Talk:Buchenwald concentration camp

Changing a hyperlink in the lede

The word "Freemasons" is hyperlinked to an article on "anti-masonry." I'm going to change the destination of this link to the article on Freemasonry.67.189.79.8 (talk) 02:43, 3 July 2022 (UTC)

Atrocities at Buchenwalt

Taken from "Report on the Interrogation of PW (Prisoner of War) KP 93282 Gren SCHLODER, Peter (3 Coy 980 Gran Regt, 272 I.D.) captured at LISIEUX, on 24 Aug 44. (Dated 4th October 1944, Lingfield. *SECRET*) (Compare Report PWIS(H)/KP/323, PWIS(H)/LF/629.)

1. Preamble PW was a member of the German Communist Party and was arrested in May 1937 for distributing Communist literature and making a noise during a Hitler broadcast by revving his motorbike. He was sentenced to 3 months' imprisonment and sent to BUCHENWALD concentration camp which was then in the first stages of building. Although only given a short sentence he was not released until Jan44 when he was at once called up to the Wehrmacht. Although only a farmer PW is quite intelligent and made all his statements with thoughtfulness and seriousness, and is therefore considered completely reliable.

I've not listed the entire report taken as it would take me too long to type it out, however the sections cover the construction, layout, general conditions and personalities of the camp. The report was taken by my Grandfather Capt. Walter Bennett of MI9 who would later travel to Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945. He was also present at Trent park and Bletchley Park. He was fluent in German and held a doctorate in German.

3. Atrocities at Buchenwald (Point 2 refers to camp information.)

a) Pfarrer SCHNEIDER, a Catholic priest from SIMMERN, HUNSRUCK, who was at BUCHENWALD for having preached against the Nazis, was confined to a small cell 1.5 X 3 m and chained in standing position by hands and feet close to the wall. He was kept like this day and night for 18 months till he died in 1941. Even then the man showed great courage by continuing to denounce the Nazis and shouting out through the window of his cell to the prisoners outside on parade. Whereupon he was beaten up by the guards and then dragged out and exhibited to the others as an example.

b) In 1942 Russian Prisoners, officers and other ranks, were brought to BUCHENWALD in hundreds. As they arrived they were lined up at the horse-stables and shot in the neck with machine pistols. The bodies were then carted off and burnt; later a crematorium was built under what looked like a harmless villa and the bodies were sent down a chute two at a time. In all about 1200 Russians were murdered in this fashion.

c) Working parties were taken out daily to a quarry nearby and here the prisoners had to carry on their backs great blocks of stone weighing cwt or more. Hours were very long, and insufficient nourishment caused many to collapse through sheer exhaustion; thereupon they were immediately kicked and beaten up by the guards. Many became so desperate that they tried to run away and were promptly shot.

d) There were a great many cases of illness, i.e. dysentery, pneumonia etc at BUCHENWALD, and these were taken out alone into the fields and shot.

e) One on occasion while KOCH was Camp Commandant, one of the 200 pigs that were kept at the Camp was missing. (These pigs were counted every day.) Although it was generally believed that some of the SS guards were responsible, the prisoners were blamed and KOCH ordered that the whole camp was to be made to stand outside the huts without food or drink for 5 days and nights. Guards walked up and down the ranks and beat up anyone who collapsed, and hundreds died as a result of this ordeal.

f) On 9 November every year a number of prisoners were selected at random and taken out and shot in celebration of the Parteitag!!

g) Any slight disdemeanour was at once punished by anything up to 25 lashes with a whip. All jobs were carried out at the double.

h) One favourite type of punishment was to take about 80 prisoners a day and hang them up from trees by the arms tied behind the back for one, two or three hours. Those who were subjected to this generally lost the use of their arms for several days after. Many had arms dislocated or mortified. SOMMER and SCHMIDT (Strafkompanie) lashed across the face any of the prisoners who called out in pain during this punishment. Those with dislocated or mortified arms were often killed by injections.

i) SOMMER would hang up prisoners by the arms, tie a string around the genitals and pull the man backwards and forwards by means of the string till he confessed.

j) Dr. HOFEN administered experimental typhoid injections. In the notorious Block 46 he injected about 1000 victims, causing the death of about 90%. Sick prisoners were also given injections to cause their death; they usually died about an hour afterwards. False reports of victims' death were sent to prisoners' relatives, and stated that in return for 5 RM the ashes would be sent. In actual fact a shovelful of any of the ashes - of which there was plenty! - was put into a box and sent off.

k) SOMMER punished prisoners by making them stand all night with a very heavy stone on their backs. If a man fell down he was whipped until he either stood up or died.

l) SCHMIDT often turned out prisoners from Block 11 in the middle of the night in their shirts and made them crawl underneath their beds. Then they were paraded outside, often in the snow; whilst SCHMIDT walked up and down the ranks he whipped the men and his two dogs bit large pieces out of their legs.

m) PW bears a long deep scar down the left cheek. This was caused by a pointed iron stick which was thrown at him one day by a warder because he was not covering off exactly. The stick pierced PW's cheek and knocked out several teeth. PW also has a cracked skull caused by a stone thrown at him by an O/Scharffuhrer.

n) Jews were often pushed into a large latrine pit. Also, at the quarry they were frequently pushed off the edge.

o) According to accounts, many were sent to BURG-FINKELSTEIN and subjected to experiments with gas.

p) Two esacapees were caught, given 40 lashes on behind in front of 20,000 inmates of camp and a card with words "Vom Urlaub zuruck" hung around their necks. The Camp Commandant then addressed the prisoners to the effect that these men had made false statements outside about the cruelties in the camp. Machine guns were posted in order to prevent a revolt. Although the two men were not killed on the stpo they were never seen again.

q) Another escapee was thrown into a cage with about 25 dogs which tore him to pieces.

r) BLANK was an expert shot with the pistol and often took unfortunate victims into the wood and used them for target practice.

s) When a certain prisoner complained about the food he was summoned to the kitchen where the two SCHMIDTs beat him up and left him blind in one eye.

t) There were many cases of carbuncles and these were operated on in the M.I room without any kind of anaesthetic. Sick were sometimes allowed 2-3days off duty (in the "Sohonungsraum") but none wanted to stay too long, otherwise he never came out alive!

u) Pfarrer HOFFMAN, from NIKENICH nr ANDERNACH, ages over 60, was obliged to walk round four posts in clogs all day and salute SS caps that had been placed on top of the posts. He only endured this for one day; was taken to M.I room and never seen again. It was believed he was transferred to DACHAU where he died (1940).

Additional atrocities are listed against each named individual further along in the report. Otto Bennett.

'sexual deviants'

"Prisoners came from all over Europe and the Soviet Union—Jews, Poles and other Slavs, the mentally ill and physically disabled, political prisoners, Romani people, Freemasons, and prisoners of war. There were also ordinary criminals and sexual deviants."

This sounds like homosexuals—by their specific omission from this paragraph—could be being classified by this phrase among "sexual deviants", which would be improper.

I don't know enough about the inmate classes at Buchenwald specifically. Could someone more knowledgeable review this please, and amend, if necessary?

Thank you. 2A0A:EF40:872:6E01:3903:2BEE:70:E018 (talk) 00:02, 12 May 2024 (UTC)