See Day 1 for Introduction!
"It was the end of April when we set out and now it was the second of May 1944. Nobody had heard of the hidden extermination camp yet, all this was very much incognito. Nevertheless, after the war and during this period of time, they showed us aerial views of people standing in queues waiting for their turn in those gas chambers.
Why not bomb the whole place completely - what were the odds for any of us. After the Jews it was us and anybody under the slightest suspicion and those considered untermensch, they would have made "lebensroum" just for themselves and have enough slaves left over to serve them in turn.
This scheme was far too big and well organized with the other grotesque ideas that they had in mind with the thousand "Reich" solutions to be just for religions, ethnics or their enemies.
The weather at this time was still very humid and cold with waterlogged, flat land. On our arrival when we had still been with the wagons, which were now well behind us, we had noticed a little sharp church steeple to the north west. some distance away - I later learned that that church was in Birken au Village. We all noticed that those ghastly buildings had a tall square tapering chimney in each centre, they were not smoking at this time.
We finally came to a halt at a big gate, hell's gate. Our luggage followed the dead in the front and the living in the middle and behind us the leftovers. After entering the gate, which was open wide and under close surveillance we were stopped and gradually led into what looked like a sorting building which was long and low called "Kanada". Numerous, working inmates were rushing around, looking nervous ready to receive their orders from the S.S. standing around en mass, some with dogs.
All our belongings were being sorted and passed along the human assembly line, including that which we had on except for our belts - which for this moment was still a good sign as later we were to be outfitted with other clothes. The destination for our clothes was "Wintershelp" for the Germans, including the soldiers on the eastern front.
The Gestapo bureau was a lucrative business and a well oiled enterprise with a lot of the state under its total control, being a state within a state. No Mafia or other old established order had come as near to this situation, in such a short time span, with so much crime dispatched and displayed, it seemed, with such utter, complete enjoyment!"
To be continued ...
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