THE HORRIFYING EXECUTION OF THE 240 PEOPLE IN AUSCHWITZ CONCENTRATION CAMP

 The Horrifying Execution Of The 240 People In Auschwitz Concentration Camp In 1942

28 October 1942 | SS men executed by shooting some 280 Poles at the German camp Auschwitz I. The execution took place at the Death Wall located at the courtyard of Block 11. Some were killed when they tried to resist in the corridor inside the block. 

This was a retaliation for sabotage and partisan actions carried out in the Lublin area, and the victims of the executions were mainly prisoners deported from prisons in Lublin and Radom in 1941 and 1942.

"On 28 October 1942 in the morning roll-call, clerks (Schreiber) in various blocks began to summon some numbers of prisoners and told them they should go to the “Erkennungsdienst” for a verification of photographs.

In total, two hundred forty and several people were summoned - exclusively Poles - as we found out later, mainly of the Lublin region, including one fourth of Poles who had nothing in common with the Lublin transports, and were carried initially to block 3, which itself aroused our suspicions why not to block 26 at once, where the “Erkennungsdienst” was located – the sham reason of the summon.

We were called by a bell to our “Arbeitskommando” and then we went outside the camp as usually, each commando bound for its work place. At work, our colleagues in all commandos were seething - we did not know then if they were in some danger. Later, news was spread that they were to be executed.

 Two hundred and forty fellows – mainly evident inhabitants of the Lublin region, to whom some numbers of those whose activity, energy was evident, were added - apparently having selected them from all over the camp through Grabner's "curs". We did not even get to know by what they were guided, maybe the mere "sweet will" of the two scoundrels was decisive. Yet it was called a "pacification of the Lublin region", which re-echoed in such way in the camp… Such high number of prisoners had not been executed at once so far….

Our colleagues murdered on 28 October 1942 knew of what was in store for them. In block 3 they were told they would be executed by firing, they throw paper scraps to their colleagues who were to live, asking them deliver to their families. 

They made a decision to die “in a joyful spirit”, so that they would be told about well in the evening. Let somebody say, we Poles cannot do that.... Those who saw that picture told they would never forget it. From block 3, between 14 and 15, between the kitchen and blocks 16, 17 and 18 and further straight on between the hospital blocks, they went in a column in their fives, they carried their heads up in quiet, smiled faces here and there. 

They went without any escort. Behind them Palitzsch with rifle on slide and Bruno, both of them smoking cigarettes, talking about irrelevant matters. It sufficed if the last five did “about turn” and the existence of those two butchers would be ceased..

So, why did they go on? Were they in fear for themselves? What should they fear in such moment, when they were walking to death anyway? It looked like psychosis. But they continued to go, because they had some reason for them.

 Informations, announced in advance by the authorities, confirmed by colleagues coming from freedom, that the whole family was held responsible for a prank of the prisoner, produced the desired effect. It was known that Germans were ruthless in application of repression and they kill families, showing in such cases as much bestiality as they could bring themselves to. How did bestiality look like? - was there anyone who knew it better than we?

To know or to see that your wife, mother, children were in such conditions, as women here in Brzezinka, was enough to paralyse any desire to attack the butchers…

So they went on... Near the canteen (a wooden one in a small square behind block 21), the column going between block21 and 27, seemed to stop, to hesitate, was near to go straight on. But it was one short moment, it turned square to the left and went just to the gate of block 11, just to the jaws of death. 

Not before the gate had closed after them and they were left there for several hours - they were to be executed in the afternoon - under the influence of an anticipation of death, various doubts began to come out of recesses of mind and there were five colleagues who incited to seize the whole camp, to start action here. 

They barricaded the gate and more serious things could probably occur, as the Germans had not reinforced the guard and all our commandos were waiting for a signal, were it not that the protest against death did not go beyond block 11 at all. Except for that five, nobody allowed to be carried away and a Silesian, a functionary of that block, informed SS-men of the seeds of mutiny, so Palitzsch accompanied by several SS-men arrived at the block and disposed of those several prisoners, killing them first of all and leaving the rest for later on… In the afternoon, they all were dead.”

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