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Unless correspondents ask us not to, this Website will post selected letters that it receives and invite open debate. |
G. Rohringer of Santa Barbara, California, has these comments on his transcription of the Aumeier manuscript (Sunday, January 19, 2003):
Aumeier's manuscript
Here is the transcript of the handwritten draft beginning with the words "Im Juli 1930 bin ich ..." This file contains 11 handwritten pages and two and one fifth typewritten pages, which are at the end of the document. The document is dated at the beginning and signed at the end. There are no stamps except on the last page and that stamp is a PWIS (NORWAY) stamp [Prisoner of war Interrogation Service].
For completeness sake I will again mention that [m] and [n] stand for overlined m and n which are variants of mm and nn. [A modern-spelling, expanded text has also been posted].
Aumeier uses the letter combination hs instead of the "sharp s" usually presented by sz or ß. This is unique with Aumeier and I have retained it.
The draft contains a large number of underlines.
ANY interpretation is of course a prerogative of the historian. I am not a historian. I will therefore limit myself to an expression of surprise to find that the current handwritten text contradicts others by Aumeier by categorically stating that he, Aumeier, never witnessed any gassings while he was in Auschwitz and none took place during his tour of duty there. He writes that he knew of no gas chambers. He describes the camp physician as being concerned about prisoner health. He describes food rations for Jewish prisoners laboring in Russia and Estonia as being German Army rations.
In his other handwritten notes, such as the one consisting of 17 pages and beginning with the words "Unter Führung des Lagerkommandanten..." and in the draft of 43 pages beginning with "Persönliche Angaben..." Aumeier does describe gas chambers and gassings. He also describes the camp physicians as routinely selecting prisoners for gassing upon arrival in Auschwitz and he mentions the removal of gold teeth from the gassed victims. None of that is in the present note.
I am sure there will be a long and bitter controversy and the issue which one of his notes reflects the truth might not be settled.
David Irving