SOBIBÓR - Holocaust Handbooks

J. GRAF, T. KUES, C. MATTOGNO, SOBIBÓR 251
8.3. Alleged Genesis and Organization of the
Extermination Camps of Aktion Reinhardt
8.3.1. Administration and Financing
At the Stuttgart congress mentioned above, Hilberg presented a paper
entitled Die Aktion Reinhard, in which he stated: 737
“The initial phase of Aktion Reinhard raises three separate questions.
Why were there three camps instead of only one? Why were
they built in succession, Be��ec first, then Sobibór, and finally Treblinka?
Why did each camp have only three gas chambers when they
turned out to be insufficient? One could argue that they were approaching
the objective hesitatingly, without having a clear view of
it. That is not really inconceivable, but is is certainly not the complete
explanation, and perhaps not even the most important one. It
was, to sum it up, a difficult administrative problem. For the ‘Final
solution of the Jewish question,’ the Third Reich had neither a central
agency nor even a separate budget.”
As far as the alleged extermination camps of Aktion Reinhardt are
concerned, this explanation is clearly wrong even from the Holocaust
point of view, because “a central agency” did indeed exist, with its line
of command Himmler�Globocnik�Höfle�Wirth, 738 whereas the financing
could be provided for by the economic proceeds from Aktion
Reinhardt, i.e. the goods confiscated from the Jews.
The facts set out by Hilberg in the form of questions are thus inexplicable.
Hence, if we followed mainstream Holocaust historiography, we
would have three chains of command regarding the gas chambers:
� Hitler � Führer Chancellery 739 � KTI 740 � Carbon monoxide in
steel cylinders � euthanasia institutes � Gaswagen � Che�mno;
� Hitler � Himmler � Eichmann � Höß � Zyklon B � Auschwitz/Majdanek;
� Himmler � Globocnik � Höfle � Wirth � exhaust gases �
Be��ec/Sobibór/Treblinka.
737
R. Hilberg, “Die Aktion Reinhard,” in: E. Jäckel, J. Rohwer (eds.), op. cit. (note 655), p.
129.
738
SS-Hauptsturmführer Christian Wirth, Inspector of SS-Sonderkommando “Einsatz Reinhardt.”
739
Karl Brandt and Reichsleiter Philipp Bouhler.
740
The Kriminaltechnische Institut (institute for forensic techniques) within Reichssicherheitshauptamt
(RSHA).