SOBIBÓR - Holocaust Handbooks

J. GRAF, T. KUES, C. MATTOGNO, SOBIBÓR 129
tiveness of the body for an attack by and a spreading of the particular
morbific agents. […]
Ground water, even more so than soil or air, is suitable for the
propagation of the decomposition products. It is all the more dangerous
as the subterranean currents can take on changes which are
not noticeable on the surface. Thus, it is entirely possible for wells
on the cemetery itself or close to it to have good water, free from organic
substances, whereas the secretions of the graves may be carried
away by underground currents to reach wells or other types of
usable water and then exercise their harmful potential.”
For those very reasons the managers of the Theresienstadt ghetto decided
to build the local crematorium: 371
“As early as the spring of 1942 the command of the ghetto decided
on the construction of a crematorium. The cemetery being situated
in a depression was sensitive to ground water; often the
corpses were lowered in water-logged layers. The SS worried about
the drinking water becoming contaminated.”
Pery Broad declared that “in the large fish ponds in the vicinity of
Birkenau, at Harmense for example,” the fish were struck by a pandemic
in the summer of 1942 and that “experts tied this event to a contamination
of the ground water by corpse toxins.” 372
Although nowadays there is a tendency to consider such phenomena
to be less dangerous, there are still directives for specific measures to
ensure the health of the ground water: 373
“When a large number of bodies require[s] disposal, for instance
after a major disaster, the remains are most likely to be cremated.
However, in many cases temporary storage facilities are required.
In all cases, a ‘wet’ area must be designated to contain bodily fluids/wastes
and chemicals. If drain discharges from this area are unsuitable
(for example, a soakaway), then all drains must be sealed
and liquids must be collected and disposed of safely by a specialist
contractor.”
371 “Das Krematorium am Jüdischen Friedhof,” www.ghettotheresienstadt.info/pages/k/krematorium
htm
372 P. Broad, “KZ-Auschwitz. Erinnerungen eines SS-Mannes der Politischen Abteilung in
dem Konzentrationslager Auschwitz,” in: Hefte von Auschwitz, Wydawnictwo
Pa�stwowe Muzeum w O�wi�cimiu, No. 9, 1966, p. 27.
373 “Assessing the Groundwater Pollution Potential of Cemetery Developments,” Environment
Agency, http://publications.environment-agency.gov.uk/pdf/SCHO0404BGLA-ee.pdf