Real History and Maximilian von Herff

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Photo caption: Warsaw Ghetto Uprising:. Maximilian von Herff questions two Jews as Jürgen Stroop (rear, center) and his aide Karl Kaleske (right) observe. Photo from Stroop Report to Heinrich Himmler, May 1943

[COPY, from PRO file WO.309/2241:]

REPORT by SS Stubaf FRANKE-GRIKSCH on a journey through Poland during the period 4 - 16 May '43

The report was made by the above mentioned SS officer who was accompanied by von Herff.

The attached list of personalities shows names of war criminals.

The extracts from the text of the report deal with Franke-Griksch's comments on the visits paid to the concentration camps, forced labour camps and the resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto.

In its cold-blooded way, the document does not really record facts on the treatment of prisoners so much as it implies the extermination policy of the Nazis in all its brutality. An interesting point is the stress laid on the economic asset formed by these camps and other institutions from the SS point of view. They are treated very much as a business proposition.

Extracts:

K.L. AUSCHWITZ. Prisoners numbered 54,000 in May 19 43. Camp to be enlarged to take 200,00. To be sub-divided in to blocks each consisting of 10,000 persons. Prisoners are "Jews, Gypsies, Poles and women."

The Polish intelligentsia are to remain in the camp for life and work in the chemical labs. Women who work in these labs are Jewish students from the Sorbonne. On account of air-raid damage to the Krupps works at Essen, part of these works has been transferred near the camp. Prisoners worked in the new workshops and within a month it is claimed that the prisoners are producing 2/3ds of the fuse manufacture of Krupps.

Women had to build new dykes for the fishponds and dig irrigation ditches etc. The guard consists of 13 coys. of 300 men each. Every company has only one officer. They are formed into a "Lagersturmbann" commanded by a Stubaf. Auschwitz, itself, was a small dilapidated place. It has 11,000 inhabitants including 8,000 Jews who have now "disappeared". The I. G. Farben built an 8[?] sq. mile industrial works partly using foreign workers and partly prisoners from the camp. The works will produce buna, petrol, and special quantities of gas.

LAGER LACKIE.

Prisoners of this Zwangsarbeitslager live in old barns and disused stables. Inmates are Jews, Poles and Ukrainians. The guards are volunteers from Ukraine. They do road repair work and irrigation. This type of camp is moved according to the working site.

FORCED LABOUR CAMP - LEMBERG

Over 30,000 Jews work in the various workshops as for example Deutsche Ausrüstungswerke, Lemburg [sic]. This "firm" manufactures household articles for the German re-sellers. They also renovate furniture etc. obtained from Jewish sources. They also ran a big tailoring dept. producing uniforms and fur[niture] for the Wehrmacht.

The SS under an Oberscharführer runs a depot in Lemburg [sic] for the "Seizure of Jewish valuables and mobile capital". Thousands and hundred of thousands of RM pass through his hands every day.

KL Lublin.

The prisoners work for war production. Apart from that they manufacture household goods for German re-settlers and recondition furnit[ure]. The furniture constitutes seized Jewish property.

KL Trawniki.

The camp is connected with a big training depot for conce[ntration] camp guards. These guards are recruited from Russian P.O.Ws. It [seems that?] the camp has been established to give an opportunity to brutalize the [word missing] recruits before they are posted to duty.

Sonderaktion "Reinhard".

This special unit deals with the seizure of Jewish property. They hold searches for valuables and are said to have delivered great quantities of gold, silver and platinum to the Reichsbank. The metal is immediately melted down into our form in special smelting ovens. The precious stones, watches, cigarette cases etc, are amongst the properties found in quantities which were marketed in Switzerland. Jews are employed to sort and work as craftsmen on the materials found by this unit.

Ost Industrie GmbH.

This enterprise is under SS supervision. It deals with the economic properties controlled by the SS. The company controls the industrial firms which have been built and are now being run by concentration camp labour. It supervises also the employment of prisoners from forced labour camps in the various firms. These economic establishments are self-supporting financially.

The Ost Industrie GmbH controlled the following factories:

Work I Glassworks Wolomin[?]

Work II Turf factory Darobacsa

Work III Broom and brush factory Lublin.

Work IV Radom - Blizyn

Workshops Radom

Workshops Tomaszow

Splitwerk Blizyn

Shoe factory Blizyn

Tailoring factory Blizyn

Carpentry and Joinery

Turf factory Radom

Work V Willow wood factory Lublin.

The following factories under construction:

Work VI Vehicle spare part factory.

Work VII Explosives factory.

Work VIII Charcoal manufacture.

Work IX Lemberg: various branches.

Labour camp Poniatowa.

At this camp there are 50-80,000 Jews. There are no barracks or sleeping accommodations for new arrivals who have come mainly from Warsaw. Most of the inmates are glad to be in the camp because they realize that they are supposed to work and that as long as they work their life is not directly threatened. Their lack of servility, initiative and persistence create a danger as long as they are not completely separated from all "Kultur" or completely liquidated. They must be settled in districts where they can slowly disappear. If this view is not followed to its logical conclusion, the Jewish people will rise again out of this depression and therefore they must be dealt with in the most brutal fashion.

Warsaw

Much fighting took place between the SS and resistance groups of Jews in the Ghetto. Each part of the town which has been cleared, is then set on fire or blown up with charges.

List of personalities mentioned in the report.

SS-Gruf. GLOBOCNIK; Lublin (Nov. 44 was HSSuPF Adriatic Coast).

SS-Ostuf. BARE++++ in charge of the German social settlement at Zamosc.

SS-Sturmbannf. JORGENSEN Commander SS Landwacht at Zamosc.

SS-Sturmbannf. FRITZ Reit and Fahrschule of Waffen SS at Zamosc.

SS-Hauptsstuf.HEROLD Hauptdorfführer in a settlement N. of Zamosc.

SS-Stubf. SCHÜHMELD in charge of the SS sect. dealing with remounts at Rejcwiece.

SS-Oberf. Dr BÖTTCHER in charge at Radom.

SS Oberstuf. Dr. WEIBLER responsible for the Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle in Poland.

SS-OStubf. DÜPFLER representative of the Reichskommissar Festung [sic] Volkstums, Radom

SS-HStuf. ROSSBACH responsible for agriculture to the SS-Wirtschaft in Polish Govt.

SS-HStuf. HESS [sic.Hoess] commandant of concentration camp Auschwitz.