Reply to Nicholas Kollerstrom on the Auschwitz Death Books

The Revisionist Nicholas Kollerstrom, the author of the book Breaking the Spell, has recently commented on my blog post Open Letter to Nick Kollerstrom on the Auschwitz Death Books. Here's my reply to him.

1.)

 I think we can close this point, as we seem to agree that the death books are incomplete.

2.)

"You say that cause-of-death reports have been falsified. I’m merely saying that both the Arolsen Archives and the Death Books of Au show a lot of trouble to report the causes of death, at great length, and not one single one anywhere has death by gassing or by cyanide – just as nobody in any German labour-camp reported seeing a bright shocking pink body, which is what results from death by cyanide. I have simply stated a fact, that these death records do not report the murder of any ethnic group eg Jews: which is correct. Inmates were shot at Auschwitz, if they tried to escape. The decrypts make that clear."

(Nicholas Kollerstrom, comment on Open Letter to Nick Kollerstrom on the Auschwitz Death Books)

I do not object to your statement that the deaths books do not mention any gassings (which is a fact of course). My problem is that you do so without pointing out that the death causes in the death books are unreliable anyway, but which is a very important information in this context. The lack of gassing (or injection) in the death books is little relevant for the question if anyone was gassed (or killed by injection) in Auschwitz, as this source has been systematically falsified by the Germans. I would like to kindly ask you to comment on this point (or if you disagree that death certificates have been falsified I would like to invite you to comment on the evidence presented here). 

3.)

"concerning the (mysterious) decline in reported Jewish deaths in 1943 (see here http://www.whatreallyhappened.info/decrypts/Death_Certs_IMH_Auschwitz_Charts.html) you aver that this ‘indicates’ that most Jewish deaths were not being recorded. That is mere conjecture on your part, which I try to avoid. You CANNOT SHOW any authentic Nazi document suggesting that such selective non-reporting was taking place."

(Nicholas Kollerstrom, comment on Open Letter to Nick Kollerstrom on the Auschwitz Death Books) 

Yes, I cannot show any German document that such selective non-reporting was taking place. But why is this supposed to be so crucial and relevant? Most of what was going on in Auschwitz is not known from any authentic German documents. This is already so because most of the Germans documents were destroyed by the Germans themselves. If we were only accepting what is told from German documents, we would know comparably little about this place. That would be a pity, from the point of view of "historical exactitude" as well. 

But it's also so because the SS in the concentration camps did not have to write down everything relevant and interesting for us these days. If there was an oral order from above not to record Jewish deaths from RSHA transports in 1943 than it is likely that this would have been done regardless if there ever existed a written document on it. Maybe there was such written order, maybe not. Since the surviving German Auschwitz records have more holes than Swiss cheese, this is hard to tell now. 

But whatever was ordered in written form, what is clear from the available evidence is that most Jews, who died in the camp, were not entered into the death books anymore in 1943. This is not a "mere conjecture", but follows from testimonial evidence corroborated by the available German records. 

Already the German records allow inferring that there is something very fishy with the number of Jews in the death books in 1943. Let's collect some explanations for the heavy decline of Jewish deaths (compared to non-Jewish deaths) in the Auschwitz death books in 1943:

a) only a few Jews stayed in the Auschwitz complex in 1943 → obviously false

b) the conditions in the Auschwitz complex were much better in 1943 → but non-Jews continued to die at a high rate → highly improbable

c) the conditions for Jews were much better than for non-Jews in Auschwitz in 1943 (main camp vs Birkenau) → absurd within the framework of the Nazi ideology and challenged by existing documentation on the conditions in the Jewish camps → highly improbable

Do you know any other explanations? Then please add them to this list. Here's the last one I can think of: 

d) most Jews who died were not recorded in the death books anymore in 1943 → possibly → in the absence of any reasonable alternative explanation the one most likely to be true.

So we have four different explanations, but only one of those is actually conceivable, while the other three are highly improbable. Unless you come up with a fifth explanation that is comparably conceivable, it is not a "mere conjecture" to say that most Jews were not entered into the death books anymore in 1943, but it's the most reasonable explanation. 

Moreover, this explanation is explicitly confirmed by testimonial evidence. For instance, one of the female prisoner's clerks working for the Political Department in the civil registrar's office in Auschwitz stated: 

"When it was decided not to write death certificates for the Jews anymore in 1943, we had of course much less to do."

(Jenny Spritzer, Ich war Nr. 10291, reprint from 1980, p. 53, my translation)

It worth to point out that Spritzer wrote this in 1946, i.e. more than 40 years before the bulk of the death books seized by the Soviets were made accessible or even evaluated. Spritzer's testimony and the statistical evaluation of the available death books corroborate each other. Spritzer claimed that Jews (more accurately would be: Jews from RSHA transports other than from Theresienstadt) were no longer registered in the death books in 1943 (more precisely: less frequently before and no longer after March 1943) and indeed the available death books show a drastic and otherwise incomprehensible decline of Jewish deaths compared to Non-Jewish deaths since February 1943. The statistical evaluation of the death books independently corroborates Spritzer's account and adds a lot of confidence to her testimony.

To sum this up, that most Jews were not entered into the death books anymore in 1943 was already the most likely explanation simply by elimination of the other possibilities, but it is further verified by multiple testimonial evidence (note that there are some more testimonies from prisoner's clerks confirming this practise, cf. Grothum, Das digitale Archiv, p. 246).

4.)

"No it cannot be shown! I challenge you to do this. Its just an unverifiable phantasm, that hordes of Jews were gassed-on-arrival without being registered.

Concerning your next paragraph, many Jews unfit for work were lodged at Birkenau camp rather that Auschwitz. Your hunch that ‘specially lodged’ was a code for extermination is again a mere pipedream: that is not the way to do history. The ‘Special treatment’ here alluded to the preocedure, instigated in the summer of 1942 whereby all new arrivals were shaved, had their clothing removed and deloused, and showered, and it worked: slowly the dreadful mortality from the typhus epidemics were brought under control.

Your last paragraph assumes what you are trying to prove, that because ‘only’ 2841 Jewish deaths were reported, that ‘therefore’ jews selected as unfit for work were being exterminated. I believe You cannot produce any Nazi document to support this."

(Nicholas Kollerstrom, comment on Open Letter to Nick Kollerstrom on the Auschwitz Death Books)

Well, strictly speaking, I did not say something about gassings on arrival (in fact, I did not use the term "gas" once in the Open Letter), I wrote, "killed after their arrival". Here it is again:

"On 21 and 24 January 1943, 3.383 Jews considered unfit for work were “specially lodged” in Auschwitz. The term was a variant of “special treatment” (see telex from Heinrich Schwarz to SS-WVHA of 5 March 1943), which in turn was an euphemism at the concentration camp administrations for unnatural deaths without judicial decision.

However, the death books contain only 2.841 Jewish deaths for the entire months January 1943. Therefore, it is clear that Jews selected as unfit for work at the ramp and killed after their arrival without registration in the camp books were not registered in the death books either, even when this was still practiced for the deaths among registered Jews."

(Me, Open Letter to Nick Kollerstrom on the Auschwitz Death Books)

You obviously disagree that "special treatment" meant killing in this context, but which is untenable as I pointed out elsewhere some days ago. Note that it can be ruled out that special treatment "alluded to the preocedure, instigated in the summer of 1942 whereby all new arrivals were shaved, had their clothing removed and deloused, and showered", as you say, because in this case it would also apply those selected as fit for work (by the way, did you know that - in contrast to those selected as fit for work - none of the photographs in the so-called Auschwitz Album shows any Jews selected as unfit for work after they were "deloused and showered"? Guess why?).

"Special treatment" meant extrajudicial killing on people in custody according to the language regime of the German police and paramilitary forces at the time. There are numerous "Nazi documents" which make this a solid case. The cited Auschwitz document says that Jews unfit for work in German custody were specially lodged, which was a variant of specially treated. From what we know about the SS language regime, those people were likely executed in Auschwitz.

To boost this from "likely" to "beyond reasonable doubt" we need to take into account further evidence. I've compiled some testimonies exclusively from German personnel from the commandant's office and the Political Department on the meaning of Sonderbehandlung in Auschwitz reports on prisoners:

"'Transport Jews' was the name for all Jews which were sent to camp from Eichmann's office - RSHA IV B4. The notifications were marked with the comment: 'The transport corresponds to the regulations and is to be sent to SB (Special Treatment).' All other Jews from the earlier period, that is before the extermination order were 'Schutzhaft-Juden' or Jews of other prisoner's categories."

(Rudolf Höß [Auschwitz commandant] manuscript of November 1946, quoted from Digitale Bibliothek 101: Der Auschwitz-Prozess, my translation)

"If the word 'special treatment' is mentioned in a radio signal, it was clear for everyone in the operation of the concentration camp - so including me - what was meant. It were materials for illegal killings."

(Robert Mulka [Auschwitz adjutant], interrogation of 11 September 1961, quoted from Digitale Bibliothek 101: Der Auschwitz-Prozess, my translation)

"I would like to mention that, at the time, "special treatment" meant the killing of a prisoner in the camp Auschwitz ."

(Wilhelm Boger [Political Department], interrogation of 30 May 1961, quoted from Digitale Bibliothek 101: Der Auschwitz-Prozess, my translation)

"As I already said, so many women, men and children SB... This meant special treatment"

"And what meant special treatment?"

"Gassing"

(Charlotte Bartsch [commandant's office], examination of 3 August 1964, quoted from Digitale Bibliothek 101: Der Auschwitz-Prozess, my translation)

"And how was the death by gas described?"

"Yes..."

"Did they say, the others are to be gassed? Or what was written there?"

"No. 'To proceed as ordered'. This was an internal thing, they knew this. Or they used an abbreviation, but that I don't remember at the moment. SB - special treatment."

(Josef Erber [Political Department], interview in 1979, quoted from Ebbo Demant: Auschwitz - "Direkt von der Rampe weg...", my translation)

"Grabner and the commandant seriously thought about 'specially treating' - as one officially spoke when murder was meant - all prisoners belonging to the Sonderkommando upon cases of escape.
...
The percentage of those selected for 'specially lodging' - as one used to say instead of 'special treatment' since some time - was especially high at these transports.
...
All documents, which had anything to do with 'special treatment' or 'special lodging', were ripped out from the personnel records."

(Pery Broad [Political Department], report of June 1945, quoted from Digitale Bibliothek 101: Der Auschwitz-Prozess, my translation)

"The written reports on the executions were sent to the RSHA, with a camouflage term, that 'so many persons were specially lodged'. The whole action was mostly against persons of Jewish race and was called 'special treatment'. The RSHA issued an order at the beginning of the Russian campaign, that was passed on to us members of the Political Department orally."

(Hans Stark [Political Department], interrogation of 23 April 1959, quoted from Digitale Bibliothek 101: Der Auschwitz-Prozess, my translation; note that Stark is obviously confusing orders on Soviet POWs with those on Jews)

"I had to note the number of people selected for work and the number of people "specially lodged" to prepare this telex. I often obtained these figures at the selection site and drove back to the office with the motor-cycle. But sometimes I had to obtain this figure at the gas chambers, I haven't done this myself, but the figure was told me by a member of the escort."

(Hans Stark [Political Department], interrogation of 24 July 1959, quoted from Digitale Bibliothek 101: Der Auschwitz-Prozess, my translation)

We could add numerous testimonies from former prisoners working in the SS offices to this, but the point should be already evident. There is strong testimonial evidence confirming that special treatment aka specially lodged were euphemisms for killings in Auschwitz specifically when used on incoming transports of Jews in German custody. Thus, those 3.383 Jews unfit for work "specially lodged" on 21 and 24 January 1943 were beyond much reasonable doubt killed in Auschwitz. 

How were they killed? That's another issue. Unlike that they were killed, this does not follow from the documents themselves. According to the high number of victims and the overwhelming evidence on homicidal gassings in Auschwitz, these people were most likely killed with poison gas at the Bunker extermination sites.