Review of Holocaust Handbooks Volume 23 - Carlo Mattogno, Chelmno (Part III - Systematic Analysis of One Example)

Part I - Method

Part II - Scholarly Avoidance

Part III - Systematic Analysis of One Example

There is consensus among researchers that the Chełmno extermination camp began operations in early December 1941. 

Mattogno states that Krakowski claims the camp was inaugurated on 8 December 1941 without providing "any documentary evidence, not even a single testimony" (p.29, 2nd edition). While Krakowski does indeed fail to cite sources for this specific assertion, this shortcoming is unique to his work (see also Part II). Other scholars, including Montague, Klein, Alberti, and Pawlicka-Nowak, provide sources to confirm the camp’s start-up date.

Mattogno attempts to discredit this consensus by citing Andrzej Miszczak’s testimony from Blumental, Dokumenty i materiały tom I (1946) that the first transport arrived at the camp on 9 December 1941 and dismesses it as “a simple claim without any documentary confirmation.” This highlights the fundamental methodological flaw in Mattogno’s approach that was pointed out in the Part 1 of this review: his refusal to treat testimonies as historical sources unless confirmed by official Nazi documents. 

Let us now move beyond theoretical critiques and examine how Mattogno’s flawed methodology impacts the specific question of Chełmno’s start-up operations.

 

Mattogno himself references the following testimony:

• Andrzej Miszczak: "Only on December 9, 1941, the first trucks carrying Jews arrived from the direction of Kolo." (AIPN GK 165/271, volume 1, p. 51)

Several additional witnesses also testified shortly after the war to Polish investigators:

• Jozef Czuprynski: "In 1941, on December 5, truck transports of Jews from Koło began arriving in Chełmno" (AIPN GK 165/271, tom 2, p. 19)
  
  
• Leopold Fjalkowski : "In early December 1941, transports of Jews began arriving in Chełmno." (AIPN GK 165/271, tom 3, p. 61)
  
  
• Adam Milewski: "Transports began arriving in Chełmno from December 8, and from that date, the area was guarded." (AIPN GK 165/271, volume 3, p. 13)
  
  
• Czeslaw Potyralski: The first transport arrived during the night of December 7 to 8 (AIPN GK 165/271, volume 2, p. 95 - 96)
  
  
• Zofja Potyralska "The Sonderkommando arrived in Chełmno at the end of November 1941, while the first transport of Jews arrived on December 8." (AIPN GK 165/271, volume 3, p. 102)

Further knowledge comes from contemporary reports written by Jewish communities in 1942:

• Testimony of Lajwe Wołkowicz of 26 February 1942: "On Sunday, December 9, 1941, the Jews in Dąbie learned about the deportations from Koło. The Judenrat sent a messenger (a Christian) to Koło with a letter to find out if it was true. The messenger returned with written confirmation; in the letter, the Koło Judenrat wrote that already on December 7, thirty strong Jews had been captured on the street and sent to Chełmno. On Sabbath, December 8, 1941, the SA and gendarmerie began gathering Jews in the bet ha-midrash (according to a list)." (Ringelblum Archive Tom 9, Tereny wcielone do Rzeszy: Kraj Warty, p. 70 - 74)
  
  
  
• Uszer Taube in 1942: "On Saturday, December 5, 1941, at 11 a.m., two SS men from Poznań arrived at the Landratsamt in Koło. Half an hour later, they caught 30 healthy Jewish men on the street and transported them by truck. At 2 p.m., the systematic deportation action began. [...] On Monday morning, December 7, trucks arrived, and each was loaded with 50 people. [...] Everyone knew they were being taken to Chełmno (a village between Koło and Dąbie, known as Kulmhof in German)."  (AZIH Ring. I/394)

Finally, contemporary Nazi documents provide further insight into Chełmno’s operations:

• Memo of Willy Just of 5 June 1942: "Since December 1941, ninety-seven thousand have been processed for example, using three vans, without any defects showing up in the vehicles. The explosion that we know took place at Kulmhof is to be considered an isolated case."
  
  
  
• Civilians' trucks used to transport people to Chełmno were fueled by Sonderkommando Kulmhof starting on December 7, 1941. This is documented in the fuel consumption logs for trucks loaned by Sonderkommando Kulmhof from the Reichsstraßenbauamt Hohensalza, covering the period from December 7, 1941, to July 3, 1942, see Document 175 here.
  
  
  
• Proposal for the Award of the War Merit Cross II Class with Swords by the Gestapo Headquarters in Posen, dated June 16, 1943: "In the SS-Sonderkommando Kulmhof served [...] SS-O’scharf. KAng. (K) Hering  8.12.1941 – 5.4.1943 and SS-O’scharf. KAng. (K) Laabs 8.12.1941 – 5.4.1943".

 

Let’s recap the situation. Andrzej Miszczak, a reliable witness who provided a detailed and corroborated account of the camp's operations as an outsider and bystander, places the start of Chełmno’s activities around December 9, 1941. While a single source is not definitive, Miszczak’s testimony provides a decent basis for understanding the camp’s timeline. Importantly, his account is not the sole piece of evidence on the matter.

Testimonies from other witnesses converge on a timeline, give or take a few days. Further corroboration comes from contemporary reports written by Jewish communities. Together, these sources of diverse provenance - eyewitness testimonies and Jewish reports - and their cumulative weight paints a robust picture of Chełmno’s start-up operations around December 8, 1941.

Yet, by Mattogno’s "method", such sources hold no value and are dismissed outright because they are not official Nazi documents. His approach demands a pretense of ignorance, even when the facts are well-supported.

The Nazi documents also date Chełmno's operations back to December 1941. These documents enhance illuminate some more facet of the narrative. However, they are not necessary to establish the basic facts. The absence of these documents would not plunge the timeline into darkness - it would simply leave the narrative less detailed.

The memo by Willy Just is known to Mattogno, yet he fails to connect the dots. Later, he dismisses the Just memo as a forgery - a claim that has been thoroughly rebutted here. This pattern of denial was already pointed out in the part I: demanding official Nazi documents as evidence but resorting to all manner of mental gymnastics when they contradict his preconceived conclusions.

Mattogno's restrictive methodology doesn’t just tie one hand behind his back - it blindfolds him and spins him in circles. By dismissing testimonies and contemporary reports, he's essentially trying to assemble a puzzle after tossing out half of the pieces. Such an approach does not contribute meaningful to historical reconstruction; rather, it obstructs the pursuit of historical truth. But perhaps that's precisely the goal - after all, Holocaust denial thrives on not knowing.