SOBIBÓR - Holocaust Handbooks

J. GRAF, T. KUES, C. MATTOGNO, SOBIBÓR 59
which was serving as a gas chamber had a little window on top
through which Himmler could view with satisfaction the effect of a
new gas.” (N. Blumental, ibid., p. 206)
Zelda Metz reports:
“Himmler came to Sobibór in late summer of 1943. In order to
show him how efficiently the extermination camp was operating,
7,500 beautiful young girls were brought in from [the Jewish camp
on] Lipowa Street and executed in front of him.” (ibid., p. 211)
While Leon Feldhendler has Himmler’s visit take place correctly in
March of 1943 and is happy with 200 women gassed for the occasion,
Zelda Metz dates the visit to “late summer of 1943” and makes the
number of the victims a full 7,500!
If we follow Toivi Blatt, the victims did not come from Lublin but
from W�odawa. He writes: 85
“SS-Oberscharführer Erich Bauer, in charge of the gassing
process at Sobibór, concluded a demonstration gassing of over 300
specially selected young Jewish girls from the nearby city of
W�odawa.”
Yet another version is provided by Moshe Bahir, according to whom
the “several hundred” victims came neither from Lublin nor from
W�odawa but from Trawniki. 86
Nearly every book about Sobibór mentions Himmler’s presence at
the gassing of Jewish girls, although the dates and the number of victims
vary. Claiming to quote from witness statements, B. Distel 87 and J.
Schelvis 88 give the date of the visit as 12 February 1943, although the
documents cited have it take place in March. This matter is symbolic,
showing as it does how the orthodox historians operate. The story of the
Reichsführer’s presence at a gassing of Jewish ladies also crops up in
connection with Treblinka. The Polish Jewess Rachel Auerbach tells
us: 89
“It is said that on the occasion of his visit to Treblinka towards
the end of February of 1943, a very special show was arranged for
Himmler. A group of young women who had been specially selected
for this event were herded into the ‘bath house’ – naked, so that the
85
T. Blatt, op. cit. (note 17), p. 12.
86
M. Novitch, op. cit. (note 39), p. 156.
87
B. Distel, op. cit. (note 69), p. 391.
88
J. Schelvis, op. cit. (note 70), p. 111.
89
Alexander Donat (ed.), The Death Camp Treblinka, Holocaust Library, New York 1979,
p. 48.