Arbeit macht frei: - Fredrick Töben

Incidentally, the people in the camp were chiefly Gentile, rather than
Jewish …Indeed, the population of Auschwitz was about 80 per cent
Gentile. The reason was no secret. Most of the Jews were immediately
sent to the gas chamber and the crematory ovens.>In 1944 a large number of priests arrived in Auschwitz. They were put
through the usual formalities; bathing. Clipping, and search. The
Germans took away their prayer books, crucifixes, and other religious
objects, and gave them the striped prisoners’ rags. To the surprise of the
itnernee officials, the priests were not ordered to be tattoed. But the
Germans did nothing without cunning. Even before the priests had
entered the ‘baths,’ the administration had given the word that they were
to be killed that evening.>One doctor courageously reminded the German that hyere were
relatively few sick in this camp and no contagious cases. The S.S. chief
doctor replied ironically: ‘Since you have such a lively interest in the fate
of these internees, you shall follow them into their new homes.’ By ‘new
home,’ he meant, of course, the crematory oven.>The extermination of the Jews–Polish, Lithuanian, French, etc.,–was
carried out in groups by national regions. The extermination of the Jews
of Hungary took place in the summer of 1944. This mass liquidation
was without precedent even in the annals of Birkenau. In July, 1944, the
five crematory ovens, the mysterious ‘white house,’ and the death pit
worked to full capacity. Ten transports arrived daily. There were not
enough workers to carry all the luggage, so it was piled in mountainous
heaps and remained there at the station for days.>Auschwitz was w work camp while Birkenau was an extermination
camp. But there were a few work commandos at Birkenau for various
manual tasks. I was forced to participate in most of these squads, at one
time or another.>> p.125
>>From time to time, the Germans disinfected the camp. Executed
rationally this measure would have contributed to the betterment of our
hygienic conditions. But, like everything else at Auschwitz-Birkenau, the
disinfection was carried out in a mocking fashion and only increased our
mortality rate. That was doubtless part of the idea. The disinfection
began with the isolation of four or five barracks. We had to present
ourselves by barracks at the washroom. Our clothing and shoes, items
that had been acquired at the cost of great privations, were taken away
and placed in a fumigation oven, while we passed under a shower. The
operation lasted only a minute, not long enough to get clean at all. Then,
after being doused with a disinfectant on the head and the parts of the
body covered with hair, we were moved to the exit. Those who had lice
had their hair clipped again.