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The Franke-Gricksch Report
A Report on the Duty
Journey through POLAND from the 4th -- 16th May 1943 by
SS-Sturmbannführer Alfred FRANKE-GRICKSCH
[...]
AUSCHWITZ
We carried on immediately and went to Auschwitz
Camp.
At 13:00 hrs we arrived at Auschwitz, the leaders of
the camp were assembled and introduced to the
Gruppenführer. Amongst those were
SS-Oberführer Caesar, who is in charge of all
agricultural work as Stbf. After the Gpf
[Website note: SS
Gruppenführer Maxmilian von Herff, Chef des SS
Personalhauptamtes] had addressed the
leaders and informed them of the purpose of his visit, he
joined them at dinner.
In
order to get a clear picture of the camp , its structure
and purpose, SS-Ostbf Hoess
[Rudolf Höss, picture
on right] drove us round the whole camp
area. The camp itself was a old Austrian hutted camp
which has been extended to a small town by the work of
SS-Ostbf Hoess. Auschwitz is the biggest concentration
camp in Germany. It covers about 18,000 morgens, 8,000
are arable, 4,000 are fish breeding, 3,000 are used for
market gardening and greenhouses. They are breeding their
own horses and keep their own poultry farms.
In 1942 the breeding measures have produced 32,000
chicks. Besides the camp has its own kennels with 500
picked animals specially trained to guard prisoners. The
camp is to be gradually extended to hold 200,000
prisoners. It has got its own leather tannery, a factory
for brushes, a butchers shop, bakery, cobblers shop,
blacksmiths, a place for breeding pheasants, their own
research institute (for diseases of plants), nurseries,
plants of rubber, testing field for different kinds of
corn, suitable for Eastern purposes. The best methods to
get the most out of the soil are tried out in the camp in
order to gain experience for the settlement. Special coal
resisting fruit trees are being planted, and corn usually
used in the Caucasus is being developed for the East.
The
actual concentration camp
[see aerial view right,
click for enlargement] is sub-divided into
blocks for 10,000 each, and the Ustbf is to be in charge
of each block. The inmates are Jews, gypsies, poles and
women. The camp has its own orchestra, which is conducted
by the former Warsaw Radio Orchestra conductor.
The whole Polish Intelligentsia remain in the camp for
life, and will be employed in laboratories and science
research institutes, according to their knowledge. The
Jewish women who work in the chemical laboratories are
students from the Sorbonne University.
Because of the Krupp-works in Essen having been
practically destroyed, the transfer of these to Poland
and the Auschwitz District has taken place. Three new
factory sheds have been created in a comparatively short
time in the camp, which will after a month take over
two-thirds of the Krupp production of matches and will be
run entirely by prisoner labour. The sheds are
constructed in accordance with modern principles and give
a clean and friendly impression.
In the agricultural sphere, they have succeeded in
producing nice large fields by creating a large network
of draining systems. This does not only enable them to
work these fields very extensively, but also to work it
on a profitable basis. The small Polish farms and
villages have been expropriated and the Polish farmers
settled in different areas.
Near the completely neglected fishponds, dykes are
being built by women, and in that way thousands of
morgens of swampy meadow have been drained and the
foundations for a new fish breeding ground have been
laid.
The guarding of the prisoners is done by a
Wachkommando consisting of 13 companies each having 200
men. Each company has got a leader (an officer) and the
13 companies form a so-called Lager-Sturmbann, which is
commanded by a Stbf and one assistant.
The personnel reports of the Camp Commandant are very
interesting. It is very difficult task to cope with the
individual groups of prisoners. The gypsies have to be
treated differently from Poles, and the Poles differently
from the Ukrainians. The hygiene question is a very heavy
responsibility for the administration, nearly all the
inmates, especially the Jews from the East and South East
have to be trained in this respect
for they show a particular fear of
keeping themselves clean. In parts there have to
be very strict measures in order to train the prisoners
out of their superstition. When having a shower bath they
wrap up their lice in a piece of paper and hide it in
their mouth in order to have them in their new clothes,
as they are of the opinion that whoever has lice will not
become ill.
After the inspection of the camp we drove through
Auschwitz.
It is a completely neglected small town which had at
one time 11,000 of which 8,000 were Jews, who have left
now. The town has changed completely under German
leadership. It is typical of Polish mismanagement, the
sanitary conditions at Auschwitz.
An artillery regiment was stationed there for six
years. There were neither light nor water laid on, but
only open wells which are dug near the latrines. Those
latrines were closed up when they were full and new ones
opened a few yards further on, so a rather interesting
circulation, sewer, drinkwater, sewers, was a
consequence. Neither the Polish Military authorities, nor
the medical officers have ever drawn the attention to the
danger for the health of the troops.
Not far from Auschwitz we saw a wonderful sign of the
German strength in the 4th year. The HG built in a very
short time, industrial works which extended over 12
km2. These works were
run mainly on foreign labour with the aid of prisoners.
This establishment is one of the largest chemical works
in Germany and will commence production within a few
months. They produce Buna (artificial rubber) petrol and
a considerable amount of gases.
After a short talk with the camp commandant
in his flat, we left
Auschwitz and arrived in Krakow after a two hours
trip.
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