of such an account, human beings perpetrated the worst crimes ever contemplated upon an innocent People, purely because of their Jewish heritage. That all said, we must acknowledge that far in excess of that number of 6,000,000 Slaughtered Jews is a more highly probable prospect. We deny this very fact at a cost to loss, and to all of those who have been consumed, particularly as we search for that rightful need for learning, the integrity of their truth binds us to them more certainly.
“..I was trying very hard to obtain statistical material about ..Jews ..found out that at ..beginning of ..War there had been about 15,000,000 Jews in ..whole world. ..6,000,000 Jews ..murdered ..meant a proportion of 40%.” SS Sturmbannfuhrer Dr. Wilhelm Hoettl.
Clearly, while we know that, on Sunday December 7th. 1941 Chelmno opens its murderous operations, and some of Kolo’s Jews were first to be extinguished, they are murdered and are dead here. So on December 8th. 1941, when what remained of these 700 Kolo Jews, who were eventually gassed at Chelmno, this was all accomplished alongside 2,300 of their fellow Jews, also brought to the doors of the Schloss and murdered. This equates to more than 3,000 Jews Murdered on just that day alone. On subsequent days, like December 10th. 1941, we are also aware that 1,757 Jews of Turek were Murdered at Chelmno. On January 16th. 1942, and with the first resettlement of 10,000 Jews from Lodz brought to Chelmno for resettlement there, what now begins is the resettlement of all of Lodz Jews and those Jews from the areas surrounding this Polish City, and the Villages and Shtetl’s once vibrant with Polish Jewry.
“..Germans seized ..Vilna ..80,000 Jews lived there. ..Sonderkommando was set up at 12 Vilenskaia Street ..under ..Schweineberg and Martin Weiss. ..broke into ..Jewish houses ..dragged away ..men ..herded them into certain buildings near ..village of Panarai about eight kilometres from Vilna. ..hardly one returned.” Abram Gerzevitch Sutzkever.
When we arrive at an historic milestone in The Holocaust narrative, on January 20th. 1942, and The Wannsee Conference is convened, The Final Solution had already extinguished the lives of vast numbers of Jews. We simply travel back to September 29th. and 30th. 1941, and to 33,771 Jews of Kiev who are no more, to add implicitly to the terms of The Holocaust. Here too, we can be certain Hitler has already been fully appraised of The Final Solution of more than 1,000,000 Slaughtered Jews at the hands of der Einsatzgruppe. With that certainty, and with Chelmno feasting upon the Jews from the surrounding areas, that consumption rose to the tune of more than 300 Slaughtered Jews every hour, we can calculate a summary that rethinks what we are supposed to know. With this, we surely must mean that some 120,000 Polish Jews having already been gassed here at Chelmno, are additional to what Hitler’s conference was convened to complete.
“..When this black hell broke down on a bend ..they ran away on all fours ..yellow like smoked.” Tadeusz Wojtczak.
Such testimony as can be verified, by those like Tadeusz Wojtczak concerning Chelmno, must be recognised for the pertinence. The inefficiency of many statements, regarding both the numerical atrocity, and their human implications, must ensure the stricter adherence to dates, which do not allow for all atrocity perpetrated against the Jews of Europe, must be corrected. When all of these killings, in the Black Gassing Vans of Chelmno, are added to the more voracious approach of the Einsatz aktion killing squads spreading out across the length and breadth of Eastern Europe, and the Baltic States, we can be both certain the starting point to The Holocaust is even prior to these, and even before The Wannsee Conference is allowed to stake a claim on its hold over the commencement of the Catastrophe for European Jewry.
“..At ..beginning of May 1942 SS Oberfuhrer Brack from ..Fuhrer’s chancellery suddenly came to Lublin. With Globocnik he discussed resuming ..extermination of ..Jews. Globocnik said he had too few people to carry out this programme. Brack stated that ..euthanasia programme had stopped and that ..people from T4 would from now on be detailed to him on a regular basis so that ..decisions taken at ..Wannsee conference could be implemented. As it appeared that it would not be possible for ..Einsatzgruppe to clear individual areas of Jews and ..people in ..large Ghettos of Warsaw and Lemberg by shooting them ..decision had been taken to set up 2 further extermination camps which would be ready by August 1st. 1942 ..Treblinka and Sobibor. ..large scale ‘Vernichtungsaktion’ extermination programme ..due to start on August 1st. 1942.” SS Untersturmfuhrer Josef Oberhauser.
When all assaults and destruction of the Jewish People, and I would include any Jew Murdered as a consequence of Hitler’s rabid hatred, even back to 1932, when these are all added together, we reach a far more formative figure than the World seemingly will allow for. With 11,293,300 Jews still be be progressed through the annihilation machinery, as the Wannsee Conference would suggest, all too many different assessments of how many Jews are present for Hitler to target are raised, and they ar in error of the facts. When we then arrive at how many Jews of Europe were still actually available to Hitler for The Final Solution at the beginning of 1942, and remained to be resettled after the auspices of Wannsee had consigned them, how many Jews are to be annihilated on top of those already consumed within the hatred.
“..groups from other towns converged in Budapest and joined forces . From among themselves they selected typically Aryan looking men who equipped themselves with false papers and ..joined .. Hungarian SS. These spies were then able to warn of impending persecution and raids.” Bruno Bettelheim.
When the tide had fully turned then, and Hitler’s 1,000 year Reich was to be consigned to History, but one Jewish Community remained intact, virtuall, Hungarian Jewry. When we look to what the World failed to achieve, and they could so easily have bombed the transports capability to deliver Hungarian Jewry to Birkenau, we recognise the futility in suggesting reasons other than apathy and indifference plagued the World. Then, as we are left with the impression of what humanity is capable of in the form of Count Folke Bernadotte, Aristides de Sousa Mendes, the Country of Denmark, Varian Fry, Carl Lutz, Oscar Schindler, Chiune Sugihara, Raoul Wallenberg and Nicholas Winton, the grief over 6,000,000 Slaughtered Jews grows exponentially. While these are barely a few names of those who shame this World for its inactivity in saving just one more Jew from the Slaughter, if but 6 million individuals had but saved ONE Jew each, how many of those 6,000,000 Individual Jews would not be our loss.
“..wicked flee when no one pursues but ..righteous are bold as a lion.” Proverbs 28:1
I have learned from a past steeped in my catholic upbringing, and from learning how best to behave, and by virtue of that very fact, how not to misbehave. I hold not a single belief system. I do not adhere to any other credentials but what is moral and ethical. I know my failings. I know I have had to come through those to become what I consider, considerate. In her letter to Pope Pius XI, Edith Stein pleaded her case for saving the Jewish People from what she recognised was both immoral and unchristian. Her words fell upon deaf ears and the silence of the catholic church, while Catholics acted individually, is telling. Even as a collective in a Monastery or Convent suggests that such a mere depreciation of humanity’s values have proved an unethical response. To such an immense Catastrophe as The Holocaust has become, the church’s silence does not act in response to any christ like demand.
“..As a child of ..Jewish people who ..by ..grace of God ..for ..past 11 years has also been a child of ..Catholic Church ..I dare to speak to ..Father of Christianity about that which oppresses 1,000,000’s of Germans. For weeks we have seen deeds perpetrated in Germany which mock any sense of justice and humanity ..not to mention love of neighbour. For years ..leaders of National Socialism have been preaching hatred of ..Jews. But ..responsibility must fall ..after all ..on those who brought them to this point and it also falls on those who keep silent in ..face of such happenings. Everything that happened and continues to happen on a daily basis originates with a government that calls itself ‘Christian.’ For weeks not only Jews but also 1,000’s of faithful Catholics in Germany ..and ..I believe ..all over ..world ..have been waiting and hoping for ..Church of Christ to raise its voice to put a stop to this abuse of Christ’s name.” Edith Stein.
So please forgive what may seem flippant in my commentary upon belief and their systems, and in response to some, I summarised my own refusal to belief as such. What did conversion achieve for any Jew, least of all Edith Stein. Edit Stein pleaded with the then pope, pius xi, to at least intervene or issue a command to save the Jews. Edith Stein was Murdered, none the less, as a Jew but was still given a sainthood so as to reclaim her. Edith Stein was identified as a Jew but was an abandoned Jew by the church she professed to belong to. Her Murder remains confronting to a complicit church whose failure in The Final Solution, led an ever-increasing number of Jews to resolve for Hitler, The Jewish Question.
“..How abysmally asleep is a conscience when it must be aroused to be told there is something morally wrong about pressing candy upon a little boy to induce him to enter a gas chamber of death.” Michael Musmanno.
Even without the inducement of candy, without the sliver of hope which a slice of Bread can seduce, Jewish Children and Jewish Adults were force fed the Mobile and Static Gas Chambers at Belzec, Birkenau, Chelmno, Majdanek, Sobibor and Treblinka. Here, in both versions of the gassing apparatus, whether static or mobile gassing facilities, the Jewish People were forced to cling to the last ounce of oxygen they could. With sheer brutality at times, and without any sense conscience at all times, moral efficacies were sidelined in favour of the destruction of the Jewish People, no matter how it was achieved. While Poland looked on at such close quarters, and as the World stood by in a chosen isolation, so ended the lives of countless 1,000,000’s of Jewish People, 6,000,000 of which has become the representative number.
“.. It was perfectly clear to me that this order spelled death to 1,000,000 s of people. I said to Eichmann ..God grant that our enemies never have ..opportunity of doing ..same to ..German people ..Eichmann told me not to be sentimental ..it was an order of ..Fuhrer’s and would have to be carried out.” SS Hauptsturmfuhrer Dieter Wisliceny.
And this is the point of bargaining we reach with the Survivor, in asking them to accept their loss is but a number we cannot be certain of. We also ask them politely, and for our benefit, a demand that these Jews hear all too constantly, so as to tell us more of what terrors the horror of what they have been forced to live through can inform us. In essence, such was that life of existence, it was a death the Jewish Survivor emerged from so that a morsel of what they clearly knows and haunts them, should and must testify for us. These Jews, whose very Survival marks them as extraordinary human beings, does not always work in their favour. While they already cannot forget what we insist they remind us of, and the tragedy that befell their People stalks them, we allow for the horror to be ever present, without respite, even though their minds ability will not let go of their trauma. We, on the other hand, are always insisting there is more for us to know, and the truth is there is much more that we are set to become the witnesses to.
“..Those masses who were brought here from all over occupied Europe and were not annihilated upon arrival ..found themselves in a universe parallel to ours today ..with its scientists and laborers ..believers and non-believers ..theoreticians and artists ..poets and merchants ..rich and poor ..ignorant and learned ..speaking all languages and practicing all trades. In this place one witnessed an antinomian ingathering of ..exiled. Death in gas chambers replaced Redemption.” Elie Wiesel.
As you stand outside the Death Camps, or alongside these places of extinction, what the Jews encountered, those who entered these spaces, where intentionally they were met with what could not be endured, we seek their return to such memories. For those outside, who witnessed the very terms to what was the extermination they could not hide from, they remained passive, even unconcerned as these being Slaughtered were just Jews. For that reason of bias, bigotry or sheer hatred alone, each of the 6 Death Camps in Poland places a marker where conscience and concern was abandoned. In one place in particular, I stood on a ground were more than 1,100,000 Jews alone were consumed, and as I pointed out to a Survivor I had just become acquainted with, there still Was Smoke Over Birkenau. This though was from the forest of leaves and the detritus of Autumn, merely being set alight. But it was a pointer, a poignant moment which added to the disbelief that so much could have happened to so many Jews in such a small place of confinement. In comparison to such numbers as these, one cannot begin to imagine the relative size of any City which could be required to detain them all.
“ ..For a variety of reasons ..women s situation was a good deal worse than that of ..men ..physical endurance ..coupled with work more arduous and degrading ..agonies of disrupted families ..and ..haunting presence of ..crematoria ..located right in ..middle of ..women s camp ..inescapable ..undeniable ..ungodly smoke rising ..to contaminate every day ..every night ..every moment of respite or illusion ..every dream and timorous hope.” Primo Levi.
Any human concern that was supposed to be Worldwide was abrogated to such silence as reached all of Polish Jewry. When the wider European Jewish Family was so comprehensively, loudly and more fully extinguished, this was not achieved in silence, it was not conducted in a vacuum. The ramparts where once 1,000,000’s of Jews stood, where emptiness filled the line which awaited ever more Jews, and with gasses or smoke billowing from the backs of Vans or tall towers, or from open pits, the congesting of the surrounding air billowed with the scent of Jewish decay. From the rotting corpses of discarded Jewish life, thrown so recklessly into pits to decompose the memory of what they suffered, no sense of outrage from Polish communities. However, quick was their response so as to exploit such savagery as these grave robbers of Poland became invested in tainting further the despoiled history of Poland.
“..1941 ..At 6:00 in ..morning ..awoken from a deep sleep. Report for an execution. Fine ..so I’ll just play executioner and then gravedigger ..why not? 23 had to be shot ..amongst them 2 women. ..We had to find a suitable spot to shoot and bury them. After a few minutes we found a place. ..death candidates assembled with shovels to dig their own graves. Two of them were weeping. ..others certainly have incredible courage. ..Strange ..I am completely unmoved. No pity ..nothing. That’s ..way it is and then it’s all over. ..Valuables ..watches ..money ..put into a pile. ..2 women are lined up at one end of ..grave ready to be shot first. ..As ..women walked to ..grave they were completely composed. They turned around. Six of us had to shoot them. ..job ..assigned thus ..three at ..heart ..three at ..head. I took ..heart. ..shots were fired and ..brains whizzed through ..air. Two in ..head is too much. They almost tear it off. ..a few bodies ..rearranged with a pickaxe. ..I came back dog tired.” SS Hauptscharfuhrer Felix Landau.
