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Rebellion in Treblinka (screenplay outline)

2026-04-02T17:10:32Z

Pilgrimofdark:

''Rebellion in Treblinka'' is a screenplay outline written by Rachel Auerbach. It exists in several typed copies, as well as a handwritten version and is contained in her collected papers, held at Yad Vashem.

While the documents are undated, they were most likely written after 1950, when Auerbach had moved to Israel.

__TOC__

== Translation (en) ==

'''Page 1'''

(Screenplay content – in short)

A group of young people, kept alive to clean up the corpses and belongings of gassed Jews, reach an agreement under the most dangerous conditions and, after a number of unsuccessful attempts, finally carry out a plan to kill part of the German crew, burn down the extermination camp and escape.

Among the more important participants in the conspiracy is a former Czech captain [x] who got there by accompanying his Jewish wife on an alleged "resettlement to the east" for "colonization".

Other conspirators:

The initiator of the escape plan, the fiery heart of the Jewish crew, Dr. Chorążycki, who manages to commit suicide when caught with money intended for the purchase of weapons; the Locksmith, who cunningly manages to make a key to the German crew's arsenal;<ref>Auerbach, “In the Fields of Treblinka.” p. 54. Auerbach references a Jewish locksmith named Eugen Turowski.</ref> the 15-year-old boy who steals grenades from the arsenal, has to bring them back when they turn out to have no fuses, until he finally supplies the conspirators with usable weapons; the Disinfector, who on a critical day sprays the barracks walls with a flammable liquid instead of carbolic acid; the man of the people, the shoemaker Tanhum<ref>Tanhum Grinberg</ref>, who lures them into his workshop and, at the decisive moment, kills the SS man on duty, losing his own life in the process. Carpenter Wiernik<ref>Jankiel Wiernik, a communist propaganda writer and printer</ref>, who, during the construction of a new barracks, establishes and then, using various tricks, maintains constant communication between Camp I, where transports are received, the condemned are undressed, and the belongings of gassed Jews are sorted, packed and sent to Germany, and Camp II, where the gassing and burial, and then the removal and burning of the bodies of murdered Jews take place.

The film will only show Camp I. The macabre reality of Camp II will be presented only as the subject of allusions, horror, and secret conversations between prisoners of Camp I.

Enemies in the foreground:

The camp's deputy commandant, a polished athlete, and an utterly cruel murderer and sadist, Franz, nicknamed "The Doll."<ref>Kurt Franz, deputy commandant of Treblinka II</ref> The Jewish spy Kuba, the workshop director, a cross between a pederast and a sadist, and the teacher Zwetschke.

The backdrop depicts life in the barracks, workshops, and German and Ukrainian camps. The grounds include an idyllic, angelic flower garden, meticulously tended animals, and a Jewish orchestra composed of first-rate musicians from Warsaw's café orchestras, which provides musical accompaniment.<ref>Auerbach, “In the Fields of Treblinka.” pp. 47-48. Auerbach describes the flower garden and zoo in similar terms.</ref>

Supporting characters:

A young, pious Jew who prays Kaddish for the murdered every evening with others and sings Eil Mole Rachmin with a beautiful voice, to which the murderers listen with lyrical and musical delight. To allow them to savor this pleasure, they gave him the nominal office of kapo and kept him alive for a long time. The Jews call him Meir Kapo. Several German figures appear in the background, whom the Jews have given various nicknames, such as "Berish," "Kiwe,"<ref>Auerbach, “In the Fields of Treblinka.” p. 60. Fritz Küttner, reported to be in charge of the Lower Camp. See also Webb and Chocholatý, ''The Treblinka Death Camp''. p. 454.</ref> "Frankenstein," and so on.

[x] It could possibly be a representative of another nation. In fact, two Czechs participated in the Treblinka conspiracy: Captain Zieło Bloch, of Jewish descent, and a native Czech whom Treblinka prisoners call Masaryk. He died, after a successful escape, only in 1944 as a result of denunciation. Whether his name was actually Masaryk, or whether his comrades gave him that nickname, is difficult to verify. He was supposedly from the family of President Masaryk.<ref>Tomáš Masaryk served as the first president of Czechoslovakia from 1918-1935</ref>

'''Page 2'''

Subsequent phases and plot twists:

The germination of a collective plan, preceded by two individual attacks. A young Jew from the transport, not allowed to say goodbye to his mother, attacks a Ukrainian with a penknife.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 182. This story is identical in the Krzepicki account.</ref> A worker among the Jewish crew stabs an SS soldier to death during a selection.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 235. This is a reference to a man named Berliner stabbing Max Biala.</ref> The German crew falls into panic and fear.

Dr. Chorążycki recruits the first participants in the conspiracy and stumbles upon a parallel thread of understanding. Both sides fear each other's provocations until they finally unite. The one they initially most closely monitor and suspect, accusing him of collusion with the German command – the Jewish camp director, Engineer Galewski – later becomes the main force, the most powerful mind, and the most powerful personality in the conspiracy. If there were to be a central character in the projected drama, it would be Engineer Galewski.

After Dr. Chorążycki's suicide, Galewski enlists the aid of a Czech captain and creates a sort of headquarters with whom he holds secret meetings. They set a date for the uprising; everything is prepared down to the smallest detail. The initiated await a signal, which is not given because the weapons prove unusable. Suicides occur among the participants, broken by the futile tension. Stasis, despair. Galewski does not give up, trying to keep the spirits of his comrades up. After a long break, a new transport arrives from Warsaw. News of fighting in the ghetto, brought by the few survivors, infuses the underground movement in the camp with new energy. New preparations, a new deadline. At the last minute, one link fails, and changes have to be made, bringing forward the moment of explosion by an hour. The fear is that this will result in everything falling apart. But the first German bodies have already been laid in the workshops; there is no turning back. These are three signal shots in Camp I. Will they be heard in Camp II? Will they understand? Deadly tension and—suddenly—flames from all sides. The inhuman shrieks of the crew and prisoners. The clamor of a short battle. The Jews are acquiring new weapons from the executioners, using their work tools – axes and shovels. They have cut the telephone connections, lured them downs with gold, and killed them. They have placed the Ukrainian machine gun crew on the roof of the main guardhouse, but they know all too well that their advantage may last only minutes. They must cut the barbed wire, destroy what they can, and escape... Half die in the fighting on the spot, but several hundred prisoners get past the barbed wire, disperse in groups, and run ahead into the fields, into the forest...

Some people sit down for a moment, looking out at the green, beautiful world. They have won freedom. Will they enjoy it for long?<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” pp. 225, 233, 240, 246. Similar language used to describe the green world of freedom.</ref>

Episodes:

Preparations for Himmler's arrival for inspection. A group of beautiful, young women were being prepared for his arrival, on whom the Reichsführer would be shown the gassing process from start to finish. One of them, disguised as a man, managed to slip into the line of workers. At great risk, the Jews smuggled her to the workshops and then to the laundry. She also survived to see the outbreak of the revolt.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” pp. 220-221. Auerbach describes a similar story of a young girl mingling among the male workers, putting on mens clothing, and being found out and killed, but it is not in relation to a Himmler visit.</ref>

The escape of the man underneath the clothes.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 239. Auerbach reports that Krzepicki and others escape in a freight car by hiding under piles of clothes.</ref>

A naked man who managed to escape beyond the barbed wire.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 248. Auerbach describes two men who escaped naked from Treblinka through the barbed wire.</ref>

A young boy from the liquidated group of workers, who crawls out wounded at night from under a pile of corpses, having obtained clothes, wanders around in search of water to clean his wound and, recognized by his wound as a "deserter" from the mass grave, is again led to the shooting with the order: "undress!"<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” pp. 219-220. Auerbach describes this story almost exactly.</ref>

The “Tarnungskommando,” returning from the forest, carrying branches to camouflage the camp, encounters on the way a group of Poles led by a priest, with their hands behind their backs, who are about to be shot.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 233. Auerbach describes an almost exactly similar story, with slight differences: the group is not led by a priest, and they have their hands held in the air. The group of about 60 Poles is taken to Treblinka and shot.</ref>

A tiny, living infant, pulled from a transport of people who had suffocated in the train cars by a Jew tasked with clearing away the bodies. Carefully placed aside in its pillow, it comes to, whimpering pitifully and alone.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 187. Auerbach describes this exact scenario, although the baby is crying at the top of its voice. It is put aside and dies.</ref>

These and other episodes are available to choose from and are designed so as not to interrupt the action.

The commander of the Treblinka underground, Engineer Galewski, who was able to overwhelm even the Germans with his sheer force of will and his outstanding individuality, having completed his incredibly difficult task, achieved his goal, and regained relative freedom, breaks down at the first new danger. Seeing the Germans approaching his group from afar, he commits suicide.

It turns out that they are partisans disguised as Germans who, after burying Galewski, take with them the rest of his surviving comrades to continue fighting against the Germans.

'''Page 3'''

This is where the film begins. With the image of an escape, equipped with all the necessary means, and the attack pressing in from all sides. Police, the gendarmerie, auxiliary units, SS relay, and a number of peasants, enticed by the hope of plunder and the promise of reward. We see individual escapees and entire groups rushing in. We also see a peasant tending to a wounded Jew, feeding him, shaving him, giving him a clean shirt, and showing him a place to hide.

A detachment of partisans with Galewski's closest companions arrives at their base. After rest and a meal, the Czech captain, camped in the forest, begins to recount the above-summarized course of action.

By framing the action within the memories of a Czech Treblinka prisoner, greater distance and perspective are achieved. A certain necessary softening of the horrors of the extermination camp is achieved. The flashback allows for a doubly attenuated and, as it were, duplication of the horrific reality of what happened in Treblinka and other extermination camps. First, because these are the memories of a survivor, and second, because the narrator is not a Jew.

However, this tale of a terrible time cannot be turned into a gentle fairy tale for adults. The monstrous action cannot be provided with even the shadow of a happy ending, which in reality was only a very rare exception, confirming the rule, which was, sooner or later, annihilation.

So the film ends where it began: with a raid.

A group camping in the forest is suddenly surrounded by Germans, unfortunately this time real ones. The narrator also dies, his only consolation being that he traded the ignominious death at Treblinka for a death with a weapon in his hand, having managed, before drawing his last breath, to kill one of the loathsome reptiles from the Treblinka garrison.

That German, too, who is mortally wounded, dies at the hands of his Jewish comrade, who closes the Czech man's eyes.

The fighting has shifted to the side. There are no longer any partisans or Germans nearby. The Jew looks around with primal fear at the world that has become a jungle. Then he grabs the dead man's gun, checks if it's loaded, and, having moved away from that spot, not knowing whether to move right or left, he races onward. Like a primitive man, like a hunted animal, across the wild expanses of the fields. He races on.

The screenplay is based on the true story of a successful revolt at the extermination camps in Treblinka and Sobibór.<ref>The Treblinka revolt is reported to have taken place on August 2, 1943</ref> Also in Auschwitz, an organized revolt took place by the Jewish Sonderkommando, who were employed in operating the crematoria and clearing away the belongings of the murdered. Some of the names mentioned above are historical figures.

== Notes ==

<references />

== Sources ==

Auerbach, Rachel. “Scripts written by Rachel Auerbach or in whose production Rachel Auerbach participated.” n.d. Item ID 3688638. Yad Vashem. https://collections.yadvashem.org/en/documents/3688638.

Auerbach, Rachel. “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka... Conversations with the Returnee, Recorded and Edited by Rachel Auerbach and with Her Introduction.” In ''The Last Stage of Resettlement Is Death: Pomiechówek, Chełmno on the Ner, Treblinka''. The Ringelblum Archive: Underground Archive of the Warsaw Ghetto 5. Żydowski Instytut Historyczny im. Emanuela Ringelbluma, 2021.

Auerbach, Rachel. “In the Fields of Treblinka.” In ''The Death Camp Treblinka: A Documentary''. Holocaust Library, 1946.

Webb, Chris, and Michal Chocholatý. ''The Treblinka Death Camp: History, Biographies, Remembrance''. Second, Revised an updated edition. Ibidem, 2021.

Rebellion in Treblinka (screenplay outline)

2026-04-02T16:44:41Z

Pilgrimofdark:

''Rebellion in Treblinka'' is a screenplay outline written by Rachel Auerbach. It exists in several typed copies, as well as a handwritten version and is contained in her collected papers, held at Yad Vashem.

While the documents are undated, they were most likely written after 1950, when Auerbach had moved to Israel.

__TOC__

== Translation (en) ==

'''Page 1'''

(Screenplay content – in short)

A group of young people, kept alive to clean up the corpses and belongings of gassed Jews, reach an agreement under the most dangerous conditions and, after a number of unsuccessful attempts, finally carry out a plan to kill part of the German crew, burn down the extermination camp and escape.

Among the more important participants in the conspiracy is a former Czech captain [x] who got there by accompanying his Jewish wife on an alleged "resettlement to the east" for "colonization".

Other conspirators:

The initiator of the escape plan, the fiery heart of the Jewish crew, Dr. Chorążycki, who manages to commit suicide when caught with money intended for the purchase of weapons; the Locksmith, who cunningly manages to make a key to the German crew's arsenal;<ref>Auerbach, “In the Fields of Treblinka.” p. 54. Auerbach references a Jewish locksmith named Eugen Turowski.</ref> the 15-year-old boy who steals grenades from the arsenal, has to bring them back when they turn out to have no fuses, until he finally supplies the conspirators with usable weapons; the Disinfector, who on a critical day sprays the barracks walls with a flammable liquid instead of carbolic acid; the man of the people, the shoemaker Tanhum<ref>Tanhum Grinberg</ref>, who lures them into his workshop and, at the decisive moment, kills the SS man on duty, losing his own life in the process. Carpenter Wiernik<ref>Jankiel Wiernik, a communist propaganda writer and printer</ref>, who, during the construction of a new barracks, establishes and then, using various tricks, maintains constant communication between Camp I, where transports are received, the condemned are undressed, and the belongings of gassed Jews are sorted, packed and sent to Germany, and Camp II, where the gassing and burial, and then the removal and burning of the bodies of murdered Jews take place.

The film will only show Camp I. The macabre reality of Camp II will be presented only as the subject of allusions, horror, and secret conversations between prisoners of Camp I.

Enemies in the foreground:

The camp's deputy commandant, a polished athlete, and an utterly cruel murderer and sadist, Franz, nicknamed "The Doll."<ref>Kurt Franz, deputy commandant of Treblinka II</ref> The Jewish spy Kuba, the workshop director, a cross between a pederast and a sadist, and the teacher Zwetschke.

The backdrop depicts life in the barracks, workshops, and German and Ukrainian camps. The grounds include an idyllic, angelic flower garden, meticulously tended animals, and a Jewish orchestra composed of first-rate musicians from Warsaw's café orchestras, which provides musical accompaniment.<ref>Auerbach, “In the Fields of Treblinka.” pp. 47-48. Auerbach describes the flower garden and zoo in similar terms.</ref>

Supporting characters:

A young, pious Jew who prays Kaddish for the murdered every evening with others and sings Eil Mole Rachmin with a beautiful voice, to which the murderers listen with lyrical and musical delight. To allow them to savor this pleasure, they gave him the nominal office of kapo and kept him alive for a long time. The Jews call him Meir Kapo. Several German figures appear in the background, whom the Jews have given various nicknames, such as "Berish," "Kiwe," "Frankenstein," and so on.

[x] It could possibly be a representative of another nation. In fact, two Czechs participated in the Treblinka conspiracy: Captain Zieło Bloch, of Jewish descent, and a native Czech whom Treblinka prisoners call Masaryk. He died, after a successful escape, only in 1944 as a result of denunciation. Whether his name was actually Masaryk, or whether his comrades gave him that nickname, is difficult to verify. He was supposedly from the family of President Masaryk.<ref>Tomáš Masaryk served as the first president of Czechoslovakia from 1918-1935</ref>

'''Page 2'''

Subsequent phases and plot twists:

The germination of a collective plan, preceded by two individual attacks. A young Jew from the transport, not allowed to say goodbye to his mother, attacks a Ukrainian with a penknife.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 182. This story is identical in the Krzepicki account.</ref> A worker among the Jewish crew stabs an SS soldier to death during a selection.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 235. This is a reference to a man named Berliner stabbing Max Biala.</ref> The German crew falls into panic and fear.

Dr. Chorążycki recruits the first participants in the conspiracy and stumbles upon a parallel thread of understanding. Both sides fear each other's provocations until they finally unite. The one they initially most closely monitor and suspect, accusing him of collusion with the German command – the Jewish camp director, Engineer Galewski – later becomes the main force, the most powerful mind, and the most powerful personality in the conspiracy. If there were to be a central character in the projected drama, it would be Engineer Galewski.

After Dr. Chorążycki's suicide, Galewski enlists the aid of a Czech captain and creates a sort of headquarters with whom he holds secret meetings. They set a date for the uprising; everything is prepared down to the smallest detail. The initiated await a signal, which is not given because the weapons prove unusable. Suicides occur among the participants, broken by the futile tension. Stasis, despair. Galewski does not give up, trying to keep the spirits of his comrades up. After a long break, a new transport arrives from Warsaw. News of fighting in the ghetto, brought by the few survivors, infuses the underground movement in the camp with new energy. New preparations, a new deadline. At the last minute, one link fails, and changes have to be made, bringing forward the moment of explosion by an hour. The fear is that this will result in everything falling apart. But the first German bodies have already been laid in the workshops; there is no turning back. These are three signal shots in Camp I. Will they be heard in Camp II? Will they understand? Deadly tension and—suddenly—flames from all sides. The inhuman shrieks of the crew and prisoners. The clamor of a short battle. The Jews are acquiring new weapons from the executioners, using their work tools – axes and shovels. They have cut the telephone connections, lured them downs with gold, and killed them. They have placed the Ukrainian machine gun crew on the roof of the main guardhouse, but they know all too well that their advantage may last only minutes. They must cut the barbed wire, destroy what they can, and escape... Half die in the fighting on the spot, but several hundred prisoners get past the barbed wire, disperse in groups, and run ahead into the fields, into the forest...

Some people sit down for a moment, looking out at the green, beautiful world. They have won freedom. Will they enjoy it for long?<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” pp. 225, 233, 240, 246. Similar language used to describe the green world of freedom.</ref>

Episodes:

Preparations for Himmler's arrival for inspection. A group of beautiful, young women were being prepared for his arrival, on whom the Reichsführer would be shown the gassing process from start to finish. One of them, disguised as a man, managed to slip into the line of workers. At great risk, the Jews smuggled her to the workshops and then to the laundry. She also survived to see the outbreak of the revolt.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” pp. 220-221. Auerbach describes a similar story of a young girl mingling among the male workers, putting on mens clothing, and being found out and killed, but it is not in relation to a Himmler visit.</ref>

The escape of the man underneath the clothes.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 239. Auerbach reports that Krzepicki and others escape in a freight car by hiding under piles of clothes.</ref>

A naked man who managed to escape beyond the barbed wire.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 248. Auerbach describes two men who escaped naked from Treblinka through the barbed wire.</ref>

A young boy from the liquidated group of workers, who crawls out wounded at night from under a pile of corpses, having obtained clothes, wanders around in search of water to clean his wound and, recognized by his wound as a "deserter" from the mass grave, is again led to the shooting with the order: "undress!"<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” pp. 219-220. Auerbach describes this story almost exactly.</ref>

The “Tarnungskommando,” returning from the forest, carrying branches to camouflage the camp, encounters on the way a group of Poles led by a priest, with their hands behind their backs, who are about to be shot.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 233. Auerbach describes an almost exactly similar story, with slight differences: the group is not led by a priest, and they have their hands held in the air. The group of about 60 Poles is taken to Treblinka and shot.</ref>

A tiny, living infant, pulled from a transport of people who had suffocated in the train cars by a Jew tasked with clearing away the bodies. Carefully placed aside in its pillow, it comes to, whimpering pitifully and alone.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 187. Auerbach describes this exact scenario, although the baby is crying at the top of its voice. It is put aside and dies.</ref>

These and other episodes are available to choose from and are designed so as not to interrupt the action.

The commander of the Treblinka underground, Engineer Galewski, who was able to overwhelm even the Germans with his sheer force of will and his outstanding individuality, having completed his incredibly difficult task, achieved his goal, and regained relative freedom, breaks down at the first new danger. Seeing the Germans approaching his group from afar, he commits suicide.

It turns out that they are partisans disguised as Germans who, after burying Galewski, take with them the rest of his surviving comrades to continue fighting against the Germans.

'''Page 3'''

This is where the film begins. With the image of an escape, equipped with all the necessary means, and the attack pressing in from all sides. Police, the gendarmerie, auxiliary units, SS relay, and a number of peasants, enticed by the hope of plunder and the promise of reward. We see individual escapees and entire groups rushing in. We also see a peasant tending to a wounded Jew, feeding him, shaving him, giving him a clean shirt, and showing him a place to hide.

A detachment of partisans with Galewski's closest companions arrives at their base. After rest and a meal, the Czech captain, camped in the forest, begins to recount the above-summarized course of action.

By framing the action within the memories of a Czech Treblinka prisoner, greater distance and perspective are achieved. A certain necessary softening of the horrors of the extermination camp is achieved. The flashback allows for a doubly attenuated and, as it were, duplication of the horrific reality of what happened in Treblinka and other extermination camps. First, because these are the memories of a survivor, and second, because the narrator is not a Jew.

However, this tale of a terrible time cannot be turned into a gentle fairy tale for adults. The monstrous action cannot be provided with even the shadow of a happy ending, which in reality was only a very rare exception, confirming the rule, which was, sooner or later, annihilation.

So the film ends where it began: with a raid.

A group camping in the forest is suddenly surrounded by Germans, unfortunately this time real ones. The narrator also dies, his only consolation being that he traded the ignominious death at Treblinka for a death with a weapon in his hand, having managed, before drawing his last breath, to kill one of the loathsome reptiles from the Treblinka garrison.

That German, too, who is mortally wounded, dies at the hands of his Jewish comrade, who closes the Czech man's eyes.

The fighting has shifted to the side. There are no longer any partisans or Germans nearby. The Jew looks around with primal fear at the world that has become a jungle. Then he grabs the dead man's gun, checks if it's loaded, and, having moved away from that spot, not knowing whether to move right or left, he races onward. Like a primitive man, like a hunted animal, across the wild expanses of the fields. He races on.

The screenplay is based on the true story of a successful revolt at the extermination camps in Treblinka and Sobibór.<ref>The Treblinka revolt is reported to have taken place on August 2, 1943</ref> Also in Auschwitz, an organized revolt took place by the Jewish Sonderkommando, who were employed in operating the crematoria and clearing away the belongings of the murdered. Some of the names mentioned above are historical figures.

== Notes ==

<references />

== Sources ==

Auerbach, Rachel. “Scripts written by Rachel Auerbach or in whose production Rachel Auerbach participated.” n.d. Item ID 3688638. Yad Vashem. https://collections.yadvashem.org/en/documents/3688638.

Auerbach, Rachel. “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka... Conversations with the Returnee, Recorded and Edited by Rachel Auerbach and with Her Introduction.” In ''The Last Stage of Resettlement Is Death: Pomiechówek, Chełmno on the Ner, Treblinka''. The Ringelblum Archive: Underground Archive of the Warsaw Ghetto 5. Żydowski Instytut Historyczny im. Emanuela Ringelbluma, 2021.

Auerbach, Rachel. “In the Fields of Treblinka.” In ''The Death Camp Treblinka: A Documentary''. Holocaust Library, 1946.

Rebellion in Treblinka (screenplay outline)

2026-04-02T13:07:11Z

Pilgrimofdark:

''Rebellion in Treblinka'' is a screenplay outline written by Rachel Auerbach. It exists in several typed copies, as well as a handwritten version and is contained in her collected papers, held at Yad Vashem.

While the documents are undated, they were most likely written after 1950, when Auerbach had moved to Israel.

__TOC__

== Translation (en) ==

'''Page 1'''

(Screenplay content – in short)

A group of young people, kept alive to clean up the corpses and belongings of gassed Jews, reach an agreement under the most dangerous conditions and, after a number of unsuccessful attempts, finally carry out a plan to kill part of the German crew, burn down the extermination camp and escape.

Among the more important participants in the conspiracy is a former Czech captain [x] who got there by accompanying his Jewish wife on an alleged "resettlement to the east" for "colonization".

Other conspirators:

The initiator of the escape plan, the fiery heart of the Jewish crew, Dr. Chorążycki, who manages to commit suicide when caught with money intended for the purchase of weapons; the Locksmith, who cunningly manages to make a key to the German crew's arsenal; the 15-year-old boy who steals grenades from the arsenal, has to bring them back when they turn out to have no fuses, until he finally supplies the conspirators with usable weapons; the Disinfector, who on a critical day sprays the barracks walls with a flammable liquid instead of carbolic acid; the man of the people, the shoemaker Tanhum<ref>Tanhum Grinberg</ref>, who lures them into his workshop and, at the decisive moment, kills the SS man on duty, losing his own life in the process. Carpenter Wiernik<ref>Jankiel Wiernik, a communist propaganda writer and printer</ref>, who, during the construction of a new barracks, establishes and then, using various tricks, maintains constant communication between Camp I, where transports are received, the condemned are undressed, and the belongings of gassed Jews are sorted, packed and sent to Germany, and Camp II, where the gassing and burial, and then the removal and burning of the bodies of murdered Jews take place.

The film will only show Camp I. The macabre reality of Camp II will be presented only as the subject of allusions, horror, and secret conversations between prisoners of Camp I.

Enemies in the foreground:

The camp's deputy commandant, a polished athlete, and an utterly cruel murderer and sadist, Franz, nicknamed "The Doll."<ref>Kurt Franz, deputy commandant of Treblinka II</ref> The Jewish spy Kuba, the workshop director, a cross between a pederast and a sadist, and the teacher Zwetschke.

The backdrop depicts life in the barracks, workshops, and German and Ukrainian camps. The grounds include an idyllic, angelic flower garden, meticulously tended animals, and a Jewish orchestra composed of first-rate musicians from Warsaw's café orchestras, which provides musical accompaniment.<ref>Auerbach, “In the Fields of Treblinka.” pp. 47-48. Auerbach describes the flower garden and zoo in similar terms.</ref>

Supporting characters:

A young, pious Jew who prays Kaddish for the murdered every evening with others and sings Eil Mole Rachmin with a beautiful voice, to which the murderers listen with lyrical and musical delight. To allow them to savor this pleasure, they gave him the nominal office of kapo and kept him alive for a long time. The Jews call him Meir Kapo. Several German figures appear in the background, whom the Jews have given various nicknames, such as "Berish," "Kiwe," "Frankenstein," and so on.

[x] It could possibly be a representative of another nation. In fact, two Czechs participated in the Treblinka conspiracy: Captain Zieło Bloch, of Jewish descent, and a native Czech whom Treblinka prisoners call Masaryk. He died, after a successful escape, only in 1944 as a result of denunciation. Whether his name was actually Masaryk, or whether his comrades gave him that nickname, is difficult to verify. He was supposedly from the family of President Masaryk.<ref>Tomáš Masaryk served as the first president of Czechoslovakia from 1918-1935</ref>

'''Page 2'''

Subsequent phases and plot twists:

The germination of a collective plan, preceded by two individual attacks. A young Jew from the transport, not allowed to say goodbye to his mother, attacks a Ukrainian with a penknife.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 182. This story is identical in the Krzepicki account.</ref> A worker among the Jewish crew stabs an SS soldier to death during a selection.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 235. This is a reference to a man named Berliner stabbing Max Biala.</ref> The German crew falls into panic and fear.

Dr. Chorążycki recruits the first participants in the conspiracy and stumbles upon a parallel thread of understanding. Both sides fear each other's provocations until they finally unite. The one they initially most closely monitor and suspect, accusing him of collusion with the German command – the Jewish camp director, Engineer Galewski – later becomes the main force, the most powerful mind, and the most powerful personality in the conspiracy. If there were to be a central character in the projected drama, it would be Engineer Galewski.

After Dr. Chorążycki's suicide, Galewski enlists the aid of a Czech captain and creates a sort of headquarters with whom he holds secret meetings. They set a date for the uprising; everything is prepared down to the smallest detail. The initiated await a signal, which is not given because the weapons prove unusable. Suicides occur among the participants, broken by the futile tension. Stasis, despair. Galewski does not give up, trying to keep the spirits of his comrades up. After a long break, a new transport arrives from Warsaw. News of fighting in the ghetto, brought by the few survivors, infuses the underground movement in the camp with new energy. New preparations, a new deadline. At the last minute, one link fails, and changes have to be made, bringing forward the moment of explosion by an hour. The fear is that this will result in everything falling apart. But the first German bodies have already been laid in the workshops; there is no turning back. These are three signal shots in Camp I. Will they be heard in Camp II? Will they understand? Deadly tension and—suddenly—flames from all sides. The inhuman shrieks of the crew and prisoners. The clamor of a short battle. The Jews are acquiring new weapons from the executioners, using their work tools – axes and shovels. They have cut the telephone connections, lured them downs with gold, and killed them. They have placed the Ukrainian machine gun crew on the roof of the main guardhouse, but they know all too well that their advantage may last only minutes. They must cut the barbed wire, destroy what they can, and escape... Half die in the fighting on the spot, but several hundred prisoners get past the barbed wire, disperse in groups, and run ahead into the fields, into the forest...

Some people sit down for a moment, looking out at the green, beautiful world. They have won freedom. Will they enjoy it for long?<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” pp. 225, 233, 240, 246. Similar language used to describe the green world of freedom.</ref>

Episodes:

Preparations for Himmler's arrival for inspection. A group of beautiful, young women were being prepared for his arrival, on whom the Reichsführer would be shown the gassing process from start to finish. One of them, disguised as a man, managed to slip into the line of workers. At great risk, the Jews smuggled her to the workshops and then to the laundry. She also survived to see the outbreak of the revolt.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” pp. 220-221. Auerbach describes a similar story of a young girl mingling among the male workers, putting on mens clothing, and being found out and killed, but it is not in relation to a Himmler visit.</ref>

The escape of the man underneath the clothes.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 239. Auerbach reports that Krzepicki and others escape in a freight car by hiding under piles of clothes.</ref>

A naked man who managed to escape beyond the barbed wire.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 248. Auerbach describes two men who escaped naked from Treblinka through the barbed wire.</ref>

A young boy from the liquidated group of workers, who crawls out wounded at night from under a pile of corpses, having obtained clothes, wanders around in search of water to clean his wound and, recognized by his wound as a "deserter" from the mass grave, is again led to the shooting with the order: "undress!"<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” pp. 219-220. Auerbach describes this story almost exactly.</ref>

The “Tarnungskommando,” returning from the forest, carrying branches to camouflage the camp, encounters on the way a group of Poles led by a priest, with their hands behind their backs, who are about to be shot.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 233. Auerbach describes an almost exactly similar story, with slight differences: the group is not led by a priest, and they have their hands held in the air. The group of about 60 Poles is taken to Treblinka and shot.</ref>

A tiny, living infant, pulled from a transport of people who had suffocated in the train cars by a Jew tasked with clearing away the bodies. Carefully placed aside in its pillow, it comes to, whimpering pitifully and alone.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 187. Auerbach describes this exact scenario, although the baby is crying at the top of its voice. It is put aside and dies.</ref>

These and other episodes are available to choose from and are designed so as not to interrupt the action.

The commander of the Treblinka underground, Engineer Galewski, who was able to overwhelm even the Germans with his sheer force of will and his outstanding individuality, having completed his incredibly difficult task, achieved his goal, and regained relative freedom, breaks down at the first new danger. Seeing the Germans approaching his group from afar, he commits suicide.

It turns out that they are partisans disguised as Germans who, after burying Galewski, take with them the rest of his surviving comrades to continue fighting against the Germans.

'''Page 3'''

This is where the film begins. With the image of an escape, equipped with all the necessary means, and the attack pressing in from all sides. Police, the gendarmerie, auxiliary units, SS relay, and a number of peasants, enticed by the hope of plunder and the promise of reward. We see individual escapees and entire groups rushing in. We also see a peasant tending to a wounded Jew, feeding him, shaving him, giving him a clean shirt, and showing him a place to hide.

A detachment of partisans with Galewski's closest companions arrives at their base. After rest and a meal, the Czech captain, camped in the forest, begins to recount the above-summarized course of action.

By framing the action within the memories of a Czech Treblinka prisoner, greater distance and perspective are achieved. A certain necessary softening of the horrors of the extermination camp is achieved. The flashback allows for a doubly attenuated and, as it were, duplication of the horrific reality of what happened in Treblinka and other extermination camps. First, because these are the memories of a survivor, and second, because the narrator is not a Jew.

However, this tale of a terrible time cannot be turned into a gentle fairy tale for adults. The monstrous action cannot be provided with even the shadow of a happy ending, which in reality was only a very rare exception, confirming the rule, which was, sooner or later, annihilation.

So the film ends where it began: with a raid.

A group camping in the forest is suddenly surrounded by Germans, unfortunately this time real ones. The narrator also dies, his only consolation being that he traded the ignominious death at Treblinka for a death with a weapon in his hand, having managed, before drawing his last breath, to kill one of the loathsome reptiles from the Treblinka garrison.

That German, too, who is mortally wounded, dies at the hands of his Jewish comrade, who closes the Czech man's eyes.

The fighting has shifted to the side. There are no longer any partisans or Germans nearby. The Jew looks around with primal fear at the world that has become a jungle. Then he grabs the dead man's gun, checks if it's loaded, and, having moved away from that spot, not knowing whether to move right or left, he races onward. Like a primitive man, like a hunted animal, across the wild expanses of the fields. He races on.

The screenplay is based on the true story of a successful revolt at the extermination camps in Treblinka and Sobibór.<ref>The Treblinka revolt is reported to have taken place on August 2, 1943</ref> Also in Auschwitz, an organized revolt took place by the Jewish Sonderkommando, who were employed in operating the crematoria and clearing away the belongings of the murdered. Some of the names mentioned above are historical figures.

== Notes ==

<references />

== Sources ==

Auerbach, Rachel. “Scripts written by Rachel Auerbach or in whose production Rachel Auerbach participated.” n.d. Item ID 3688638. Yad Vashem. https://collections.yadvashem.org/en/documents/3688638.

Auerbach, Rachel. “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka... Conversations with the Returnee, Recorded and Edited by Rachel Auerbach and with Her Introduction.” In ''The Last Stage of Resettlement Is Death: Pomiechówek, Chełmno on the Ner, Treblinka''. The Ringelblum Archive: Underground Archive of the Warsaw Ghetto 5. Żydowski Instytut Historyczny im. Emanuela Ringelbluma, 2021.

Auerbach, Rachel. “In the Fields of Treblinka.” In ''The Death Camp Treblinka: A Documentary''. Holocaust Library, 1946.

Rebellion in Treblinka (screenplay outline)

2026-04-01T23:22:57Z

Pilgrimofdark:

''Rebellion in Treblinka'' is a screenplay outline written by Rachel Auerbach. It exists in several typed copies, as well as a handwritten version and is contained in her collected papers, held at Yad Vashem.

While the documents are undated, they were most likely written after 1950, when Auerbach had moved to Israel.

__TOC__

== Translation (en) ==

'''Page 1'''

(Screenplay content – in short)

A group of young people, kept alive to clean up the corpses and belongings of gassed Jews, reach an agreement under the most dangerous conditions and, after a number of unsuccessful attempts, finally carry out a plan to kill part of the German crew, burn down the extermination camp and escape.

Among the more important participants in the conspiracy is a former Czech captain [x] who got there by accompanying his Jewish wife on an alleged "resettlement to the east" for "colonization".

Other conspirators:

The initiator of the escape plan, the fiery heart of the Jewish crew, Dr. Chorążycki, who manages to commit suicide when caught with money intended for the purchase of weapons; the Locksmith, who cunningly manages to make a key to the German crew's arsenal; the 15-year-old boy who steals grenades from the arsenal, has to bring them back when they turn out to have no fuses, until he finally supplies the conspirators with usable weapons; the Disinfector, who on a critical day sprays the barracks walls with a flammable liquid instead of carbolic acid; the man of the people, the shoemaker Tanhum<ref>Tanhum Grinberg</ref>, who lures them into his workshop and, at the decisive moment, kills the SS man on duty, losing his own life in the process. Carpenter Wiernik<ref>Jankiel Wiernik, a communist propaganda writer and printer</ref>, who, during the construction of a new barracks, establishes and then, using various tricks, maintains constant communication between Camp I, where transports are received, the condemned are undressed, and the belongings of gassed Jews are sorted, packed and sent to Germany, and Camp II, where the gassing and burial, and then the removal and burning of the bodies of murdered Jews take place.

The film will only show Camp I. The macabre reality of Camp II will be presented only as the subject of allusions, horror, and secret conversations between prisoners of Camp I.

Enemies in the foreground:

The camp's deputy commandant, a polished athlete, and an utterly cruel murderer and sadist, Franz, nicknamed "The Doll."<ref>Kurt Franz, deputy commandant of Treblinka II</ref> The Jewish spy Kuba, the workshop director, a cross between a pederast and a sadist, and the teacher Zwetschke.

The backdrop depicts life in the barracks, workshops, and German and Ukrainian camps. The grounds include an idyllic, angelic flower garden, meticulously tended animals, and a Jewish orchestra composed of first-rate musicians from Warsaw's café orchestras, which provides musical accompaniment.

Supporting characters:

A young, pious Jew who prays Kaddish for the murdered every evening with others and sings Eil Mole Rachmin with a beautiful voice, to which the murderers listen with lyrical and musical delight. To allow them to savor this pleasure, they gave him the nominal office of kapo and kept him alive for a long time. The Jews call him Meir Kapo. Several German figures appear in the background, whom the Jews have given various nicknames, such as "Berish," "Kiwe," "Frankenstein," and so on.

[x] It could possibly be a representative of another nation. In fact, two Czechs participated in the Treblinka conspiracy: Captain Zieło Bloch, of Jewish descent, and a native Czech whom Treblinka prisoners call Masaryk. He died, after a successful escape, only in 1944 as a result of denunciation. Whether his name was actually Masaryk, or whether his comrades gave him that nickname, is difficult to verify. He was supposedly from the family of President Masaryk.<ref>Tomáš Masaryk served as the first president of Czechoslovakia from 1918-1935</ref>

'''Page 2'''

Subsequent phases and plot twists:

The germination of a collective plan, preceded by two individual attacks. A young Jew from the transport, not allowed to say goodbye to his mother, attacks a Ukrainian with a penknife.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 182. This story is identical in the Krzepicki account.</ref> A worker among the Jewish crew stabs an SS soldier to death during a selection.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 235. This is a reference to a man named Berliner stabbing Max Biala.</ref> The German crew falls into panic and fear.

Dr. Chorążycki recruits the first participants in the conspiracy and stumbles upon a parallel thread of understanding. Both sides fear each other's provocations until they finally unite. The one they initially most closely monitor and suspect, accusing him of collusion with the German command – the Jewish camp director, Engineer Galewski – later becomes the main force, the most powerful mind, and the most powerful personality in the conspiracy. If there were to be a central character in the projected drama, it would be Engineer Galewski.

After Dr. Chorążycki's suicide, Galewski enlists the aid of a Czech captain and creates a sort of headquarters with whom he holds secret meetings. They set a date for the uprising; everything is prepared down to the smallest detail. The initiated await a signal, which is not given because the weapons prove unusable. Suicides occur among the participants, broken by the futile tension. Stasis, despair. Galewski does not give up, trying to keep the spirits of his comrades up. After a long break, a new transport arrives from Warsaw. News of fighting in the ghetto, brought by the few survivors, infuses the underground movement in the camp with new energy. New preparations, a new deadline. At the last minute, one link fails, and changes have to be made, bringing forward the moment of explosion by an hour. The fear is that this will result in everything falling apart. But the first German bodies have already been laid in the workshops; there is no turning back. These are three signal shots in Camp I. Will they be heard in Camp II? Will they understand? Deadly tension and—suddenly—flames from all sides. The inhuman shrieks of the crew and prisoners. The clamor of a short battle. The Jews are acquiring new weapons from the executioners, using their work tools – axes and shovels. They have cut the telephone connections, lured them downs with gold, and killed them. They have placed the Ukrainian machine gun crew on the roof of the main guardhouse, but they know all too well that their advantage may last only minutes. They must cut the barbed wire, destroy what they can, and escape... Half die in the fighting on the spot, but several hundred prisoners get past the barbed wire, disperse in groups, and run ahead into the fields, into the forest...

Some people sit down for a moment, looking out at the green, beautiful world. They have won freedom. Will they enjoy it for long?<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 225, 233, 240, 246. Similar language used to describe the green world of freedom.</ref>

Episodes:

Preparations for Himmler's arrival for inspection. A group of beautiful, young women were being prepared for his arrival, on whom the Reichsführer would be shown the gassing process from start to finish. One of them, disguised as a man, managed to slip into the line of workers. At great risk, the Jews smuggled her to the workshops and then to the laundry. She also survived to see the outbreak of the revolt.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 220-221. Auerbach describes a similar story of a young girl mingling among the male workers, putting on mens clothing, and being found out and killed, but it is not in relation to a Himmler visit.</ref>

The escape of the man underneath the clothes.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 239. Auerbach reports that Krzepicki and others escape in a freight car by hiding under piles of clothes.</ref>

A naked man who managed to escape beyond the barbed wire.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 248. Auerbach describes two men who escaped naked from Treblinka through the barbed wire.</ref>

A young boy from the liquidated group of workers, who crawls out wounded at night from under a pile of corpses, having obtained clothes, wanders around in search of water to clean his wound and, recognized by his wound as a "deserter" from the mass grave, is again led to the shooting with the order: "undress!"<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 219-220. Auerbach describes this story almost exactly.</ref>

The “Tarnungskommando,” returning from the forest, carrying branches to camouflage the camp, encounters on the way a group of Poles led by a priest, with their hands behind their backs, who are about to be shot.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 233. Auerbach describes an almost exactly similar story, with slight differences: the group is not led by a priest, and they have their hands held in the air. The group of about 60 Poles is taken to Treblinka and shot.</ref>

A tiny, living infant, pulled from a transport of people who had suffocated in the train cars by a Jew tasked with clearing away the bodies. Carefully placed aside in its pillow, it comes to, whimpering pitifully and alone.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 187. Auerbach describes this exact scenario, although the baby is crying at the top of its voice. It is put aside and dies.</ref>

These and other episodes are available to choose from and are designed so as not to interrupt the action.

The commander of the Treblinka underground, Engineer Galewski, who was able to overwhelm even the Germans with his sheer force of will and his outstanding individuality, having completed his incredibly difficult task, achieved his goal, and regained relative freedom, breaks down at the first new danger. Seeing the Germans approaching his group from afar, he commits suicide.

It turns out that they are partisans disguised as Germans who, after burying Galewski, take with them the rest of his surviving comrades to continue fighting against the Germans.

'''Page 3'''

This is where the film begins. With the image of an escape, equipped with all the necessary means, and the attack pressing in from all sides. Police, the gendarmerie, auxiliary units, SS relay, and a number of peasants, enticed by the hope of plunder and the promise of reward. We see individual escapees and entire groups rushing in. We also see a peasant tending to a wounded Jew, feeding him, shaving him, giving him a clean shirt, and showing him a place to hide.

A detachment of partisans with Galewski's closest companions arrives at their base. After rest and a meal, the Czech captain, camped in the forest, begins to recount the above-summarized course of action.

By framing the action within the memories of a Czech Treblinka prisoner, greater distance and perspective are achieved. A certain necessary softening of the horrors of the extermination camp is achieved. The flashback allows for a doubly attenuated and, as it were, duplication of the horrific reality of what happened in Treblinka and other extermination camps. First, because these are the memories of a survivor, and second, because the narrator is not a Jew.

However, this tale of a terrible time cannot be turned into a gentle fairy tale for adults. The monstrous action cannot be provided with even the shadow of a happy ending, which in reality was only a very rare exception, confirming the rule, which was, sooner or later, annihilation.

So the film ends where it began: with a raid.

A group camping in the forest is suddenly surrounded by Germans, unfortunately this time real ones. The narrator also dies, his only consolation being that he traded the ignominious death at Treblinka for a death with a weapon in his hand, having managed, before drawing his last breath, to kill one of the loathsome reptiles from the Treblinka garrison.

That German, too, who is mortally wounded, dies at the hands of his Jewish comrade, who closes the Czech man's eyes.

The fighting has shifted to the side. There are no longer any partisans or Germans nearby. The Jew looks around with primal fear at the world that has become a jungle. Then he grabs the dead man's gun, checks if it's loaded, and, having moved away from that spot, not knowing whether to move right or left, he races onward. Like a primitive man, like a hunted animal, across the wild expanses of the fields. He races on.

The screenplay is based on the true story of a successful revolt at the extermination camps in Treblinka and Sobibór.<ref>The Treblinka revolt is reported to have taken place on August 2, 1943</ref> Also in Auschwitz, an organized revolt took place by the Jewish Sonderkommando, who were employed in operating the crematoria and clearing away the belongings of the murdered. Some of the names mentioned above are historical figures.

== Notes ==

<references />

== Sources ==

Auerbach, Rachel. “Scripts written by Rachel Auerbach or in whose production Rachel Auerbach participated.” n.d. Item ID 3688638. Yad Vashem. https://collections.yadvashem.org/en/documents/3688638.

Auerbach, Rachel. “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka... Conversations with the Returnee, Recorded and Edited by Rachel Auerbach and with Her Introduction.” In ''The Last Stage of Resettlement Is Death: Pomiechówek, Chełmno on the Ner, Treblinka''. The Ringelblum Archive: Underground Archive of the Warsaw Ghetto 5. Żydowski Instytut Historyczny im. Emanuela Ringelbluma, 2021.

Rebellion in Treblinka (screenplay outline)

2026-04-01T17:19:53Z

Pilgrimofdark: Created page with "''Rebellion in Treblinka'' is a screenplay outline written by Rachel Auerbach. It exists in several typed copies, as well as a handwritten version and is contained in her collected papers, held at Yad Vashem. While the documents are undated, they were most likely written after 1950, when Auerbach had moved to Israel. __TOC__ == Translation (en) == '''Page 1''' (Screenplay content – in short) A group of young people, kept alive to clean up the corpses and belongin..."

''Rebellion in Treblinka'' is a screenplay outline written by Rachel Auerbach. It exists in several typed copies, as well as a handwritten version and is contained in her collected papers, held at Yad Vashem.

While the documents are undated, they were most likely written after 1950, when Auerbach had moved to Israel.

__TOC__

== Translation (en) ==

'''Page 1'''

(Screenplay content – in short)

A group of young people, kept alive to clean up the corpses and belongings of gassed Jews, reach an agreement under the most dangerous conditions and, after a number of unsuccessful attempts, finally carry out a plan to kill part of the German crew, burn down the extermination camp and escape.

Among the more important participants in the conspiracy is a former Czech captain [x] who got there by accompanying his Jewish wife on an alleged "resettlement to the east" for "colonization".

Other conspirators:

The initiator of the escape plan, the fiery heart of the Jewish crew, Dr. Chorążycki, who manages to commit suicide when caught with money intended for the purchase of weapons; the Locksmith, who cunningly manages to make a key to the German crew's arsenal; the 15-year-old boy who steals grenades from the arsenal, has to bring them back when they turn out to have no fuses, until he finally supplies the conspirators with usable weapons; the Disinfector, who on a critical day sprays the barracks walls with a flammable liquid instead of carbolic acid; the man of the people, the shoemaker Tanhum<ref>Tanhum Grinberg</ref>, who lures them into his workshop and, at the decisive moment, kills the SS man on duty, losing his own life in the process. Carpenter Wiernik<ref>Jankiel Wiernik, a communist propaganda writer and printer</ref>, who, during the construction of a new barracks, establishes and then, using various tricks, maintains constant communication between Camp I, where transports are received, the condemned are undressed, and the belongings of gassed Jews are sorted, packed and sent to Germany, and Camp II, where the gassing and burial, and then the removal and burning of the bodies of murdered Jews take place.

The film will only show Camp I. The macabre reality of Camp II will be presented only as the subject of allusions, horror, and secret conversations between prisoners of Camp I.

Enemies in the foreground:

The camp's deputy commandant, a polished athlete, and an utterly cruel murderer and sadist, Franz, nicknamed "The Doll."<ref>Kurt Franz, deputy commandant of Treblinka II</ref> The Jewish spy Kuba, the workshop director, a cross between a pederast and a sadist, and the teacher Zwetschke.

The backdrop depicts life in the barracks, workshops, and German and Ukrainian camps. The grounds include an idyllic, angelic flower garden, meticulously tended animals, and a Jewish orchestra composed of first-rate musicians from Warsaw's café orchestras, which provides musical accompaniment.

Supporting characters:

A young, pious Jew who prays Kaddish for the murdered every evening with others and sings Eil Mole Rachmin with a beautiful voice, to which the murderers listen with lyrical and musical delight. To allow them to savor this pleasure, they gave him the nominal office of kapo and kept him alive for a long time. The Jews call him Meir Kapo. Several German figures appear in the background, whom the Jews have given various nicknames, such as "Berish," "Kiwe," "Frankenstein," and so on.

[x] It could possibly be a representative of another nation. In fact, two Czechs participated in the Treblinka conspiracy: Captain Zieło Bloch, of Jewish descent, and a native Czech whom Treblinka prisoners call Masaryk. He died, after a successful escape, only in 1944 as a result of denunciation. Whether his name was actually Masaryk, or whether his comrades gave him that nickname, is difficult to verify. He was supposedly from the family of President Masaryk.<ref>Tomáš Masaryk served as the first president of Czechoslovakia from 1918-1935</ref>

'''Page 2'''

Subsequent phases and plot twists:

The germination of a collective plan, preceded by two individual attacks. A young Jew from the transport, not allowed to say goodbye to his mother, attacks a Ukrainian with a penknife. A worker among the Jewish crew stabs an SS soldier to death during a selection.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 235. This is a reference to a man named Berliner stabbing Max Biala.</ref> The German crew falls into panic and fear.

Dr. Chorążycki recruits the first participants in the conspiracy and stumbles upon a parallel thread of understanding. Both sides fear each other's provocations until they finally unite. The one they initially most closely monitor and suspect, accusing him of collusion with the German command – the Jewish camp director, Engineer Galewski – later becomes the main force, the most powerful mind, and the most powerful personality in the conspiracy. If there were to be a central character in the projected drama, it would be Engineer Galewski.

After Dr. Chorążycki's suicide, Galewski enlists the aid of a Czech captain and creates a sort of headquarters with whom he holds secret meetings. They set a date for the uprising; everything is prepared down to the smallest detail. The initiated await a signal, which is not given because the weapons prove unusable. Suicides occur among the participants, broken by the futile tension. Stasis, despair. Galewski does not give up, trying to keep the spirits of his comrades up. After a long break, a new transport arrives from Warsaw. News of fighting in the ghetto, brought by the few survivors, infuses the underground movement in the camp with new energy. New preparations, a new deadline. At the last minute, one link fails, and changes have to be made, bringing forward the moment of explosion by an hour. The fear is that this will result in everything falling apart. But the first German bodies have already been laid in the workshops; there is no turning back. These are three signal shots in Camp I. Will they be heard in Camp II? Will they understand? Deadly tension and—suddenly—flames from all sides. The inhuman shrieks of the crew and prisoners. The clamor of a short battle. The Jews are acquiring new weapons from the executioners, using their work tools – axes and shovels. They have cut the telephone connections, lured them downs with gold, and killed them. They have placed the Ukrainian machine gun crew on the roof of the main guardhouse, but they know all too well that their advantage may last only minutes. They must cut the barbed wire, destroy what they can, and escape... Half die in the fighting on the spot, but several hundred prisoners get past the barbed wire, disperse in groups, and run ahead into the fields, into the forest...

Some people sit down for a moment, looking out at the green, beautiful world. They have won freedom. Will they enjoy it for long?<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 225, 233, 240, 246. Similar language used to describe the green world of freedom.</ref>

Episodes:

Preparations for Himmler's arrival for inspection. A group of beautiful, young women were being prepared for his arrival, on whom the Reichsführer would be shown the gassing process from start to finish. One of them, disguised as a man, managed to slip into the line of workers. At great risk, the Jews smuggled her to the workshops and then to the laundry. She also survived to see the outbreak of the revolt.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 220-221. Auerbach describes a similar story of a young girl mingling among the male workers, putting on mens clothing, and being found out and killed, but it is not in relation to a Himmler visit.</ref>

The escape of the man underneath the clothes.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 239. Auerbach reports that Krzepicki and others escape in a freight car by hiding under piles of clothes.</ref>

A naked man who managed to escape beyond the barbed wire.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 248. Auerbach describes two men who escaped naked from Treblinka through the barbed wire.</ref>

A young boy from the liquidated group of workers, who crawls out wounded at night from under a pile of corpses, having obtained clothes, wanders around in search of water to clean his wound and, recognized by his wound as a "deserter" from the mass grave, is again led to the shooting with the order: "undress!"<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 219-220. Auerbach describes this story almost exactly.</ref>

The “Tarnungskommando,” returning from the forest, carrying branches to camouflage the camp, encounters on the way a group of Poles led by a priest, with their hands behind their backs, who are about to be shot.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 233. Auerbach describes an almost exactly similar story, with slight differences: the group is not led by a priest, and they have their hands held in the air. The group of about 60 Poles is taken to Treblinka and shot.</ref>

A tiny, living infant, pulled from a transport of people who had suffocated in the train cars by a Jew tasked with clearing away the bodies. Carefully placed aside in its pillow, it comes to, whimpering pitifully and alone.<ref>Auerbach, “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka.” p. 187. Auerbach describes this exact scenario, although the baby is crying at the top of its voice. It is put aside and dies.</ref>

These and other episodes are available to choose from and are designed so as not to interrupt the action.

The commander of the Treblinka underground, Engineer Galewski, who was able to overwhelm even the Germans with his sheer force of will and his outstanding individuality, having completed his incredibly difficult task, achieved his goal, and regained relative freedom, breaks down at the first new danger. Seeing the Germans approaching his group from afar, he commits suicide.

It turns out that they are partisans disguised as Germans who, after burying Galewski, take with them the rest of his surviving comrades to continue fighting against the Germans.

'''Page 3'''

This is where the film begins. With the image of an escape, equipped with all the necessary means, and the attack pressing in from all sides. Police, the gendarmerie, auxiliary units, SS relay, and a number of peasants, enticed by the hope of plunder and the promise of reward. We see individual escapees and entire groups rushing in. We also see a peasant tending to a wounded Jew, feeding him, shaving him, giving him a clean shirt, and showing him a place to hide.

A detachment of partisans with Galewski's closest companions arrives at their base. After rest and a meal, the Czech captain, camped in the forest, begins to recount the above-summarized course of action.

By framing the action within the memories of a Czech Treblinka prisoner, greater distance and perspective are achieved. A certain necessary softening of the horrors of the extermination camp is achieved. The flashback allows for a doubly attenuated and, as it were, duplication of the horrific reality of what happened in Treblinka and other extermination camps. First, because these are the memories of a survivor, and second, because the narrator is not a Jew.

However, this tale of a terrible time cannot be turned into a gentle fairy tale for adults. The monstrous action cannot be provided with even the shadow of a happy ending, which in reality was only a very rare exception, confirming the rule, which was, sooner or later, annihilation.

So the film ends where it began: with a raid.

A group camping in the forest is suddenly surrounded by Germans, unfortunately this time real ones. The narrator also dies, his only consolation being that he traded the ignominious death at Treblinka for a death with a weapon in his hand, having managed, before drawing his last breath, to kill one of the loathsome reptiles from the Treblinka garrison.

That German, too, who is mortally wounded, dies at the hands of his Jewish comrade, who closes the Czech man's eyes.

The fighting has shifted to the side. There are no longer any partisans or Germans nearby. The Jew looks around with primal fear at the world that has become a jungle. Then he grabs the dead man's gun, checks if it's loaded, and, having moved away from that spot, not knowing whether to move right or left, he races onward. Like a primitive man, like a hunted animal, across the wild expanses of the fields. He races on.

The screenplay is based on the true story of a successful revolt at the extermination camps in Treblinka and Sobibór.<ref>The Treblinka revolt is reported to have taken place on August 2, 1943</ref> Also in Auschwitz, an organized revolt took place by the Jewish Sonderkommando, who were employed in operating the crematoria and clearing away the belongings of the murdered. Some of the names mentioned above are historical figures.

== Notes ==

<references />

== Sources ==

Auerbach, Rachel. “Scripts written by Rachel Auerbach or in whose production Rachel Auerbach participated.” n.d. Item ID 3688638. Yad Vashem. https://collections.yadvashem.org/en/documents/3688638.

Auerbach, Rachel. “A Man Has Escaped from Treblinka... Conversations with the Returnee, Recorded and Edited by Rachel Auerbach and with Her Introduction.” In ''The Last Stage of Resettlement Is Death: Pomiechówek, Chełmno on the Ner, Treblinka''. The Ringelblum Archive: Underground Archive of the Warsaw Ghetto 5. Żydowski Instytut Historyczny im. Emanuela Ringelbluma, 2021.

Handling of cash transactions for the Treblinka labor camp.

2026-01-28T01:13:13Z

Pilgrimofdark: Created page with "A document dated October 30, 1942, discussing budgetary matters for the Treblinka labor camp. __TOC__ <gallery mode="slideshow" showthumbnails> File:2_111_0_3.1_611_10_63333133.jpg File:2_111_0_3.1_611_11_63333136.jpg File:2_111_0_3.1_611_12_63333139.jpg File:2_111_0_3.1_611_13_63333142.jpg </gallery> = Transcription (de) = <div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> Regierung des Generalgouvernements Hauptabteilung Finanzen Abteilung I Fin PF 1060 2..."

A document dated October 30, 1942, discussing budgetary matters for the Treblinka labor camp.

__TOC__

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= Transcription (de) =
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
Regierung des Generalgouvernements 
Hauptabteilung Finanzen 
Abteilung I 
Fin PF 1060 2

Krakau, 30. Oktober 1942

Betr. Besorgung der Kassengeschäfte für das Arbeitslager Treblinka (Distrikt Warschau)

----

Die Einnahmen und Ausgaben des Arbeitslagers Treblinka der SS- und Polizeiführer im GG werden vom Rechnungsjahr 1942 an in Anlage 2 zu Einzelplan I Kapitel 2 Titel B 33 des Haushalts des GG nachgewiesen. Die Anlage 2 umfaßt alle Einnahmen und Ausgaben nach der im Eingliederungsplan vorgeschriebenen Zweckbestimmung und Titeleinteilung.

Der Haushalt des Arbeitslagers Treblinka wird, soweit er nicht durch eigene Einnahmen gedeckt ist, durch einen Zuschuß aus Einzelplan I Kapitel 2 Titel 3 33 ausgeglichen. Der erforderliche Zuschuß, der bei Titel A 13 Zuschuß aus dem Haushalt des Höhe. ren SS- und Polizeiführers und der SS- und Polizeiführer in den Distrikten in der Anlage 2 einzusetzen ist, ergibt sich aus der Differenz zwischen den in der Anlage 2 nachgewiesenen Ausgaben einerseits und den Einnahmen andererseits. Die Anlage 2 muß nach Einsetzen des Zuschußbetrags in Einnahme und Ausgabe ausge glichen sein, während bei Einzelplan I Kapitel 2 Titel B 33 nux der in der Anlage 2 nachgewiesene Zuschuß als Haushaltsausgabe erscheint.

Für die buch- und kassennäßige Behandlung der Einnahmen un Ausgaben und die Erstellung der Anlage 2 wird folgende Regelung getroffen:

1. Amtskasse

Die Hauptkasse des GG führt den rechnungsmäßigen Nachweis über die bei Einzelplan I Kapitel 2 des Haushalts des GG nachzu- weisenden Einnahmen und Ausgaben.

Die Amtskasse beim Gouverneur des Distrikts Warschau hat die Einnahmen und Ausgaben des Arbeitslagers Treblinka auftrags- weise für die Hauptkasse des GG anzunehmen bezw. zu leisten

2. Kassenanweisungen

Dem SS- und Polizeiführer im Distrikt Warschau werden zur Bestreitung von Ausgaben für das Arbeitslager Treblinka durch den Höheren SS- und Polizeiführer im GG Haushalts- und monatliche Betriebsmittel zugewiesen.

Zur Erteilung von Annahme- und Auszahlungsanordnungen ist der SS- und Polizeiführer im Distrikt Warschau und sein Vertreter befugt, bei Auszahlungsanordnungen jedoch nur in Rahmen der ihm zugewiesenen Betriebsmittel.

Die Amtskasse beim Gouverneur des Distrikts Warschau darf inzahlungen nur auf Grund von Annahmeanordnungen annehmen, Auszahlungsen [...] nur auf Grund von Auszahlungsanordnungen leisten. Wegen der Form der Annahme- und Auszahlungsanordnungen verweise ich auf §§ 49 ff der Rechnungslegungsordnung für das Reich (RRO) und meinen Erlaß vom 22. Juni 1940 - Fin H 2030 - 219 -.

Die Annahme und Auszahlungsanordnungen für das Arbeitslager Treblinka sind: "An die Hauptkasse des GG durch die Amtskasse beim Gouverneur des Distrikts Warschau" mit der Maßgabe zu richten, daß die Ausgaben zur Verbuchung bei Einzelplan I Kapitel 2 Titel B 33 angewiesen werden, während die Einnahmen bei der gleichen Verbuchungstelle als Rotausgabe anzuweisen sind.

3. Ermächtigungschreiben

Der SS- und Polizeiführer im Distrikt Warschau hat der Amtskasse monatlich eine Benachrichtigung nach Anlage des Betriebsmittelerlasses vom 9.Januar 1942 - Fin Allg 1020 - 3 - zu übersenden.

Im übrigen gelten die in Ziffer 4 meines Erlasses vom 21. Oktober 1942 Fin PF 1060 - 1 - betr. Besorgung der Kassengeschäfte der SS- und Polizeiführer der Distrikte getroffenen Anordnungen sinngemäß.

4. Anschreibungsliste über angeordnete Verwaltungseinnahmen Haushaltsüberwachungsliste

Über die angefallenen Verwaltungseinnahmen ist bei dem SS- und Polizeiführer im Distrikt Warschau (nicht bei der Amtskasse) eine Anschreibungsliste über angeordnete Verwaltungseinnahmen nach Muster 10 der Reichswirtschaftsbestimmungen (RWB) zu führen § 41 RWB. Die allgemeinen Haushaltseinnahmen entsprechend der Anlage 2 (Titel A 10 - A 12) sind ebenfalls in diese Anschreibungsliste aufzunehmen zur leichteren Ermittlung der Einnahmen, die am Schlusse des Rechnungsjahrs in der Anlage 2 nachzuweisen sind.

Über die angeordneten Auszahlungen ist beim SS- und Polizeiführer im Distrikt Warschau (nicht bei der Amtskasse) eine Haushaltsüberwachungsliste nach Muster 11 der Reichswirtschaftsbestimmungen (RWB) zu führen § 42 RWB -, die alle in der Anlage 2 enthaltenen Ausgabetitel zu umfassen hat.

5. Unterschriftsproben.

Die Anordnung in Ziffer 6 meines Erlasses vom 21. Oktober 1942 Fin PF 1060 - 1 - gilt sinngemäß.

6. Berechnung und Auszahlung der Dienstbezüge

Die Anordnung in Ziffer 7 meines Erlasses vom 21.Oktober 1942 - Fin PF 1060 - 1 - gilt sinngemäß.

7. Aufstellung der Anlage 2 zur Rechnungslegung

Der SS- und Polizeiführer im Distrikt Warschau hat am Schluß jedes Rechnungsjahrs auf Grund der geführten Anschreibungsliste über die angeordneten Verwaltungseinnahmen und der Haushaltsüberwachungsliste die Anlage 2 zur Rechnungslegung zu Einzelplan I Kapitel 2 Titel B 33 aufzustellen.

Der Betrag, un den die Ausgaben die Einnahmen übersteigen, stellt den bei Titel A 13 der Anlage 2 einzusetzenden Zuschuß dar, der die Anlage in Einnahme und Ausgabe ausgleicht. Der Zuschußbetrag muß mit den im abgelaufenen Rechnungsjahr bei Einzelplan I Kapitel 2 Titel B 33 haushaltsmäßig nachgewiesenen Einnahmen und Ausgaben übereinstimmen.

Die Anlage 2 ist am Schluß jedes Rechnungsjahrs der Amtskasse beim Gouverneur des Distrikts Warschau einzureichen.

Ich bitte, dem SS- und Polizeiführer im Distrikt Warschau von dieser Regelung Kenntnis zu geben. Ein Durchschlag dafür liegt bei. Die Abteilung Finanzen beim Gouverneur des Distrikts Warschau habe ich verständigt.

gez.Dr.von Streit

Beglaubigt: 
/signature/ 
ROS.

Abdruck zur Kenntnis und Beachtung.

Die Anlage 2, die am Schluß jedes Rechnungsjahrs vom SS- und Polizeiführer im Distrikt Warschau der Amtskasse eingereicht wird, ist der Hauptkasse des GG einzureichen.

gez.Dr.von Streit

Beglaubigt: 
/signature/ 
ROS.

Gouverneur des Distrikts 
- Abt.Finanzen - 
in Warschau
</div>

= Translation (en) =
<div class="mw-collapsible">
Government of the General Government 
Finance Department 
Department I 
Fin PF 1060 2

Krakau, 30. Oktober 1942

Subject: Handling of cash transactions for the Treblinka labor camp (Warsaw District)

----

The income and expenditures of the Treblinka labor camp, under the control of the SS and police leaders in the General Government, are documented from the 1942 fiscal year onward in Appendix 2 to Section I, Chapter 2, Title B 33 of the General Government's budget. Appendix 2 includes all income and expenditures according to the purpose and budget categories prescribed in the integration plan.

The budget of the Treblinka labor camp, insofar as it is not covered by its own income, is balanced by a subsidy from Budget Item I, Chapter 2, Title 3, 33. The required subsidy, which is to be entered under Title A 13, "Subsidy from the budget of the Higher SS and Police Leader and the SS and Police Leaders in the districts," in Appendix 2, is calculated as the difference between the expenditures shown in Appendix 2 and the income. After the subsidy amount has been entered, Appendix 2 must show a balance between income and expenditure, while under Budget Item I, Chapter 2, Title B 33, only the subsidy shown in Appendix 2 appears as a budget expenditure.

The following regulations apply to the accounting and cash management of income and expenses and the preparation of Appendix 2:

1. Office Treasury

The main treasury of the General Government maintains the accounting records for the revenues and expenditures to be accounted for under Budget Item I, Chapter 2 of the General Government's budget.

The office treasury at the Governor of the Warsaw District is responsible for receiving and disbursing the revenues and expenditures of the Treblinka labor camp on behalf of the General Government's main treasury.

2. Cash register instructions

The SS and Police Leader in the Warsaw District is allocated budgetary and monthly operating funds by the Higher SS and Police Leader in the General Government (GG) to cover expenses for the Treblinka labor camp.

The SS and Police Leader in the Warsaw District and his representative are authorized to issue payment and receipt orders, but payment orders only within the limits of the allocated operating funds.

The treasury office of the Governor of the Warsaw District may accept payments only on the basis of receipt orders and make disbursements only on the basis of payment orders. Regarding the form of the receipt and payment orders, I refer to Sections 49 et seq. of the Accounting Regulations for the Reich (RRO) and my decree of June 22, 1940 - Fin H 2030 - 219 -.

The receipt and payment orders for the Treblinka labor camp are to be addressed to: "The Main Treasury of the General Government through the treasury office of the Governor of the Warsaw District," with the stipulation that the expenditures are to be booked under Budget Item I, Chapter 2, Title B 33, while the revenues are to be booked at the same accounting office as a revenue item.

3. Authorization Letter

The SS and Police Leader in the Warsaw District must send a monthly notification to the treasury office in accordance with the provisions of the operating funds decree of January 9, 1942 - Fin Allg 1020 - 3.

Furthermore, the regulations set forth in Section 4 of my decree of October 21, 1942, Fin PF 1060 - 1, concerning the handling of treasury matters by the SS and Police Leaders of the districts, apply accordingly.

4. Register of Ordered Administrative Revenues and Budget Monitoring List

A register of ordered administrative revenues, based on Form 10 of the Reich Economic Regulations (RWB), must be maintained by the SS and Police Leader in the Warsaw District (not by the official treasury) for all administrative revenues received (Section 41 RWB). General budget revenues, as listed in Appendix 2 (Titles A 10 - A 12), must also be included in this register to facilitate the calculation of revenues to be reported in Appendix 2 at the end of the fiscal year.

A budget monitoring list, based on Form 11 of the Reich Economic Regulations (RWB), must be maintained by the SS and Police Leader in the Warsaw District (not by the official treasury) for all ordered disbursements (Section 42 RWB). This list must include all expenditure titles contained in Appendix 2.

5. Signature samples.

The provision in paragraph 6 of my decree of October 21, 1942, Fin PF 1060 - 1, applies accordingly.

6. Calculation and payment of salaries

The provisions in paragraph 7 of my decree of October 21, 1942 - Fin PF 1060 - 1 - apply accordingly.

7. Preparation of Appendix 2 to the Accounting Report

At the end of each fiscal year, the SS and Police Leader in the Warsaw District shall prepare Appendix 2 to the accounting report for Budget Item I, Chapter 2, Title B 33, based on the maintained list of ordered administrative revenues and the budget monitoring list.

The amount by which expenditures exceed revenues represents the subsidy to be entered under heading A 13 of Annex 2, which balances the income and expenditure statement. The subsidy amount must correspond to the revenues and expenditures recorded in the budget for the past fiscal year under Section I, Chapter 2, Heading B 33.

Annex 2 is to be submitted to the district treasury at the office of the Governor of the Warsaw District at the end of each fiscal year.

I request that the SS and Police Leader in the Warsaw District be informed of this regulation. A copy is attached. I have also notified the Finance Department at the office of the Governor of the Warsaw District.

gez.Dr.von Streit

Certified: 
/signature/ 
ROS.

Copy for your information and attention.

Appendix 2, which is submitted to the treasury by the SS and Police Leader in the Warsaw District at the end of each fiscal year, must be forwarded to the main treasury of the General Government.

gez.Dr.von Streit

Certified: 
/signature/ 
ROS.

Governor of the district 
- Finance Department - 
in Warschau
</div>

= Sources =

"Hauptabteilung Finanzen. Sprawy kasowe obozu pracy Treblinka - Okręg Warszawski [Distrikt Warschau]." Archiwum Akt Nowych. Rząd Generalnego Gubernatorstwa w Krakowie. Reference code 2/111/0/3.1/611. https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/5341675

File:2 111 0 3.1 611 13 63333142.jpg

2026-01-28T01:07:04Z

Pilgrimofdark:

File:2 111 0 3.1 611 12 63333139.jpg

2026-01-28T01:06:47Z

Pilgrimofdark:

File:2 111 0 3.1 611 11 63333136.jpg

2026-01-28T01:06:19Z

Pilgrimofdark:

File:2 111 0 3.1 611 10 63333133.jpg

2026-01-28T01:05:41Z

Pilgrimofdark:

Account of a Treblinka Escapee (Abraham Krzepicki)

2026-01-25T21:04:27Z

Pilgrimofdark:

Abraham Krzepicki is reported to be an early escapee of the Treblinka II camp.

He was allegedly deported from the Warsaw Ghetto to Treblinka on August 25, 1942, and escaped eighteen days later on September 13. He then spent a month in Węgrów before returning to the Warsaw Ghetto.

Two texts are assigned to him, a shorter Polish text handwritten by two people, and a long Yiddish text written by Rachel Auerbach. Both texts are part of the Ringelblum Archive. Each text contains a slightly different map of the Treblinka camp.

A third sketch of a portion of the camp is also attributed to Krzepicki, written on a postcard sent by Hersz Manyszewicz from Węgrów to Warsaw, Poland, on September 4, 1942.

The text below is of the shorter Polish handwritten version of Krzepicki's narrative with its accompanying map. The text cuts off abruptly at the end, indicating it is unfinished.

__TOC__

<gallery widths=400 mode="slideshow">
File:KrzepickiAccount-2.png
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File:KrzepickiAccount-7.png
File:KrzepickiAccount-8.png
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File:KrzepickiAccount-10.png
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File:KrzepickiAccount-12.png
File:KrzepickiAccount-13.png
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</gallery>

== Map Key (pl) ==
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">

: ≠≠≠≠ zasieki z drutu kolczastego
: ↑↑↑↑ las

: 1. Tor kolejowy
: 2. Bocznica – Stacja Treblinki
: 3. Barak na ubrania
: 4. Barak dla robotników żydowskich
: 5. Tablice
: 6. Barak do rozbierania się
: 7. Droga do kaźni
: 8. Budynek łaźni
: 9. Budynek przeznaczony na krematorium
: 10. Doły
: 11. Barak grabarzy
: 11. Barak Ukrainców (mis-labeled as a second #11)
: 13. Barak uprzywilejowanych robotników żyd
: 15. Barak załogi
:: a. Pomieszczenie rzemieślników
:: b. [blank]
:: c. Kuchnia żydowska
:: d. [blank]
:: e. [blank]
: 15. Barak załogi niemieckiej
:: a. Wartownia Ukrainców
:: b. Sypialnia Niemców
:: c. Sypialnia Niemców
:: d. Kuchnia niemców
: 16. Obserwatory
</div>

== Map Key (en) ==

<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
: ≠≠≠≠ barbed wire fences
: ↑↑↑↑ forest

: 1. Railway track
: 2. Siding – Treblinka station
: 3. Clothes shed
: 4. Barracks for Jewish workers
: 5. Boards
: 6. Barracks for undressing
: 7. The road to execution
: 8. Bathhouse building
: 9. Building intended for use as a crematorium
: 10. Pits
: 11. Gravediggers' barracks
: 12. Ukrainian barracks (mis-labeled as a second #11)
: 13. Barracks for privileged Jewish workers
: 14. Crew barracks
:: a. Craftsmen's room
:: b. [blank]
:: c. Jewish kitchen
:: d. [blank]
:: e. [blank]
: 15. German crew barracks
:: a. Ukrainian Guardhouse
:: b. German quarters
:: c. German quarters
:: d. German kitchen
: 16. Observatories
</div>

= Transcript (pl) =
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
[strona 2] [WRITER “A”]

W okresie wysiedlenia pracowałem w fabryce miodu sztucznego “Palma” w charakterze dozorcy nocnego. Łudząc się przeświadczeniem że praca w fabryce chroni mnie [acc.] przed wysiedleniem wyprowadziłem się ze mego mieszkania na Nowolipiach i stale przebyłem na fabryce.

Dnia 25 sierpnia podwórze fabryczne zostało otaczane i zablokowane. Na podwórzu naszym mieścił się szop wyrobów słomianych pf. [pod firmą] “Waldemar Schmidt”. Nie przerywaliśmy pracy. Nagle do lokalu fabryki wtargnął SS-man w otoczeniu Ukrainców. “Alle heraus” brzmiał okrzyk.

Na podwórzu stali już zgrupowani pracownicy szopu “Waldemar Schmidt”. Dołączyliśmy do nich i pod eskortą Ukraińcom poprowadzono nas do Umschlagplatz.

Przed wejściem na plac próbowałem uciec z szeregu. Zauważył mnie [acc.] żydowski policjant i siłą zmusił do powrotu.

Grupę naszą pognano natychmiast w kierunku wagonów. Nie było żadnej “selekcji”. Wszyscy zostali załadowani. Po kilku minutach pociąg ruszył.

Wagon, w którym się znajdowałem był natłoczony ludźmi. Panowały w nim straszliwe duszności wzmagające się z każdą chwilę.

Wraz z ruszeniem pociągu zapanowało [WRITER “B”] w wagonie głębokie przygnębienie. Myśl o bliskiej śmierci opanowała wszystkich i wzbudziła uczucia przerażenia. Ze wszystkich stron wagonu rozlegały się słowa modlitwy pośmiertny “Kadisz”.

[strona 3]

Po dwóch godzinach jazdy pociąg stanął. Stał przez całą noc. Około północy szedł do wagonu Łotysz z rewolwerem na ręku. Skupił wszystkich z jednej strony wagonu. Pod groźbą kul zażądał wydania mu pieniędzy i kosztowności. Po rabunku Łotysz spuścił wagon starannie zamykając za sobą drzwiczki. Pociąg stał. Dwóch mężczyzn przedarło się [WRITER “A”] do otwartego okienka i wyskoczyło na tor kolejowy. Niemal jednocześnie rozległo się kilka strzałów. Myślałem o ucieczce tą drogą ale nieznośny upał w wagonie odbierał siły i energię potrzebne do utorowanie siebie drogi do okienka. Ludzie w wagonie mdleli i słabli od pragnienia wody i duszności. Z obnoszonych ciał spływał strumieniami pot.

Nad ranem pociąg ruszył. Jechaliśmy długo. Nie wiedzieliśmy nic o kierunku w którym posuwał się pociąg. Po kilku godzinach jazdy do wagonu wszedł SS-man. Uprzejmie i przekonywująco zapewniał że jedziemy do wsi Treblinki na postój – a po segregacji pojedziemy dalej do miejsca pracy. Nawoływał do posłuszeństwa i pracowitości. Pod koniec przemówienia oświadczył, że znajdujemy w bliskości miejsca przeznaczenia.

Niemiec opuścił wagon. Nastrój poprawił się. Umęczeni i spragnieni oczekiwaliśmy końca podróży.

[strona 4]

Nareszcie pociąg zatrzymał się. Drzwiczki wagonu gwałtownie się otwarły i znaleźliśmy się na placu otoczonym ze wszystkich stron drutem kolczastem. W poliku widać było zabudowania i baraki różnej wielkości. Zjawił się SS-man i uszeregował nas w dwóch grupach. W jednej znajdowały się kobiety i dzieci. W drugiej wyłącznie mężczyźni. [WRITER “B”] Po przejściu znaleźliśmy się na podwórzu otoczonym zasiekami z drutów. Po obu stronach wzdłuż podwórza ciągnęły się baraki. Obok znajdowały się dwie tablice z napisami “Achtung Warschauer” niżej widniał regulamin obozu.

Mimo usilnych próśb picia nie otrzymaliśmy. Kobiety zostały wprowadzone do baraku po lewej stronie podwórza, mężczyźni otrzymali rozkaz ustawienia się w pośrodku placu.

Na podwórzu zauważyliśmy trupy i mnóstwo szmat i ubrań. Wszystkich ogarnęła groza. Przeczucie śmierci zawisło w powietrzu. Nikt jednak nie zdobył się na żaden odruch czynu.

Byliśmy sparaliżowani strachem zmęczeniem i głodem.

W pewnym momencie zjawił się SS-man. Przemawiał. Doświadczył, że wszyscy otrzymany pracę i jedzenie, żeby się nie obawiać – ci – powiedział wskazując na na trupy – zginęli bo byli buntownikami.

Wybrał dziesięć osób do pracy i odszedł. Reszcie kazano czekać. Po kilku minutach zjawił się inny SS-man oświadczył że potrzeba mu 60-ciu ludzi do pracy. Mimo zmęczenia wszyscy zgłaszali się ochotniczo. Widząc to Niemiec zaczął przebierać.

[strona 5]

Znalazłem się wśród wybranych. Wyprowadzono nas z podwórza i poprowadzono na plac położony na zabudowaniu. [WRITER “A”] Leżały tam skłębione masy trupów o strasznych twarzach. Byli to poduszeni w wagonach.

Praca nasza polegała na zanoszeniu ciał do dołów w pobliżu. Praca była straszna. Maski trupów były siwo-czarne wydęte, oczy patrzyły dziko, ciała były poplątane i ciężkie. Stanialiśmy się na nogach. Mimo to nie wolno było ani przez chwilę odpoczywać. Gdy Niemiec dostrzegał że ktoś zwalnia tempo pracy rozlegał się wystrzał i jeszcze jeden trup padał na ziemię. [WRITER “B”]

Liczba osób pracujących poczęła się zmniejszać. Czułem się coraz gorzej. W pewnym momencie poczułem że grozi mi omdlenie. Szukałem ratunku.

Korzystając z chwilowej nieuwagi Niemca, posunąłem się pod pobliski barak, obok którego leżały ogromne stosy ubrań. Ukryłem się w nich. Dobiegały mnię [=mnie] okrzyki Niemca i odgłosy strzałów. Potem zapanowała cisza. Minęła godzina. W pobliżu zapanował ruch. Uchyliłem nieco szmat i wyjrzałem. Na placu stała grupa złożowa z kilkudziesięciu ludzi. Nie było wśród nich moich towarzyszy pracy. Ostrożnie wydostałem się z pomiędzy szmat i zbliżyłem się do nich.

Okazało się że jest to nowa grupa wybrana z pośród zwieżego [=zwierzego] transportu. O ludziach, którzy tu poprzednio pracowali nikt nic nie wiedział. Rozmowa nasza przerwało zjawienie

[strona 6]

się SS-mana i kilku Ukrainców. Kazano nam ruszyć. Poprowadzono nas do bocznicy kolejowej. Na szynach stał pociąg a wielkich rosyjskich wagonach. [wrong case, or missing preposition, and/or incomplete phrase]. Transport pochodził z Międzyrzeca. Wagony były pełne poduszonych [NB: The writer uses this word more than once, but I think the word uduszonych is more correct, or else podduszonych, but that would mean only partially suffocated]. Języki trupów wywieszone, wargi białe, oczy wyłażące z orbit.

Kazano nam opróżniać wagony. W jednym z nich znajdowało się żywe kilkuletnie dziecko.

“Pic!” [=pić] błagało strasznym głosem. Ale nikt nie miał wody. Byliśmy straszliwie spragnieni. Niemcy przyrzekli nam że po zakończeniu pracy dostaniemy wodę i zupę.

Jeszcze długie godziny męki i przerażenia i pragnienia. Straszliwym wysiłkiem woli zmuszałem się do pracy. Plecy straszliwie bolały przy najsłabszym przegięciu tułowia, usta i wnętrzności stanowiły jedną, spragnioną kropli chłodu, ranę.

Nareszcie koniec.

Ustawiamy się w szeregu. Zjawiają się kubły wody. Każdy otrzymuje kubek wody. Czuję, że wstępuje we mnie [loc] życie, że powoli uświadamiam sobie, że jestem człowiekiem, że żyję, czuję i myślę.

W ślad za tym przyszło – stłumione chwilową ulgą odczucie straszliwej rzeczywistości. Wiedzieliśmy wszyscy, że po ukończeniu pracy dana grupa robotników idzie na śmierć ;“na szmelc” jak określano tragiczny koniec setek tysięcy ludzi. Rzeczywiście, po jakimś czasie sformowano nową grupę robotników. Rozmyślałem gorączkowo nad tym, jakby wydostać się z grupy mojej przeznaczonej już na śmierć. Usiłowałem połączyć się z ludźmi przybyłymi do pracy z karnego obozu “Treblinki Jeden” w odróżnieniu od obozu śmierci, zwanego “Treblinkami dwa”.

[strona 7]

Nie zgodzili się jednak, tak bardzo bali się o siebie, że bezlitośnie wypchnęli mnię [=mnie] ze szeregów. Wracając na plac spostrzegłem na ziemi złotą monetę dwudziestodolarową. Podniosłem ją i zbliżyłem się do ukraińskiego wartownika, [który] za wręczone mu złoto zgodził się przepuścić mnię [=mnie] do położonej nieopodał [=nieopodal] ubikacji. Przesiedziałem tam długie godziny. Na placu odbyła się tym razem selekcja, która polegała na tym, że część ludzi przeznaczono do natychmiastowej śmierci od kuli, pozostałych odprowadzono do łaźni. Dochodziły mnię [=mnie] odgłosy strzałów, przekleństwa Ukraińców, straszne krzyki mordowanych. Drżałem febrycznie na całym ciele – mimo, że wrażliwość na krew i trupy zmalała już. Słysząc strzały, człowiek mimowolni [=mimowolnie] cieszył się, że jeszcze żyje, że ta kula przeznaczoną była dla innego.

Egzekucja na placu dobiegła końca. Przeczekałem jeszcze czas jakiś i wyszedłem. Na ziemi we krwi walały się ciała. Przeznaczeni do wykąpania się czekali swojej kolei – większość znieruchomiała w osłupieniu apatii, w grozie nieludzkiej, ponad siły. Inna grupa robotników, utworzona ze świeżo przybyłego transportu, czekała na odstawienie jej na miejsca pracy.

Niespostrzeżenie zbliżyłem się do niej. Dowodzący grupą był Żydem z Wiednia. Rozmawiałem z nim po niemiecku. Paniczny strach nie zastąpił [w nim?] jeszcze innych uczuć: współczucia, poczucia solidarności w położeniu w jakim znaleźliśmy się wszyscy. Pozwolił na przystanie do jego grupy. Przyłączyłem się do nich, ale w tej chwili, poznał mnię [=mnie] Niemiec schwycił za kołnierz ubrania i kopiąc, chciał odprowadzić do grupy skażonych [=skazanych] na śmierć. Uratowała mnię [=mnie] znajomość języka niemieckiego i wstawiennictwo Wiedeńczyka.

[strona 8]

Znów cudem prawie uszedłem śmierci.

Przeznaczono nas do pracy w magazynach. Polegała ona na przeszukiwaniu olbrzymiej ilości ubrani i sortowaniu znalezionych kosztowności. Spędziliśmy przy niej 8 dni – w ciągu tego czasu nie nadchodziły transporty ludzi do obozu. Nastąpiła chwilowa stabilizacja naszego życia robotników obozowych. W ciągu tego czasu poznałem obóz i dowiedziałem się nieznanych mi dotychczas szczegółów: na olbrzymim placu otoczonym zasiekami z drutu kolczastego znajdują się magazyny na ubrania, baraki dla załogi obozu i dla robotników, puste przestrzenie dla skupienia ludzi i miejsca przeznaczone na egzekucję przez rozstrzeliwanie. Ale najwięcej może miejsca zajmują doły. Zanim zaczęto zwozić tu ludność dniem i nocą pracowały tu kopaczki, ryjąc ziemię, przygotowując groby milionom ludzi.

Od środkowego placu przez las wiedzie droga ku łaźni. Jest to niewielki budynek ukryty w zaroślach zamaskowany zieloną siatką umieszczoną na dachu. Sądzeni do łaźni ludzie rozbierają się w drodze do naga, oddając poszczególne części specjalnie do tego przeznaczonym robotnikom, rozstawionym po drodze. Za opieszałość lub niedokładność, np. w złożeniu ubrania eskorta bije ich okrutnie i w szczególnych wypadkach na dany przez Niemca znak, strzelają Ukraińcy. Te, znaczące drogę do miejsca kaźni, ciała są sprzątane szybko przez robotników. Wypadki te zresztą są rzadkie – pędzeni tu ludzie nie są już tak zrezygnowani ogłuszeni i steroryzowani [=sterroryzowani], że odruchy oporu prawie, że się nie zdarzają.

[strona 9]

Do łaźni wpuszcza się naraz 800-1000 ludzi. Nikt ze nas, robotników, nie wiedział dokładnie w jaki sposób jest śmierć. Wydawało się nam jednak, że wokół łaźni unosi się z trudem uchwytny zapach chloru. Nie pracowałem nigdy przy wypróżnianiu kamery z ciał, wiedziałem jednak, że odnosi się je do pobliskich dołów, gdzie są następnie spalone wraz z wszelki odpadkami obozu.Przedtym [=przedtem] jednak, w małej budce położonej w pobliżu obok łaźni wyrywa się trupom złote zęby. Pracują przy tym specjalnie uprzywilejowani robotnicy – grabarze, bez zresztą przeznaczeni do tej samej śmierci przy zadawaniu której asystują. Wiedzieliśmy wszyscy, że praca, której chwytaliśmy jak deski ratunku przedłuża tylko mękę oczekiwania na śmierć w potwornej grozie obozu. Nadzieja ratunku, nadzieja ucieczki była zupełnie znikoma.

Są w obozie robotnicy odznaczeni żółtymi lub czerwonymi łatami. Tacy mają lepszy wikt i lepszy barak oraz zawodną nadzieję dłuższego życia. Kobiety zatrudnione w barakach dla załogi pracują tam stale od początku istnienia obozu. Wszelkie w ogóle prace na terenie obozu wykonywują [=wykonują] Żydzi. Załoga obozu składa się z kielkudziestu [=kilkudziesięciu] Niemców i stukilkudziesięciu Ukrainców.

My stanowiliśmy grupę zwykłych robotników. Spaliśmy w baraku na gołej ziemi, otrzymywali lizy liche zupy w ciągu dnia. Mieliśmy możność gromadzenia olbrzymich ilości pięniędzy i kosztowności pozostawionych w ubraniach wymordowanych. Sam zakopałem w obozie około kilograma złota, z myślą o tym, aby nie dostało się ono na ręce Niemców.

[strona 10]

Ale gromadzenie skarbów było bardzo bezcelowe. Wiedzieliśmy: przyjdzie chwila, gdy zostawimy ubrania w drodze przez zielony lasek, w drodze do kaźni.

Minęło osiem dni. Przybył nowy transport wysiedleńców z Warszawy. Na placu dokonano nowej selekcji w grupie: wraz z innymi wydarło z niej dwóch towarzyszy moich ustawionych obok mnie [loc] z prawy i lewej strony. Ja pozostałem znowu. Znowu wydarłem się śmierci.

W nowej grupie robotników praca polegała na tym odbieraniu części ubrań. Ja odbierałem buty kobietom które natychmiast po przybyciu były kierowane do łaźni. Bito mnię [=mnie] przy tej pracy gdy przyjmowałem niezwiązane buty. Bito kobiety, które ich nie związały. Bił Niemiec - z sadyzmym długo.

W krótki czas potem, miała nastąpić ponowna segregacja. Byłem przeświadczony o tym, że to już koniec, że nie można tym razem ufać ślepemu losowi, przypadkowi, który mnię [=mnie] chronił dotychczas. Tego wieczoru, poprzedzającego przypuszczalną egzekucją, wszyscyśmy - skazanej - długo w noc nie spali, mimo zmęczenia pracą. Płakałem. Tyle razy cudem unikałem śmierci, że nie mogłem pogodzić się z myślą o poddaniu się. Rezygnacja i apatia nie miały do mnie [gen] przystępu ale opanowała mnię [=mnie] szalowa, bezsilna rozpacz. Jeden z towarzyszy uspokajał mnię [=mnie]. On pogodził się ze śmiercią swoją jako jednostki w milionowej masie skazańców. Ja nie potrafiłem. Nie chciałem.

Następnego dnia stanęliśmy do segregacji na środkowym placu w obozie.

[strona 11]

Z chwilą jednak odstawienia na bok, pierwszej, przeznaczonej na śmierć grupy ludzi, zdarzył się wypadek niezwykły: jeden z towarzyszy (był to obywatel argentyński wzięty bezprawnie z całą rodziną) oderwał się od grupy, szybkim krokiem zbliżył się do Niemca, dokonywującego [=dokonującego] selekcji i jednym ruchem zatopił mu w plecach nóż. Niemiec spał na ziemię, ale rozwścieczeni Ukraińcy łopatami usiekli na krwawą miazgę naszego towarzysza.Chwile, które potem nastąpiły, były straszne. Przerażeni Niemcy pochowali się w barakach pozostawiwszy jednak zwyrodniałym Ukraińcom rozkaz dokonywania pogromów. Rozpoczęły się rzezie grupy pracujących rozstrzeliwano każdego wieczora. Krew płynęła strumieniami.

Od razu po wypadku, korzystając z szalonego zamieszania ukryłem się w stercie ubrani [=ubrań]. Potem udało mi się połączyć z grupą robotników napełniających wagony ubraniami. Wiedziałem już jednak, że nie ma czasu na namysłu, że to są ostatnie dni lub nawet godziny pozostałych przy życiu w obozie i byłem zdecydowany za wszelką cenę pojąc probę ucieczki.

Zamierzałem schować się w wagonie z ubraniami. Zadanie było niełatwe. Robotnicy przy wagonach byli liczeni i brak jednego z nich obciążał odpowiedzialnością wszystkich pozostałych. Udało mi się wreszcie nakłonić towarzyszy do tego, aby pomogli mi w okryciu się olbrzymią ilością ubrań w wagonie. Wraz ze mną ukryli się dwaj mężczyźni - ojciec i syn. Na miejsca nasze udało nam się przyłączyć do grupy mężczyzn sprowadzonych z placu. Zagrzebany w ubraniach, w niezwykłem zapięciu nerwów oczekiwałem tego co nastąpi.

[strona 12]

W krótce szarpnięte drzwiczki otworzyły się. Czuliśmy jak czyjaś ręka przerzuca ubrania w poszukiwaniu ukrytych, dostrzegaliśmy silne błyski reflektora. Czekaliśmy z zamarłymi sercami, ale na wszystko gotowi.

Trzask zamykanych drzwiczek oznajmił koniec udręki. Rozległ się wystrzał: widocznie poszukiwania w sąsiednim wagonie nie przyniosły osiągnęły pożądany skutek. Jakiś czas jeszcze stał pociąg rozlegały się wystrzały.

Wreszcie silne szarpnięcie: pociąg ruszył. Ochłonęliśmy – byliśmy uratowani. Ale cóż dalej?Nie wiedzieliśmy w jakim kierunku podąża pociąg, ale wiedzieliśmy, że nie wolno nam dojechać do miejsca jego przeznaczenia. Wyczekawszy chwili gdy pociąg zwolnił biegu wyskoczyłem przez okienko w nieznaną przestrzeni. Oszołomiło mnię [=mnie] świeże powietrze nocy. Przez chwilę rozkoszowałem się gwałtownie poczuciem swojej wolności. Znikł koszmar minionych dni lecz jakże szybko miał powrócić wraz z innym: koszmarem przyszłości.

Zaczęła się uciążliwa i długa wędrówka. W drodze znikąd nie było pomocy. Chłopi odmawiali nie tylko noclegi i pożywienia ale nawet wskazówek. Wędrowaliśmy nocami a w dzień spali pod gołym niebem, w przydrożnym rowie. W smutny sposób rozstałem się z mymi dwoma towarzyszami:

[strona 13]

Chłop, u którego chcieliśmy zanocować zmiarkowawszy, że mamy pieniądze rozdzielił nas podstępnie, twierdząc że boi się i musi pojedyńczo [=pojedynczo] prowadzić nas do chaty. Ruszyłem pierwszy. W lesie obrabował mnię [=mnie] i straciłem około 50,000 zł wyniesionych z obozu. Pozostawił przy mnie [loc] papiery wartościowe, których wartości nie rozumiał (ocaliłem jeszcze drogie kamienie ukryte w pudełko do zapałek) i puścił wolno w nieznaną drogą.

Dotarłem do miasteczka Stoczek, gdzie przez miesiąc żyłem ze sprzedaży kosztowności. Gdy w Stoczku szerzyć się zaczęły pogłoski o mającym nastąpić wysiedleniu, opuściłem pewnego wieczoru miasteczko i puścili się do lasu. Obudziły mnię [=mnie] rankiem odgłosy strzelaniny, znamionujące, że miasteczko jest otoczone.

W lesie spotkałem wielu uciekinierów z okolicznych miasteczek. Żyliśmy w lesie, ukrywaliśmy się w czasie obław w wykopanych przez siebie i zamaskowanych dołach, płacili grubo za dostarczaną żywność. Pozostawaliśmy jednak na danym terenie tak długo tylko dopóki nie wiedzieli o tym mieszkańcy okolicy, szczególnie wójtowie lub sołtysi. Żyliśmy życiem koczowniczym ale, gdy położenie stało się bez wyjścia, zdecydowałem się na powrót do Warszawy. Szczęśliwy powrót, tym razem bez przygód, zawdzięczam jednemu z chłopów i jego rodzinie - a był to jedyny z jakim się zetknąłem wypadek udzielenia pomocy Żydowi przez chłopa.

Po przybyciem do Warszawy, przebywałem przez jakiś czas w mieszkaniu rodziny tego samego człowieka przy ulicy Złotej, ale, nie chcąc nadużywać gościnność obcych mi ludzie, pożegnałem się z nimi i dnia…[End]
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= Translation (en) =
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[strona 2] [WRITER “A”]

During the period of forced displacement, I worked at the "Palma" artificial honey factory as a night watchman. Deluding myself with the belief that working at the factory would protect me from deportation, I moved out of my apartment in Nowolipie and stayed permanently at the factory.

On August 25th, the factory yard was surrounded and blocked off. Our factory yard housed a shed for straw products belonging to the company "Waldemar Schmidt". We continued working. Suddenly, an SS man, surrounded by Ukrainians, burst into the factory premises. "Everyone out!" was the shout.

In the courtyard, the workers from the "Waldemar Schmidt" workshop were already gathered. We joined them, and under the escort of the Ukrainians, we were led to the Umschlagplatz.

Before entering the square, I tried to escape from the line. A Jewish policeman noticed me and forced me to return.

Our group was immediately rushed towards the train cars. There was no "selection" process. Everyone was loaded onto the train. After a few minutes, the train departed.

The train carriage I was in was crammed with people. The air was terribly stuffy, and it was getting worse with every passing moment.

As the train started moving, [WRITER “B”] a deep sense of despair filled the train car. The thought of imminent death overwhelmed everyone and aroused feelings of terror. From all sides of the car, the words of the Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead, could be heard.

[strona 3]

After two hours of travel, the train stopped. It remained stationary all night. Around midnight, a Latvian man entered the carriage with a revolver in his hand. He gathered everyone to one side of the carriage. Under threat of being shot, he demanded that they hand over their money and valuables. After the robbery, the Latvian man left the carriage, carefully closing the door behind him.

The train remained stopped. Two men [WRITER “A”] forced their way to an open window and jumped onto the railway tracks. Almost simultaneously, several shots rang out.

I thought about escaping that way, but the unbearable heat in the carriage sapped my strength and energy, making it impossible to force my way to the window.

People in the carriage were fainting and weakening from thirst and suffocation. Sweat streamed from their exhausted bodies.

Early in the morning, the train departed. We traveled for a long time. We knew nothing about the direction the train was heading.

After several hours of travel, an SS officer entered the carriage. He politely and convincingly assured us that we were going to the village of Treblinka for a stop – and after sorting, we would continue to our place of work. He urged obedience and diligence. At the end of his speech, he declared that we were close to our destination.

The German man left the carriage. The mood improved. Tired and thirsty, we awaited the end of the journey.

[strona 4]

Finally, the train stopped.

The carriage doors opened abruptly, and we found ourselves in a square surrounded on all sides by barbed wire. In the distance, we could see buildings and barracks of various sizes. An SS man appeared and lined us up in two groups. One group consisted of women and children. The other consisted exclusively of men. [WRITER “B”] After passing through, we found ourselves in a courtyard surrounded by barbed wire fences. Barracks stretched along both sides of the courtyard. Next to them were two signs with the inscription "Achtung Warschauer" (Attention Warsaw residents), and below them was the camp's regulations.

Despite our repeated requests, we did not receive any water. The women were led into the barracks on the left side of the courtyard, while the men were ordered to line up in the middle of the square.

In the courtyard, we noticed corpses and a lot of rags and clothes. Everyone was overcome with horror. A premonition of death hung in the air.

However, no one mustered the courage to take any action. We were paralyzed by fear, exhaustion, and hunger.

At one point, an SS officer appeared. He gave a speech. He assured everyone that they would receive work and food, and that they shouldn't be afraid. “These people,” he said, pointing to the corpses, “died because they were rebels.”

He selected ten people for work and left. The rest were told to wait. After a few minutes, another SS officer arrived and announced that he needed 60 people for work. Despite their exhaustion, everyone volunteered. Seeing this, the German officer began to pick and choose.

[strona 5]

I was among those selected. We were led out of the courtyard and taken to a square located within the complex. [WRITER “A”]

There lay tangled masses of corpses with horrific faces. They were people who had been suffocated in the railway cars.

Our job was to carry the bodies to the pits nearby. The work was terrible. The faces of the corpses were grayish-black and bloated, their eyes stared wildly, their bodies were tangled and heavy. We were barely able to stand on our feet. Despite this, we were not allowed to rest for even a moment. If a German noticed someone slowing down, a shot would ring out, and another corpse would fall to the ground. [WRITER “B”]

The number of people working began to decrease. I felt worse and worse. At one point, I felt like I was about to faint. I was looking for help.

Taking advantage of the German's momentary inattention, I crept towards a nearby barracks, next to which lay huge piles of clothes. I hid myself among them. I could hear the German's shouts and the sound of gunshots. Then silence fell. An hour passed. There was movement nearby. I cautiously parted the rags and looked out. A group of several dozen people stood in the square. My workmates were not among them. I carefully extricated myself from the pile of clothes and approached them.

It turned out to be a new group selected from among the animal transport. Nobody knew anything about the people who had worked here before. Our conversation was interrupted by the appearance [strona 6] of an SS man and several Ukrainians. We were ordered to move. We were led to a railway siding. A train of large Russian wagons stood on the tracks. The transport came from Międzyrzec. The wagons were full of suffocated people. The corpses' tongues were hanging out, their lips were white, their eyes bulging from their sockets.

We were ordered to unload the train cars. In one of them, there was a live child, a few years old.

"Drink!" it pleaded in a terrible voice. But no one had any water. We were terribly thirsty. The Germans promised us that we would get water and soup after we finished work.

There were still long hours of torment, terror, and thirst ahead. With a terrible effort of will, I forced myself to work. My back ached terribly at the slightest bending of my torso, and my mouth and insides felt like one raw, burning wound, desperate for a drop of coolness.

Finally, it's over.

We line up in a row. Buckets of water appear. Everyone receives a cup of water. I feel life returning to me, that I am slowly realizing that I am a human being, that I am alive, that I can feel and think.

Following this came a feeling of terrible reality, momentarily suppressed by a sense of relief. We all knew that after completing their work, a given group of workers would be sent to their deaths; "to the scrap heap," as the tragic end of hundreds of thousands of people was called. Indeed, after some time, a new group of workers was formed. I frantically pondered how to escape from my group, which was already destined for death. I tried to connect with people who had come to work from the penal camp "Treblinka One," as opposed to the death camp, called "Treblinka Two."

[strona 7]

However, they disagreed; they were so afraid for themselves that they ruthlessly pushed me out of the ranks. Returning to the square, I noticed a twenty-dollar gold coin on the ground. I picked it up and approached a Ukrainian guard, who, in exchange for the gold, agreed to let me into a nearby latrine. I stayed there for many hours. This time, a selection took place in the square, which consisted of some people being designated for immediate death by shooting, while the rest were led to the bathhouse. I heard the sounds of gunshots, the curses of the Ukrainians, and the terrible screams of those being murdered. I trembled feverishly all over my body – even though my sensitivity to blood and corpses had already diminished. Hearing the shots, one involuntarily rejoiced that he was still alive, that the bullet was meant for someone else.

The execution in the square was over. I waited a while longer and then left. Bodies lay scattered on the ground, covered in blood. Those destined for the gas chambers waited their turn – most were motionless, stunned by apathy, overwhelmed by an inhuman, unbearable horror. Another group of workers, from a newly arrived transport, waited to be taken to their workplaces.

I approached it unnoticed. The man leading the group was a Jew from Vienna. I spoke to him in German. Panic had not yet replaced other feelings in him: compassion, a sense of solidarity in the situation we all found ourselves in. He allowed me to join his group. I joined them, but at that moment, a German recognized me, grabbed me by the collar of my clothes, and, kicking me, tried to drag me to the group condemned to death. My knowledge of German and the intervention of the Viennese man saved me. [strona 8] Once again, I narrowly escaped death by a miracle.

We were assigned to work in the warehouses. This involved searching through enormous quantities of clothing and sorting out any valuables we found. We spent eight days doing this – during that time, no transports of people arrived at the camp. There was a temporary period of stability in our lives as camp laborers. During this time, I got to know the camp and learned details I hadn't known before.

On a huge square surrounded by barbed wire fences were the clothing warehouses, barracks for the camp staff and the laborers, open spaces for gathering people, and places designated for execution by firing squad. But perhaps the most space was occupied by the pits. Before the population began to be brought here, day and night excavators worked, digging the earth, preparing graves for millions of people.

From the central square, a road leads through the forest to the bathhouse. It is a small building hidden in the bushes, camouflaged with green netting placed on the roof. The people being led to the bathhouse undress along the way, handing over their clothes to specially designated workers stationed along the path. For slowness or inaccuracy, for example, in folding their clothes, the escorts beat them brutally, and in exceptional cases, at a signal given by a German, the Ukrainians shoot them. These bodies, marking the road to the place of execution, are quickly removed by the workers. However, such incidents are rare – the people being driven there are so resigned, stunned, and terrorized that acts of resistance almost never occur.

[strona 9]

800 to 1000 people were admitted to the bathhouse at a time. None of us workers knew exactly how the deaths occurred. However, it seemed to us that a faint, barely perceptible smell of chlorine hung around the bathhouse. I never worked on emptying the gas chamber of bodies, but I knew that they were taken to nearby pits where they were then burned along with all the camp's waste. Before that, however, in a small hut located near the bathhouse, gold teeth were being extracted from the corpses. This work was carried out by specially privileged workers – gravediggers – who were themselves destined for the same death they were assisting in inflicting. We all knew that the work we clung to like a lifeline only prolonged the agony of waiting for death in the monstrous horror of the camp. The hope of rescue, the hope of escape, was practically nonexistent.

There are workers in the camp who are distinguished by yellow or red patches. These workers receive better food and better barracks, and have the faint hope of a longer life. The women employed in the barracks for the camp staff have been working there continuously since the camp's inception. All work within the camp is performed by Jews. The camp staff consists of several dozen Germans and over a hundred Ukrainians.

We were a group of ordinary laborers. We slept in a barracks on the bare ground and received meager rations of soup during the day.

We had the opportunity to collect enormous amounts of money and valuables left behind in the clothes of those who had been murdered. I myself buried about a kilogram of gold in the camp, hoping that it wouldn't fall into the hands of the Germans.

[strona 10]

But accumulating treasures was utterly pointless. We knew: the time would come when we would leave our clothes behind on the path through the green woods, on the way to our execution.

Eight days passed. A new transport of deportees arrived from Warsaw. A new selection was carried out in the group in the square: along with others, two of my comrades, who were standing next to me on my right and left, were taken away. I remained again. I escaped death once more.

In the new group of workers, the job involved collecting pieces of clothing. I collected shoes from the women who were immediately sent to the baths upon arrival. I was beaten while doing this work when I received untied shoes. The women who hadn't tied their shoes were also beaten. A German man beat them – with sadistic cruelty, for a long time.

Shortly afterwards, another selection was to take place. I was convinced that this was the end, that I couldn't trust blind fate or chance anymore, the same chance that had protected me until now. That evening, preceding the presumed execution, all of us – the condemned – stayed awake late into the night, despite our exhaustion from work. I cried. I had miraculously escaped death so many times that I couldn't reconcile myself to the thought of giving up. Resignation and apathy had no hold on me, but I was overwhelmed by a frantic, helpless despair. One of my companions tried to calm me down. He had come to terms with his own death as an individual in a mass of millions of condemned people. I couldn't. I didn't want to.

The next day, we lined up for selection in the central square of the camp. [strona 11] However, as soon as the first group of people destined for death was set aside, an extraordinary incident occurred: one of the prisoners (an Argentinian citizen who had been illegally arrested along with his entire family) broke away from the group, quickly approached the German who was conducting the selection, and with a single movement plunged a knife into his back. The German fell to the ground, but the enraged Ukrainians hacked our comrade to a bloody pulp with shovels.

The moments that followed were terrible. The terrified Germans hid in their barracks, but left the depraved Ukrainians with orders to carry out pogroms. Massacres began; groups of workers were shot every evening. Blood flowed in streams.

Immediately after the accident, taking advantage of the chaotic situation, I hid in a pile of clothes. Then I managed to join a group of workers loading clothes into wagons. However, I already knew that there was no time to think, that these were the last days or even hours for those still alive in the camp, and I was determined to attempt an escape at all costs.

I intended to hide in the freight car filled with clothes. The task was not easy. The workers at the freight cars were counted, and the absence of one of them would hold all the others responsible. I finally managed to persuade my companions to help me cover myself with a huge amount of clothes in the freight car. Two men—a father and son—hid with me. We managed to join a group of men brought from the yard. Buried in the clothes, with my nerves on edge, I waited for what would happen next.

[strona 12]

Shortly afterwards, the door was yanked open. We felt someone's hand rummaging through the clothes, searching for something hidden, and we saw strong flashes of a flashlight. We waited with pounding hearts, but ready for anything.

The bang of the closing doors signaled the end of the ordeal. A gunshot rang out; apparently, the search in the neighboring carriage had not yielded the desired result. The train remained stationary for some time, and more gunshots were heard.

Finally, a strong jolt: the train started moving. We breathed a sigh of relief – we were saved. But what next?

We didn't know which direction the train was going, but we knew we couldn't reach its destination. Waiting for the moment the train slowed down, I jumped out of the window into the unknown. The fresh night air overwhelmed me. For a moment I reveled in the sudden feeling of freedom. The nightmare of the past days disappeared, but how quickly it was to return, along with another: the nightmare of the future.

The arduous and long journey began. There was no help to be found anywhere along the way. The peasants refused not only lodging and food but even directions. We traveled at night and slept during the day under the open sky, in a roadside ditch. I parted ways with my two companions in a sad manner. [strona 13] The peasant with whom we wanted to spend the night, realizing that we had money, cunningly separated us, claiming that he was afraid and had to lead us to his hut one by one. I went first. In the forest, he robbed me, and I lost about 50,000 zlotys that I had taken from the camp. He left me with the securities, whose value he did not understand (I also saved some precious stones hidden in a matchbox), and let me go free on an unknown road.

I arrived in the town of Stoczek, where I lived for a month by selling valuables. When rumors of an impending deportation began to spread in Stoczek, I left the town one evening and headed into the forest.

I was awakened in the morning by the sound of gunfire, indicating that the town was surrounded.

In the forest, I met many refugees from the surrounding towns. We lived in the forest, hiding during raids in pits we had dug and camouflaged, and paying exorbitant prices for food. However, we only stayed in a given area as long as the local inhabitants, especially the village heads or mayors, didn't know about us. We lived a nomadic life, but when the situation became hopeless, I decided to return to Warsaw. I owe my safe return, this time without incident, to one of the peasants and his family – and this was the only instance I encountered of a peasant helping a Jew.

Upon arriving in Warsaw, I stayed for a while in the apartment of the same man's family on Złota Street, but, not wanting to abuse the hospitality of people I didn't know, I said goodbye to them and on that day…
</div>

= Translation Analysis =

Several translations of this document into English exist, most of them fairly close to each other, with one exception.

The translation published by the Central Jewish Library changes one passage from "hundreds of thousands" of people dying to merely "thousands."

'''Polish:''' Wiedzieliśmy wszyscy, że po ukończeniu pracy dana grupa robotników idzie na śmierć; “na szmelc” jak określano tragiczny koniec setek tysięcy ludzi.

'''AI English:''' We all knew that after completing their work, a given group of workers would go to their deaths; “to the scrap heap,” as the tragic end of hundreds of thousands of people was described.

'''Ringelblum Archive in English, Volume 5:''' We all knew that after finishing work the given group of labourers would be killed, ‘binned’, as the tragic end of the thousands of people was dubbed.

'''PMJ 9/169:''' We all knew that the group of workers in question — as soon as they finish their work — would go to their deaths, would become scrap, as the tragic end of hundreds of thousands of people was described.

= Sources =

Engelking, Barbara, and Jacek Leociak. ''The Warsaw Ghetto: A Guide to the Perished City''. Yale University Press, 2009.

Krzepicki, Abraham. “Account of a Treblinka escapee.” Warsaw Ghetto, December 1942. Originally published as ''Relacja uciekiniera z Treblinki''. ARG II 378. Center for Jewish History. https://cbj.jhi.pl/documents/727956/0/.

Krzepicki, Abraham. “In October 1942 an Escapee from Treblinka Describes His Time in the Extermination Camp and His Escape.” In ''The Persecution and Murder of the European Jews by Nazi Germany, 1933-1945: General Government, August 1941-1945'', edited by Klaus-Peter Friedrich. The Persecution and Murder of the European Jews by Nazi Germany, 1933-1945 9. 1942; De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2024. ARG II 378 (Ring. II/ 295), pp. 508–14. Centraljna Biblioteka Judaistyczna.

Krzepicki, Abraham. “After December 1942, Warsaw Ghetto. [Abram Jakub Krzepicki], an Abridged and Slightly Altered, Unfinished Testimony from Treblinka, with a Map of the Site Attached.” In ''The Last Stage of Resettlement Is Death: Pomiechówek, Chełmno on the Ner, Treblinka''. The Ringelblum Archive: Underground Archive of the Warsaw Ghetto, edited by Eleonora Bergman, Maria Ferenc, and Katarzyna Person, vol. 5. Warsaw Ghetto, 1942. Wydanie I. Żydowski Instytut Historyczny im. Emanuela Ringelbluma, 2021. https://cbj.jhi.pl/documents/1283768/0/.

Rudolf, Germar, ed. “Krzepicki, Abraham.” In ''Holocaust Encyclopedia: Uncensored and Unconstrained''. Academic Research Media Review Education Group Ltd, 2023. https://holocaustencyclopedia.com/witness/victim/krzepicki-abraham/634/.

Jozef Pronicki (Treblinka Stationmaster)

2026-01-17T14:35:20Z

Pilgrimofdark:

From 1941 to early 1943, Józef Pronicki was the stationmaster of the Treblinka train station. Most of what is known about him comes from Franciszek Ząbecki's memoirs ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe'' ("Memories, Old and New").

Pronicki was first mentioned by Zabecki during Zabecki's [[Soviet_Treblinka_Investigation_1944-September#Franciszek_Z%C4%85becki._Treblinka_station._September_24,_1944|September 24, 1944 interrogation]] with the joint Polish-Soviet organizations conducing an investigation of the Treblinka camps.<ref>Ząbecki, “Interrogation of Franciszek Zabecki.”</ref> In that interrogation, his name is reported as "Проницкий Юзеф," which can be translated a few different ways:

* Proński Józef
* Prońcki Józef
* '''Pronicki Józef'''
* Pronitsky Jozef
* Pronitzky Juzef
* Pronitsky Yuzhef

In his memoirs, Zabecki uses the name Józef Pronicki throughout.

In May 1941, Zabecki began working as a train dispatcher after he had already been released from captivity and joined the Polish resistance. Soon after, Jozef Pronicki became stationmaster of Treblinka.<ref>Ząbecki, ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe'', p. 11.</ref>

Pronicki and Zabecki were at the station on June 21, 1941, and noticed the German army moving east.<ref>Ząbecki, ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe'', p. 12.</ref>

Pronicki was a member of the underground, too, although he didn't admit it to Zabecki. But Pronicki allowed underground newspapers to be ready by employees he knew from before the war. Zabecki even suspects him of distributing the newspapers, before Pronicki decides to give newspapers directly to Zabecki.<ref>Ząbecki, ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe'', p. 15.</ref>

Willi Klinzmann, a German who was stationed at Treblinka to do the death camp stuff, disliked Pronicki.<ref>Ząbecki, ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe'', p. 51.</ref>

<blockquote>The stationmaster's wife, Jadwiga Pronicka, wanted to protect a Jewish woman from being beaten when Klinzmann caught her on the road near the station. The furious Klinzmann wanted to lock both women in the wagon, one as a Jew, 1the other for helping Jews. The intercession of Emmerich and the terrified Pronicki freed Pronicka from the fate that befell the Jewish woman. A few days later, when Pronicka and her husband passed a transport of Jews and handed them bread, Klinzmann jumped up and brutally pushed her away, warning Pronicki that if this happened again, he would take his wife to the wagon and hand her over to the transport commander. Although he dismissed Pronicka, he still shot her as she left.<ref>Ząbecki, ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe'', p. 76.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The guard at the gate refused to let the German railway workers from Sokołów Podlaski in and immediately turned the trolley around. Blechschmidt left a letter and instructed Pronicki to go to the camp alone to collect the money, and he and Teufel departed for Sokołów Podlaski. Pronicki was terrified, as he didn't want to step into the dragon's jaws for fear of facing the consequences. Since he had no other choice, and Sokołów Podlaski often asked what the situation was, Pronicki boarded a steam locomotive that was pushing two coal wagons filled with oil for burning corpses and some of the wagons loaded with people from the transport that had arrived at the station. He disembarked at the camp's main ramp. He noticed the strange behavior of the Germans and Ukrainians on the ramp; a Ukrainian wanted to include him in the group of Jews marching to their deaths. After showing the letter to the commandant and explaining that he was a railwayman and was wearing an Ostbahn uniform, the Ukrainian, after some thought, pointed to the barracks behind the fence where the commandant was stationed. Walking in the indicated direction, Pronicki saw piles of naked corpses, and elsewhere mountains of clothing and various garments, even children's shoes from the murdered. Identifying himself with the letter to the camp commandant, he entered the proper building. On the door of the room was an inscription in German: "Komendant Stangl, Sturmbannführer." In the first room of the barracks, a blond German, completely drunk, was sitting at a desk. He glanced—without looking—at the address of the letter and pointed to the next room. In that room was a short SS man. It was Stangl.

A strong odor wafted through both rooms. The rooms were carpeted and, it seemed, had been sprayed with this liquid. The scent was intended to neutralize the stench of burning corpses permeating the room. Pronicki handed the letter to the commandant. Stangl, upon opening the letter, began to laugh uncontrollably. "I was terribly frightened," Pronicki recalled in a conversation with me, "because it occurred to me that the letter might have directed me to a camp for liquidation, and I, foolishly, had delivered it myself. I admit I didn't read the letter; perhaps it contained only a categorical demand for payment, citing the relevant provisions. Those few minutes felt like an eternity to me. Finally, I wanted to leave this perfumed hell as quickly as possible and distance myself from the laughing devil. So I asked, 'Will there be any answer?' This made him laugh even harder, so, pounding his fist on the table, he issued a shrill reply: 'Keine Antwort. Keine Antwort' ('No answer') — and ordered me to leave immediately, which I did eagerly."<ref>Ząbecki, ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe'', pp. 77-78</ref></blockquote>

Pronicki was in charge of distributing kerosene to the railway workers. The Germans took advantage of this to trade kerosene for alcohol. Because they were always drunk, like 100% of the Germans in Poland.<ref>Ząbecki, ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe'', p. 79.</ref>

In the memoirs, Zabecki writes that, in May 1943, Pronicki left Treblinka for Warsaw. Jozef Kuzminski took over.<ref>Ząbecki, ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe'', p. 79.</ref> However, in his [[Soviet_Treblinka_Investigation_1944-September#Franciszek_Z%C4%85becki._Treblinka_station._September_24,_1944|1944 Soviet interrogation]], he said that "Until February 1943, the stationmaster was Józef Pronicki, who was transferred to Warsaw. From February 1943 to August 1944, the stationmaster was Józef Kuzminski. He currently works at the Siedlce railway station." In his testimony in 1945, Józef Kuźmiński said that he took over in January 1943.<ref>Kuźmiński, “Józef Kuźmiński, Testimony.”</ref>

= References =

<references />

= Sources =

Kuźmiński, Józef. “Józef Kuźmiński, Testimony from Court/Criminal Proceedings from 16.10.1945.” Interview by Zdzisław Łukaszkiewicz. October 16, 1945. Institute of National Remembrance, GK 196/69. Archive of the Pilecki Institute, Chronicles of Terror. https://chroniclesofterror.pl/dlibra/show-content?id=280.

Ząbecki, Franciszek. “Minutes of the interrogation of Franciszek Ząbecki, the duty station Treblinka in 1941-1944. Treblinka Station.” In ''Treblinka: Research, Memories, Documents''. Яуза, 1944. Originally published as Протокол допроса Францишка Зомбецкого, дежурного станции Треблинка в 1941-1944 гг. Станция Треблинка, 24 сентября 1944 г. GARF 7445-2-134 pp. 79-85. State Archive of the Russian Federation.

Ząbecki, Franciszek. ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe''. PAX, 1977.

Jozef Pronicki (Treblinka Stationmaster)

2026-01-16T23:24:39Z

Pilgrimofdark:

From 1941 to early 1943, Józef Pronicki was the stationmaster of the Treblinka train station. Most of what is known about him comes from Franciszek Ząbecki's memoirs ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe'' ("Memories, Old and New").

In May 1941, Zabecki began working as a train dispatcher after he had already been released from captivity and joined the Polish resistance. Soon after, Jozef Pronicki became stationmaster of Treblinka.<ref>Ząbecki, ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe'', p. 11.</ref>

Pronicki and Zabecki were at the station on June 21, 1941, and noticed the German army moving east.<ref>Ząbecki, ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe'', p. 12.</ref>

Pronicki was a member of the underground, too, although he didn't admit it to Zabecki. But Pronicki allowed underground newspapers to be ready by employees he knew from before the war. Zabecki even suspects him of distributing the newspapers, before Pronicki decides to give newspapers directly to Zabecki.<ref>Ząbecki, ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe'', p. 15.</ref>

Willi Klinzmann, a German who was stationed at Treblinka to do the death camp stuff, disliked Pronicki.<ref>Ząbecki, ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe'', p. 51.</ref>

<blockquote>The stationmaster's wife, Jadwiga Pronicka, wanted to protect a Jewish woman from being beaten when Klinzmann caught her on the road near the station. The furious Klinzmann wanted to lock both women in the wagon, one as a Jew, 1the other for helping Jews. The intercession of Emmerich and the terrified Pronicki freed Pronicka from the fate that befell the Jewish woman. A few days later, when Pronicka and her husband passed a transport of Jews and handed them bread, Klinzmann jumped up and brutally pushed her away, warning Pronicki that if this happened again, he would take his wife to the wagon and hand her over to the transport commander. Although he dismissed Pronicka, he still shot her as she left.<ref>Ząbecki, ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe'', p. 76.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The guard at the gate refused to let the German railway workers from Sokołów Podlaski in and immediately turned the trolley around. Blechschmidt left a letter and instructed Pronicki to go to the camp alone to collect the money, and he and Teufel departed for Sokołów Podlaski. Pronicki was terrified, as he didn't want to step into the dragon's jaws for fear of facing the consequences. Since he had no other choice, and Sokołów Podlaski often asked what the situation was, Pronicki boarded a steam locomotive that was pushing two coal wagons filled with oil for burning corpses and some of the wagons loaded with people from the transport that had arrived at the station. He disembarked at the camp's main ramp. He noticed the strange behavior of the Germans and Ukrainians on the ramp; a Ukrainian wanted to include him in the group of Jews marching to their deaths. After showing the letter to the commandant and explaining that he was a railwayman and was wearing an Ostbahn uniform, the Ukrainian, after some thought, pointed to the barracks behind the fence where the commandant was stationed. Walking in the indicated direction, Pronicki saw piles of naked corpses, and elsewhere mountains of clothing and various garments, even children's shoes from the murdered. Identifying himself with the letter to the camp commandant, he entered the proper building. On the door of the room was an inscription in German: "Komendant Stangl, Sturmbannführer." In the first room of the barracks, a blond German, completely drunk, was sitting at a desk. He glanced—without looking—at the address of the letter and pointed to the next room. In that room was a short SS man. It was Stangl.

A strong odor wafted through both rooms. The rooms were carpeted and, it seemed, had been sprayed with this liquid. The scent was intended to neutralize the stench of burning corpses permeating the room. Pronicki handed the letter to the commandant. Stangl, upon opening the letter, began to laugh uncontrollably. "I was terribly frightened," Pronicki recalled in a conversation with me, "because it occurred to me that the letter might have directed me to a camp for liquidation, and I, foolishly, had delivered it myself. I admit I didn't read the letter; perhaps it contained only a categorical demand for payment, citing the relevant provisions. Those few minutes felt like an eternity to me. Finally, I wanted to leave this perfumed hell as quickly as possible and distance myself from the laughing devil. So I asked, 'Will there be any answer?' This made him laugh even harder, so, pounding his fist on the table, he issued a shrill reply: 'Keine Antwort. Keine Antwort' ('No answer') — and ordered me to leave immediately, which I did eagerly."<ref>Ząbecki, ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe'', pp. 77-78</ref></blockquote>

Pronicki was in charge of distributing kerosene to the railway workers. The Germans took advantage of this to trade kerosene for alcohol. Because they were always drunk, like 100% of the Germans in Poland.<ref>Ząbecki, ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe'', p. 79.</ref>

In the memoirs, Zabecki writes that, in May 1943, Pronicki left Treblinka for Warsaw. Jozef Kuzminski took over.<ref>Ząbecki, ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe'', p. 79.</ref> However, in his [[Soviet_Treblinka_Investigation_1944-September#Franciszek_Z%C4%85becki._Treblinka_station._September_24,_1944|1944 Soviet interrogation]], he said that "Until February 1943, the stationmaster was Józef Pronicki, who was transferred to Warsaw. From February 1943 to August 1944, the stationmaster was Józef Kuzminski. He currently works at the Siedlce railway station." In his testimony in 1945, Józef Kuźmiński said that he took over in January 1943.<ref>Kuźmiński, “Józef Kuźmiński, Testimony.”</ref>

= References =

<references />

= Sources =

Kuźmiński, Józef. “Józef Kuźmiński, Testimony from Court/Criminal Proceedings from 16.10.1945.” Interview by Zdzisław Łukaszkiewicz. October 16, 1945. Institute of National Remembrance, GK 196/69. Archive of the Pilecki Institute, Chronicles of Terror. https://chroniclesofterror.pl/dlibra/show-content?id=280.

Ząbecki, Franciszek. ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe''. PAX, 1977.

Jozef Pronicki (Treblinka Stationmaster)

2026-01-16T00:58:18Z

Pilgrimofdark: Created page with "From 1941 to early 1943, Józef Pronicki was the stationmaster of the Treblinka train station. Most of what is known about him comes from Franciszek Ząbecki's memoirs ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe'' ("Memories, Old and New"). In May 1941, Zabecki began working as a train dispatcher after he had already been released from captivity and joined the Polish resistance. Soon after, Jozef Pronicki became stationmaster of Treblinka.<ref>Ząbecki, ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe'', p...."

From 1941 to early 1943, Józef Pronicki was the stationmaster of the Treblinka train station. Most of what is known about him comes from Franciszek Ząbecki's memoirs ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe'' ("Memories, Old and New").

In May 1941, Zabecki began working as a train dispatcher after he had already been released from captivity and joined the Polish resistance. Soon after, Jozef Pronicki became stationmaster of Treblinka.<ref>Ząbecki, ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe'', p. 11.</ref>

Pronicki and Zabecki were at the station on June 21, 1941, and noticed the German army moving east.<ref>Ząbecki, ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe'', p. 12.</ref>

Pronicki was a member of the underground, too, although he didn't admit it to Zabecki. But Pronicki allowed underground newspapers to be ready by employees he knew from before the war. Zabecki even suspects him of distributing the newspapers, before Pronicki decides to give newspapers directly to Zabecki.<ref>Ząbecki, ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe'', p. 15.</ref>

Willi Klinzmann, a German who was stationed at Treblinka to do the death camp stuff, disliked Pronicki.<ref>Ząbecki, ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe'', p. 51.</ref>

<blockquote>The stationmaster's wife, Jadwiga Pronicka, wanted to protect a Jewish woman from being beaten when Klinzmann caught her on the road near the station. The furious Klinzmann wanted to lock both women in the wagon, one as a Jew, 1the other for helping Jews. The intercession of Emmerich and the terrified Pronicki freed Pronicka from the fate that befell the Jewish woman. A few days later, when Pronicka and her husband passed a transport of Jews and handed them bread, Klinzmann jumped up and brutally pushed her away, warning Pronicki that if this happened again, he would take his wife to the wagon and hand her over to the transport commander. Although he dismissed Pronicka, he still shot her as she left.<ref>Ząbecki, ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe'', p. 76.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The guard at the gate refused to let the German railway workers from Sokołów Podlaski in and immediately turned the trolley around. Blechschmidt left a letter and instructed Pronicki to go to the camp alone to collect the money, and he and Teufel departed for Sokołów Podlaski. Pronicki was terrified, as he didn't want to step into the dragon's jaws for fear of facing the consequences. Since he had no other choice, and Sokołów Podlaski often asked what the situation was, Pronicki boarded a steam locomotive that was pushing two coal wagons filled with oil for burning corpses and some of the wagons loaded with people from the transport that had arrived at the station. He disembarked at the camp's main ramp. He noticed the strange behavior of the Germans and Ukrainians on the ramp; a Ukrainian wanted to include him in the group of Jews marching to their deaths. After showing the letter to the commandant and explaining that he was a railwayman and was wearing an Ostbahn uniform, the Ukrainian, after some thought, pointed to the barracks behind the fence where the commandant was stationed. Walking in the indicated direction, Pronicki saw piles of naked corpses, and elsewhere mountains of clothing and various garments, even children's shoes from the murdered. Identifying himself with the letter to the camp commandant, he entered the proper building. On the door of the room was an inscription in German: "Komendant Stangl, Sturmbannführer." In the first room of the barracks, a blond German, completely drunk, was sitting at a desk. He glanced—without looking—at the address of the letter and pointed to the next room. In that room was a short SS man. It was Stangl.

A strong odor wafted through both rooms. The rooms were carpeted and, it seemed, had been sprayed with this liquid. The scent was intended to neutralize the stench of burning corpses permeating the room. Pronicki handed the letter to the commandant. Stangl, upon opening the letter, began to laugh uncontrollably. "I was terribly frightened," Pronicki recalled in a conversation with me, "because it occurred to me that the letter might have directed me to a camp for liquidation, and I, foolishly, had delivered it myself. I admit I didn't read the letter; perhaps it contained only a categorical demand for payment, citing the relevant provisions. Those few minutes felt like an eternity to me. Finally, I wanted to leave this perfumed hell as quickly as possible and distance myself from the laughing devil. So I asked, 'Will there be any answer?' This made him laugh even harder, so, pounding his fist on the table, he issued a shrill reply: 'Keine Antwort. Keine Antwort' ('No answer') — and ordered me to leave immediately, which I did eagerly."<ref>Ząbecki, ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe'', pp. 77-78</ref></blockquote>

Pronicki was in charge of distributing kerosene to the railway workers. The Germans took advantage of this to trade kerosene for alcohol. Because they were always drunk, like 100% of the Germans in Poland.<ref>Ząbecki, ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe'', p. 79.</ref>

In the memoirs, Zabecki writes that, in May 1943, Pronicki left Treblinka for Warsaw. Jozef Kuzminski took over.<ref>Ząbecki, ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe'', p. 79.</ref> However, in his [[Soviet_Treblinka_Investigation_1944-September#Franciszek_Z%C4%85becki._Treblinka_station._September_24,_1944|1944 Soviet interrogation]], he said that "Until February 1943, the stationmaster was Józef Pronicki, who was transferred to Warsaw. From February 1943 to August 1944, the stationmaster was Józef Kuzminski. He currently works at the Siedlce railway station."

= References =

<references />

= Sources =

Ząbecki, Franciszek. ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe''. PAX, 1977.

Soviet Treblinka Investigation 1944-September

2026-01-05T16:20:11Z

Pilgrimofdark:

In September 1944, a joint Polish-Soviet group of investigatory bodies conducted an examination of the area of the Treblinka camps.

Members of the Polish-Soviet Commission for the Investigation of German Crimes, the Information and Propaganda Department of the Polish Committee of National Liberation, and the Military Council of the 2nd Belorussian Front were involved in the investiation.

The documents below include interrogation protocols of witnesses, a map of the Treblinka II camp, schematics of the gas chambers, and the official report.

__TOC__

= D.I. Novoplyansky. Report from army newspaper. September 9, 1944 =

''' Report from the correspondent of the army newspaper “For the Motherland” Major D.I. Novoplyansky to the head of the political department of the 70th Army Colonel Maslovsky, September 9, 1944 (certified copy dated September 22, 1944). GARF P-7021-115-9 pp. 93-95. '''

While fulfilling the editorial assignment, I twice visited the site of the Treblinka Tod camp (death camp), established by the Germans between Warsaw and Białystok (6 km south of the Małkinia Górna junction station).<ref name="ftn1">Novoplyansky David Iosifovich (1909–1996) was born in Białystok and was of Jewish origin. He was drafted into the army in 1941 in Kyiv. From 1942, he worked for the newspaper of the 70th Army.</ref>

Former prisoners Wolf Szejnberg and Mendel Koritnicki, who previously lived in Warsaw, speak about this in more detail than others.<ref name="ftn2">The fragment on the left is highlighted with a thick line (blue ink).</ref>

It's clear from the accounts that in July 1942, the Germans ordered all British and Americans to assemble at Warsaw's Prison Square for an exchange. Notices were posted stating that the Germans had reached an agreement with the Allies to exchange British and American prisoners for German prisoners of war. It was also strongly emphasized that for every British or American, the Allies would give up two Germans. The British and Americans were GUARANTEED TO RETURN TO THEIR HOMELAND. Wolf Szejnberg personally read such an announcement. The existence of such announcements is confirmed by former Warsaw residents Szymon Cegiel, Eney Tracz, and Korytnicki, who currently reside in Kosów (Węgrów County).

Szejnberg and Koritnicki testify that British and American citizens, along with their families, were transported from Warsaw to Treblinka in trucks in July 1942. People in the city knew that foreigners were being taken to Treblinka, but at the time, the name meant nothing to people. Some simply expressed surprise: after all, Jews were supposedly being taken to Treblinka for work, so why were British and Americans being taken there for exchange?

Wolf Szejnberg, who was lucky enough to escape death and later worked as a baker in the Treblinka camp, claims that the British and Americans were not held in the camp for a single day, but were, along with thousands of others arriving at Treblinka, immediately sent to the "bathhouse," where they were killed. He knows this from a number of conversations in the camp, including those of the German administration. Unterscharführer Schwarz, for example, said that the British bombed his home and family in Lübeck, for which he took revenge by participating in the extermination of the British there.

Wolf Szejnberg currently resides in the Albinów estate (4 km northwest of Kosów). He is also connected to several other witnesses living in Węgrów, Kosów, and Sokołów Podlaski.

Koritnicki, who arrived at the camp somewhat later and subsequently worked as a tinsmith at Treblinka Camp No. 2, personally saw suitcases belonging to Americans and British prisoners near the "bathhouse," among the belongings of the murdered. He asked who these seemingly unusual items belonged to, and several people explained that the British and Americans had "passed" there and that these were their suitcases and other belongings.

Considering that the question of the extermination of the British and Americans in the Treblinka death camp is of exceptional political interest at the present time, I request your petition to appoint an investigation into this matter.

September 9, 1944

MAJOR Novoplyansky

= Protocol of preliminary investigation. September 15, 1944 =

''' Protocol of the preliminary investigation and information about the former concentration camp Treblinka, September 15, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-11 pp. 43-47. '''

According to the instructions of the Chairman of the Polish-Soviet Commission for the Investigation of German Crimes, Mr. WITOLD A.,<ref name="ftn3">Witold Andrzej (1878-1973) was a figure in the peasant party, in 1943 he was deputy chairman of the Union of Polish Patriots in the USSR, and in 1944 he became deputy chairman of the Polish Committee of National Liberation.</ref> the Secretary of the Polish-Soviet Commission, Mr. SOBOLEWSKI P.,<ref name="ftn4">Sobolevsky P. I., a Master of Theology, was the secretary of the Polish-Soviet Extraordinary Commission for investigating German atrocities in Majdanek in Lublin.</ref> the representative of the Information and Propaganda Department of the Polish Committee of National Liberation, Mr. HODŹKO,<ref name="ftn5">Hodźko Mieczysław (1903–1992) was a Polish Jew who worked as an accountant before the war. In August 1942, he was deported to Treblinka and kept as a worker in Treblinka I. He participated in the underground resistance and escaped on August 2, 1943. In August 1944, he moved to Lublin and worked in the structures of the Polish Committee of National Liberation (PKWN).</ref> and the representative of the Military Council of the 2nd Belorussian Front, Lieutenant Colonel LEVAKOV G. E.,<ref name="ftn6">Levakov Grigory Evseevich (1904 – after 1945) was a lieutenant colonel and served as a political officer in the political departments of the North-Western and 2nd Belarusian Fronts.</ref> visited the site of the former concentration camp in Treblinka, created by the German invaders for the mass extermination of citizens of Poland and other European countries.

The Treblinka<ref name="ftn7">Spelled “Tremblinka” in the text.</ref> area is located 7 kilometers from the Małkinia railway junction in Sokołów County. German bandits built a railway line directly to the camp site to transport prisoners directly and undetected to the concentration camp.

The camp is located in a forest, one kilometer from the highway and the railway line leading from Małkinia to Siedlce. The concentration camp is surrounded by three rows of barbed wire and anti-tank forts.

The remains of burned-out barracks, the charred walls of brick and concrete outbuildings, and a large number of scattered household items were discovered: bowls, mugs, forks, children's toys, scraps of documents and books, torn pieces of clothing, and numerous shoes of all sizes and types. The earth was dug up, and the smell of decomposing corpses was palpable. All of this indicates that this is where German murderers carried out mass exterminations using their well-known "scientific" method.

Under the onslaught of the victorious Red Army, the German murderers, trying to erase the traces of their crime, burned and destroyed everything they had created at Treblinka during the three and a half years of the concentration camp's existence.

The forest clearing where the camp is located is a sandy field overgrown with small trees and surrounded by a dense pine forest. This forest shielded the concentration camp from view.

According to the testimony of former camp prisoner Jacob DOMB,<ref name="ftn8">Underlined with a red pencil.</ref> a resident of Warsaw, Franciszkańska Street, 24, DAWYDOWSKI Jan,<ref name="ftn9">Underlined with a red pencil.</ref> a resident of the village of Poniatowo,<ref name="ftn10">Town just south of the Treblinka train station area.</ref> a former prisoner in this camp, Maria WLADARSKA, a resident of the village of Grondy, 2 kilometers from the camp, whose husband died in Treblinka, and KORITNICKI, a resident of the fort of Albinów,<ref name="ftn11">How it appears in the text. In another document, it is referred to as a manor farm.</ref> located near Treblinka, IT IS ESTABLISHED:

The Tremblinka concentration camp was divided into two parts, located one and a half kilometers apart.

The first section was called "Death Camp No. 2." This camp, on the site of which two burnt-out outbuildings now stand, was also divided into two sections, with a railway line leading to Camp No. 2. Something resembling a train station was built here to conceal the primary extermination mission. A triple wall of barbed wire was concealed by tree branches. Therefore, those brought here initially believed they were at a transfer point heading east.

In the first section of Death Camp No. 2, the arriving prisoners were stripped. Their clothes were ordered to be placed in a designated area, and then, naked, they were forced to run with their hands raised toward the so-called bathhouse. The bathhouse was disguised as a public bathhouse, but in reality, it was a three-room gas chamber. Initially, they resorted to sucking the air out of the chamber using a small car engine. Later, due to the large number of people being brought to their deaths, chemical agents were used. This chamber could simultaneously house and kill approximately 400 people. On the roof of this hermetically sealed chamber, there was a small window for observing the death throes of the dying. Women had their hair cut before being strangled, and their hair still lies at the scene of the crime. About 400 Jews worked in this chamber, carrying the bodies of the strangled to large pits dug by moles, which were previously prepared and located within Death Camp No. 2.

In the winter of 1943, German murderers began digging up and burning corpses. They also used shrews for this purpose. Torn fragments of personal documents found scattered here prove that citizens of Poland, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, and other intellectuals, as well as ordinary workers, were murdered here.<ref name="ftn12">Opposite the last sentence, on the left margin, there is a vertical pencil line.</ref>

The second part of the concentration camp was called "Camp No. 1" and was located one and a half kilometers from the death camp. Camp No. 1 was similarly fenced with a triple row of barbed wire and anti-tank forks. This part of Camp No. 1 was divided into four fields,<ref name="ftn13">This designation of parts of the camp as "fields" is not specific to Treblinka, but it was used in Majdanek (which was the subject of study by the Soviet-Polish commission in August 1944).</ref> the first field containing eight barracks and housing the commandant's office and guards, consisting of approximately 200 SS men and their assistants. This field also housed food storage facilities, outbuildings for horses and cattle, buildings for chickens and ducks, garages, a local power station, and even a small swimming pool for ducks. From here, a road led into the forest to the executions.

The second part of Camp No. 1 consisted of three fields, with one barrack each built in the first and second fields, and two barracks in the third field. Women were imprisoned here. Each barrack was separated from the next by a high wall of barbed wire.<ref name="ftn14">The original text uses a different word order, "high wall," however, the numbers "2" and "1" placed above the words indicate that the word order needs to be changed.</ref> This part of Camp No. 1 housed the kitchen and workshops—a metalworking shop, a carpentry shop, a forge, a weaving bench, and an engine. A large concrete cellar still holds the remaining potato reserves.

The total number of prisoners was approximately 3,000 per day. Twice a day, the so-called "appel," or inspection, took place, at which everyone without exception—the healthy, the sick, and the dead—was required to report. The sick were separated and finished off with sticks; some were shot. The dead were carried out by healthy prisoners. As a daily routine, the German criminals practiced beating prisoners, primarily on the head with a stick. Anyone incapable of work was also finished off in the same manner.

500 meters from Camp No. 1 lies a pine forest, and long mass graves begin at the edge of this forest.

According to the testimony of Jan DAWYDOWSKI, a resident of the village of Poniatowo and a former prisoner at this camp, these graves were dug in advance, reaching 4 meters deep, 6 meters wide, and approximately 300 meters long.

Executions took place over these pre-prepared pits, and people were finished off with a stick to the head.

DAWYDOWSKI personally witnessed German SS men bringing in entire carloads of people and then murdering them. He also witnessed an incident where they brought in three people, ordered them to kneel, and then shot them in the back of the head.

The freshly dug sand, the large number of human bones scattered everywhere, and even a severed foot lying in one spot, are still visible.

According to witnesses and prisoners, almost no one ever left Camp No. 1. The minimal rations led to rapid depletion of prisoners, making them unable to work, and ultimately, to their murder.

Witness Stanisław KRYM,<ref name="ftn15">The surname is underlined with a red pencil.</ref> a resident of Tremblinka, whose home is 500 meters from Camp No. 1, saw vehicles transporting people to the forest. Some walked, and then machine gunfire could be heard: "I personally saw prisoners working at grinding stone and being beaten with sticks when they were too exhausted to continue. There were Poles and Jews here, as well as women and children aged 10 and older."

Witness Maria WLADARSKI,<ref name="ftn16">The surname is underlined with a red pencil.</ref> a resident of the village of Grądy, located two kilometers from the camp, recounts: "I saw entire freight cars filled with people, heard screams and pleas for help. From our field, I could clearly see mountains of clothing where the prisoners who had been brought in would climb, undress there, and then descend and disappear somewhere. I heard the screams and cries of the dying, as well as music and singing—first from men, women, and children, whom the SS forced to sing before their deaths."

“My husband, Tadeusz Wladarski, died in this camp along with 40 other Polish prisoners within a few hours.”

Considering that the construction of the concentration camp in Tremblinka dates back to 1941, the area occupied by the camp is 5 square kilometers, its structure and facilities, the number of barracks, the existence of the so-called "bathhouse" - a gas chamber, the enormous quantity of things, the size of the pits – all this proves that hundreds of thousands<ref name="ftn17">The word "thousand" is written above in ink by hand.</ref> of innocent people were brutally murdered here, whose only crime was that they lived and that they did not carry out the orders of the German authorities on the delivery of food on time, carried on prohibited trade or did not remove the required amount of timber on time.

The items found indicate that men, women, and children of all ages, along with entire families, were imprisoned here. Items found, such as violin parts, children's toys, hair curlers, books, and other paraphernalia, prove that many arrived here unaware of their purpose.

Fragments of burned and destroyed passports prove that citizens of Poland, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, and other German-occupied countries were imprisoned here.<ref name="ftn18">A checkmark has been placed after the paragraph in blue ink.</ref>

Considering that the Tremblinka concentration camp was one of the largest camps for the mass extermination of innocent people, it is essential to first collect all possible items from the camp grounds, especially documents, and hand them over to the Polish-Soviet Commission for investigation.

Preserve and ensure the protection of the camp site itself as an international memorial to the terrible tragedy that was endured.

In the near future, it is necessary to begin excavating the mass graves, which will reveal yet another secret of German crimes to the world.

Secretary of the Polish-Soviet Commission for the Investigation of German Crimes /signature/ (magistrate P. Sobolevsky)

Representative of the Information and Propaganda Department of the Polish-Soviet Communist Party of Poland /signature/ (M. Khodzko)

Representative of the Military Council of the 2nd Belorussian Front /signature/ (Lieutenant Colonel G. E. Levakov)

September 15, 1944

Treblinka

= Cheni Trach. Treblinka labor camp. Kosów Lacki. September 21, 1944 =

''' Interrogation protocol of Cheni Trać about the situation of Jews in the Treblinka labor camp and the mass shooting on July 23, 1944. The village of Kosów Lacki, September 21, 1944. GARF 7445-2-134 pp. 92-94. '''

On September 21, 1944, the military investigator of the military prosecutor's office of the 65th Army, Guards Senior Lieutenant of Justice Malov, in compliance with Articles 162-168 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the RSFSR, interrogated as a witness:
# Last name, first name, patronymic: Cheni Yankelevna Trać
# Year of birth: 1913
# Place of birth: Zarlib-Kostlin, Ostrów Mazowiecka County, Łomża Voivodeship
# Nationality: Jewish
# Social background and status: housewife. Husband is a shoemaker from the working class.
# Education: 7th grade
# Place of residence: Kosów Lacki

I have been warned of liability for giving false testimony under Article 95 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR.

The interrogation was conducted through an interpreter, Burstein Heim, a resident of Kosów, Warsaw Voivodeship, who has been warned of liability for false translation. [Signature/]

In March 1942, SS soldiers arrived in Kosów from a camp located 8 km from Kosów. Along with the soldiers, the camp's leaders arrived: Hautsturmführer von Eupen, Untersturmführers Preif and Lanz, Rottenführer Mobis, and Navigator Felden, who had with them a list of the best Jewish artisans in Kosów. My husband, Trać Lejba, was also on this list as a good shoemaker. All the Jews on the list were herded into the town square and then driven under guard to the camp, which was called the "Treblinka Labor Camp." My husband remained in the camp until July 1944. During his stay in the camp, I met with him several times. When I met my husband, he told me about the terrible atrocities committed by the Germans and guards against the camp prisoners. The work was extremely hard—they forced them to dig the earth and uproot tree stumps. They were fed very poorly, causing them to quickly lose strength and productivity. If a prisoner couldn't work or worked poorly, they were brutally killed. Moreover, they killed in a painful manner, forcing the victim to suffer before death. The most common method of murder was a hammer blow to the bridge of the nose or head, followed by beatings with sticks and whips. Ten to twelve people were killed this way daily, not counting those who died of exhaustion and disease. A guard's stick or whip accompanied the prisoner everywhere. Horrific beatings followed at every step, beatings carried out without provocation—just for fun. They beat with whatever came to hand—sticks, shovels, axes, and even slashed with knives. I remember particularly well an incident that occurred in July 1942. When my husband saw his children at a meeting, he burst into tears, saying that "soon they will kill them like that too," and at the same time he told about the terrible picture of the extermination in the camp of 120 innocent children brought from Warsaw in July 1942.

As my husband recounted, children of various ages were brought to the camp, lined up in front of all the prisoners, and forced to sing songs. Then, out of a total of 120 children, 60 of the weakest and smallest were selected and taken to pits in the forest, where they were brutally murdered. The children were killed with sticks, whips, axes, daggers, and hammer blows to the face or head.

The heartbreaking cries of small children echoed throughout the camp. The 60 healthy children who remained in the camp subsequently died of exhaustion or overwork, or were murdered in similarly brutal ways. I witnessed all these atrocities and murders committed in the camp myself when I arrived there. This happened under the following circumstances. In March 1943, the Germans conducted several roundups and rounded up all the Jews living in the vicinity of the camp—women and children. They took me along with two children: my daughter Zosya, 13, and my son Abram, 8. All the women and children were placed in a separate barracks, separate from the men. There were 35 of us in the barracks. Upon arrival at the camp, we were forced to wash the laundry of the camp staff. The work was very hard, and the food was very poor. They gave us only 200 grams of bread a day, bad coffee in the morning, and beetroot or rutabaga soup in the afternoon. Cooked earthworms and other garbage were often found in the soup. Being near the men's work, I often saw prisoners being beaten with sticks, shovels, and other blunt objects. The usual method of execution with a hammer was to force the prisoner to lower his head, and when he did, they struck him on the back of the head with the hammer, which resulted in death. Sometimes they struck several times before finally killing the victim. When the Russian troops successfully advanced, we women and children were transferred to the men's camp for fear of escape, who were under stricter guard than the women. And here I saw the horrific extermination of the Jews more closely.

All the male prisoners were extremely emaciated and weak; the work was extremely hard: they dug the earth, sawed timber, and uprooted stumps. Food was limited to water in the morning and evening, and for lunch, soup made from beets or unpeeled potatoes, which contained a lot of sand and various debris. Guards walked everywhere with sticks and whips in their hands, beating every prisoner they encountered. Due to the backbreaking labor and terrible food, people quickly weakened and were unable to work, and such prisoners were killed with sticks, hammers, etc. Up to 10-12 people were killed in this way daily. I remained in the Treblinka labor camp until July 23, 1944. When the Red Army began to approach Treblinka, the Germans decided to exterminate all the Jews – men, women and children – who were in the labor camp, for which purpose on the morning of July 23, 1944, they herded us all together, about 570 people in total – men, women and children, then ordered everyone to lie down on the ground. After this, the prisoners were taken in groups of 20 to 30 to the forest pits, where they were killed and the bodies thrown into the pits. I and my children were in the last group of 32, and my husband was also in this group. We had to lie on the ground until evening, when our turn came. We were ordered to rise from the ground and put our hands on our heads, and the men were ordered to pull their trousers down to their knees. This was done to make escape more difficult if anyone tried. Thus, we were led to a huge pit, almost filled to the brim with the corpses of those killed before us. As we were led to the pit, the guards accompanying us brutally beat the men with rifle butts, sticks, and feet. To prevent my husband from running, a guard shot him in the head with a rifle butt and bruised his side. As we were being led away, I said to my husband, "Let's run. It's better to be shot in the back than to watch them shoot." My husband, badly beaten, couldn't run, so I said, "Run alone with the children." When we were brought to the pit and the Germans opened fire on us, a loud scream arose from the women and children, who were running from side to side, seeking safety. I took advantage of this, grabbed my children by the hands—a 13-year-old daughter and an 8-year-old son—and ran off into the woods. The children didn't want to run and, shouting, "We're going to daddy," broke free and ran back. I, however, continued running into the woods, as it was already dark. The Germans didn't run into the woods, but opened fire on me and wounded me in the right side. I hid in the forest for one night, and then went to the village of Maleshev, where I hid with a peasant for seven days until my wound healed, and then went to the village of Olekhnya, where I hid with an acquaintance until the arrival of the Red Army. What happened to my husband and children, I don’t know anything. I assume they were killed.

Question: Was there any other camp in Treblinka besides the work camp?

Answer: Two kilometers from the labor camp there was another camp, a "death camp," as it was called, but I don't know what it was like, since I wasn't anywhere near it and no one was allowed there. From what the guards told me, many Jews were brought to that camp and burned in special ovens. The screams of people from the "death camp" could be heard in our camp day and night.

From about August 1942, large fires burned in the "death camp" every day, day and night. The flames were visible from far away, columns of black smoke rose above the camp, and the smell of burnt flesh made it difficult to breathe. From the guards' conversations, we knew that they were burning the corpses of murdered people—Jews. This burning continued for over a year. I know nothing else about this camp.

I can't show anything else; the report has been written down and translated correctly from my words and read to me [signature/].

Translated from Polish to Russian [signature/]

Interrogated by:

Military Investigator

Guards Senior Lieutenant of Justice [signature/]

= Tanhun Grinberg. Treblinka death camp. Błonie. September 21, 1944 =

''' Interrogation protocol of Tanhum Grinberg on the functioning of the Treblinka death camp and the preparation of the uprising on August 2, 1943 [Błonie town] September 21, 1944. GARF 7445-2-134 pp. 63-71. '''

On September 21, 1944, the military investigator of the military prosecutor's office of the 65th Army, Guards Senior Lieutenant of Justice Malov, in compliance with Articles 162-168 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the RSFSR, interrogated as a witness:
# Last name, first name, patronymic: Grinberg Tanhum Haskelevich
# Year of birth: 1909
# Place of birth: Błonie, Błonski County, Warsaw Voivodeship
# Nationality: Jewish
# Social status: craftsman, shoemaker
# Education: 7th grade
# Place of residence: Błonie, Błonski Powiat

The interrogation was conducted through a Hebrew-Polish interpreter. The interpreter was Wolf Szejnberg, a resident of Warsaw.

I have been warned of liability for false translation under Article 25 of the Criminal Code. /signature/.

I have been warned of liability for giving false testimony under Article 25 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR. /signature/.

Until February 1941, I lived in the town of Błonie. In early 1941, the Germans began deporting all the Jews to Warsaw, where a special section of Warsaw was set aside for them, fenced off and isolated from the rest of the city. On February 7, 1941, I, along with other Jews from Błonie, was brought to Warsaw, where I was settled in the area set aside for Jews, which was called the "ghetto." Living conditions in this "ghetto" were terrible: they forced people to work very hard, and gave them nothing to eat. For example, for a whole day of work at the factory of the German Schultz, they gave only 50 grams of bread. The factory made shoes and clothing for the troops. There was a terrible famine among the Jews, from which dozens of people died daily, and every day, on my way to work, I saw many corpses of Jews who had died of starvation near houses. During the day, the corpses were removed. And this happened every day. In total, over 600,000 Jews from various parts of Poland lived in the Warsaw ghetto. At the end of July 1942, we were told that all Jews would be resettled to Ukraine, where they would have work and live well. And after that, Jews began to be deported from Warsaw every day. They deported 10,000-15,000, and sometimes even 20,000 people daily. On August 4, 1942, German soldiers cordoned off the neighborhood where I lived, and we were all told that today we would be taken to Ukraine, and were told to take with us the necessary things, but not more than 25 kg in weight. After that, all the men, women, and children were led to the station, where they began to load us into train cars. Our train consisted of about 40 train cars, each crammed with up to 170 men, women, and children. Given the sheer number of people, it was impossible to even sit down. People were suffocating from the lack of air and the stifling heat. We left Warsaw in the evening and traveled all night, arriving at Treblinka station in the morning. No one was allowed to leave the train cars during the journey. No one was given anything to drink, and when people asked for water, the guards accompanying the train demanded valuables. People would give up everything they had to get a sip of water, handing over money, gold, and other valuables that the guards took, but they were not given any water in return. We arrived in Treblinka on the morning of August 5, 1942. When the train entered the area surrounded by barbed wire up to 3 meters high, the train doors opened and we were ordered out. We were given only five minutes to unload. As soon as we exited the train, the guards standing near the cars began beating everyone with whips. When all the cars were unloaded, one German ordered all the men to move to the right onto the platform, and the women and children to the left, toward the barracks. Guards, or "wachmans," stood around us. After this, they ordered all the artisans and specialists to raise their hands. I, as a shoemaker, also raised my hand. And then, 204 of us out of the 6,000 people who arrived on this train, were taken aside and given some of the food confiscated from the arriving people to eat. The rest of the people were ordered to undress, told they were now going to the bathhouse. They piled all their belongings in one pile, and asked to deposit money and valuables in the cash register "for safekeeping." After this, everyone was herded toward a building they called the bathhouse. As I later learned, this was the house where all the new arrivals were gassed. When the new arrivals were herded into the "bathhouse," 204 of us were led to another part of the camp, from where the "bathhouse" was invisible, as it was surrounded by barbed wire and camouflaged by tree branches. The only sounds we could hear were the screams and cries of women and children, whom the guards were beating along the way. We, the workers, were housed in a barracks with nothing but three-tiered bunks, and we had to sleep on bare boards. The next day at 5 a.m., we were awakened and put to work sorting the belongings confiscated from the new arrivals. Between 400 and 600 of us worked on this job, depending on the amount of supplies received. The daily routine for the work crew was as follows: we rose at 6:00 AM, weren't allowed to wash, and were herded into the kitchen, where we were given one liter of coffee without bread. The coffee was simply colored dirty water, then we were marched to work. At 12:00 PM, there was a lunch break, during which we were given a liter of soup made from dirty, unpeeled potatoes. Rarely, we were given the meat of dead horses, which peasants from surrounding villages had taken out to the fields. These horses were then picked up, already decomposing, and brought back to the camp, where they were fed to us. They didn't give us bread for lunch either, as we only got bread for dinner. Our job was sorting and packing things. The work was very hard, as trains with people arrived frequently and there was a huge amount of stuff. We were guarded by Ukrainian guards, who stood around us at a distance of about five meters from each other. Each guard had a rifle and a whip. The treatment of the workers was brutal. They beat them without provocation; for example, if a person got tired during work and straightened his back, the guards would immediately beat him with whips, beat him until he lost consciousness, and very often beat him to death. I remember an incident when a Jewish man joined our team, arriving with his wife on the train. When he refused to work after learning that his wife would be killed, they didn't kill him right away, but instead beat him with shovels for two days, intermittently, until he was reduced to a shapeless mass. All this was done in front of the workers.

Another time, a Jew arrived at the camp with his wife and children. The wife and children were sent to the "bathhouse" (a gas chamber), and the Jew was sent to our work detachment. When this Jew learned what a "bathhouse" was and that his family had been murdered, he somehow stabbed one of the guards with a knife he had hidden on his person. For this, he was also beaten for two days until he died. Simultaneously, for the Jew's murder of the guard, 150 Jews were selected from the work detachment and immediately killed in the most brutal manner: whipped, beaten to death with shovels, and slaughtered with blows to the head and other parts of the body. Then, in May 1943, [while] throwing bad things into the pit, [illegible] gold was thrown in there, which the guards noticed, so they gathered all the workers in the square, including two Jews who were carrying things to the pit, brought them to the center and began to beat them with whips and shovels, and then hung them by their feet on poles specially dug into the square for this purpose. They hung like that for a long time, and then the SS-man Mitte shot them.<ref name="ftn19">Mitte August-Wilhelm (1908-1987) was an SS Unterscharführer. In 1940, he worked within the "T-4" program, and from the end of June 1942, in Treblinka.</ref> Mitte was known for his particular cruelty and hanged many people. I myself was whipped about 20 times and each time I received 25 lashes. Why they beat me, I don’t even know. Several times they beat me because, while working, in a half-bent position all day, I got tired and straightened my back for a second. Due to the backbreaking workload and poor nutrition, the workers quickly became exhausted. As soon as a supervisor saw a worker performing poorly or simply disliking him, such prisoners were sent to the "infirmary," where they were given no assistance and were immediately killed. This was most often the work of the SS officer Mitte. Up to 100-150 people were killed in this manner daily, thus the work crew was replenished daily by new arrivals. I spent five months on the team sorting the belongings of the exterminated Jews, and then, as a shoemaker, I was transferred to the shoe shop, which was located in the same barracks where the work crew lived.

In the shoemaker's workshop, we made shoes for the German army. The material we used was shoes confiscated from Jews, Poles, Czechs, Roma, and others exterminated in the camp. There were 24 shoemakers working in the workshop, and we made up to 15 pairs of shoes a day. I worked as a shoemaker until August 1943, that is, until the Jewish uprising. As a result of the uprising, many, including myself, fled the camp.

Next, I want to talk about the preparation and execution of the uprising in the "death camp," or Camp No. 2.

While in the camp, despite the strict security and the near impossibility of escape, many considered fleeing the camp and would rather be killed than endure terrible hardships and expect a painful death any day. Gradually, a group of six or seven people formed in the camp who decided to develop an escape plan. This group included the Jews Kurland<ref name="ftn20">Kurland Zeev was approximately 50 years old and served as a kapo of a work team in the "infirmary"; he was one of the key figures in the underground resistance. He was reportedly killed on August 2, 1943.</ref> and Raizman, who now lives in the city of Węgrów, the Jews Mardins, Dr. Rybak,<ref name="ftn21">Dr. Rybak is a Jew from Warsaw who studied at Prague University for a time.</ref> and Dr. Raizman.<ref name="ftn22">Dr. Raizman was from Tomaszów Mazowiecki and worked as a doctor in the "lower camp".</ref> I don't know the names of the others. Engineer Galewski was also an organizer. The whereabouts of the others, besides Raizman, I don't know. These people prepared the escape plan. Almost all the camp workers knew about the uprising. To carry out the escape, weapons were needed. To this end, while sorting things, we used various means to pass hidden money and valuables to the camp doctor, the renowned Warsaw professor Horonzhinsky, who used them to buy and give us eight pistols. In May 1943, SS men discovered money on Khoronzhinsky and began to question him about where he got it. Since Khoronzhinsky did not say this and did not reveal the conspiracy, the SS killed him. Preparations for the uprising lasted about four months. One of the prisoners had access to the gun shop, found the key, and on August 2nd, the day the uprising was scheduled, opened the shop and we took about 80 grenades, most without fuses, and several submachine guns. The uprising began at 3:30 PM on the signal—a gunshot. Since [the] tasks had been assigned in advance, the camp guards were quickly disarmed. At the moment of the signal, a grenade was thrown into the gasoline tanks, which started a large fire and set the barracks ablaze, increasing the panic even more. Taking advantage of this, some 80 people, some of whom escaped from the camp through gates and passages cut in the barbed wire fences, were able to escape. Gendarmes from neighboring villages immediately launched a roundup, and many of the escapees were caught and killed. Many others, unable to escape, were murdered in the camp. After the prisoners' escape from the "death camp," the Germans,<ref name="ftn23">The word "victims" is written next, and then immediately crossed out.</ref> fearing publicity and exposure of the unprecedented crimes they had committed in the camp, began liquidating the "death camp." No more trains arrived at the camp, but for about a month, an oven burned in the camp, where the remaining corpses were incinerated. Afterward, all the ashes were mixed with the earth, and the camp grounds were then sown with lupine and other crops. All the ovens and barracks, with the exception of one, were completely destroyed, so it is now difficult to recognize that this site once housed a gigantic extermination factory where several million people, mostly Jews, were murdered.

Question: Tell us what you know about the mass extermination of people at the Treblinka "death camp"?

Answer: From August 5, 1942, when I arrived at the "death camp," until August 1944, I witnessed two to four trains of up to 70-80 cars, and sometimes even more, arriving at the camp daily.<ref name="ftn24">This sentence is highlighted on the left margin with a vertical pencil line.</ref> The trains were primarily carrying Jews from Poland, as well as from other German-occupied countries: France, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and others. Each train contained approximately 170 men, women, and children. The arriving train entered the "death camp" grounds, where everyone was ordered to quickly exit the cars. Since the entire train could not fit into the camp, about 20 cars would enter, from which people were unloaded, and then the train would continue on, unloading people from the next 20 cars. And when the entire train was unloaded, the carriages were swept, and the empty train left the camp grounds.

The guards who escorted the train to the camp were not allowed onto the camp grounds, as everything that happened in the death camp was kept strictly secret, and no one who entered the camp ever left. During unloading, the entire train was surrounded by guards to prevent escape. When unloading was complete, the command was given: men to the right, into the square, and women with children to the left, into the barracks. After this, everyone was ordered to strip naked, saying they were going to the bathhouse. After this, all the laundry was thrown into a pile. In the barracks where the women undressed, there were several Jewish hairdressers who cut the women's hair, which was then sent to Germany for some unknown purpose. Before this, everyone was told to take all their money and valuables with them and deposit them in the cash register "for safekeeping." People, unaware of what awaited them, believed it, as they were told they were being taken to Ukraine and handed over valuables. While the SS men were undressing, Unterscharführer Sukhomel hurried them, saying that the water would cool down in the bathhouse, but also that soap and towels would be provided there. Once the men had undressed, a group of five to six thousand was herded from the changing rooms down the corridor to the "bathhouse." While the guards were urging the men on, they beat them with whips, but when they were herded into the "bathhouse," the real atrocities began. Along the wire-fenced corridor leading to the bathhouse, Ukrainian guards stood with whips in hand, mercilessly beating women, children, and men passing by. At that moment, the incessant screams and cries of women and children echoed throughout the camp. Driven mad by fear and pain, they ran to the "bathhouse," unaware of what awaited them there. The sick and elderly, unable to move, were carried on stretchers to the "hospital," which consisted of a small building surrounded by barbed wire and camouflaged so that the interior could not be seen from the outside. A sign above the entrance read "Hospital." In the "hospital" were an SS soldier and a Czech named Bakhmanov,<ref name="ftn25">It's possible this name is a translator's error.</ref> who was dressed in a robe and had a red cross on his armband. Near the building was a large pit. When a patient was brought to the "hospital," they would sit him on a chair near the pit, and SS men or Bakhmanov would shoot him in the back of the head from behind, after which the body would be thrown into the pit. I witnessed all of this myself when I was brought to the death camp. Furthermore, while later working sorting things, I had to visit the "locker room" and the "hospital" several times, so I witnessed all of this. I didn't see the extermination of people in the "bathhouse" gas chamber, but from the accounts of a Jew named Abram Golberg, who worked carrying corpses from the "bathhouse" to the pits and ovens, and from the accounts of one guard who released gas into the "bathhouse," a man named Ivan the Ukrainian, I know that the bathhouse was a building with a corridor running down the middle, with rooms on either side of the corridor, each measuring approximately 5 x 5 x 2.5 meters, with cement walls and floors. I don't know how many cells there were, but the entire building was about 20-25 meters long. Each cell had a metal spout in the ceiling, reminiscent of a shower. The floors of the cells were doused with water, so that those trapped there would have the impression they were actually in a bathhouse.

Each cell had a large door facing the outside of the building. All doors were hermetically sealed and locked from the outside. Each cell could accommodate approximately 450 people. Between 5,000 and 6,000 people were forced into the "bathhouse" at a time, so cramped that they couldn't move a muscle, arm or leg and suffocated from the cramped conditions. Afterward, all the doors were locked, and Guard Ivan would start a motor parked outside a few meters from the bathhouse. A pipe ran from the motor to the bathhouse and then spread throughout all the cells. The motor resembled a tractor. I don't know how the suffocation occurred, but the Jew Golberg said that when the motor was turned on, it first pumped the air out of the cells, and then released exhaust gases from the motor into the cells. How this all happened, I don't know. The motor ran for 15-20 minutes, and that was enough to kill everyone in the cells. After this, all the outer doors were opened, and the corpses were dragged outside, where they were laid face up on the ground before being thrown into the pits. Several Jews, holding pliers, walked around, looking for gold teeth, and then extracting them. After all this, the corpses were thrown into the pits, and later directly into the ovens. Up to 15,000 to 18,000 people were killed in this way daily. There were cases when up to 22,000 people were killed in a single day. According to rough estimates, at least 3.5 million people were strangled during the existence of the "death camp." This can be judged by the amount of clothing confiscated from the prisoners. All clothing was sorted and packed into bales: coats of 10, jackets of 10, trousers of 25. All this was loaded onto train cars. A train car held 4,500 coats, 10,000 trousers, 45,000 pairs of shoes, and almost every week 60 to 120 train cars loaded with things were sent to Germany.<ref name="ftn26">The end of the sentence is marked on the left margin with a vertical red pencil line.</ref> When I arrived at the camp, there were only three asphyxiation chambers. Then, at the end of 1942, they began to build new ones, but I don’t know how many there were in total. From the beginning of the camp’s operation, that is, from July 1942, the bodies of people strangled in gas chambers were carried to enormous pits, where they were placed by the tens of thousands and covered with earth. At the end of 1942, dredging machines were brought to the camp, which dug up to 8 enormous pits measuring 50x50 meters and 8 meters deep. Concrete pillars were dug into the bottom of the pits, on which rail gratings were laid. Then they dug up the old graves and, using the same excavating machines, began to drag the bodies into these pits, which could hold up to 20,000 corpses each. Once the pits were filled to the brim, they doused the corpses with flammable material and set them alight. This was how the corpses were destroyed. This burning of the corpses lasted for many months. During this time, columns of black smoke rose above the camp, the fires were visible for tens of kilometers, and the unbearable smell of burning flesh permeated the surrounding area. At this time, and subsequently, the corpses of the strangled people were no longer buried but thrown directly into the ovens and burned. At first, fuel was used for kindling, but then an SS man who arrived from Lublin reported that women burned very well. From then on, the ovens were heated with the corpses of women, first cutting the corpses into four pieces. The legs burned especially well.

Question: What nationalities were the people primarily exterminated in the "death camp"?

Answer: The Treblinka death camp primarily exterminated Jews, who were brought there from all over Poland and other German-occupied countries: France, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Germany itself. Several trains of Roma were brought, and shortly before the "death camp" was destroyed, two trains of approximately 60 train cars of Poles were brought in, who were also exterminated.<ref name="ftn27">The part of the sentence that refers to the killing of Poles is highlighted on the left with a vertical line (red pencil).</ref> But, as I already said, the camp's primary extermination population was the Jewish population.

Question: What was the ashes from the burning of corpses used for?

Answer: The ashes remained in the ovens, and after a certain period of time, a layer of sand was poured over them, and then the ovens were relit. Very little ash was produced after the burning of the corpses.

Question: What were the roads in the camp and the highway covered with?

Answer: The roads in the camp and the highway were covered with coke and slag, brought in specifically for this purpose. Ashes from corpses were not sprinkled on the roads.<ref name="ftn28">According to the testimonies of other witnesses, some of the ashes from the camp were removed and scattered outside the camp.</ref>

Question: Who do you know of those who committed murder in the camp?

Answer:
# The camp commandant, Hauptsturmführer Himala, was a German from Poznan, about 45 years old, of average height, healthy, blond, and rarely visited the camp, only to check on the situation.
# Untersturmführer Franz – deputy commander of the "death camp," a German, worked as a cook before the war, tall, with dark hair and black eyes. He was known for his exceptional cruelty in his treatment of prisoners. He personally participated in beatings and executions. He always carried a rifle and practiced his marksmanship by shooting at people. He personally punished people with whips, always carrying a large dog, pointing it at people, and amused himself by watching the dog tear out chunks of flesh.
# Untersturmführer Mitte – German, 25 years old, of average height, walked with his head to one side, and had one gold tooth in his upper jaw on the right side. He was also known for his exceptional cruelty. He personally hanged dozens and shot hundreds of people from the labor detachment.
# Unterscharführer Sepp – a German, a former criminal killer, 35 years old, tall, healthy, chubby, black. His cruelty went so far as to take two-month-old children, step on one leg, and, pulling the other, tear the children in half.
# Unterscharführer Mille<ref name="ftn29">This probably refers to Max Möller.</ref> – a German from America, did not commit murders himself, but rather was a denunciator. It was on his denunciation that the famous Warsaw doctor, Professor Choronzhinsky, and many other Jews were killed.
# Oberscharführer Ludwig<ref name="ftn30">Ludwig Karl Emil (1906 – after 1945) was an SS Scharführer. He was formerly Martin Bormann's driver, and later worked in the same capacity in the "T-4" program. In April 1942, he was transferred to Sobibor (where he worked in the extermination zone), and in January 1943, to Treblinka.</ref> – a German, engaged in the beating of Jews and the rape of women.
# Unterscharführer Paul<ref name="ftn31">This likely refers to Paul Post (1904–1984), who served in the Dresden police before the war, worked in the "T-4" program in 1940, and was transferred to Sobibor in 1942 and to Treblinka in May 1943.</ref> – a German, 27 years old, short, black, with a mustache, of strong build. Like Franz, he was distinguished by exceptional cruelty, personally beating and shooting Jews.
# Unterscharführer Sukhomil – a German, 32 years old, blond, of medium height, supervised the unloading of train cars and beat people while herding them into the "bathhouse."
# Unterscharführer Bals – a German, thin, short, with a fair complexion, surpassed Franz in his cruelty. As soon as a train arrived, he was the first to approach it and begin beating them with a whip, escorting them all the way to the gas chamber. He beat dozens of people to death.
# Wachmann Widzemann – a Russian German, tall, fair-haired, demonstrated exceptional cruelty, was the senior guard of the "death camp," beating not only Jews but also guards, and brutally beating Jews with whips.
# Tsugvakhman Rogoza, Ukrainian, 22-23 years old, blond, healthy, demonstrated exceptional cruelty when beating Jews, herding them into the gas chamber. He beat dozens of people to death.
# Tsugvakhman Loch, German from Russia, 30 years old, short, blond. He stationed guards and personally beat Jews with whips.
# Tsugvakhman Videnko, Ukrainian, 25 years old.

All of these individuals were exceptionally cruel. They beat, shot, hanged, raped women, and took an active part in the extermination of Jews.

I would like to add that construction of the death camp began in March 1942; it lasted four months, and in July 1942, the first trainload of Jews from Warsaw arrived. The camp was built according to the designs of SS architect Schulte.

I can't show you anything else. The report has been written down and translated correctly from my words and read to me: /signature/.

Translated from Hebrew to Russian: /signature/

Interrogated by: Military Investigator, Guard Senior Lieutenant of Justice /signature/

= Genia Marciniakówna. Treblinka death camp. Kosów Lacki. September 21, 1944 =

''' Interrogation protocol of Genia Marciniakówna regarding the construction and operation of the Treblinka death camp. Village of Kosów Lacki, September 21, 1944. GARF 7445-2-134 pp. 41-49. '''

Kosów, September 21, 1944.

Senior Lieutenant of Justice Yurovsky, military investigator of the 65th Army's Military Prosecutor's Office, interrogated the following as a witness, who testified:

Marciniakówna Genia, born in 1925, native of Rakoświca, Wołycin County, Poznań Voivodeship, Polish, resident of the Grabnia prison colony in Kosów.

Having been warned of liability for retracting testimony and for giving false testimony, she stated the following:

Question: How did you come to work at the Treblinka camp?<ref name="ftn32">Written as “Tremblinka” in the text.</ref>

Answer: In January 1942, due to the illness of my friend Roza Shlaynova, who worked as a cleaner in the gendarmerie, I temporarily took her place and worked there for two months—until she recovered. Around March, I left this job. According to the procedure in force at the time, employers were required to notify the labor exchange when laying off an employee. This was the case with me. The gendarmerie duly notified the labor exchange of my dismissal, which registered me as unemployed. In late May 1942, my friend Zosya Mitovskaya invited me to the house of my friend Kalyata.

When I entered Kalyata's apartment, Mitovskaya, Kalyata, and an SS Obersturmführer, a German named Lampert and first name Erwin, were already there.

Zosya Mitovskaya, knowing I was unemployed, offered, in Lampert's presence, to go with her to work in Treblinka.

Lambert intervened in our conversation. He told me he needed two women to work as cooks at Treblinka. The salary, we learned from him, was 250 zlotys per month. The only thing he told us was that we'd have to travel to Treblinka station and the salary was 350 zlotys per month. Not a word was said about the camp. Mitovskaya and I agreed.

I must admit quite frankly that I was not particularly picky in choosing a place of work for the simple reason that I needed to find a job close to Kosów as quickly as possible, since otherwise I would undoubtedly have been sent to Germany. Moreover, the labor exchange had once intended to send me to Germany, but this time I managed to avoid this fate. The day after my first meeting with Lambert, he arrived by car in Kosów and took me to Treblinka.<ref name="ftn33">Erwin Hermann Lambert (7 December 1909 – 15 October 1976).</ref> This was May 28, 1942. We drove to the forest 3 kilometers from the village of Wólka Okrąglik. At that time, there was one small barracks in the forest. A second, much larger one, was being built. By the time of my arrival, approximately 50 Poles and 150 Jews were busy building the barracks and cutting down trees. On the third day, another 150 Jews were brought from Węgrów. And then the hasty construction of a barbed wire fence began. Only then did I learn that I was on camp grounds. It's worth noting that the Germans didn't say anything about it. I learned about the camp's establishment from a Jew, who told me that people would be brought there for various types of labor.

Camp No. 2 subsequently became a kind of death factory.

Approximately two or three kilometers away from this camp was Camp No. 1, where primarily the Polish population was transported. I can't say anything at all about that camp because I didn't have access to it.

One small barrack, as I've already shown, contained a kitchen and dining room for the Germans, the camp office, and two living rooms. The commandant lived in one, and Mitovskaya and I in the other. The barrack also had an annex where five Germans from the camp staff lived. The remaining Germans, about 25 in total, stayed on the camp grounds during the day and went to Camp No. 1 to sleep in the evening. That's how it was for the first week of my stay in the camp. Then they built two more large barracks and a barn with a sand floor. The Germans lived in one barrack, and the Ukrainian guards in the other. All the Jewish workers slept in the barn, right on the sand, because there was practically no floor. Fifty Polish workers were allowed to go home at night. All of them were residents of nearby villages. The camp's construction lasted two months. Most of the workers were Jews. In addition to the three hundred Jews I mentioned earlier, up to three hundred Jews from Warsaw and Węgrów were brought to the camp by car during these two months. All of them were used for various construction jobs in the camp. For the first two months of the construction period, two Germans dressed in civilian clothes oversaw the overall construction. Then, after a month, they left, and command of the camp's construction passed to Obersturmführer Erwin Lampert.

The camp was built in the following order. After the first, so to speak, phase of the camp was completed—the barracks for the dining hall and office, the barracks for the Germans, the barracks for the Ukrainian guards, the food warehouse, and the barn for the Jewish workers—this entire section of the camp was hastily surrounded by a barbed wire fence up to three meters high. Moreover, the bare wire mesh was heavily interwoven with pine branches. Under these conditions, the fence appeared to be a continuous canopy of vegetation. So from a distance, it was impossible to even see the wire itself. Moreover, the spruce branches intertwined so densely that absolutely nothing could be seen on the other side of the fence. Once, before the fence was finally erected, I witnessed the construction of several barracks in another part of the camp, where the extermination of a huge Jewish population would later take place. I remember one of the Poles working on the camp's construction telling me that a large stone house was being built in the camp, its rooms upholstered in red cloth. He didn't tell me anything about the building's purpose. A railway line had been built to the camp. It ran behind the fence along the first part of the camp, where the camp staff were housed, and entered the other, main part of the camp grounds. I know no other details about the structures erected within the camp. Everything that was being built there, everything that happened—the Germans and the Ukrainian guards kept all of this a closely guarded secret from us. I was never able to visit that section of the camp where large numbers of people were later sent.

Now about the regimen of the Jewish construction workers during the camp's construction.

All of them, up to 300 of them, slept in barracks on the bare ground and rose for work at 5:00 a.m. Work continued until 12:00 p.m., then, after a half-hour break, until 6:00 or 7:00 p.m.

For the entire day of grueling labor, they received only one cup of coffee without milk each morning, soup (unpeeled potatoes boiled in water) for lunch, and whatever was left over from dinner in the evening. They received up to 200 grams of bread per day. Starving after the grueling, heavy labor, the men would violently push each other aside and, like madmen, rush into the dining room, eager for a better portion. Right there, the commandant and other Germans who had arrived by this time would beat the Jewish workers with whatever they could lay their hands on. I recall one incident when the commandant, in an attempt to "restore order," as they always explained their abuses, grabbed a large board lying near the kitchen and beat the Jews crowding around it with such force that the board shattered into pieces.

A Jew from Węgrów—I don't know his last name—a boy of about 17, dark-haired and clearly showing signs of exhaustion, couldn't bear the beating and fell unconscious. The commandant—I don't remember his last name because he was only in the camp for two construction months, June and July—stood by his side until he regained consciousness.<ref name="ftn34">Possibly referring to Richard Thomalla.</ref> And in front of everyone, as a form of "punishment," he ordered the exhausted young man to climb down a well to retrieve a bucket someone had lowered into it. The young man descended and fell to his death. With difficulty, they pulled him out, and as a "guilty" worker, by order of the commandant, he was taken to the forest and shot. Backbreaking labor, hunger, beatings, the most brutal insults, and the constant execution of those emaciated and unfit for labor—such was the regime, such was the working environment for Jewish workers during the camp's construction. The Germans insulted the national feelings of the Jews at every step they could.

They beat them with clubs for no apparent reason. They used any hard object, usually pine sticks, as clubs. Leather whips were widely used. A whip was an indispensable attribute of every German. The Germans shot all those who lost their last strength in the camp and were unable to continue working. At the end of June 1942, I personally witnessed the Germans taking about 100 Jews who had become incapacitated into the forest for execution. This group of Jews was escorted from the camp by up to 20 Germans and Ukrainian guards. All of them were armed with carbines. Each Jew carried a shovel. About an hour later, we heard three volleys of gunfire from the forest. An hour later, the Germans and Ukrainians returned from the forest. They were carrying shovels. Not a single Jew returned.

By the end of July, it was clear that construction of the main camp section was complete. The entire camp was surrounded by a barbed wire fence woven with pine branches.

A railway line was built right into the camp grounds. With the completion of the camp's construction, a change of commandant took place: Dr. Franz Ebert was appointed camp commandant. Along with him came Staff Sergeant Stady, deputy commandant; Untersturmführer Mecink, senior in the office; and Untersturmführer Schmidt, a driver. A little later, about a month later, Franz Kurt arrived as assistant camp commander, or, what was the same thing, commandant; Oberscharführer Sepp Post; and Untersturmführer August Mintzberger. From the end of July, a continuous stream of trains carrying the Jewish population began to arrive at the camp. The trains traveled along the fence near the section of the camp where the service personnel were housed and then entered the main camp grounds. I didn't see what was there. However, it was clearly visible how, almost every hour, a train of 10 to 15 cars, completely packed with Jews, approached the camp. The cars were closed. Small windows were left for air, and from behind the iron bars, distraught faces peered out.

Terrible, incessant screams emanated from the train cars. From the gestures of these people, it was clear they were asking what kind of death awaited them: firing squad or hanging.

A Jewish woman from Warsaw named Chesia later told me that the train from Warsaw to the camp took three days. Each car held about 250 people.<ref name="ftn35">This sentence is highlighted on the left margin with a vertical red pencil line.</ref> There was no room to lie down, not even sit down. They weren't given any water for three days. They relieved themselves there, in the car. Children died. One dead child had to be thrown out of the moving car with special permission from the Germans. Chesia, driven by the lack of water, became so frantic that she gnawed through a blood vessel and drank her own blood. As I've already shown, for the first month, trains of 10-15 cars moved in an endless stream, replacing each other every hour. Subsequently, trains arrived regularly, but much less frequently—two or three per day.

The camp was where the Jewish population was transported from various countries of occupied Europe. I personally encountered Jews from Germany proper, as well as from Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Austria, Russia, Greece, and Belgium. It's important to note that a significant number of Jewish intellectuals were brought to the camp. For example, the famous Polish composer Gold Fock was held in the camp. I personally, quite by chance, had the opportunity to speak with a professor from Vienna. From conversations with the Jews themselves, I learned that some of them were brought from Bulgaria, some from Belgium, and some from Russia—the part of Russia that was then occupied. Some time after the camp began operating, its purpose as a kind of factory for the mass extermination of the Jewish population of all of occupied Europe became clear to me. Every day, during my entire year there, two, three, or four trains with train cars crammed with Jews arrived at the camp. Entire families were brought in. Among them were men and women, children and the elderly. No one left the camp. The smell of corpses and burning human flesh hung over the camp constantly. Clouds of smoke filled the sky almost daily. There was almost no fresh air in the camp area. The stench of corpses poisoned the air day and night. It was clear to everyone that people were being burned on these pyres. I wasn't in the main camp area, where this mass extermination of hundreds of thousands of people took place. But from the stories of individual Jews who were temporarily assigned to various jobs, I learned of this horrific, savage picture of human extermination. Two girls from Warsaw named Pola and Bronya told me the following: as soon as the train stopped at the camp grounds, the cars were immediately opened and everyone was asked to form a line. They were told that all personal belongings, including money and gold, were to be handed over for safekeeping. They were to keep one towel and prepare for the bathhouse. All the Jews complied with this order and formed a long line for the bathhouse. The Germans selected some young, attractive girls from this line and took them to the part of the camp where the camp staff offices were located. They were among these "chosen ones." When they asked a German why their mother hadn't been taken with them, he replied that she would return after the bathhouse. The girls never saw their mother again. In December 1942, I fell ill and was absent from the camp for two months. When I returned, I was immediately struck by the significant expansion of the camp's territory.

Not to mention that each of the many thousands of people who arrived at the camp lost their lives within a certain, often insignificant, time. During the limited time they were able to survive, they were subjected to a whole system of the most savage abuses. This began with the Germans, upon the arrival of each group, stopping at nothing to rob the Jews, taking all their personal belongings, money, and gold jewelry under various pretexts. Then, those who were immediately sent into this diabolical death machine suffered the most exquisite abuses.

The latrine window in the part of the camp where I was located looked directly onto the part of the camp where the Jewish barracks were located. It was one day in the spring of 1943. I heard screams and groans coming from the latrine next to these barracks. Looking out the window, I saw this: Untersturmführer Post and two Ukrainians were beating a middle-aged Jew with sticks and whips. The man was lying on a wooden couch, screaming and groaning after each blow. Post and the Ukrainians were relentlessly and savagely beating him all over his body, his head, his face. Blood began to flow from his mouth, nose, and ears. This didn't stop the executioners. They beat him until he died.

Camp Commandant Dr. Ebert repeatedly beat Jews with a whip before my eyes. He often drank, and his favorite spectacle then was watching young Jewish women dance under force. He would then erupt into a terrifying laugh, shout insultingly at them, and fire aimlessly from his pistol. Deputy Commandant Stadi had his own methodical beating procedure, devised by himself. He would summon everyone who had "offended" in any way during the day and, along with other Germans, beat them with whips. Jews from the all-work detachment repeatedly told me about this. Franz Kurt arrived at the camp around September or October 1942. He always acted as a substitute for the commandant when he was away, despite not having an officer's rank. By the spring of 1943, he had risen to the rank of officer and in May was appointed commandant.<ref name="ftn36">In reality, he arrived at the camp in August 1942, and became the commandant in August 1943.</ref> Kurt was known for his ferocity. His room was in the same barracks where I lived. He often brought Jews to his room and beat them. He always loved to walk with his bulldog. This dog was specially trained: whenever he started beating a Jew, the dog would immediately pounce and bite. Groans and screams were often heard coming from Kurt's room. That's all I could tell you about them—the Germans who ran the camp. It must be kept in mind, however, that I had no access to the part of the camp where the Germans' main professional activity took place—the murder of thousands of people. All the Germans serving in the camp belonged to the SS. Representatives of the highest fascist command visited the camp on numerous occasions. In the summer of 1943, a general came, reportedly from Lublin. Someone came and went from Berlin every two weeks, each time taking a large iron box. It seems to me that the contents were nothing but gold.

On August 3, 1943, the Jews held in the camp revolted.<ref name="ftn37">The revolt is claimed to have happened on August 2.</ref> At 4:00 PM, while in the kitchen, I heard gunfire coming from the main camp area. The sporadic shooting grew louder. Confusion broke out in the camp. I ran out of the barracks with the Ukrainians and rushed for the exit, but the guards blocked my path. Before my eyes, some Jews still managed to escape. The Germans and the guards brutally shot all the Jews in the camp at the time. Those who were not fatally wounded were finished off by the guards with an axe blow to the head. Thus, from what I could see, at least five Jews were killed. The revolt was suppressed. Most of the Jews were shot. The rest were taken to the Lublin camp.<ref name="ftn38">Possibly refers to the Majdanek concentration camp. The official story is that, during the liquidation of Treblinka, Jews were transported to Sobibor.</ref> It should be noted that immediately after the revolt in August, I was dismissed from my job at the camp. The last batch of Jews was sent to Lublin in November. Therefore, I can’t say anything about what happened after I left the camp.

Question: What conversation did you have and what signature did you give when you began working at the camp?

Answer: In late June or early July 1942, that is, after a month spent in Treblinka Camp No. 2, I was summoned to the camp office by Unterscharführer Metzink. Commandant Dr. Ebert, Staff Sergeant Stady, Metzink, and Zosia Mitovskaya were in the office when I arrived. As soon as I entered, Mitovskaya called me in and told me I had to sign a secrecy agreement. I asked Mitovskaya to read me the printed text of the agreement. She spoke German fluently and read it to me. The literal content of the agreement obligated me to maintain the secrecy of everything I had seen or known about the camp. Standing there, Ebert, Metzink, and Stadi verbally repeated the warning about maintaining the secret and the risk of their lives if they disclosed it. I signed a written agreement.

I have nothing more to add. This is written down accurately from my words and was read to me [signature/].

Military investigator of the Military Prosecutor's Office of the 65th Army, Senior Lieutenant of Justice [signature/]

= Abram Goldfarb. Treblinka death camp. Kosów Lacki. September 21, 1944 =

''' Interrogation protocol of Abram Goldfarb, who worked on the team transporting corpses from the Treblinka gas chambers. Village of Kosów Lacki, September 21, 1944. GARF 7445-2-134 pp. 28-37. '''

The city of Kosów, September 21, 1944. Senior Lieutenant of Justice Yurovsky, military investigator of the 65th Army's Military Prosecutor's Office, interrogated the following witness, who testified:

Abram Isaakovich Goldfarb, born in 1909, native of Szczuczyn, Szczuczyn County, Białystok Voivodeship, resident of Szczuczyn, Jewish, shoemaker.

Having been warned of liability for retracting testimony and for giving false testimony, he stated the following:

My permanent place of residence was the city of Szczuczyn, Białystok Voivodeship.

On September 7, 1939, German troops occupied my village, and on September 9, I was sent to a prisoner-of-war camp—the village of Terpen, Belev district, East Prussia. I remained there until November 1940, when I was transferred to the Bela Podlaskie camp for civilian Jews.

I spent only two weeks in this camp and was released due to illness. Unable to reach my family, I remained in Mięziżec Podlaski until August 17, 1942.<ref name="ftn39">Misspelled in the text. Międzyrzec Podlaski is a town in modern-day Poland.</ref> On the night of August 17–18, I was awakened by the sound of random rifle and machine gun fire in the streets. This continued until the morning. I was completely unaware of what was happening in the city. Early in the morning, some boys ran from the yard and reported that the Germans were evicting the Jewish population from the city. Many different rumors were circulating: some said they would be taken to Ukraine, others – deep into Poland, and so on. At 7 a.m., a policeman, an ethnic Ukrainian, came to my apartment and ordered me to grab the necessary things and go to the city square.

By the time I arrived, about 18,000 Jews had already gathered in the square. The Germans selected 4,000 specialists from this mass and allowed them to remain in the city, while the rest of us were marched to the train station square. Many were missing when we boarded the train. In the city square, as well as along the way to the train station, the German gendarmes shot anyone for the slightest sign of fatigue or physical illness. Up to 300 people, mostly elderly, were executed in this way. On Lyublinskaya Street, we witnessed the Germans throw a small infant out of a second-story window. The German gendarmes opened fire on the parents who ran to the child. Until the very moment we boarded the train, the gendarmes—up to 400 of them, including Ukrainian police officers—beat the people marching in the column with whips for any, even the most trivial, provocation. On August 18th, a train of about 80 cars arrived. The cars were packed to capacity. Suffice it to say, there were 215 people in my car. Under these conditions, it was impossible to lie down, let alone even sit down. The doors were immediately locked from the outside as soon as we boarded the carriage. Air came in only through eight small windows, which were actually designed for birds. We left the town of Menzizhets at 11 a.m. on August 18th. We arrived at Treblinka<ref name="ftn40">Spelled “Tremblinka” in the text.</ref> station at 5 a.m. on August 19th. We were forced to stand around the entire time. Not only were we denied food and water, but any attempt to get water was also stopped by shooting on the spot, and everyone had to relieve themselves in the same carriage. There was such an incident in our carriage. At Małkinia station, a seven-year-old boy climbed out of a carriage window. He managed to get water once, but when he tried to get it again, a German gendarme shot him. This was not an isolated incident. Many corpses could be seen on the railway tracks.

To our endless questions about our fate, the Germans accompanying us told us they were taking us to Ukraine, where a completely separate city had been set aside for Jews. This is what they told us in Medzizhets, this is what they told us at Małkinia station. From Małkinia station, a separate railway line ran to the Treblinka camp. As we approached the camp, we noticed a wooden fence, 2-3 meters high. Three rows of wire were attached to the wooden fence, at a slight angle to the fence. The Germans' diabolical plan to exterminate Jews immediately began to manifest itself. From Małkinia station, our transport consisted of not 80 cars, but 20. The remaining 60 were temporarily abandoned at Małkinia station until the first 20 cars were unloaded. And when the doors of the cars were opened at the Treblinka camp station, it turned out that 50-100 people in nine of the cars had died en route. In the remaining 11 carriages, almost everyone died of suffocation.<ref name="ftn41">This and the previous sentences are marked on the left with a red pencil line.</ref> Many of the bodies, however, bore traces of gunshot wounds—the work of the gendarmes en route. In our carriage, for example, because it had eight windows (it was adapted for transporting birds), the mortality rate was relatively low—15 people, all from suffocation.

It's important to note that many of the corpses with gunshot wounds were particularly swollen and blackened in the areas where the wounds had originated. In one of the carriages, only one person remained alive—Leib Charny from Medzizhets. He was brought back to consciousness with difficulty. He recounted that after the gendarmerie fired on the carriage, not only those who had sustained any wounds died, but everyone else as well. He claimed that the poisonous gases in the bullets had this devastating effect. Once a bullet had struck a person, it caused swelling and blackening of the infected area.

Everyone was asked to go out onto the platform. Jews who had arrived before us were walking along it. There were also numerous corpses lying nearby. I'm at a loss to estimate their number, but I can say one thing: we were stunned by the whole scene.

The women, children, and elderly people were separated from us and taken away. We never saw them again. The younger men were added to a group of Jews working in the camp at the time of our arrival, and we were all given the task of dragging corpses from the train cars onto the platform. From there, they were loaded onto carts, which then took them to the field. At the time, an excavator was digging three enormous pits there. The Germans, observing our work, periodically fired at the workers from various directions, as if jokingly. After this horrific "amusement" of the Germans and Ukrainian guards, by evening only 40 of the 120 Jews working on the platform remained. The next day, we carried the corpses to the pits. Yakov Vernik,<ref name="ftn42">Misspelling of Jankiel Wiernik.</ref> later the author of the brochure "A Year in Treblinka," was also involved in this process of carrying corpses. The work of moving corpses from various locations to the pits continued for four days. After this work was completed, all the Jews held in the camp were gathered in the field at night for a roll call. This refers exclusively to men, as everyone else was taken to the bathhouse on the very first day and never returned. 980 people were gathered for [illegible]. Almost all were men. The exception were 25 young women selected by the Germans. From the total of 980, a group of 80 different specialists was selected, and then Scharführer Max Miller<ref name="ftn43">Possibly refers to Max Moeller, a German from Hamburg, who served in the "lower camp" and had the nickname "the American."</ref> asked everyone who spoke German. Forty responded. All of them were brought to the pits that same night and shot. The rest were given various tasks, including a significant group sorting through the personal belongings taken from the Jews who had arrived at the camp.

Max Miller, addressing the assembled Jews, constantly called on the latter to hand over all their personal belongings, money and gold for safekeeping under the pretext that they, the owners of these valuables, would have a rich future.<ref name="ftn44">The highlighted word is underlined with a blue pencil, and a cross is placed next to it with the same pencil.</ref>

A week after my arrival at the camp, I was assigned with 32 other prisoners to work on the construction of a building containing the cabins in which people were subsequently killed. By the time I arrived, the camp already had a building containing three cabins for killing people. The building was located in the forest, 200 meters from the Treblinka station platform. The approach to the building was protected by a barbed wire fence, into which pine branches were woven for camouflage. The building itself was an ordinary one-story brick structure with a metal roof. As you ascended the entrance staircase, you first entered a wooden annex, resembling a corridor. Both the entrance door to the building and the three iron doors leading from this annex to the three cells in the building were hermetically sealed. Each of the three cells had the following dimensions: length – 5, width – 4, height – 2 meters. The floor and walls were tiled, the ceiling was cement.

Each cell has a single hole in the ceiling, covered with mesh. A pipe with a distinctive bell-shaped mouth and a mesh bottom extends from the wall into the cell. The bell-shaped mouth is mounted almost against the wall. The wall at this point is heavily soiled with soot. Opposite the entrance door is a hermetically sealed exit door. All three doors in these cells open toward a concrete ramp installed right next to the building. This is a brief static description of this building. Since one night in mid-September, I was assigned with a group of prisoners to remove the bodies of murdered people from this building, I can say something about the method of this killing. Each of these cells was exceptionally densely packed with corpses. Both the cells themselves and the corpses reeked of the exhaust fumes from the flammable mixture. Most of the victims had copious traces of bloody discharge coming from their nasopharynxes. At first, a narrow-gauge railway was built to the building, along which we transported corpses on carts to the pits. Regarding the structure of the building and the mechanics of extermination, it's crucial to note that an ordinary tractor engine was installed in an extension to the building, which was used for two purposes: when the chambers were filled with people, and for lighting purposes. Furthermore, a single exhaust pipe from this generator, carrying exhaust gases, was run through the attic into the building to each chamber, and, as I've already shown, the gases exited through a bell in each chamber.

Another pipe from the generator exited directly to the street. This is clear: when the engine was used for killing people, gases were introduced through a system of pipes into the chambers, but when its primary purpose was to power the electrical grid, the gases exited directly to the outside.

There were two guards working at the engine.<ref name="ftn45">On the right, there is a cross (X) and a horizontal line, drawn with a blue pencil.</ref>

The first was Ivan, known in the camp as "Ivan the Terrible." He was a man of above-average height, with dark hair, about 27 or 28 years old. The name "Terrible," which he was given, was no accident. His cruelty probably surpassed many Germans. I remember one such incident: I was working at the time carrying corpses. Ivan called over a Jewish man from our group and, in front of everyone, cut off his ear with his saber. As a mockery, he handed the severed ear to the Jew. An hour later, he shot the Jew. I also remember another incident: he killed one of our workers with a blow to the head with a metal rod.<ref name="ftn46">To the right of the line, there is a cross (X) drawn with a blue pencil.</ref>

While I was busy carrying corpses from the cells to the pit, a horrific scene of mutilation unfolded. In addition to the gas poisoning in these cells, many had their ears, noses, and other organs cut off, including breasts in the women. Thus, the sophisticated method of gassing was complemented by the physical agony of the mutilation inflicted upon them before death.

The second worker, Nikolai, was short, with broad, seemingly hunched shoulders, brown-haired, and 32 years old. He had a noticeable tattoo on one arm. He played an equal part in the atrocities committed by Ivan and the Germans who came to the building.

Now I turn to the construction of the new building for killing people, which means I'm returning to where I began the story about the old building. The new building was built 20 meters from the old one. 120 Jewish workers were employed on the construction. A German engineer-scharführer, whose name I don't know, supervised the construction. Construction lasted from the end of August and was completed in late November 1942. The new building—the "gas chamber"—differed from the old one only in size. It was significantly larger. It was also a single-story brick structure. There were no wooden outbuildings. The road leading from Camp No. 1 to our Camp No. 2 approached the building. The building had a barbed wire fence with pine branches woven into it. The entrance to the building itself was somewhat reminiscent of a religious institution: the Sign of David—a six-pointed star—was installed on the roof, with a peculiar altar on either side.

Everything was decorated with flowers. So from the outside, no one could have guessed that this enticing facility was a gas chamber. Climbing the steps, you enter a long corridor, with five cells to the right and five to the left, the only difference being that on the left side, next to the last cell, is a small room for the motor.<ref name="ftn47">The beginning of the last line of the paragraph is underlined with a blue pencil, and an "X" mark is placed next to it.</ref>

The cells were connected to the corridor by doors lined with cotton wool and cloth and sealed hermetically. Light fell on the corridor from windows cut into the roof itself. Each cell was roughly square: 6 square meters and 2 meters high.<ref name="ftn48">This sentence on the right is highlighted with a vertical red line.</ref> The walls were plastered, the floor cement. Light was supplied to the cells through windows set into the roof. A small round hole, a peephole, was cut into the wall of the corridor, allowing observation of the cell from the corridor. Opposite the entrance door was the exit door, which opened not to the side, but from the bottom up, and was supported by special brackets. Each door had a concrete ramp on which the corpses were stacked for transport. People were poisoned in the same manner as in the first building. Pipes carrying exhaust gases from the motor ran along the corridor to the cells. One such pipe was connected to each cell. A separate opening in the roof allowed the gas to escape from the cell. However, when the gas chamber first began operating, it turned out the motor couldn't supply enough gas to all 10 chambers. It only lasted for the first two.

Then, while the engine was being repaired, another, even more painful, method of extermination was employed. A significant quantity of chlorinated lime was urgently delivered to the building. A certain amount of chlorinated lime was left wet in a chamber, which was hermetically sealed. This process of poisoning the occupants was incomparably longer, and therefore more painful. People were kept in the chambers for 24 hours, and even then, some sometimes remained alive. Since the chambers' capacity fully met the "requirements," this relatively inexpensive method of extermination was used throughout the winter. The engine was put into operation in April 1943. It was serviced by a German named Tomasz, along with the already infamous Ivan and Nikolai.

Thus, hundreds of thousands of people were killed by poisoning them with exhaust gas. Two specially equipped buildings were constructed for this purpose under the supervision of German engineers.

All the time, I had to work not in the section where the work team was busy receiving incoming trains and sorting the clothing and personal belongings confiscated from those arriving, but in the second section, where people were brought naked to the so-called "bathhouse." My main job consisted of carrying corpses from the cells to the pits in the field. The first section was separated from the second by a barbed fence, and workers from the second section were not allowed into the first section. This also applied to the Jewish workers of the first section, who were not allowed to join us. I knew, of course, that several trains carrying Jewish families arrived at the camp daily. I knew that they were stripped naked, having all their personal belongings, money, and gold confiscated, because they were brought to the cells stripped of clothing and without personal belongings. Many came to the "bathhouse" with towels, because they were persistently assured that after visiting the bathhouse, they would receive all their belongings and be able to go to Ukraine. At first, the situation was such that people began to believe it. But this first stage of their stay in the camp belonged to the first section, and I am not familiar with all the details associated with this initial period of their stay in the camp.

As I've already shown, my job was to transport corpses from the "bathhouse" gas chambers to the pits. Between 200 and 300 Jewish prisoners in the camp were involved in carrying and transporting corpses. Some of us carried corpses from the cells to the ramps. Others carried corpses on stretchers to the fields and deposited them in the pits. It's difficult for me to estimate the number of people killed in the camps. An average of 5,000 people were killed daily. Some days, transports of 1,000 people arrived, while others reached 10,000 and 15,000.<ref name="ftn49">Sentences that describe the number of people killed are marked with a vertical red pencil line in the left margin.</ref> Aside from a limited number of people temporarily retained for menial labor, everyone else was killed on the day of their arrival at the camp. By February, 21 pits had been dug in the camp where corpses were deposited.

Characteristically, until February 1943, corpses were piled in batches into pits, covered with a light layer of earth, and then doused with a chlorinated lime solution to suppress the stench of death. But this was futile, as the pits held such a huge number of corpses that nothing could prevent the stench. In February, camp authorities made their first attempt at cremating the corpses. A special pit was dug for this purpose. Rails were laid on supports at intervals at the bottom of the pit. Firewood was placed under the rails, a few pine branches were thrown onto them, and the corpses were piled on top. Up to five bellows were positioned to pump air. The wood was doused with gasoline, the bellows were activated, and thus the mass cremation took place.

However, this first experiment wasn't entirely successful. The problem was that they dug deep pits for these ovens, significantly restricting the air flow. Bellows weren't entirely satisfactory in this regard. Under these conditions, the burning of corpses took a long time. A Scharführer arrived from another camp and conducted a further experiment. He set up the same primitive rail oven not in a pit, but on the ground, in an open field. The effect of this change was exceptional. No bellows were required. The air flow proved to be quite adequate. He made another "improvement": the corpses didn't die in large numbers, but rather sparser. Otherwise, the oven design remained the same. After his departure, I witnessed the construction of five large and one small such ovens. They were placed near the pits.

From March 1943 until the first half of July, the methodical burning of all newly arrived corpses and bodies stored in 14 large pits took place. By the end of July, they had managed to dig another pit, and the bodies from it were cremated.

Thus, by the day of the prisoner uprising on August 2, the bodies in 15 pits had been burned. Six pits remained untouched.<ref name="ftn50">The end of the paragraph is marked with a blue pencil – with a cross (X).</ref>

To imagine this enormous mass of murdered and burned people, suffice it to say that the smallest pit contained at least 100,000 corpses.

Question: Which Germans who served in the camp do you personally know, and what can you say about their criminal activities?

Answer:<ref name="ftn51">The beginning of the answer is marked with a blue pencil – with a cross (X).</ref> When I arrived at the camp, it was in August 1942. There were 47 German service personnel and 150 Ukrainian guards. During the first two months of my stay in the camp, the commandant was a Hauptsturmführer, a man of 40 years old, of average height, with dark hair and a bald head, and wore horn-rimmed glasses.<ref name="ftn52">Possibly refers to Christian Wirth.</ref> He was with us for a short time, and I don’t know his last name. He was replaced by Untersturmführer Dr. Ebert, who later received the rank of Hauptmann.<ref name="ftn53">Dr. Ebert was the first commandant of Treblinka. In this case, the person being referred to is F. Stangl.</ref> His deputy was Scharführer Franz Kurt, who, at the same time as Ebert, was promoted to Untersturmführer. Ebert rarely visited us. He came once and, warming his hands over the fire, muttered: “It’s good to warm yourself with Jewish blood.” He himself did not beat any of us. For this purpose, he used the services of his subordinates. Franz Kurt often came to roll call. He usually showed up with his big dog. He loved to set the dog on one of us in our presence and shout, "Human, bite the dog." In this case, he considered the dog to be the human.

I remember one time, as he approached us, he gave the command, "Hats off your heads." Several of us, in his opinion, were slow to respond. He then proceeded to box them one by one. He ordered the beaten and nearly unconscious prisoners to follow him to the infirmary, where they were shot that same day.

In December 1942, when the first snow fell, seven prisoners escaped from the camp. Four of them were captured. Franz Kurt summoned the guard, Ivan, and in the presence of the workers standing outside the barracks, ordered him to do whatever he wanted to them. They killed the first one. Ivan drove a nail into the head of the second, and cut off the ears of the third. After that, the last two and the fourth were hanged right there in full view of everyone. Franz Kurt set a dog on one worker standing by the fire, which tore at his body. Franz, watching this scene, laughed ominously and loudly. It should be said that the main atrocities committed by the Germans against prisoners took place on the premises of the 1st Section. Therefore, unfortunately, I cannot tell you much about them.

The cremation of the corpses was supervised by Unterscharführer Gense and Unterscharführer <Lestler?>. Both were responsible for the operation of the ovens in which hundreds of thousands of people were burned.

In the gas chamber itself, Sergeant Adolf, an elderly man of about 50-60, a doctor by training, broad and broad-shouldered, and Second Unterscharführer Gustav, a tall man of about 45, worked.<ref name="ftn54">Possibly refers to Gustav Münzberger (1903–1977), a Sudeten German. Before the war, he headed the family factory. In 1940, he participated in the "T-4" program, and from 1942, in "Operation Reinhard."</ref> They supervised the entry of people into the so-called "baths." They also displayed exceptional cruelty toward the helpless. They were especially skilled with whips. During my stay in the camp, a commission of high-ranking Nazi officials visited three times. Where they came from, or who personally came, I don't know.

Jews were brought to our camp, as far as I know, from Prussia, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and the occupied part of Russia. A significant number of intellectuals were among them. I don’t know the names of individuals, because while working in the 2nd department, I had contact not with living people, but with corpses.

Question: Tell us about the prisoner revolt of August 2, 1943.

Answer: In April 1943, the idea of preparing for a prisoner uprising first arose. The time for the uprising was set for May. By May, they had managed to steal grenades from a German warehouse. They were unable to find fuses. This was clearly insufficient. The leaders of the uprising, primarily representatives of the Jewish intelligentsia in the 1st Section, told us to be ready for the uprising. They promised to give us some weapons at the right moment. Shovels and knives were to be our main weapons. On the morning of August 2, we were notified from the 1st Section that the uprising was scheduled for 4:30 PM. At 3:30 PM, the Jewish workers of the 2nd Section went out into the field near the pits, singing. The songs were a sign that we were ready.

We set to work. Suddenly, shots and explosions were heard from the 1st section. Hearing this, a young man from Warsaw, Mendel Spiegelman, hit the guard on the head with a stick. The guard dropped his weapon. Taking advantage of this, Spiegelman snatched up a carbine and handed it to our guide, a Czech Jew named Żelo. He shot three guards and one senior guard guarding the barracks. Our men dismantled their rifles. Some were tearing down the fence at the same time. 285 men from the 2nd section escaped. Even more from the 1st. I fled into the forest and hid there until the territory was liberated by the Red Army.

I can't add anything more. This has been written down accurately from my words and was read to me /signature/.

Military investigator of the Military Prosecutor's Office of the 65th Army, Senior Lieutenant of Justice /signature/

= Map of "small" gas chambers =

''' Plan of the "small" gas chambers of the Treblinka death camp, attached to the testimony of A. Goldfarb. GARF 7445-2-134, p. 39. '''

[[Image:Trebgc3.jpg|400px]]

= Map of "main" gas chambers =

''' Plan of the main gas chambers at the Treblinka death camp, attached to A. Goldfarb's testimony. GARF 7445-2-134, p. 40. '''

[[Image:Trebgc10.jpg|400px]]

= Janina Pawłowska. Treblinka labor camp. Kosów Lacki. September 22, 1944 =

''' Interrogation protocol of Janina Pawłowska regarding the functioning of the Treblinka labor camp. [The village of Kosów Lacki], September 22, 1944. GARF 7445-2-134 pp. 114-116. '''

On September 22, 1944, the military investigator of the Military Prosecutor's Office of the 65th Army, Guards Senior Lieutenant of Justice Malov, in compliance with Articles 162-168 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the RSFSR, interrogated as a witness
# Last name, first name, patronymic: Pawlowska Janina Aleksandrovna
# Year of birth: 1916
# Place of birth: village of Tosie, Sokołów district, Warsaw Voivodeship
# Nationality: Polish
# Social status: servant
# Education: 7th grade
# Place of residence: city of Kosów

I have been warned of liability for giving false testimony under Article 95 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR /signature/.

The interrogation was conducted through an interpreter, Vladislav Sokha, a resident of Kosów, who has been warned of liability for false translation /signature/.

In April 1943, the Germans captured me and offered me a job at the Treblinka labor camp, and if I refused, they would send me to Prussia. Since I didn't want to go to Germany, I agreed and was brought to the Treblinka labor camp, where I was forced to work as a cleaner in the kitchen where the SS ate. The kitchen was not located in the camp itself, but separately, along with the living quarters of the SS, the guards, and the bakery. All these premises were about a hundred meters from the camp and were surrounded by barbed wire. We were not allowed to enter the camp grounds, and I never went there, and we were even forbidden to approach the camp, so I didn't see much of what was going on in the camp. Several hundred Jews and Poles worked at the labor camp. The majority, mainly Jews, worked in a sand quarry, digging sand and transporting it to the Małkinia station, where a bridge was being built. The sand quarry was at the other end of the camp, so we couldn't see what was going on there, but we could often hear screams and shots from there, and 10-12 corpses, often mutilated, were carried past us every day.

I didn't see executions or mass beatings of prisoners, but I did see prisoners being flogged, which was common. They were often beaten to death, carried out by SS men and guards.

All the SS guards, guards, and camp administration lived in houses near the kitchen, and I witnessed the administration frequently holding drinking parties and hearing music there. I never saw women in these houses, and they were forbidden from entering the kitchen and living quarters. I don't know what happened during these drinking parties. I do know, however, that once, during a drinking party, a famous Polish pianist—I don't remember his name—was brought in and played for them all night. I heard that the musician was gone the next morning, and they said he had been killed. The guards and SS never told us what was going on in the camp, but Jews who came from the camp to work in the kitchen reported that the prisoners were treated very cruelly, beaten with whips, sticks, shovels, and axes, and that Jews who became too weak to work were killed—and there were many of them, as the work was very hard. They worked from morning until late at night without a break, and the food they gave them was so bad that even cattle wouldn't eat it. I heard that in the morning, the prisoners were given only coffee, and in the afternoon, soup made from a single unpeeled, dirty potato or rutabaga boiled in water. So, after working for several weeks, a prisoner would become completely exhausted and would be beaten. I heard the following story from Jews who were later killed. One day, six prisoners with one guard went to work in the forest, where, taking advantage of the lax guard, the prisoners killed the guard and fled into the forest, where they hid. For this, on the orders of Hauptsturmführer Theo Eupen, a large group of Jews was rounded up—I don't know how many—and then the SS men and guards were told they could beat the Jews with whatever they wanted, and so they killed all the Jews with sticks, shovels, axes, and knives. I don't know what month this was, but I wasn't in the camp at the time.

Question: Are you aware of a case where, on camp orders, 30 women were selected from among the arriving women, handed over to the SS, who raped them and then killed them?

Answer: In the summer of 1943—I don't remember the month—a large group of women was brought to the camp, 30 of whom were selected, and the rest were sent to a "death camp." I don't know what happened to these 30 women.

Question: What do you know about Camp No. 2, the "death camp?"

Answer: I don't know what happened in the "death camp." From conversations between Jews and guards, I heard that Jews were gassed with some kind of gas and then burned. I personally witnessed how, starting around September 1942, for almost a year, columns of black smoke rose day and night above the "death camp," and at night, the glow of fire could be seen for many kilometers. The terrible smell of burnt flesh and corpses spread far from the camp. Several trains carrying Jews arrived at the "death camp" every day.

Question: Tell me, who do you know from the camp leaders, their last name, first name, age and demographic data?

Answer:
# Camp Commander Hauptsturmführer Theo Eupen – German, approximately 37 years old, bald, tall, strong build, bulging eyes. No distinguishing features.
# Untersturmführer Karl Preifi – German, tall, thin, bald, with false upper teeth.
# Untersturmführer Schwarz – German, black, tall, black hair. No distinguishing features.
# Unterschaftführer Leo Lanz – head of the workshops, German, former carpenter, hunched over, elderly, tall, blond.
# Rottenführer Weissmann – German, blond, about 35 years old, tall, plump, round-faced, red-faced. In charge of all subsidiary agricultural farming in the camp.
# Unterschaftführer Stumpe – German, tall, thin, round-faced, dark hair, about 30-34 years old, head of the guards.
# Unterschaftführer Hagen – German, about 35 years old, medium height, plump, black, black hair. Everyone called him "Baby" for his dignified, feminine gait.
# Vakhman Olshanikov – Ukrainian, about 22 years old, tall, medium build, dark hair. No distinguishing features.
# Vakhman Stieben – a German from Russia, about 25 years old, short, strong build, dark hair, suffered from smallpox, traces of which remained on his face.

I don't remember the other people's names now.

Question: Until what time were you in the camp, and how did you leave?

Answer: I was in the camp until June 1944. In June, due to the hard work, I overexerted myself, and they released me from the camp.

Question: Are you aware of a case of escape from the camp?

Answer: Yes. I know of one; it happened in September 1943, when four bakers—I don't know their names, one named Wolf—took advantage of the lax guards and escaped at night. They searched for them for a long time, but were never found. After that, our guards were tightened. I can't tell you anything else.

The protocol has been written down and translated from my words correctly and read to me /signature/.

Translated from Polish to Russian /signature/

Interrogated by: Military Investigator, Guard Senior Lieutenant of Justice /signature/

= Wolf Szejnberg. Treblinka labor camp. September 22, 1944 =

''' Interrogation protocol of Wolf Szejnberg regarding German atrocities in the Treblinka labor camp, September 22, 1944. GARF 7445-2-134 pp. 106-113. '''

On September 22, 1944, military investigator of the military prosecutor's office of the 65th Army, Guards Senior Lieutenant of Justice Malov, in compliance with Articles 162-168 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR, interrogated as a witness
# Last name, first name, patronymic: Szejnberg Wolf
# Year of birth: 1902
# Place of birth: Warsaw
# Nationality: Jewish
# Social status: worker
# Education: 8th grade
# Place of residence: Warsaw, Bugay Street, No. 8

I have been warned of liability for giving false testimony under Article 95 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR /signature/.

I was born and have lived my entire life in Warsaw. From the very first days of the German occupation of Poland, the persecution of Jews and their systematic extermination as a mixed-race race began. All Jews living in Poland were exiled from their places of residence and brought to Warsaw, where a section of the city was set aside for them, isolated from the rest of the city and surrounded by a wall. It was a veritable concentration camp with unbearable living conditions. Terror, beatings, and executions of Jews reigned everywhere. I myself repeatedly witnessed how the Germans shot Jews right on the streets in groups of 50-100 people. They were forced to work enormously, and there was no pay for it. The hunger was horrific. People walked the streets collecting potato peelings, compounded by epidemics of typhus and dysentery, resulting in a daily death rate among Jews of 450–500. Walking along the streets, one could often see bloated human corpses lying on the sidewalks. At the end of July 1942, the Jews were informed that they would all be resettled to Ukraine, where there was plenty of work and where they would live well. And from July 27, 1942, several trains departed Warsaw daily. Each train consisted of 60–70 cars, some of which held up to 170 people—men, women, and children—each.

Several times I witnessed the loading of Jews into train cars. The gathering of Jews and their loading was accompanied by beatings with whips and shootings. At first, Jews working in German factories were not touched, and I, as a worker in a German carpentry factory, lived in Warsaw until September 1942. Subsequently, they began to deport all workers without exception, and on September 3, 1942, a group of Germans arrived at the factory, selected all the Jews and drove them straight from the factory, not allowing them to go home and say goodbye to their families or take their belongings, straight to the station. They gathered more than 10,000 of us. There were women, children, and old people. We were accompanied by SS men and Ukrainian guards, all armed and carrying whips, with which they beat people. Several hundred of this group were shot while we were being led to the train, and the entire road was awash with blood, with the corpses of men, women, and children strewn everywhere. At the station where we were taken, I saw a large train of about 80 freight cars, to which we were led. Once we reached the train, they quickly began herding us into the cars, accompanied by beatings. At least 170 people were herded into the car I was in. There were old people, women, and children. The crying was unbearable. Given the large number of people, it was impossible to even sit in the car, and people suffocated from lack of air, as all the doors and windows had been closed after loading. Afterwards, the train maneuvered for a long time along the tracks, which was done so that even people familiar with the Warsaw Junction could not figure out which way they were being taken.

This continued until nightfall, and we left at nightfall and arrived at Treblinka station in the morning. The entire journey we were not allowed to open the doors. The heat was terribly intense, people were dying of thirst, and they weren't given a drop of water. The guards accompanying the train demanded gold and valuables for water, and the thirsty people gave everything they had to have a sip of water. But the guards, having taken the gold and other things, didn't give them any water, only laughed. Such terrible conditions led to many Jews dying en route. Thus, when I was already working in the camp, they brought us some Jews to work; I don't remember their names; they were brought from the town of Siedlce. They said they were traveling on a train coming from the city of Radom. The train took three days to reach Treblinka station. During this time, the cars were never opened, and the people were given no food. People in the carriages were suffocating, and when they began to unload the train in the camp, out of several thousand people traveling in the train, only dozens remained alive, and it took several hours to unload corpses from the carriages.

Our train, leaving the train station along a railway line, turned aside, and after a while we entered an area fenced with barbed wire up to 3 meters high and camouflaged by fir trees. As I later learned, we had arrived at Camp No. 2, or "death camp." The train pulled up to a ramp resembling a railway ramp, designed to make it easier to exit the cars. The cars were quickly opened, and everyone was ordered to vacate within five minutes. We emerged onto the square, and the first thing I saw was a sign pointing in the direction that read "Bathhouse." The bathhouse itself was invisible, as it was fenced with barbed wire and camouflaged by branches.

Not far from the train in the square, there was a pile of various objects up to 10 meters high, and to the right of the pile were about 1,000 Jews, completely naked. There I met a Jewish acquaintance from Warsaw named Moselmann—a dentist—whom I asked what this meant. He simply shook his head and said, "To live." I looked in the direction he pointed and saw that they were selecting people somewhere. When I approached, I learned that they were selecting healthy Jews for work in Camp No. 1, the "labor camp." When they started asking if there was a cook, I replied that I was a cook, and they hired me.

They selected a group of 300 of us and immediately took us to Camp No. 1. Thus, I was fortunate enough to escape death, as I later learned from conversations with guards that all Jews arriving at Camp No. 2 were herded into a "bathhouse" where they were suffocated. Camp No. 1 was located about 2 kilometers from Camp No. 2. On the camp gate hung a board with the inscription in German "Arbeitslager Treblinka" (i.e., "Treblinka Labor Camp"). Upon arrival at the camp, we were all lined up and again asked about our specialties. A Jewish acquaintance of mine, Lomag, who had arrived at the camp earlier, told me to identify myself as a cook, as the camp needed a cook. Thus, I became a cook in the camp. After being assigned, about 1,400 of us were herded into a barracks designed for 300 people, where we were to live. The entire barracks was filled with 2.5x2.5 meter bunks, each of which could accommodate about 30 people, sleeping one on top of the other. All the Jews were divided into specialties and worked in shoemaking, carpentry, sewing, and other workshops located in the camp. About 500 people were employed in this work. The majority were laborers and worked in the sand quarry, where they loaded sand onto train cars arriving from Camp No. 2 after unloading people there. The sand-laden cars were sent to the Małkinia station, where they built an embankment and a bridge.

I worked as a cook for nine months, and then, after a bakery was built outside the camp, I worked there as a baker until the escape.

Question: What did the prisoners eat?

Answer: While working in the kitchen, I saw how food was prepared. For the unskilled laborers, only coffee was prepared in the morning, soup made from unpeeled, dirty potatoes or rutabagas in the afternoon, and occasionally a little meat from dead horses discarded by peasants in the surrounding villages. In the evening, coffee was also the only ration. The daily bread allowance was only 200 grams. The food was so poor that a worker who spent two or three weeks in the camp would become completely weak and unable to work, after which he would be killed. The food for specialized workers was slightly better.

Working conditions were appalling; workers were forced to work for 10 to 15 hours without a moment's rest, and if they stopped working for even a minute, they were immediately mercilessly beaten with whips, sticks, shovels, and other weapons.

Loading sand was particularly difficult, and anyone who found themselves there could assume they would never live, for they would be shot or beaten to death. For the slightest offense, and most often for no apparent reason, prisoners were beaten with sticks, 25 to 50 times. Few could withstand 50 blows. If someone did, they were doused with water and beaten again until they died. Such scenes often unfolded before my eyes. A common method of killing prisoners was with a hammer: the prisoner was asked to bow his head, and when he did, he was killed with a hammer blow to the back of the head. Murder and beatings followed at every step; prisoners were killed and beaten because they couldn't work because the guard didn't like them. Those who weakened were killed on the spot, right in front of the others. Workers working on the bridge construction were treated particularly cruelly, as at least 20 bodies of tortured and murdered prisoners were brought in every day.

Thus, at least 100 people were exterminated in the camp daily. Furthermore, as a cook, I prepared food daily for the quantity assigned by headquarters for that day. I would see, for example, that one day food was prepared for 1,400 people, but the next morning they'd give me a figure of 1,000, since the remaining 400 had been exterminated that day. According to my rough estimates, during my nine months as a cook, up to 100,000 people were exterminated. I remember the extermination of prisoners most vividly:

1. On November 9, 1942, six prisoners and one guard went into the forest to work, where, taking advantage of the fact that they were guarded by only one man, they killed the guard, took his rifle, and disappeared. When news of this came to light in the camp, 110 prisoners were selected and taken behind a barbed wire fence. Then nine SS men and 100 guards, taking up shovels, axes, sticks, knives—whoever liked to kill with whatever—entered behind the fence and began a horrific beating of the defenseless people. The prisoners were beaten with sticks, chopped into pieces with axes and shovels, and slashed with knives. The ground was covered in blood, pieces of flesh and human entrails lay scattered everywhere, bones could be heard breaking from the blows, and in places, shapeless heaps of human flesh still moved on the ground. Heart-rending screams echoed over the camp, unable to be drowned out by the song sung by the SS men and guards as they exterminated the people. I remember a few words from the song; translated into Russian, they meant something like, "Let Jewish blood flow down the knife."

When the beating was over, it was difficult to recognize the people. They were just pieces of meat. And the SS men and guards, covered from head to toe in human blood, grinned smugly.

2. I witnessed numerous mass shootings of prisoners by drunken SS men and guards, and Hauptsturmführer van Eupen led the charge. The drunken mob would approach a barracks where prisoners were resting, open the door, and begin shooting indiscriminately, killing 50-100 people. I witnessed this myself three times.

3. In June 1943, van Eupen brought about 1,500 Jewish women from Warsaw, of whom 30 of the most beautiful were selected. The rest were stripped of their valuables and sent to Camp No. 2, where they were exterminated in the "bathhouse."

Von Eupen distributed the 30 Jewish women he retained to the SS men, and the drinking, rape, and abuse of women and girls continued for a whole week, after which they were all killed.

4. I once witnessed Unterschaftführer<ref name="ftn55">Misspelling in text.</ref> Schwarz and Preifi bet that Preifi could hit a man in the heart at a distance of 50 meters. To do this, they went out onto the street where the prisoners were working and waited for one of the workers to turn his chest towards them. When one young Jew did turn around while working, Preifi killed him with a pistol shot. Or another incident: one day the workers were going to work after lunch. An elderly, sick Jew approached Preifi and asked to be excused from work until the morning. To which Preifi, smiling, said: "You're weak, give me a shovel," and, taking the shovel from the Jew, with a powerful blow he severed the prisoner's head all the way to the neck. In January 1943, Preifi once noticed that one prisoner, after lunch, was moving his jaws as he went to work. Preifi walked up to the prisoner and said, "What are you eating, open your mouth," and when the prisoner did so, Preifi shot him in the mouth.

Preifi also had other frequent amusements. The window of his room overlooked the side where the prisoners worked, and when a group of them converged on the work, Preifi would take his machine gun and fire a long burst from the window, sometimes killing several dozen people.

5. In mid-August 1943,<ref name="ftn56">The number 3 is written above the number 4.</ref> during another drinking binge, von Eupen decided to go horseback riding. He placed his four-year-old son, who had been brought to him at the camp that day, on his lap, and rode through the camp. At that moment, a large group of women were returning from work. Seeing them, van Eupen revved up his horse and slammed into the group, running them over, crushing more than 10 women. In addition, several dozen women who tried to escape were shot by guards.

Then, on May 5, 1943, van Eupen threw a drinking party at his apartment, where he demanded the presence of a beautiful woman and the famous Polish pianist and composer Kagan, who was imprisoned in the camp. That morning, Kagan and the woman were killed so that they could not reveal what had happened in van Eupen's apartment.<ref name="ftn57">This likely refers to Jakub Kagan (1896-1942), a renowned Polish pianist, composer, and jazz musician.</ref>

These were not isolated cases of extermination of Jews, but a systematic system of extermination of the Jewish population.

Question: What do you know about the extermination of people in the "death camp," or Camp No. 2?

Answer: I myself, as I have already said, was only in the "death camp" for a few hours, but, according to the accounts of Jews who worked there for a year—Golberg, Grinberg, and others, as well as the guards—the "death camp" was specifically built for the mass extermination of the Jewish population. Jews arriving at the death camp were mostly unloaded from train cars, then forced to strip naked and then driven to the "bathhouse," which held several thousand people. This "bathhouse" had several chambers into which people were driven. All the doors were hermetically sealed, and a motor was started, from which a pipe ran into the chambers, and through this pipe exhaust gases from the motor entered the chambers, which was used to suffocate the people. About 15 minutes later, the outer doors were opened, and the corpses of people were pulled out of the chambers and carried into large pits, which held several tens of thousands of people, after which the pits were filled in, and this continued until approximately September 1942. Then, special ovens were built at the death camp, and corpses were dug up and burned in these ovens. From that time on, the bodies of those being exterminated were no longer buried, but burned directly in these ovens. The burning of corpses continued until approximately August–September 1943. The ovens operated continuously, day and night. Columns of black smoke rose above the camp for almost a year. At night, the glow from the ovens could be seen tens of kilometers away. An unbearable smell of burnt flesh and the stench of decomposing corpses, which emanated from the graves as they were being excavated, pervaded the entire area.

I personally witnessed three or four trains of 60-70 cars each, carrying Jews from various countries, arriving at the death camp every day. All of these trains passed through the "death camp" and returned empty. I witnessed this throughout my stay in Camp No. 1.

As I know from conversations with SS men, both camps were built according to the designs of the architect Schulte. I met him myself, and he visited the camp and supervised the construction of Camp No. 2. After the camp was built, Schulte left for Warsaw, and then returned several times to observe the progress of the "bathhouse." I cannot speak in detail about its operation, as I know very little about it, and that is only from conversations.

Question: Who can you name as the perpetrators of the atrocities committed in the camp, known to you from [illegible] in the camp?

Answer: Of these individuals, I know the following:
# Hauptsturmführer [illegible] van Eupen, a German from Düsseldorf, a former lawyer, [illegible], blond, round-faced, wore down the insides of his heels when he walked. Large, bulging eyes. He personally engaged in beatings, shootings, and raping women. He shot and beat people for fun. On his orders, the famous Polish musician Kagan was executed. He was the camp commander.
# Untersturmführer Fran[z] Preifi, a German from Frankfurt am Main, worked as a postman before the war, 50 years old, tall, thin, bald, no upper teeth. He had a false upper jaw with teeth, but didn't wear them. His cruelty was comparable to von Eupen's. He personally murdered many hundreds of Jews.
# Unterschaftführer<ref name="ftn58">Misspelling in text.</ref> Hagen, a German from the city of Hagen, medium height, dark hair, dark bulging eyes, 32 years old, has only one toe on his right foot, the others were torn off on the Soviet-German front, as he himself told. He personally beat and shot prisoners.
# Unterschaftführer Linden, adjutant to Van Eupen, 30 years old, medium height, blond hair, was exclusively involved in executions, often saying: we talk well, we shoot even better. Executioner of the city of Kosów.
# Unterschaftführer Schwarz, from the city of Lübeck, tall, thin, strong build – drove people to work in Małkinia, where he shot dozens of Jews daily.
# Unterschaftführer Heibusch, from Frankfurt am Main, a philosophy student, about 30 years old, tall, dark-haired, with a round face, supervised the assignment of people to work. He personally carried out beatings.
# Unterschaftführer Stumpe, a German from [illegible], tall, thin, about 30 years old, brown-haired, worked as an electrical engineer before the war, was the head of the guards, beat and shot Jews personally. He beat the guards if they treated the prisoners with indifference.
# Unterschaftführer Lanz, a German, 32 years old, of average height, thin, blond, was the head of all the workshops. He personally beat and shot prisoners. He moved his family to the city of Ostrow. Before the war, he was a carpenter.
# Rottenführer Weissar, a German from Poznan, tall, fat, blond, head of the camp's agricultural plots. He also personally beat Jews.
# Rottenführer Leibke, the camp driver, short, blond, about 25-26 years old. He beat Jews.
# Rottenführer Felden, a German of medium height, brown-haired, round-faced, about 28 years old, garage supervisor. He was involved in beating prisoners.
# Zugwachtmaster Dingelmann, a German, tall, very thin, about 30 years old, a shoemaker before the war. He was distinguished by exceptional brutality when beating Jews with whips. He often beat them to death.
# Gruppenwachtmaster Vatis, a German from Russia, medium height, slow in action, about 28 years old, brown-haired, was the head of the Ukrainian guards, distinguished by his cruelty, personally killed and shot Jews.
# Zugwachtmaster Stieben, a German from Russia, short, blond, about 30 years old, had smallpox, which gave him a gnarled face, and surpassed all the guards in his cruelty. Beating up Jews was his favorite pastime. He commanded a group of guards.
# Zugvakhmann Munder, a German from Russia, medium height, blond, about 28 years old, limps on his right leg, was the head of a group of guards. He personally shot and beat Jews.
# Zugvakhmann Swidersky, a German from Russia, medium height, thin, black, missing his right eye. He personally shot hundreds of Jews.
# Zugvakhmann Braun, a German from Russia, about 26 years old, medium height, dark-haired, round-faced.
# Zugvakhmann Usik, a Ukrainian, reportedly from Kyiv, medium height, plump, about 30 years old, killed in Warsaw during the ghetto revolt.
# Oberwakhmann Emil Huthartz, a German from Moscow, medium height, about 21 years old, van Eupen's orderly, thin-legged, skinny. He demonstrated exceptional cruelty in his abuse of Jews. He personally executed them and imitated Van Eupen in all his actions.
# Oberwachman Olshanikov, a Ukrainian from Zhitomir, tall, dark-haired, and thin. He personally killed many people, always with a hammer.
# Oberwachman Pisarenko, a Ukrainian from Kyiv, about 25 years old, tall, blond, and plump. He personally participated in the executions and beatings of Jews. According to reports, he was killed.<ref name="ftn59">At the bottom of the page there is a footnote: "The crossed-out phrase 'According to reports, he was killed' should be believed."</ref>
# Oberwachman Baltitsa, a Latvian about 28 years old, of medium height, blond, participated in the beatings and executions of Jews.
# Oberwachman Ciba, a Pole from Lublin, about 25 years old, of medium height, blond, worked as a driver. He personally beat Jews.

Question: Under what circumstances did you escape from the camp?

Answer: As I already said, for the last three months I had been working in a bakery outside the camp, which meant it was under lax security. Taking advantage of this, I decided to escape. On the night of September 4, 1943, when the guard guarding the bakery had gone off somewhere, all of us, the bakery workers, were sleeping near the bakery. Taking advantage of the guard's absence, Gershteyn, the Jew, Shmulber, and I, along with another Jew, left the barracks and fled into the forest, where we hid. Before the Red Army arrived, I hid with a Pole named Góral, who lived 2 km from Kosów. We had worked out our escape plan long before it was put into effect.

I can't show anything else. The report was written down correctly based on my words and was read to me [signature/].

Interrogated by military investigator, Guard Senior Lieutenant of Justice [signature/]

= Szymon Cegiel. Treblinka labor camp. Kosów Lacki. September 22, 1944 =

''' Interrogation protocol of Szymon Cegiel about the Treblinka labor camp and the situation of Jewish prisoners. Village of Kosów Lacki, September 22, 1944. GARF 7445-2-134 pp. 86-91. '''

Kosów, September 22, 1944.

Senior Lieutenant of Justice Yurovsky, military investigator of the 65th Army's Military Prosecutor's Office, interrogated the following as a witness, who testified:

Cegiel Szymon Mendelevich, born 1919, native of Kosów, Sokołów County, resident of Kosów, Jewish, worker.

Having been warned of liability for retracting testimony and for giving false testimony, he testified as follows:

On June 3, 1942, Germans from Treblinka Camp No. 1, the so-called "work camp," arrived in Kosów.<ref name="ftn60">Spelled “Tremblinka” in the text.</ref> They needed specialists, and I was among 10 Jewish skilled workers they took to Treblinka. I remember well the people who took us to the camp. These were Hauptsturmführer von Eupen, the camp commandant, Untersturmführer Prefi, Unterscharführer Leon Lanz, Rottenführer Meiwis, Navigator Felden, and the guards—Gruppenwacht Munke, Oberwacht Ushanikov, a guard named Mikola, Gruppenwacht Braun, Oberwacht Emel, Gruppenwacht Ratz, and several others. When I arrived, three barracks occupied by camp personnel and two separate barracks surrounded by a fence stood completely isolated. Jewish laborers and Jewish and Polish specialists lived in them.

That evening, Unterscharführer Lanz gathered all of us who had arrived and addressed us with the following words:

"If you work well, everything will be as it should be, and you will live. If you don't work as we demand, you will go to the forest" (which meant execution).

There were 40 Jewish artisans in the camp, and 270 unskilled laborers, including German and Polish Jews.

The daily routine was as follows: reveille at 4:30 AM. Work began at 5:30 AM and lasted until 12:00 PM. After a lunch break at 1:00 PM, we returned to work and usually finished at 5:00 PM. However, this was only if there were no urgent orders.

I did various carpentry jobs. We were given 300 grams of bread per day. Actually, this was a nominal amount, because we never actually got 300 grams. In the morning, we were usually given soup, which was essentially just water with unpeeled potatoes. For lunch, it was the same soup, the only difference being a couple of potatoes. For dinner, coffee with 18 grams of sugar. That was the daily menu. The Germans were especially provocatively picky about the work of Jewish specialists. If a German didn't like a chair, you could bet he'd hit you over the head with it. I had such an experience. I made a custom-made so-called "spoon" for removing boots. The workshop chief, Unterscharführer Lanz, looked at the product and, without saying a word, hit me in the face with it. The unskilled laborers suffered the most abuse and beatings. If you displease a German in any way, you are guaranteed a flogging.

I saw a German Jew named Paul beaten with sticks so hard for going to the toilet without asking permission, by Unterscharführer Einbuch and two guards, Braun and Ratz, all three of them, that he broke his spine. The dying Paul was dragged into the forest and shot there.

In July 1942, 350 Jews were brought to the camp from Warsaw. Among them were about 100 boys aged 12-13. These boys and 30 adult men were left in the camp. The remaining 200 were shot. Unterscharführer Einbuch oversaw this execution. The SS carried it out.

In the last days of July, I remember well, on a Saturday, Untersturmführer Prefi forced 100 boys to sing songs all day. By evening, he had selected 50 of the strongest of them, and shot the rest that same day in the forest. Of the 50 remaining in the camp, the next day they were sent to work at the Małkinia station. Two of this group escaped.

Upon returning to the camp, Unterscharführer Stumpe and Gruppenwachsmann Munke organized the execution of 18 boys as punishment. I was not in the forest where they were shot. Before my eyes, they were all rounded up and led into the forest. Along the way, guards prodded them with sticks and rifle butts. A few minutes later, a volley of gunfire was heard. The guards returned without the boys. It should be noted that the Germans and guards never took anyone far away to be shot. Not only did they not intend to hide their atrocities, but, on the contrary, they did everything to ensure that their brutal reprisals or the threatening <warning?> would be familiar to each of us. One late evening, already dark, a truck was heading toward the camp; the road was not yet good. The truck got stuck in the sand. Twenty Jews were sent to help. Two of them, brothers, took advantage of the opportunity to escape. For this, Prefi ordered the guards to shoot 28 Jews. Addressing us, Prefi said, "Today is a good day—the shooting of 28 Jews." He said this in his usual joking tone when discussing the deaths of dozens of people. It was a Sunday. Two weeks later, in the city of Siedlce, the gendarmerie detained two brothers who had escaped and escorted them back to the camp. They were forced to stand at attention all day. This despite the fact that one of them had been wounded in the arm. That evening, during roll call, in the presence of all the Jewish workers, they were tied up. Moreover, they were tied up in an unusual way: with their heads pressed against their feet. They lay on the ground like this all night. In the morning, Rottenführer Meiwis and Unterscharführer Schwarz trampled them underfoot and beat them with sticks in front of everyone.

And then, together with a group of 7 sick people, they were taken to the forest and shot there.

In August 1942, a new batch of Jews arrived in Treblinka. Three hundred of the healthiest men were sent to our camp, the rest to the death camp. All 300 were assigned to build a highway and access roads to the garage. They had to carry large boulders 200 meters. Some were unable to cope and collapsed on the road under the unbearable weight. The Germans Einbuch, Schwarz, and Meiwis, as well as guards Ushanikov, Braun, and Stiebe—a Gruppenwachmann, and later a Zugwachmann, Oberwachmann Nikolai, and Oberwachmann Emel—used the most savage, yet characteristic, methods of reprisal against the weak: they would collectively pick up a stone dropped by a weak person and drop it on the person themselves, or simply hit them on the head with the stone. Thus, 6 people were killed, about 100 crippled people were sent to camp No. 2, in exchange for which they received healthy ones.

I forgot to mention one very important detail. When the 300 Jews I mentioned above arrived at the camp, Unterscharführer Linder and Unterscharführer Hagen ordered everyone to immediately hand over all gold jewelry, money, and valuables, or face execution. Identity documents of those arriving at the camp were immediately destroyed in public. In September of that same year, four Jews from the towns of Falenica and Rembertow hid in the attic of a barracks occupied by free laborers, intending to escape the camp that night. One of the free laborers, a Pole, reported this to camp authorities. Einbuch, Ushanikov, and Rottenführer Weisser dragged the Jews from the attic and stabbed all four to death with bayonets right there near the barracks. One of the Jews fought with the oberwachman Ushanikov and inflicted [illegible] a knife wound to his face.

Every day, two or three corpses were brought from Małkinia station, where they went to work.

Doctors Mikhovsky and then Olzer periodically examined the prisoners. Those they deemed ill were taken into the forest and shot by the Germans that same day. The only medicine in the camp was a bullet. This was in mid-January 1943. The camp commandant, Hauptsturmführer van Eupen, announced that he was going to the Warsaw Ghetto to seek specialists.

That same day, 37 sick Jews were singled out, their hands frostbitten and temporarily paralyzed. They were ordered to clean out the latrine and carry all the filth out into the forest on stretchers. The first pair went into the forest and never returned. The second pair went into the forest and also never returned. The rest realized what was happening and refused to go into the forest. Then guards came out of the forest—one of them named Mikola—and beat the rest to death with sticks. This Mikola must be credited with possessing an extraordinary skill in taking a person's life with a single blow to the head. He infallibly delivered a single blow. That was enough. He had become so skilled at quickly and easily taking people's lives without wasting lead. All these human degenerates seemed to compete with each other in cruelty. In January, a carload of rutabagas arrived at the camp. One of the camp labor prisoners took one and began eating it. Prefi approached him and asked him to open his mouth and show what he was eating. The Jewish worker complied. And as soon as he opened his mouth, Prefi fired his pistol straight into his mouth. He fell down dead.

One evening in February, I was returning to my barracks from the commandant's office, where I had been repairing a cabinet. Quite by chance, I witnessed the following episode: late in the evening, workers were returning one by one from the Małkinia station to the camp. Outside the gates, on either side, stood Unterscharführer Schwarz, Rottenführer Weisser, Gruppenwachmann Braun, and Shannikov. As soon as a worker entered the camp, one of the group would push him in the opposite direction, and the one standing opposite would hit him on the head with a wooden mallet. Braun wielded the hammer more than anyone else. One blow from his hammer would take a man's life. It was a short and precise blow. Such was Braun's virtuosity in the field of murder. During this evening "study," up to 30 people were killed. In the morning, they all lay frozen at the entrance. In March, a guard led three Jews into the forest to chop wood. The Jews killed the guard and fled. The next day, the guard's funeral took place. At the guard's grave (which remains to this day), in an act of revenge, the guards killed 101 Jews from the labor camp with sticks. Among them, I know Manfried from Germany and Toltosch, also from Germany.

In April, while sitting in the workshop, I heard a terrible scream. Looking out the window, I saw guards (I don't know their names), three of them, chopping off the heads of Jewish workers with axes. They hacked seven people to death. A little later, I learned the reason for this savage massacre. A group of Jews was sent to work in the forest. Several escaped. Then the rest were brought to the camp. Seven were killed with an axe. The rest were beaten with sticks. The guards always carried out all such reprisals with the knowledge and on the instructions of Unterscharführer Einbuch. Unterscharführer Schwarz could always be seen with a stick in his hand. He liked to ask people whenever he met them: "Do you want to live?" (Willst du leben?). Upon receiving a "yes" answer, he would hit them with his stick, as if in reward.

I remember one April, a group of us Jewish workers were clearing snow. One of our group, apparently tired, went to the restroom. Schwartz pulled him out and asked his signature question: "Willst du leben?" ("Do you want to live?"). He replied, "I do." Schwartz swung his stick and hit him hard across the torso. He fell. Schwartz asked the same question again, as the man groaned in terrible pain. He barely managed to utter, "I do." Schwartz hit him again with his stick. This time, on the head. He died.

That same April, Prefi and Shannikov hacked to pieces with an axe a Jew from Grodno who had escaped from the Małkinia station while working.

In early May 1943, 10 disassembled barracks were brought to the camp by train. The distance from the railway line to the camp was 200 meters. Along the entire journey from the train to the camp grounds, SS men and guards stood on both sides, relentlessly beating anyone who showed any signs of fatigue with sticks. Seven workers were killed. In the first ten days of May, up to 1,000 people were brought from Warsaw. Some were used to build the barracks, others were sent to work at Małkinia station. Every day, 10-15 corpses were brought from there to the camp.

Camp Commandant van Eupen, drunk, mounted his horse and galloped into a group of workers walking from the Małkinia station.

Drunken SS men rushed out of the building with shovels and struck the workers prostrate on the ground with all their might. The massacre continued for a long time. Fifty workers were killed. The SS men then fired their rifles indiscriminately, so a significant number of the 50 were killed by gunfire.

The SS had no trouble executing innocent people. One July day, Prefi, for no apparent reason, fired a burst of machine gun fire from his window. Several people were killed.

In July, a group of men and women arrived at the camp. Commandant Eupen selected several beautiful women. They stayed with him all night, their screams audible. By morning, they were shot.

In November, due to a lack of work at Małkinia station, a group of 300 Jews was transferred to the camp to work on road construction. Three or four people were leaving daily. The trend toward their complete extermination was quite obvious. And in December, I remember, 50 people were shot on Saturday and the remaining 100 on Sunday. Many were shot while sorting military clothing that had arrived at the camp for storage.

It was freezing, and the workers were very lightly dressed, so everyone naturally took some of this clothing for themselves. If the Germans noticed anyone wearing military clothing, they shot them without a word. In June 1944, Eupen himself supervised the hanging of two Jews who had escaped from the camp.

A short time earlier, a Jew from Warsaw had been executed. Unterscharführer Lanz had found a notebook in his possession, recording all the atrocities committed by the Germans. In July, rumors of the approaching Red Army began to filter into the camp.

On July 23, 1944, a significant number of SS troops arrived at the camp. All Jews in the camp were ordered out of their barracks and onto the square. Only a small group of tailors, shoemakers, and carpenters was left behind to finish their work. Those gathered in the square were asked to lie down on the ground. Then, in groups of twenty, they were led into the forest to be shot. Some of the first two groups managed to escape. Then the SS ordered the next group to go into the forest with their hands raised and their trousers pulled down, which impeded their freedom of movement. 570 people were shot that day.

I have nothing more to add. This is written down accurately from my words and was read to me [signature/].

Military investigator of the 65th Army's military prosecutor's office [signature/]

= Mendel Koritnicki. Treblinka death camp. Wólka Dolna. September 23, 1944 =

''' Interrogation protocol of Mendel Koritnicki, former member of the Treblinka labor team. Village of Wólka Dolna, September 23, 1944. GARF 7445-2-134 pp. 52-61. '''

V[illage] of Wólka Dolna, Kosów Commune, Sokołów County, Lublin Voivodeship, September 23, 1944.

Military investigator of the Military Prosecutor's Office, Senior Lieutenant of Justice Yurovsky, interrogated the below-named witness, who testified:

Koritnicki Mendel Izrailovich, born in 1904, native of Warsaw, resident of the village of Albinów, Kosów Commune, Sokołów County, Jewish, 6th grade education, tailor by profession.

Warned of liability for refusing to testify and for giving false testimony /signature/.

He testified in essence:

From 1940 until September 1942, I was in the Warsaw Ghetto. On the evening of September 2, I was returning home from the garment factory where I had recently worked. I was unable to enter my home because a roundup was taking place at that time, and all the Jews were being lined up outside to be transported to the train station. I told the SS man standing outside my house that I had a legitimization—a deferment—due to my work at the military garment factory. He replied that I should line up, and then, after checking my documents, I would be released.

But this didn't happen. Each of us was allowed to take a total of no more than 15 kilograms of belongings and sent to the station square, where up to 6,000 Jews had gathered, including men, women, the elderly, and children. Until the last minute, I was convinced there had been a mistake, that the management, as soon as they learned of what had happened, would return me to work. But later it became clear that this mass exodus of Jews from Warsaw was a state-sponsored event, coordinated locally with the factory and plant management.

A train of 60 cars approached the station. 100 people were loaded into each car. The cramped conditions were exceptional, especially considering that the Polish cars were significantly smaller than the Russian ones. There were no official announcements about the purpose or route of our journey during this entire time. Rumors circulated that we were going to work in Ukraine. On the evening of September 3, the train departed Warsaw station and arrived at Treblinka<ref name="ftn61">Misspelled as “Tremblinka” in the text.</ref> station on the morning of September 4. All the carriages were locked for the entire journey.

Air came in through a single, tiny window. Food was not provided, and we couldn't even get water at the stations. The guards severely punished us for even the slightest attempt to communicate with anyone outside the car. All night long, we could hear the guards' gunshots and the screams of those inside the cars. For even a single request for water in the car, the guards, without a word, fired into the car.

So it wasn't surprising that when the train cars were opened at Treblinka, some of them were found to be half dead. The train stopped not at the Treblinka camp itself, but at the Treblinka station, 2 kilometers short of the camp. We asked the people standing at the station where we were being taken. They all gave different answers. But I vividly remember how some boys told us, "You'll go two kilometers, and then you'll only have half an hour to live." Twenty cars were detached from the entire train. I was in those first 20 cars. On the way to the camp, I noticed a group of Jews working on the railroad. These, as I later learned, were prisoners from Treblinka Camp No. 1. Our train entered the camp grounds. It's important to note this detail: this time, as on all other occasions, all the cars entered the camp grounds itself, while the locomotive was attached to the rear of the train at Treblinka station and never entered the camp grounds. This was apparently done so that the locomotive crew would be completely unaware of camp affairs.

The train doors opened, and we all stepped out onto the platform. The platform was commanded by German guards and a Jew wearing an armband with the inscription "Lagerältster" [camp elder], which literally meant "senior" or "oldest in the camp." The women were lined up separately, led to a nearby barrack, and, before reaching it, were asked to remove their boots and stockings and leave them near the barracks, while they themselves, with all their personal belongings, entered the barracks.

The men stood in the square the entire time, no more than 10 meters from the women's locker room. I distinctly heard a German address the women in the locker room with the following words: "Undress. Leave your things here and get ready for the bathhouse. Take your money and gold with you; deposit them at the cashier's office on your way to the bathhouse and pick them up on your way back." All the things remained in the locker room. The women were led to the so-called bathhouse. The men were ordered to line up. The chief of reception at the camp, Unterscharführer Max Biala,<ref name="ftn62">Biala (Bila) Max (1905–1942) was an SS Rottenführer. He began his service in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, then in the "T-4" program, and from July 1942 in Treblinka. He was mortally wounded on September 11 by the prisoner M. Berliner. A barracks where the guards lived was named after him.</ref> as I later learned, selected the healthiest men and announced to them, including myself, that they would be used for various tasks[?]. Our first task was to carry the things the women had left behind to the sorting department. The rest were ordered to undress and get ready for the bathhouse. Thus, considering that up to 190 of the healthiest men were retained for various jobs, 1,800–1,850 men, women, and children from our first batch were sent to the bathhouse. Moreover, all of them were processed through the "bathhouse" within half an hour, because within the next half hour, another 20 wagons arrived, and everything was repeated with the same sequence.

After these 20 cars, the last 20 cars of our train arrived. The entire procedure I described with them occurred in the same order and sequence. That evening, Unterscharführer Max Bella lined up all the men left for work again and began selecting the most fit, strong men, and those without any signs of beatings. The rest were taken to the so-called hospital. The hospital was a substantial pit, surrounded by pine saplings, where the executions of Jews guilty of misbehavior or unfit for work took place. The next day, I received another assignment—cleaning the platform and incoming cars. I served there, on the camp's work crew, until July 26, 1943.

During this time, the team performed various tasks. The first week, I was busy cleaning the platform and incoming train cars, and the second week, I was assigned to carry corpses from the cells to the pits. It should be noted that my job consisted of adjusting the position of the corpses lying on stretchers. I had to reposition them so they lay face up, as nearby dentists were extracting all their gold teeth. Then, for two days, I worked on the construction of the second "bathhouse" building, then a week camouflaging the camp with pine branches. For seven months, I was busy chopping wood, and the last two months, I worked as a tinsmith.

The work crew had the following routine. We rose at 5:00 a.m. and worked from 6:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. Then there was an hour-long break, and work usually continued until 6:00 or 7:00 p.m. Sometimes trains arrived late in the evening or at night. In these cases, we worked day and night. At the slightest provocation, and more often than not for no reason at all, the Germans and the guards supervising our work would cruelly abuse us, beating us with whips, sticks, or hard objects. In June 1943, such an incident happened to me. While melting resin, I was lost in thought. At that moment, the commandant's closest assistant, Untersturmführer Franz Kurt, approached me and asked me why I was lying down during work hours. I replied that I had not been lying down, but only "sitting down?" This was followed by a terrible blow to the head from the rake that Kurt was holding in his hand. The blow was so forceful that the rake broke. That wasn't enough. That evening, as a disciplinary measure, the same Franz Kurt ordered me to lie down on a bench, tied me up, and administered 50 lashes to my body. Fifty lashes was his standard number, a number he never deviated from. If anyone showed signs of fatigue during work, they were immediately taken to the pits and shot, ostensibly under the pretext of being transferred to corpse-carrying duties.

I remember once an Unterscharführer named [illegible] shot a young man from Częstochowa in the square in front of everyone because he was absent-minded while packing his belongings: he put an armband with a Zionist star among other things.

The arrival of train cars carrying people was uneven. There were days when up to 180 train cars arrived, more often 60-80.<ref name="ftn63">The sentence is underlined with a red pencil.</ref> Other days, no trains arrived at all. Jews were also brought from nearby ghettos by car or on foot. During my time at the camp, Jews arrived from various European and American countries: Poland, Belarus, Austria, Germany itself, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria. Among the American Jews were those who were still in Europe when the Nazis occupied Europe.<ref name="ftn64">The sentence is underlined with a red pencil, and a vertical line is drawn next to it in the margin with the same pencil.</ref> The Germans promised them repatriation, allowed them to take all their belongings with them, and transported them to Treblinka.

A significant percentage of those arriving were intellectuals. Many were doctors and engineers. It's hard for me to remember their names now, because they didn't stay in the camp: they were immediately sent to the "bathhouse." I knew one of Warsaw's most famous doctors, Milikowski, well. He ended up in Treblinka and shared the fate of others. I witnessed a professor from Częstochowa being sent to the "bathhouse."

Because word of the Treblinka death camp had spread far beyond its borders, and the very name Treblinka (illegible) had become quite popular and, naturally, caused anxiety among those heading there, the appearance of a completely different station was created near the platform to mislead those arriving. For this purpose, the station was named "Ober-Majdan." Banners were hung, reading "Białystok" and "Wołkowysk," thus demonstrating the transit nature of Ober-Majdan Station. Furthermore, there was a sign reading "Ticket Office," with a typical station clock mounted above it. All of this was a sham. This station had no connection whatsoever with either Białystok or Wołkowysk. The ticket office was inactive.

On the square near the platform, a large sign in German read: "Attention. Undress. Place your belongings in storage, and your money and gold in the cash register. Submit to disinfection. Afterwards, you will receive new clothes and be transported to Ukraine."

All arrivals were lined up.<ref name="ftn65">The beginning of the paragraph is highlighted with a pencil and the word "from".</ref> The women were led away first. They undressed near the building, instructing them to remove their boots and stockings, tie them up, and place them right there near the building. They were then asked to enter and undress themselves. They were required to leave all belongings and clothing in the locker room.

There, without exception, everyone had their hair cut. From the locker room, a path, lined on both sides with barbed wire woven with pine branches, led to the so-called bathhouse. Along the way, everyone was forced to hand over documents, money, and gold to the cashier. The women entered the "bathhouse" first. Meanwhile, using every measure of force, the Germans and guards forced the men to undress in the courtyard outside the barracks. Each person was required to carry their boots to the special sorting barrack "B" and all other clothing to barracks #1. Then they returned to the locker room and, bypassing the cashier where they handed over documents, money, and gold, headed to the bathhouse. The Germans and guards used every means of abuse against these defenseless people, from insults to their national sensibilities to beatings and executions on the spot. It is important to note that all personal belongings, gold and other valuable items, as well as women's hair, taken from people were sorted and packed by a special group of workers, and all of this was sent by train to Germany.

It's characteristic that everyone entering the "bathhouse" had to raise their hands, and an SS officer standing at the entrance checked to see if anyone had hidden gold.

I worked for a week in October 1942 in the second section of the Treblinka camp, which was quite rightfully called a death camp. By this time, the first "bathhouse" building, consisting of three cells, was already completed and operational; the second, ten-cell building, was under construction.

I spent the first five days working at the first building, transporting corpses, and two days constructing the second "bathhouse."

The current "bathhouse" was a small, wide building with a sealed roof. A Zionist star—the sign of David—was installed on the roof at the entrance. Climbing the stairs, we entered a corridor. At the opposite end of the corridor, a motor was installed, and next to it was the room where Ivan and Mikola, the motor's operators, lived.

Three doors also opened onto the corridor, leading to cells. The cells measured 4x5x2 meters. The floor was tiled, the walls plastered. Opposite the entrance door was the exit door, which opened not in the usual way—to the side—but from the bottom up, as the lintels were at the top of the door frame. Each cell had a pipe running from the motor. A small window was cut into the ceiling, through which Unterscharführer Schmidt, who was in charge of the "bathhouse," observed the goings-on in the cells. A cement platform was installed at the rear of this building, onto which the corpses were dumped. The cells were packed to capacity. At the entrance to the cells, as a rule, with whips stood Unterscharführer Schmidt, the head of this gas chamber, Unterscharführer Lefner, Unterscharführer Butskov, who later committed suicide, Scharführer Matis, Oberscharführer Karol, Unterscharführer Florian and guards Ivan and Mikola.

As people approached the cells, they lost all illusions; it became clear to them that death lay ahead. Terrible screams, groans, and cries were constantly heard. The Germans and guards forced them into the cells, beating them.

Ivan was particularly brutal. He cut out ears, noses, and women's breasts. I witnessed this horrific scene several times. Moreover, while committing these monstrous atrocities, Ivan would let out a sinister laugh. While carrying corpses, I witnessed thousands of people being strangled. There were cases where each person carrying ten stretchers from a single cell had to return four times to retrieve a corpse. Thus, 400 people were admitted into a single cell at a time. There were three such cells.

Many of the corpses were missing ears, and women were missing breasts. Many had blood coming from their nasopharynxes. The chambers operated only during the day. It's interesting to note the following fact for understanding the nature of death in the chambers: the motor was located inside the building itself; there was no exhaust venting. During my work, there was no mass cremation of corpses, as was the case later. As I've already shown, dentists extracted all the gold teeth from the corpses and dumped them in pits, lightly covering them with earth. The cremation of corpses became widespread in November 1942. I saw special excavators digging up previously dumped corpses. I also saw the so-called furnaces used for cremation. The design of such a furnace is simple: rails are laid on supports at small intervals. Moreover, these furnaces were built not in pits, but on the surface, to ensure a plentiful supply of air.<ref name="ftn66">The end of the paragraph is marked with an ordinary pencil and the word "to".</ref>

Question: Besides what you've already said, what other instances of German atrocities in this camp are known to you?

Answer: There were two work teams in the camp: one wore blue armbands and was called the "heavenly team." Its job was to clean the platform and incoming train cars. A similar team of 40 people was called the "red team," as each of them wore a red armband. The leaders of both teams were the so-called Kapos, and their assistants were the Vorarbeiter. One day, in October 1942, a Jewish member of the heavenly team asked a guard how many guards there were in the camp. Untersturmführer Franz Kurt declared the Jew a spy and, in full view of everyone, hanged him upside down on the gallows.

Kurt's faithful and constant companion was an enormous dog named "Bari." This dog had apparently undergone extensive training. If Kurt pointed at a worker and said, "He doesn't want to work," the dog would run up to them and always try to grab their genitals. This always ended with the wounded man being carried to the outpatient clinic and then exterminated. The sick were not treated. The sick and weak were sent to the infirmary, meaning to be shot.

In October of that same year, 1942, a Jewish prisoner killed Unterscharführer Max Biala for mocking his wife.<ref name="ftn67">The person in question is Max Biala (or Bila), and he was killed not in October, but on September 11th.</ref> That same day, on orders from the commandant, whose name I don't remember, Franz Kurt shot this Jew and four others in front of everyone. That evening, 10 more prisoners were shot for the same thing, and the next morning, 60 people. One day in April 1943, Oberscharführer Kuttner came into sorting barrack "A." He noticed one of the Jewish workers sitting listlessly, not working. He asked him why he was inactive. The man replied that he was ill and asked to be sent to the infirmary. Kuttner replied that he couldn't do that. The next day, he summoned the sick man and said: "Yesterday you wanted to go to the infirmary, but the German didn't want to. Today you don’t want to - I want to” and sent him to our notorious hospital to be shot.

In February 1943, I remember, two new Jews were shot because, lacking firewood for cooking, they chopped up two wooden stretchers.

As for being whipped, each of us suffered this on a daily basis.

Question: List all the personnel of Treblinka Camp No. 2 who were directly responsible for the barbaric plan to exterminate the Jewish population.

Answer:
# Obersturmführer Himala—the camp commandant, who devoted much effort to perfecting the entire extermination machine. He loved order in everything and severely punished anyone who displeased him.
# Untersturmführer Franz Kurt – the commandant's closest aide. He was known for his cruelty. For his excellent "service," he was promoted from Oberscharführer to Untersturmführer, skipping one rank.
# Unterscharführer Milya – was in charge of receiving incoming trains. Before the German-Polish War, he voluntarily came to Germany from America and joined the SS.
# Scharführer Post – supervised the Ukrainian guards and conducted training among them.
# Oberscharführer Kuttner – camp chief. He supervised the work teams. His ferocity and bullying rivaled Franz Kurt's. He beat people without provocation and sent many Jewish workers to be shot.
# Staff Sergeant Stadie – headed the camp office and occasionally acted as the commandant. Before the German-Polish War, he lived in the town of Łódź (Poland). Short, plump, with a feral expression, he meddled in everything. He was primarily responsible for the execution of two cooks for breaking two stretchers.
# Unterscharführer Schmidt – Chief of the "bathhouse," he directly supervised the killing of hundreds and thousands of people in the "bathhouse" gas vans.
# Oberscharführer Karol – Chief of the Corpse Incineration Department. Under his direction and with his direct participation, the mass incineration of corpses took place to cover up the criminal extermination of the Jewish population in the Treblinka camp.
# Scharführer Matisse<ref name="ftn68">This likely refers to Heinrich Arthur Mattes (1902–1978), who joined the SA and the NSDAP in 1934. In 1940, he joined the "T-4" program, and from 1941 to 1942, he served as a medical orderly on the Soviet front. From August 1942, he was in Treblinka, where he was in charge of the extermination zone. From September 1943, he was in Sobibor, and then in Italy.</ref> – Karol's deputy.
# Unterscharführer Butzkov – was in charge of transporting corpses from the chamber to the pits. He demonstrated exceptional loyalty to his service.
# Unterscharführer Leerner – worked in the 2nd section, near the corpses. He brutally beat workers who were unable to keep up with the corpse transfer.
# Unterscharführer Florian – a body-carrying overseer. He zealously carried out his duties, beating workers with a whip. Before the Nazi-Polish War, he lived in the Silesian Voivodeship (Poland).
# Unterscharführer Mita<ref name="ftn69">This refers to August Miete.</ref> – the last chief of the "hospital," where the executions of camp workers took place. He was nicknamed the devil. He took the lives of innocent people.
# Unterscharführer Mentz – the first chief of the "hospital," where sick and weakened Jewish workers were executed; before the Nazi-Polish War, he lived in Bydgoszcz (Poland).
# Unterscharführer Paul Bredow<ref name="ftn70">Paul (1902-1945) was an SS Unterscharführer and a trained nurse. He served in the "T-4" program, from 1942 in Sobibor (where he was in charge of the "infirmary"), and from the spring of 1943 in Treblinka (where he was in charge of sorting barracks A). After its closure, he served in Italy.</ref> – chief of sorting in Barrack "A." He actively participated in robbing people arriving at the camp. Under his leadership, clothes were sorted, packed and sent to Germany.
# Unterscharführer Sydow – Chief of Camp Camouflage.
# Unterscharführer Schiffner – Chief of Carpenters and Metalworkers. A German from the Sudetenland.
# Unterscharführer Zeiffner – Performed various police and economic functions.
# Unterscharführer Rum – Chief of Sorting Barrack No. 1. Took direct part in robbing arriving prisoners.
# Unterscharführer Genz<ref name="ftn71">Genz Ernst was an SS Scharführer. Together with Belitz, he supervised the unloading of people from the trains. After the liquidation of Treblinka, he was transferred to Sobibor.</ref> – Chief of the camp's transport group. Was responsible for receiving incoming elements.
# Unterscharführer Bilitz<ref name="ftn72">Belitz, Willi – SS Unterscharführer. He served in the "T-4" program, and from 1942 in Treblinka. He worked in the "upper" camp and also participated in unloading people from the trains. After the liquidation of Treblinka, he was in Italy.</ref> – Had the same duties.
# Unterscharführer Sukhomil – Chief of Money Sorting. He was in charge of the cash register where Jews were robbed of all their documents, gold, and money. A Sudeten German provocateur who ingratiated himself with the prisoners and then told Kurt about all his conversations with them. This was followed by executions.
# Oberscharführer Ludwig – worked in the "bathhouse" gas chamber, while also working as a driver.
# Unterscharführer Metzink – head of the camp's food service.
# Unterscharführer Petzinger<ref name="ftn73">Petzinger Karl (1908-1944) was an SS Scharführer. He worked within the "T-4" program, and in Treblinka he was involved in supervising the exhumation and burning of bodies in the "upper" camp. After the liquidation of the camp, he was transferred to Sobibor, and then to Italy. He was killed in action.</ref> – was responsible for carrying and burning corpses.
# Unterscharführer Sepp – head of the women's locker room, where Jewish women's belongings were confiscated and from where they were forcibly sent to the "bathhouse." He was violent, beating women and children.
# Zugvakhman Strube – senior guard, a German from the Volga. Under his leadership, the guards carried out brutal reprisals against prisoners and directly carried out all of Franz Kurt's plans to execute people.
# Zugvakhman Alexander Jaeger, a German from Russia. He was the senior guard platoon leader.
# Zugvakhman Biederman, a German from the Volga region, was in charge of the Ukrainian guards.
# Zugvakhman Schultz – staff clerk.
# Zugvakhman Regosa – a Ukrainian from Poland, guard platoon commander.
# Zugvakhman Manzhuk – a Pole from Piotrków, worked at the guardhouse.
# Zugvakhman Loch – platoon commander, a Pole from Warsaw.
# Zugvakhman Ribertus – platoon commander, a German from Poland.
# Vakhman Vasily Voronkov – killed many defenseless people, Russian.

I have nothing more to add. This is written down accurately from my words and was read to me [signature/].

Recorded by investigator of the Military Prosecutor's Office, Senior Lieutenant of Justice [signature/ Yurovsky]

Question: Besides the Jewish population, were people of other nationalities exterminated?

Answer: Besides Jews, Roma were also exterminated. During my stay in the camp, 1,000–1,100 Roma were exterminated.

Question: Do you know which senior government, Nazi, and SS officials visited the camp?

Answer: In October 1942, when I was working in the camp's 2nd Department, Himmler arrived by plane. Accompanied by others, he inspected the pits full of corpses, and the entire tour lasted only a few minutes. Without saying anything, he quickly left.

It was obvious from everything that this was some high-ranking SS official. I learned it was Himmler from a German and a guard. I remember the German swearing, saying, "Damn it, Himmler's here, and they're not working."

SS generals came from Berlin and Lublin several times. I don't know their names. I can't add anything else. This is written down correctly and was read to me /signature/.

[Military] Investigator, Senior Lieutenant of the Justice [Signature/] [Yurovsky]

= Mendel Koritnicki. Treblinka death camp. Sterdyń. September 26, 1944 =

''' Additional protocol of interrogation of Mendel Koritnitsky. Sterdyń, September 26, 1944. GARF 7445-2-134 p. 62. '''

The city of Sterdyń, Sokołów County, September 26, 1944. The military investigator of the military prosecutor's office of the 65th Army, senior lieutenant of justice Yurovsky, interrogated the below-named as a witness, who testified:

Koritnicki Mendel (further known)

I have been warned about the responsibility for refusing to testify and for giving false testimony /signature/.

In addition to the testimony I have given, I report:

I. As I recall, the commandant of Camp No. 2, where I spent my time from July 1942 to August 1943, was not Himalya, but Obersturmführer Otto Stangel, a German from Dresden.<ref name="ftn74">The correct name is Franz Stangl. He was not from Dresden, but from Austria.</ref> Himalya was often at the camp, but I don't know his subsequent status.

Otto Stangel carved out a career for himself in this field. He was distinguished by his ferocity and exceptional meticulousness in matters related to the killing of people. He was often absent from the camp, during which time he was engaged in rounding up Jews in various towns and villages.

For the first seven months under me he was an Oberleutnant of the Gendarmerie, and then he was awarded the rank of SS-Obersturmführer.

To understand his contribution to Hitler's plan to exterminate the Jewish population, one must take into account that becoming an SS officer was not an easy task.

Among other persons from the camp staff I remembered:
# Unterscharführer Adolf (I don’t know his last name) - served in the second, labor section of the camp;
# Unterscharführer Gustav (I don’t know his last name)<ref name="ftn75">This refers to Gustav Münzberger.

</ref> – served during the burning of corpses.

Franz Kurt took over in Stangel's absence.

II. In October 1942, a motor for the ten-cell gas chamber arrived at the camp. I helped carry it. There were about 15 of us, but that wasn't enough to lift it. We had to use rails. So you can imagine the motor was quite large. I know for sure—it was a French motor. I don't remember the brand.

I can't add anything else. It was written down correctly and read to me /signature/.

Military investigator of the military prosecutor's office of the 65th Army /signature/

= Jakub Domb. Treblinka death camp. Kosów Lacki. September 23, 1944 =

''' Interrogation protocol of Jakub Domb regarding the functioning of the Treblinka death camp and the preparation of the uprising of August 2, 1943 [Kosów Lacki], September 23, 1944. GARF 7445-2-134 pp. 72-78. '''

On September 23, 1944, the military investigator of the military prosecutor's office of the 65th Army, Guards Senior Lieutenant of Justice Malov, in compliance with Articles 162-168 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the RSFSR, interrogated as a witness:

Domb Jakub Cukovich, born in 1905, native of the city of Nowy Dwór, near Modlin, Warsaw Voivodeship, Jewish, married, 4th grade education, place of residence in the city of Nowy Dwór.

I have been warned of liability for giving false testimony under Article 95 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR /signature/.

Translation from Polish into Russian was performed by translator Lachman Tomajs Matveevich, a resident of the town of Kosów, Sokołów County, who has been warned of liability for false translation /signature/.

In essence, witness Domb testified:

In 1939, I moved with my family—my wife and four-year-old son—from Nowy Dwór to Warsaw, where I found work as a tailor. After occupying Poland, the Germans, beginning in 1940, began to round up all the Jews in Warsaw. A special section of the city was set aside for this purpose, completely isolated from the rest of the city. It was essentially a concentration camp called a ghetto. I lived in this section of Warsaw before the ghetto was built, and when it was built, I immediately found myself in it. Jews from all over Poland were brought to the ghetto, and by mid-1942, over 500,000 Jews had gathered there. Living conditions in the ghetto were appalling. No one was allowed outside the ghetto. No food was given, resulting in the Jews suffering from terrifying hunger, and several hundred people died of hunger every day. Moreover, the Germans perpetrated a veritable reign of terror here, shooting Jews almost daily for no apparent reason. The shootings became particularly frequent in mid-1942, when hundreds of people were killed daily in the streets—mutilated corpses were everywhere.

In July 1942, the Germans announced that all Jews from Warsaw would be resettled to Ukraine, where they would live well. The "ghetto" had its own Jewish police, which was ordered to gather no fewer than 6,000 Jews into the square every day from July 22, 1942, more were allowed. And starting from July 22, 1942, no fewer than 6,000 Jews were driven into the square every day—men, women, and children, and children did not count. Other Jews who were not subject to deportation were not allowed near the square on this day, so it was impossible to see what was happening in the square. First of all, they sent away Jews who were not working anywhere, and then they began to send away Jews who worked in German factories. Around mid-August 1942, when I came home one day, I did not find my wife and son at home, and the neighbors told me that they had been driven into the square and sent to Ukraine. I never saw my wife and son again, and only at the end of November 1942, when I was already working in the "death camp" sorting out garbage, I accidentally found a photograph of my son Itzik. He was photographed when he was two and a half years old, and I also found a photograph of a Jewish woman I knew with a baby, but I don't remember her last name. That's how I learned that my wife Pesia and son Itzik had been exterminated in the "death camp." I worked in Warsaw until September 20, 1942. On that day, the SS came to the factory, took all of us Jews, put us in cars and drove us to the train station, to a train where several thousand Jews had already been transported. When I arrived at the station, I saw the SS whipping the Jews and forcing them into the train cars with blows. The train had about 60 carriages, and we were herded into each carriage, 50-60 people at a time, and this was probably the only time there were only a few people in the carriage. Usually, the cars arriving at the "death camp" contained at least 170 people each. We left Warsaw when it was already dark and traveled all night, and on September 23, 1942, early in the morning, the train arrived at Treblinka station. At Treblinka station, they began to detach the cars 20 at a time from the train and divert them along a railway line into the forest. I was in the first 20 cars. From the railway, they took us through a small forest, and the train of 20 cars entered an area fenced with barbed wire. Here the train stopped, the door on the left side of the car was opened, and everyone was ordered to quickly disembark. For ease of unloading, an earthen ramp was built to the left of the cars, to which all 20 cars approached. When I got out of the train car, the first thing I saw was a pile of all kinds of shoes several meters high, about six to eight meters, near the railway track on the right side of the disembarkation area. A few meters from the disembarkation point, behind a barbed fence, stood two large buildings, about 30 meters apart. When we disembarked from the train cars, we were surrounded by guards armed with whips and sticks. To keep us from coming to our senses, they began beating us and quickly herded us into a clearing between the barracks. In the center of the clearing was a well, and behind it stood a large, wide sign that read: "Varsovians, go to the bathhouse. Get new underwear, prepare your documents, money, and valuables, and hand them over to the cashier. You will receive them back after the bathhouse." As soon as we were driven to the clearing, the women were ordered to the left and the men to the right. Then all the women were herded into the left barrack, while we men were lined up near the right barrack. They began asking us who had served in the military and had no family. Of these, 50 were selected. I was among them. While they were selecting us, the women had already undressed and were led straight from the barracks, along a path fenced with wire and camouflaged with branches, to the bathhouse. We couldn't see how they were being led, only heard loud screams and cries. There were about 1,500 to 2,000 women and children there. All the other men were also ordered to undress, and 50 of us were immediately led to the women's barracks to carry out the things the women had left behind. When we entered the barracks, the entire floor was littered with women's clothing, which we took and carried behind another barracks, where they were dumped into a huge pile and sorted. While we were wearing women's clothing, the other men who had arrived with us undressed and were also herded to the bathhouse. They were driven through the women's barracks, from which the path to the "bathhouse" led. When the men were driven away, we were forced to carry their things to be sorted as well. Later, the men themselves carried their things to be sorted, then returned and went to the "bathhouse." Everyone who went to the "bathhouse" never returned, because they were killed there, in this bathhouse, and the corpses were thrown into pits. I learned about this from conversations between workers on the very first day. I worked carrying things for about seven days, and during this time, no less than three trains of 60 cars arrived daily. The cars were loaded with 120 or more people, and while unloading, corpses were often pulled out of the cars, as people couldn't take it anymore and died en route. At the end of September 1942, I saw two trains arrive,<ref name="ftn76">Further on, the words "from Warsaw" are crossed out. At the bottom of the page there is a note that reads: "The crossed-out 'Warsaw' should be trusted."</ref> and I don't know where they came from, but up to 50% of the Jews traveling in these trains died en route. And we were forced to carry these corpses to the pits in the "hospital." We carried more than 2,000 corpses of men, women, and children from these two trains. While working on the corpses, I saw what the "hospital" was like. It was a huge pit about 50-60 meters to the right of the barracks. This pit was densely planted with fir trees all around; next to the pit there was a small booth where there was a Jew in a white robe; on the right sleeve of the robe there was a white armband with a red cross. There were also several guards and SS men here. This "hospital" was actually a place for the mass execution of Jews, which took place in the following way: when a train arrived and people were being unloaded, they were asked who was sick or old and unable to walk. People answered, meaning nothing, and then the sick were taken away, while those unable to walk were carried to the "hospital," where they were seated on a long bench next to the pit, facing the pit, and then the SS men and guards shot them in the back of the head and threw them into the pit. I personally witnessed this several times. For example, in late September 1942, I was working on carrying corpses to the pit, and when I arrived at the "hospital," I saw more than 40 sick and elderly people brought in, seated on the edge of the pit, and then all of them shot. People were taken to the "infirmary" every day, almost without interruption. Camp commandant Kurt Franz himself often participated in the executions.

The work crew was replaced daily, as dozens of workers were shot and beaten to death each day, replaced by new arrivals. I personally witnessed the following incidents:
# In March 1943, while packing a shirt, a worker forgot to remove the Jewish "Shield of David" sign from his shirt and packed the shirt. Unterschaftführer Mitte noticed this. He gathered all the workers in the square and shot the worker in front of everyone. Such incidents occurred repeatedly.
# Several times I saw workers beaten to death because bread or other food products were found in their pockets. Once, Hauptschaftführer Küttner<ref name="ftn77">This refers to Fritz Küttner, an SS Obersturmführer who was in charge of the "lower" camp.</ref> found a loaf of bread in a Jewish worker's pocket, for which he was beaten so badly that his entire body turned black, and then taken to the "hospital" and shot.
# In January 1943, a guard gave a piece of bread and sausage to a gold sorter for some reason. Kurt Franz saw this and began beating the worker. He beat him on the head with a whip until it was a bloody mess. After that, Franz shot the worker. Then, Hauptwachtmann Kuttner beat a Jew to death once for stealing two potatoes.
# At the end of September 1942, approximately on the second day of my arrival at the camp, one worker, a sorter of belongings, unable to bear the abuse, killed an SS man with a knife, for which he was hacked to pieces with shovels. In addition, about 100 Jewish workers were selected and killed as well.

I also witnessed a case where a worker, exhausted, asked to be shot; then the SS men and guards beat him for two days, saying, "Here's some easy work for you," and then killed him. Unterschaftführer Sepp, who killed infants, was especially brutal. In October 1942, I saw Sepp take a crying infant from the arms of a Jewish woman and, holding him by the legs, slam his head into the ground with such force that his brains flew everywhere; this happened near the women's locker room. I have described these incidents that stand out to me. Dozens of similar incidents occurred daily. I worked carrying things and corpses for only ten days, then chopped wood for six months, and cleaned latrines for the last four months. All this took place on the camp grounds. So I saw how the trains arrived, how they were unloaded, and how the work crew worked.

Question: Tell us what you know about the extermination of Jews in the “bathhouse”-gas chamber?

Answer: As I already said, I personally witnessed several trains carrying Jews arriving at the camp every day. The trains typically consisted of at least 60 cars. Each car held at least 100 people. Thus, up to 15,000 to 18,000 people arrived daily. All these people were herded into the locker rooms, where they stripped naked. Then they were herded to the bathhouse. Before this, the women had their hair cut, for which several Jewish hairdressers were stationed in the women's locker room. The hair was collected and taken away somewhere. A narrow corridor of barbed wire, hung with Christmas trees, led from the women's locker room to the "bathhouse," through which all the people were herded to the "bathhouse." Where this bathhouse was located, what its structure was, or how the extermination of people took place within it, I don't know, as I wasn't there. But from the accounts of Jews Goldfarb, Koritnicki, and others unknown to me who worked near the "bathhouse," I know the following: the corridor from the locker room was about 50-60 meters long and led directly to the door of the "bathhouse." Naked people were herded along this corridor. At one point near the corridor was a small building where everyone deposited documents and valuables. The corridor was lined with guards and SS men armed with whips and sticks, brutally beating people passing by, forcing them to walk faster. People walked down this corridor straight to the "bathhouse," which was a long building with a corridor down the middle. Along the sides of the corridor were cells, into which people were herded. I don't know how many cells there were. Each room had a door from the corridor that closed tightly. Similar doors led from each cell to the street. Up to 450 people were herded into each cell. Then the doors were closed and a motor was started, from which a pipe ran into the cells. What kind of motor it was or what kind of gas they used to suffocate the people, I don't know. People would remain in the cells for a short time, then open the outer doors and drag out the corpses, as everyone had died. Before carrying the corpses to the pit, their gold teeth were pulled out. All the corpses were dumped into enormous pits, where they were buried. This continued until the end of 1942, when two dredging machines were brought into the camp, which began digging up the pits and burning the corpses. From that time on, columns of black smoke rose over the camp day and night. The stench of decomposing corpses was unbearable. The burning of corpses continued until the end of the camp's existence. Suffocated bodies were no longer buried, but burned immediately. Initially, corpses were burned directly in pits, but since this was too slow, special rail grates were built on stones, onto which the corpses were laid. This method burned the corpses quickly. According to the accounts of these same Jews, many thousands of corpses were burned daily. I remained in the camp until August 1943, and during the camp uprising on August 2, 1944,<ref name="ftn78">A typo in the document.</ref> I escaped with other Jews and hid in the forest for 11 months until the arrival of the Red Army. Preparations for the uprising began in April 1943. Weapons were obtained in various ways. A significant portion of the weapons were obtained through guards, who were given gold for their services. Each work team had a group, each with their own duties; the disarmed team cut passages through the barbed wire. I was on a lumberjack work team, armed with an axe and tasked with cutting a passage through the barbed wire. Both camps knew about the uprising, including the work camp, with which we maintained contact through the carpenter Vernik,<ref name="ftn79">Misspelling of Jankiel Wiernik.</ref> who, being a skilled carpenter, built houses in the camp and had access to the death camp. The date of the uprising and the signal to the work camp were communicated as follows. Vernik was building something at the time and needed boards that were in the "death camp." He began asking for boards, and they were brought to him. Desperate to get into our camp and establish communication at all costs, Vernik rejected the boards and asked to be allowed to go to the "death camp" himself and select the boards he needed, which was granted. Arriving at our camp, Vernik spent a long time selecting boards, as there were many guards around. Seizing an opportune moment, he received a signal, and on August 2, 1943, in the afternoon, a shot began the uprising. The guards were quickly disarmed. A grenade thrown into the fuel depot ignited the gasoline, and a large fire started in the camp, which further increased the panic. Immediately upon receiving the signal, I rushed to cut down the barrier, made a passage, and escaped through it. Many more workers fled through this passage. Several passages were made in total. By the time the guards and SS men came to their senses, many people had already fled the camp. Chases and roundups immediately began, and many Jews were killed and shot. I made a passage in the barbed wire near the "hospital."

Question: Tell me, where are Goldfarb and Koritnicki now?

Answer: Goldfarb currently lives in the Sterdyń commune, and Koritnicki lives with me at the Sibinów estate in Sokołów County.

Question: Where were the clothes of the Jews murdered in the death camp sent?

Answer: The Germans said that all this clothing was being sent to them in Germany. Almost daily, trains loaded with the clothing of murdered Jews departed from the "death camp." There were up to 60 train cars. The cars were fully loaded. All valuables were removed from the camp by truck.

Question: What was the purpose of the second barracks, located near the women's locker room, where the men undressed?

Answer: This barracks had several sections. In one section, they boiled the soap brought by the Jews, cleaning it of dirt and sand. In another section, they sorted and stored all the food the Jews had brought with them. In a third section, they cleaned metal utensils and sorted sheepskin coats and fur coats. Behind the women's barracks, there was a barrack where they sorted bottles.

Question: Tell me, were you beaten in the camp?

Answer: During my time in the "death camp," I was beaten with whips and sticks many times. I can't even name them now, they were beaten so often. I remember one incident particularly well. One time, I was working shirtless. A mosquito landed on my back and bit me. I started scratching the area, which the guard noticed. For taking a break from my work for a second, I was given 40 lashes on my back, which left my back swollen and painful for a long time.

Question: What nationalities were exterminated in the "death camp"?

Answer: Only the Jewish population of Poland, France, Bulgaria, and Germany was exterminated in the "death camp." A small number of Poles and Roma were exterminated.

Question: What are the last names, first names, and other details of the individuals who carried out the extermination of people in the camp, and who beat and shot those who arrived at the camp?

Answer: I can name the following individuals who carried out the extermination of Jews, as well as those who carried out the beatings and executions:
# Camp Commandant Kurt Franz – a German from Berlin, tall, young, bald, blond, and of strong build. He personally beat and shot Jews.
# Unterschaftführer Sepp – a German, about 35-36 years old, with black hair and dark eyes, of medium height, thin, and distinguished by his exceptional brutality in the murder of small children.
# Shaftführer Mitte – a German, blond, of medium height, with one shoulder higher than the other (I don't remember which), of medium build, and a long nose. For his atrocities, he was nicknamed "the devil" in the camp. He personally shot hundreds of Jews.
# Work Brigade Chief Post – a German, black-haired, thin, of medium height, thin, a baker before the war, and a riverboat sailor. He personally shot and beat Jews.
# Unterschaftführer Seidel<ref name="ftn80">Kurt Seidel (1910–1972) was an SS Obersturmführer who worked within the "T-4" program, and then from 1942 in Treblinka. The main street of the camp was named after him as the oldest member of the camp administration. After the liquidation of Treblinka, he served in Italy.</ref> – German, 40-42 years old, medium height, brown hair, large, bulging eyes, supervised road construction. He personally shot and beat Jews.
# Unterschaftführer Miller – German, 48-50 years old, tall, plump, red-faced, blond. He reportedly shot and beat dozens of Jews to death.

I know the rest by name, but I don't remember their last names right now. I can't say anything else.

This has been written down and translated correctly from my words and read to me by /signature/.

Translated from Polish to Russian by /signature/

Interrogated by: Military Investigator, Guard Senior Lieutenant of Justice /signature/

= Kazimierz Skarżyński. Treblinka labor & death camp. Wólka Dolna. September 24, 1944 =

''' Interrogation Protocol of Kazimierz Skarżyński Concerning the Construction and Operation of the Treblinka Labor Camp and the Murder of Jews in the Extermination Camp. Village of Wólka Dolna, September 24, 1944. GARF 7445-2-134 pp. 102-105. '''

Village of Wólka Dolna, Kosów Commune, Sokołów County, September 24, 1944. Military investigator of the Military Prosecutor's Office of the 65th Army, Senior Lieutenant of Justice Yurovsky, interrogated the following as a witness, who testified:

Skarżyński, Kazimierz, born in 1882, native of the village of Sofiivka, Kosów Commune, Sokołów County, Pole, semi-literate, farmer, resident of the village of Wólka Okrąglik, Kosów Commune.

I have been warned of liability for refusing to testify and for giving false testimony /signature/.

On the merits of the case, I testified:

As early as 1940, civilians—Germans from Germany—arrived in the area where Treblinka Labor Camp No. 1 would later be located and began building barracks and barbed wire fencing. The purpose of this construction was unknown to any of the local population at the time. Even then, the Germans were recruiting residents of the nearby village of Wólka Okrąglik for construction work. From then on, I, too, had to work every other day or two transporting building materials until the area was liberated by the Red Army.

While in 1940 and 1941, the number of local residents employed in construction work was insignificant and limited to peasants from nearby villages, in 1942 and 1943, the population of not only nearby villages but also the entire Kosów Commune was mobilized for the construction.

In 1941, SS officers arrived at the camp and assumed command.

In the summer of 1942, a surge in inmates began arriving. Some were brought in by train, others by car, and others were brought on foot from nearby settlements.

The camp's inmates were primarily Poles and Jews. Roma were also brought in. Poles outnumbered the Jews in this camp. The majority of the Jews were artisans and intellectuals. The inmates were used for a wide variety of labor. On average, the number of inmates remained around 2,000. This number was periodically replaced.

I'd like to describe the nature of the work performed by the prisoners. Trains carrying military uniforms and equipment, primarily civilian clothing, regularly arrived at the camp. I had to transport this equipment from the train cars to the camp, where dozens of people were busy sorting it. It was striking that civilian clothing and bedding outnumbered military items. You could find dresses, skirts, suits, coats, children's clothing, blankets, sheets, scarves, and much, much more. You could also find a beautiful new winter coat, children's socks, a blood-stained Russian-style military tunic, and a German greatcoat. All of this was sorted, packed, and then transported back to the trains.

Men and women prisoners worked in a sand quarry, on the railroad tracks, felled trees, uprooted trees, and laid a highway.

Work began at 6:00 a.m. and, unless there was an emergency, finished at 5:00 p.m. They were issued 200 grams of bread per day. In the morning, they were given soup made from a few potatoes and water. The same for lunch. Coffee for dinner.

Hunger and backbreaking labor, coupled with a peculiar system of torture and abuse, all contributed to a significant death rate among the prisoners. Every day, eight to ten corpses of people who had died of starvation could be seen. By evening, they were buried. This spring, I witnessed such an incident: a train carrying supplies arrived. A team of Jewish prisoners was assigned to unload them. One Jew, barely able to drag his feet, was led by the arms by two others. They walked him a short distance and then laid him on the ground, giving him a chance to rest. As soon as he lay on the ground, a German ran up and struck him over the head with all his might with his rifle. It was a fatal blow. At that moment, another Jew, apparently a close friend, fell upon the corpse. The German swung again and killed him too.

In March 1944, two Poles from a group of seven working in the forest escaped. The Germans managed to apprehend them. They were shot that same day. All the Poles in the group were also shot, even though they had nothing to do with their escape. Among those killed was a man I knew, Lakh, from the village of Sieracin. Beatings with sticks on the head and face became so ingrained in camp life that even now it's difficult to recall a single instance. Almost all the prisoners constantly bore marks of beatings.

Beginning in July 1942, a surge in trains carrying Jews began arriving at Camp No. 2, aptly named the death camp. Almost daily for a year, between one and four trains, more often four, passed our village of Wólka Okrąglik. Each train typically consisted of 60 cars. The cars were marked in chalk with the words "120," "150," and "180," corresponding to the number of people in each car. The cars were tightly sealed. Air could only enter through small windows. Terrible screams, the groans of old people, and the cries of children could be heard coming from the cars. Children could be heard screaming, "Mama, save me," in various languages. No water was provided in the cars. Moreover, any attempt to obtain water from [illegible] was met with execution. Guards fired endlessly into the cars. There were other cases: guards [illegible] gave money and gold items, promising to get water in exchange. However, as soon as they received the money, they would start yelling at the people dying of thirst and, of course, never hand over the water.

In July 1943, a train stopped near the village of Wólka. Heart-rending cries of "Water!" could be heard from every train car. The villagers tried to pass on the water, but the guards opened fire. Meanwhile, the people in the cars—men, women, and children—began breaking down the walls and jumping out. The guards opened fire on the defenseless, thirsty people. One hundred people were killed that day. Four bodies of children were also thrown out of the cars; they had died of suffocation, as there were no signs of gunshot wounds. The guards fired explosive bullets. This was clear from the nature of the wounds and the significant tissue ruptures caused by these bullets.

In our village, all 100 murdered Jews were buried by the local population of Wólka. I also took part in the funeral. The documents showed that the train was carrying Jews from Siedlce, Kovno, and Lubartów to the camp.

At Treblinka station, the train was split into three sections of 20 cars each because the camp's spur line couldn't accommodate more than 20 cars. As soon as a special locomotive pushed the cars into the camp grounds, the screams of the tormented people in the cars, premonitions of their fate or otherwise knowledge of it, grew louder. At the same time, to drown out the screams, the camp orchestra began to play.

Every day, trains carrying tens of thousands of people arrived at the camp, but no one ever left. I wasn't on the camp grounds itself. Therefore, I didn't witness all the details of the mass murder, but as a resident of a nearby village, I saw enough to understand the entire mechanism of extermination. For the first six months, the camp was filled with the sounds of people screaming, numerous rifle shots, and the incessant roar of an excavator. No matter how hard the Germans tried to hide it, we heard rumors that everyone arriving at the camp was stripped naked and immediately sent to the so-called "bathhouse," where they were killed. Then, hundreds of corpses were thrown into pits and covered with earth. But the stench of corpses was so strong that it filled not only the nearby villages but was felt for up to 30 kilometers. The local population understood what Camp No. 2 was. It was no coincidence that it was called the "death camp." The Germans realized they'd completely exposed themselves, that the people were privy to their atrocities. So, after six months, they began burning all the corpses. This didn't help them conceal what was happening behind the barbed wire and earthen ramparts.

For an entire year, plumes of smoke billowed over the camp, and several enormous fires were visible from afar. We, the residents of Wólka, barely breathed fresh air that year. The stench of corpses [illegible] smelled like burning human flesh. Periodically, every three or four days, a train of three to twenty train cars would transport the ashes to various [illegible] locations near and far from the camp. I personally, on German orders, often had to carry this ashes from the train unloading points across fields and roads. Even now, a year after the cessation of this diabolical death factory, enormous piles of ash can be seen on all the roads closest to the camp.

After the Jewish revolt, fires were still burning in the camp for about [illegible].

I can't add anything more. My words are written down accurately and were read to me [signature/].

Military investigator of the Military Prosecutor's Office of the 65th Army, Senior Lieutenant of Justice [signature/]

= Wanda Pawłowska. Treblinka labor camp. Huta. September 24, 1944 =

''' Interrogation protocol of Wanda Pawłowska regarding the functioning of the Treblinka labor camp. [Village of Huta], September 24, 1944. GARF 7445-2-134 pp. 117-119. '''

September 24, 1944. Military investigator of the Military Prosecutor's Office of the 65th Army, Guards Senior Lieutenant of Justice Malov, in compliance with Articles 162-168 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the RSFSR, interrogated as a witness:

Wanda Józefowna Pawłowska, born in 1925, native of the village of Huta, Sokołów County, Warsaw Voivodeship, a Polish woman of peasant origin, with a fourth-grade education. Resides in the village of Huta, Sokołów County.

Warned of liability for giving false testimony under Article 95 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR /signature/.

In 1941, the Germans built a camp about two kilometers from Treblinka station. I didn't see it myself, but I heard from conversations that they brought a lot of Jews to this camp and killed them there. Residents of all the surrounding villages went to this camp and sold bread, milk, and other food to the prisoners. On June 14, 1943, my sister Stanislava Pavlovskaya and I decided to go and see what kind of camp it was, and we took some bread with us, just in case. We arrived at a camp filled only with Jews; as I later learned, this camp was called a "death camp." We approached the camp from the east, through the forest. Behind the barbed wire, we saw about 20 Jews uprooting tree stumps. We saw nothing else, as a high earthen rampart and a barbed wire fence entwined with branches ran through the camp. What was behind them was not visible. As we were walking near the camp, two Ukrainian Zugvahmans rode up behind us, grabbed us, and took us to the camp, to a barrack where the Ukrainians were sleeping. This was already getting dark. We spent the night in this barrack, and the next morning at dawn we were taken to a "work camp" where Poles were staying. Therefore, we did not see what the "death camp" was like. In the work camp, we were placed in a barrack where 283 Polish women had already been placed. The Polish men were in another barrack, behind barbed wire, where Jews were also kept. My sister and I stayed in the camp until July 9, 1944. My sister was sick almost all the time and lay in the infirmary, but I worked. We did various jobs: in the summer, we worked in the fields, planting and harvesting vegetables in the camp plots. During the winter, we increasingly focused on sorting German and Russian military uniforms arriving from the Russian front. Throughout the winter, 10 to 40 train cars of uniforms arrived every three days, sometimes even daily. These were mostly German uniforms, greatcoats, trousers, boots, and shoes. We had to sort through them all. The good, wearable ones were packed into bales, and the inferior ones were discarded. Then they were all taken away somewhere. The work was extremely hard; we worked for nine hours straight, with an hour-long lunch break at 12 noon. We were fed exceptionally poorly, with food that even our livestock wouldn't eat. In the morning, we were given soup consisting of two potatoes boiled in half a liter of water. In the afternoon, we were given a liter of potato or beetroot soup. In the evening, we were given half a liter of dirty coffee and 200 grams of bread. The harsh conditions meant that many women became very ill, and some died. My sister, Stanislava Pavlovskaya, became ill from the hard work and spent most of her time in the infirmary. She is still very ill and bedridden. To top it all off, there were beatings. Unterschaftführer Stumpe, who supervised the work of women and men, especially frequently beat women. Ukrainian guards also carried out beatings. In June 1943, one guard let me go home for a few hours, and when Stumpe found out about this, he came to our barracks and began to beat me with his fists on the head and face. He beat me until my head and face were swollen. That same month, the assistant commandant, a German named Linden, beat my sister Stanislava Pavlovskaya for finding cigarettes on her; he hit her in the face and head with his fist, and then put her in the cellar. Unterschaftführer Schwarz was especially cruel to women. For example, around January 1944, a Polish woman, Godlesska Bolechawa from the city of Sokołów, brought several potatoes home from work to the barracks. Schwartz saw this and, in front of all the women, punched Godlesskaya to the ground and then began beating her with a whip and kicking her. He beat her so hard that Godlesskaya couldn't get out of bed for days.

In September 1943, a Polish woman, I don't know her last name, from the town of Ostowianka wanted to escape from the camp, but she was caught, brought to the camp, where they laid her on a bench, and Schwartz, Stulke, and Zugwachmann Emil began to beat her with whips, beat her until her entire body, head, and face were blackened and swollen. Her entire body was covered in wounds. The ground around the bench was spattered with blood. Such incidents were common, but now I have forgotten much of it. The men, who worked in very difficult conditions, were treated especially cruelly. They were given almost no food, as a result of which several died of hunger every day, and their bodies were carried into pits in the forest. Many Poles were beaten and shot, and not an hour went by without someone being beaten. I myself often saw how Poles and Jews were beaten and shot. I remember the following incidents well. In April 1944, a Pole named Seiferd from Węgrów got hold of some vodka and drank it. The camp commandant, whose name I don't remember, noticed this and sent Seiferd to the basement for two days, then brought him out onto the parade ground and shot him with a revolver.

In May 1944, a Pole named Buzen was sorting military uniforms and wanted to take a sweater for himself. The guards saw this, and Buzen was also taken to the parade ground and shot in front of everyone. Around the same time, a Pole escaped from the camp, and the SS and guards took his brother, who was also in the camp, and shot him. I don't know the names of these Poles. Jews were shot especially often. I personally saw several times how Jews were taken to the forest in groups of 8-14 people and killed there. Jews who were weak and unable to work were also killed. Especially many Polish and Jewish men died in the summer of 1944, when typhus raged in the camp and 10-12 people died daily for several months.

Question: Name the camp staff members responsible for all the atrocities committed in the camp.

Answer: Of the individuals responsible for all the atrocities committed in the camp, I remember the following:
# Unterschaftführer Schwarz – a German about 40 years old, tall, black-haired, black-eyed, and thin. He personally beat women and shot men.
# Workshop Supervisor Unterschaftführer Stumpe – a German about 30 years old, tall, black-haired, and dark-skinned. He personally beat women. He supervised the work teams and assigned workers.
# Unterschaftführer Reger – about 25 years old, short, fat, blond, round-faced, and red-faced. He was the head of the guards.
# Shop Supervisor Lanz – a German about 40 years old, of medium height, thin, stooped, and blond. He was distinguished by the exceptional brutality of his beatings of prisoners.

I don't remember the names of the others. But I can say that all the Germans and Ukrainian guards in the camp were involved in the murder and beating of Poles and Jews.

I can't testify to anything else. The report was written down correctly from my words and was read to me /signature/.

Interrogated by military investigator, Guard Senior Lieutenant of the Justice Department /signature/

= Franciszek Ząbecki. Treblinka station. September 24, 1944 =

''' Interrogation transcript of Franciszek Ząbecki, duty officer at Treblinka Station, 1941-1944. Treblinka Station, September 24, 1944. GARF 7445-2-134 pp. 79-85. '''

September 24, 1944, Treblinka station. Deputy Military Prosecutor of the 65th Guards Army, Major of Justice Mazar, questioned as a witness:

Ząbecki, Franciszek Frantsevich, born in 1907, resident of Treblinka station, located on the Siedlce-Małkinia railway line. Station manager, Polish by nationality, with a seventh-grade education.

The witness has been warned of liability for perjury. /signature/

Treblinka station is located on the Siedlce-Małkinia railway line, 12 kilometers from Kosów Lacki station. 2.5 kilometers from Treblinka station, there is a railway line that branches off to the sand quarries. I worked at the Treblinka station from May 19, 1941, until August 1944, as the station duty officer. I am currently the station chief.

Since I worked as a station duty officer from 1941 to 1944, I am well aware of how, during the German occupation of the region, trains carrying people arrived at the Treblinka death camp, which the Germans had established, for extermination.

Around September 1941, the Germans rebuilt the Treblinka labor camp, whose commandant was Hauptmann van Eupen. The Germans recruited Poles from nearby settlements as construction workers for the construction of this camp. In September 1941, prisoners began arriving at this labor camp. They arrived in train cars, by car, and on foot. The prisoners were mainly Jews and Poles. The prisoners in this camp were used by the Germans for various jobs, in particular, they worked on the railroad tracks, unloaded coal and other incoming cargo from train cars, worked in sand quarries, and performed various jobs within the camp itself. Living conditions for the prisoners were extremely harsh. They worked hard labor for 12 hours a day, sometimes more. The prisoners were fed very poorly: they were given 200 grams of bread a day and thin soup. During work, the Germans abused the prisoners, brutally beating them, and very often killing them. In the winter of 1941, I saw a group of prisoners leaving Małkinia station heading for the camp. Behind them, they dragged exhausted people by the legs, their clothes torn, and dragged them, essentially naked, through the snow. It was very common to see prisoners going to work in winter barefoot, without shoes, and very lightly dressed. The Germans' torture system was well thought out. This is evident from the fact that in the summer, when it was extremely hot, prisoners were transported to work at the Małkinia station in closed train cars, the doors of which were tightly closed, making it difficult to breathe inside. And in the fall, during the rains, prisoners were transported to work on open platforms. The Germans and guards who guarded the prisoners were always drunk. I know that they forced people to eat vomit, i.e., what they vomited on the ground while drunk, forcing the prisoners to lick up the vomit on the ground. Murder of prisoners was very common. The Germans and guards mostly killed prisoners with sticks. I know of one such case well: in the summer of 1943, a group of Jewish prisoners was working at the Treblinka station. One of the prisoners became so weak that he fell and writhed in death throes. One of the guards approached him and, taking a thick club, said, "You're still alive, dog!" He stepped on his chest and began beating him on the head with the club, turning his head into a bloody pulp.

In the camp itself, executions took place daily, many died of starvation, and a typhus epidemic raged, from which many also died.

This Treblinka labor camp, organized by the Germans, existed until August 1944, almost until the moment of the liberation of this territory from the German occupiers by Soviet troops.

However, the Germans didn't limit themselves to creating a so-called labor camp. They built a second camp next to the labor camp, specifically for the extermination of huge numbers of people, which I also want to testify about.

In May 1942, the Germans began hastily constructing a second camp, using prisoners from the labor camp as labor. Simultaneously, a special line was laid from the railway line leading to the sand quarries to this newly constructed camp. The Germans rushed to build this camp because, they said, they had been given a deadline from Berlin to complete it: June 15, 1942. As soon as construction began, signs were put up showing the way to the construction site. The signs read: "SS Sonderkommando." Construction of the camp was completed in July 1942. The railway line to the camp was laid in June 1942. In July 1942, two German railway workers named Willi Klinzmann and Rudolf Emmrich arrived at Treblinka station from Tiraspol. Upon arrival, these Germans announced that they would work at the station and direct trains to the camp. On July 23, 1942, trains carrying Jews began arriving at the Treblinka station, headed for the death camp organized by the Germans. All trains arriving at the death camp must have passed through the Treblinka station, from where they were sent to the camp by rail. Since I worked as a station duty officer, I had to receive these trains and direct them to the camp. Each arriving train usually contained 60 train cars filled with people. The arriving train was divided into three parts, each containing 20 cars, and each 20 cars were transported to the death camp by a locomotive specially allocated for this purpose at Treblinka station. This locomotive always stood at the station, awaiting the arrival of a train. It happened like this: a train arrived, the Germans Klinzmann and Emmrich would uncouple the first 20 cars ful of people, attach them to a special locomotive, and send them to the camp. At the camp, these 20 cars were unloaded and brought back on the same special locomotive. Then another 20 train cars followed to the camp, and so on. This was done this way because the area in the camp where people were unloaded was designed to accommodate no more than 20 train cars at a time. After all the arriving people had been unloaded from all the train cars in the camp, the empty train would form up and depart. It took no more than two hours to deliver each 20 train cars to the camp, unload them of people, and deliver these 20 cars back to the Treblinka station. The entire train was unloaded at the camp and reassembled at the station for dispatch (empty) in approximately 5 hours. The trains that brought people to the death camp for extermination typically consisted of freight cars. The doors were tightly closed, and the windows were covered with barbed wire. Each train was guarded by a group of up to 40 guards. Every carriage was packed to the brim with people. Each carriage had its capacity written in chalk. Each carriage held up to 200 people, making it terribly stuffy. The people in the train cars stripped naked and asked for water through the windows. The guards guarding the cars—Germans, Ukrainians, and Latvians—took valuables and money, promising to give them something to drink, but in most cases, they took the valuables and gave them almost no water. The guards guarding the train cars were drunk and, in response to the people inside the cars' cries for water, opened fire on them. These guards often fired on cars filled with people for no apparent reason. When a train carrying people arrived at the station to be exterminated at the death camp, there was continuous shooting. As I mentioned above, it was drunken guards shooting at the people in the train cars. It was commonplace for most of the cars on each train to contain the corpses of people who had died from the unbearable conditions in the cars and were killed by guards. The Germans took no account of any of this. Under such horrific conditions, they transported women to the camp, who had given birth en route, dying either in the cars or later in the death camp. I remember one such incident. In August or September 1942, a train carrying people arrived at the Treblinka station. It arrived in the evening, and the camp didn't accept the train until the next morning. During the night, prisoners in several train cars tore apart the wire that covered the windows and attempted to escape, but drunken guards opened fire and killed many. The entire railway line at the station was littered with corpses. The next day, three flatcars were needed to remove them.

Some prisoners, not knowing where they had arrived, asked through the train window, "Where is the big city of Treblinka, where we are supposed to work in the factories?" Others asked, "Where is the Treblinka prison camp, where we are supposed to get land and work."

When people learned that death awaited them, wailing and screaming erupted in the train cars. In these cases, guards fired into the cars and killed the people.

From July 23, 1942, until August 1943, one to four trains arrived at Treblinka station every day. Each train held between 100 and 200 people. Most trains held between 100 and 120 people. Each train typically contained 60 cars, but some consisted of 45-50 cars. Thus, each train carried between 5,000 and 6,000 people.

During the year the death camp operated, there were three two- to three-week gaps when no trains arrived. For a total of ten months, one to four trains arrived daily, loaded with people to be exterminated at the death camp.

Having worked as a station duty officer all this time and receiving these trains, I can confidently assert that for ten months, on average, two trains arrived daily, and each train carried between 5,000 and 6,000 people, including women and children, to be exterminated in the death camp. I categorically assert that no less than 3 million people were transported through Treblinka station to the death camp for extermination.<ref name="ftn81">Later, Ząbecki estimated the number of victims at 1.2 million.</ref> It should also be kept in mind that people were brought to the death camp for extermination not only by train, but also by car and on foot.

At first, trains carrying people arrived from Warsaw and other cities and towns in Poland. Later, alongside trains arriving from Polish towns, trains also arrived from Germany, Greece, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Austria, and from cities such as Białystok, Grodno, and Wołkowysk.

I know that trains carrying people for extermination arrived from the above-mentioned countries from conversations with Germans, from stories told by the people arriving in the trains themselves, and also from the following: in cases where trains arrived from Bulgaria and Greece, the train commandant had tickets for each person brought in. The Germans confiscated these tickets from the train commandants and sent them to the railway directorate in Krakow. When trains were expected to arrive from Germany (including Austria), Poland, and cities in Belarus, a telegram was sent indicating the train's origin. Jews brought from Germany arrived in most cases in trains made up of passenger cars.

The mass influx of transports of people ceased after the prisoner uprising that took place at the death camp on August 2, 1943. After that, only five transports arrived at the camp. Many transports of Jews proceeded to Lublin, to the Majdanek camp.

Question: What do you know about the death camp itself?

Answer: I personally never visited the death camp, but I know from accounts by German railway workers that a semblance of a station was created there. Signs were posted: "To Białystok," "To Wołkowysk," "Goods Ticket Office," "Railway Master," "Station Duty Officer," and others. I don't know how people were exterminated in the death camp. When they burned the corpses, which was the case for almost the entire existence of this death camp, the flames could be seen from far away and the air was thick with the smell of burning flesh. It was hard to breathe.

Question: Was there any accounting of arriving trains at the station?

Answer: Every arriving and arriving train was recorded by the station duty officer in the train register. These registers were located in the station building, which was burned during the Germans' retreat.

Question: Who was the head of the Treblinka station during the period the camp was in operation?

Answer: Until February 1943, the stationmaster was Józef Pronicki, who was transferred to Warsaw. From February 1943 to August 1944, the stationmaster was Józef Kuzminski. He currently works at the Siedlce railway station.

I can't add anything further to my testimony. It was written down correctly from my words and read aloud to me in Russian, which I understand, and I hereby sign.

Interrogated by: Deputy Military Prosecutor of the 65th Guards Army, Major of Justice /signature/

= Lucjan Puchała. Treblinka labor camp. Wólka Dolna. September 24, 1944 =

''' Interrogation protocol of senior railway worker Lucjan Puchała about conditions of detention in the Treblinka labor camp and the typhus epidemic in December 1943. Village of Wólka Dolna, September 24, 1944. GARF 7445-2-134 pp. 95-97. '''

September 24, 1944. Senior Lieutenant of Justice Yurovsky, military investigator of the 65th Army's Military Prosecutor's Office, interrogated the following as a witness, who testified:

Puchała Lucjan, born in 1897, native and resident of the village of Wólka Okrąglik, Kosów Commune, Sokołów County, Pole, 7th grade education, senior worker at the Kosów railway station.

I have been warned of liability for refusing to testify and for giving false testimony /signature/.

On the merits of the case, I testified:

From June 6, 1942, to May 15, 1943, I worked as a foreman on the railway line from Treblinka<ref name="ftn82">Spelled “Tremblinka” in the text.</ref> Station to the Treblinka camp. The length of the railway on this section was 5 kilometers.

My duties included repairing the line and loading sand from the quarry near Treblinka Camp No. 1, the so-called labor camp, into railroad cars. During my time working on the railroad, between one and four trains arrived at the camp daily. However, one or two trains arrived only rarely; usually, three or four. With almost rare exceptions, all trains consisted of 60 cars.

The number of people in the train cars was always written in chalk on the side. This number fluctuated between 150 and 2[illegible].<ref name="ftn83">Due to the condition of the document, the exact number is illegible.</ref> The cars arrived from various European countries. I remember well that they brought hundreds and thousands of Jewish people from cities in Poland, France, Belgium, Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia, and occupied Russian cities.

It was easy to recognize where the cars were coming from by the following signs: people threw their documents, photographs, and money through the windows.

Furthermore, Jews from Belgium and France were transported in passenger cars. Those from nearby areas already knew about the death camp. Those from other countries, however, were clearly unaware of their fate. The Germans convinced them they would be sent to work in Ukraine. The trains arriving from France, Belgium, Bulgaria, and Romania [illegible] weren't as crowded as those arriving from Polish cities.

It was even common to see a train car occupied by just one family. This, admittedly, was very rare; the Germans achieved a specific goal: they allowed them to take with them more belongings, which were later confiscated at the camp.

I was unable to enter Camp No. 2. Not only were strangers barred, but even the guards arriving with the trains, the locomotive crew, and the service personnel of the locomotives that brought the trains to the camp were also barred. The locomotive had to deliver the cars to the camp, while remaining outside. And every time a train entered the camp, screams, groans, and cries of people could be heard. To ensure that this expression of grief and suffering of the doomed people did not spill beyond the camp, a brass band began playing as soon as the train arrived. Its sounds drowned out the screams. More than once, on the stretch between Treblinka station and the camp, I witnessed men, and often children, breaking through the barred window and planks of a moving train car and jumping to the ground, but very few managed to escape. The train guards usually executed anyone for the slightest attempt to escape. Therefore, gunfire could often be heard in the train cars. On May 14, 1943, I was dismissed from work and transferred to Camp No. 1 as a prisoner.

The immediate reason for my transfer to the camp was delivering bread to prisoners working on railway repairs. I also delivered letters from them to their families. This became known to the Germans, and I was subsequently transferred. I was used for various menial jobs: carrying construction materials, chopping wood, and the like.

The regime was as follows. We'd wake up at 5:00 a.m., work from 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., then take a lunch break. Work continued from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Often, work continued into the night.

We were given only 150 grams of bread a day. For breakfast, we had soup made from water and one or two unpeeled potatoes. For lunch, the same soup, the only difference being that if a horse died, we were given meat. For dinner, we were given coffee. People were beaten for any reason.

One German knocked out two of my teeth! Once I was given 25 blows with a stick. The Germans and guards committed terrible abuses in the camp. Both Jews and Poles were subjected to beatings and abuse. Prisoners were shot every day. If the Germans and guards managed to detain those who escaped from the camp, they shot them; if not, dozens of other completely innocent people. In October 1942, <two> [illegible] from Warsaw escaped from the camp. In retaliation for their escape, on orders from the Germans, the guards shot [illegible] prisoners. Among them were [illegible] from the village of Telash, [illegible], Stanislav Matchuk from Kosów, and [illegible] from the village of Sobotka.

In August 1943, two people were shot for escaping alone. I was there when they were taken away to be shot. In full view of all the prisoners, many Jews were killed by the Germans and Ukrainian guards with special wooden mallets.

From November 12 to December 20, 1943, 146 people died in the camp from starvation, beatings, and backbreaking labor, including two acquaintances from Kosów—Bernablum and Kużak.

I still have the list of the dead that I kept in the camp. The fact is that in November and December 1943, I was assigned as an assistant to Dr. Pocharek from Żyrardów. Pocharek was taken hostage. No medical care was provided to the sick in the camp. However, in December, a typhus epidemic broke out. The Germans were terrified of the disease and therefore isolated all the sick Poles, and Pocharek was assigned to fight the outbreak. There were clearly insufficient facilities. Then, on December 10, German SS men and guards shot 106 Jewish laborers in the forest behind the barracks.

By that time, there were 145 Jewish laborers in total. Before the execution, the Germans selected the healthy ones in front of all the prisoners. The criterion for health in this case was the ability to run. People would constantly run around the square like a herd. After all, everyone knew what awaited them if they couldn't run to please the Germans. And, as I showed, 106 of the 145 Jewish laborers were shot.

None of the German measures against typhus were effective. Typhus spread due to the starvation and filthy conditions in which prisoners lived.

And since the sick weren't given adequate nutrition, they couldn't cope.

Prisoner Lebuda Lutzman, feverish and with a high temperature of 40°C, jumped out of a window. A guard detained him. At that moment, SS officer Lanz approached. He asked the guard what had happened. The guard explained that the sick man had jumped out of the window in a fever. Without saying anything, Lanz shot Lebuda dead with a pistol. While assisting Dr. Pocharek, I kept a record of the deaths from November 12 to December 20. I am passing this list, which I have preserved, on to the investigative authorities as sufficiently convincing evidence of the order that existed in the camp. I must make a disclaimer. When I kept this list, I did not think it would be useful to the investigative authorities. At the time, I had something else in mind: to inform relatives of the deaths of their loved ones. Many still do not know where and under what circumstances their loved ones died.

I was liberated from the camp on December 20, 1943.

I have nothing more to add. This is written down accurately from my words and was read to me [signature/].

Military investigator of the military prosecutor's office [signature/]

= Map of Treblinka death camp. September 24, 1944 =

''' Plan of Treblinka, Drawn by the Soviets on September 24, 1944. GARF 7445-2-134 p. 2. '''

[[Image:Soviettreblinkamap.jpg|400px|top]]

= Władysław Kruk. Treblinka labor camp & death camp. Wólka Dolna. September 25, 1944 =

''' Interrogation protocol of local Władysław Kruk about the Treblinka death camp and the last days of the labor camp. Village of Wólka Dolna, September 25, 1944. GARF 7445-2-134 pp. 99-101. '''

V[illage] of Wólka Dolna, Kosów Commune, Sokołów County, September 25, 1944. Military investigator of the Military Prosecutor's Office of the 65th Army, Senior Lieutenant of Justice Yurovsky, interrogated the below-named witness, who testified:

Władysław Kruk, born in 1884, native and resident of the village of Wólka Okrąglik, Kosów Commune, Sokołów County, Polish, semi-literate, farmer.

Warned of liability for refusing to testify and for giving false testimony /signature/.

He testified regarding the case:

I have lived my entire life in the village of Wólka Okrąglik.

In 1941, Treblinka Camp No. 1, the so-called labor camp, began operating.

We, residents of the surrounding villages, could see that large numbers of Poles and Jews were being brought to the camp by train and truck. They were used outside the camp grounds in a sand quarry and on the railway line.

Shots could often be heard coming from the camp. The camp prisoners reached a state of extreme exhaustion.

They worked long hours and received almost nothing in terms of food.

By July 1942, construction of Treblinka Camp No. 2, rightly called a death camp, was completed. Our village, Wólka, is the closest settlement to both camps. Wólka is separated from the camp by a distance of 1–1.5 kilometers. Therefore, although we were denied access to either camp, we saw a lot—at least enough to understand the camp's purpose as a killing facility for hundreds of thousands of people, primarily Jews.

Beginning in July 1942, trains carrying Jews began arriving at Camp No. 2. Three or four trains, each with 60 cars, arrived daily for almost the entire year. Each car bore the inscriptions "100," "110," "150," "180," "200," and sometimes "280." This number corresponded to the number of people held in the car. The trains sometimes stopped near the village of Wólka. I repeatedly saw the distraught faces of men, women, and children peering out of the small windows. Cries for "water" could be heard constantly from all the cars, but none of us local residents could bring water to the cars, because armed Germans and Ukrainian guards stood by the cars and shot into the cars without warning—at those asking for water and at those carrying it to the cars. Some men and women broke through the train car boards and attempted to escape. But the guards brutally shot them. After each train, corpses littered the tracks.

When the trains entered the camp, we could hear the terrible screams of the people. No matter how hard the Germans tried to drown out the cries with their orchestra, we could clearly hear the cries of hundreds of people. Trains full of people arrived at the camp every day, but no one returned.

At first, the Germans dumped all the corpses into pits. The constant roar of the excavator, reportedly covering the corpses with earth, was audible. The stench of corpses permeated not only our village but was felt tens of kilometers from the camp. For a whole year, every resident of the surrounding villages felt as if they were living on corpses, sleeping on corpses, working on corpses.

After a few months, the Germans began burning the corpses. They burned day and night. For a whole year. Even during the day, the area was somehow dark: clouds of smoke obscured the sky. The flames of several fires were especially clearly visible at night. The smell of roasting human flesh was constant. Therefore, neither the barbed wire fence nor the earthen rampart separating us from the camp—nothing could hide from us the terrible truth about the daily life of this death factory.

One day in early July, a guard came to my house and demanded that I take him to a neighboring village to see some girls. I refused. He repeated his demand and punched me in the face. Despite this, I refused again.

On the third day, two guards came for me and took me to Camp No. 1. At the camp itself, they told me I was a prisoner. That was the price I paid for my disobedience. I spent three weeks in the camp. During that time, I performed various jobs: loading trains at Małkinia Station, packing civilian and military clothing and other items into bundles (each bundle had some kind of label on it), working in a sand quarry, and chopping wood.

Work began at 7:00 a.m. and ended at 6:00 or 7:00 p.m. They were given up to 200 grams of bread per day. In the morning, there was coffee for breakfast, soup made of water with one or two unpeeled potatoes for lunch, and coffee or more soup for dinner. I was there during the camp's final days. There was a sense of confusion among the Germans as the Red Army approached. Prisoners were beaten, but according to those who had been in the camp for a long time, less so than before.

In late July 1944, under the pretext of stopping a planned Jewish armed uprising, the Germans one evening cordoned off the Jewish barracks, led about five hundred Jews out onto the parade ground before our eyes, and ordered them to lie down. Then, in groups, they were ordered to stand up and lower their trousers to restrict their movement, and then led out into the forest to be shot. The shooting of Jews continued throughout the evening. Polish workers, including myself, were ordered to bury the bodies.

I can't add anything else. It was written down correctly and read to me [signature/].

Military investigator of the Military Prosecutor's Office of the 65th Army, Senior Lieutenant of Justice [signature/]

= Abram Goldfarb. Treblinka death camp. Sterdyń. September 26, 1944 =

''' Transcript of Abram Goldfarb's Additional Interrogation Regarding the Operation of the Gas Chambers. Sterdyń, September 26, 1944. GARF 7445-2-134 p. 38. '''

On September 26, 1944, Senior Lieutenant of Justice Yurovsky, military investigator of the 65th Army's [Russian] Prosecutor's Office, interrogated the below-named witness, who testified:

Goldfarb Abram Isaakovich (identities known)

In addition to my testimony, I report:

In the gas chamber—a three-chamber building for the extermination of Jews—an ordinary tractor engine was in operation. I do not know the make of the engine.

The fuel used was so-called ropa<ref name="ftn84">Likely the Polish word for “diesel.”</ref>—a dark, somewhat viscous liquid.

Near this building and separately, under a special shelter, numerous iron barrels of this fuel could always be seen.

I cannot add anything further. This has been recorded correctly and has been read to me. /signature/

Military investigator of the military prosecutor's office of the 65th Army, senior lieutenant of justice /signature/

= Samuel Rajzman. Treblinka death camp. Węgrów. September 26, 1944 =

''' Interrogation protocol of Samuel Rajzman regarding the functioning of the Treblinka death camp. Węgrów, September 26, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-11 pp. 77-89b. '''

City of Węgrów, September 26, 1944.<ref name="ftn85">In the upper left corner of the page, there is a marking that says "USSR-337".</ref> Military investigator of the military prosecutor's office of the 65th<ref name="ftn86">The handwritten digit 5 is written on top of the digit 1.</ref> Army, senior lieutenant of justice Yurovsky, interrogated the below-named witness, who testified:

RAJZMAN SAMUEL YAKOVLEVICH, born in 1922, native and resident of the city of Węgrów, Jewish, secondary education, director of a sawmill export plant in the city of Warsaw

I have been warned of liability for refusing to testify and for giving false testimony /signature/.

On the merits of the case, I testified:

From September 27, 1942, to August 2, 1943, I was imprisoned in Treblinka Camp No. 2, rightly known as the "death camp." I experienced, felt, and witnessed so much during my time there. Much of what I encountered remains etched in my memory. Moreover, I managed to smuggle out of the camp my notes, which I had kept throughout my stay. As part of a conspiratorial organization formed in the camp from Jewish prisoners, I kept records detailing the activities of this hellish death camp. Similar notes were also made by other organizers of this conspiratorial group preparing for the uprising—an engineer from Warsaw, Galewski, Kurland, and Rosenblum.<ref name="ftn87">The surnames are underlined with a red pencil.</ref>

We believed that if even one of us managed to escape from the camp, the material we had collected would, at a certain time, be made available to representatives of international justice. Rosenblum was killed, Galewski and Kurland, most likely in Warsaw. Therefore, at present, I am the only person in possession of invaluable, truthful, and accurate information about the monstrous plan the Germans carried out at Treblinka Camp No. 2 for the racial extermination of the Jewish population from various European countries. I therefore ask you to believe that all the specific examples and figures I wish to present are a true, undistorted reflection of reality. The collection of this material, under cover of secrecy, is the result of the collective labor of a group of camp prisoners during our year-long stay there.

From 1937 until my transfer to the Treblinka camp in September 1942, I lived in Warsaw without leaving, where I worked as the bureau director for the Overseas Export-Import Association of Medzizhetsky and Co. From October 1941, I was in the Jewish ghetto established by the German authorities.<ref name="ftn88">This and the following three sentences are marked on the left margin with a blue pencil line.</ref> In July 1942, the authorities widely announced that all Jews, regardless of age, would be resettled to the East. At the same time, the ghetto was surrounded by a significant network of guard posts. Guard duty was carried out by German soldiers and Ukrainian guards. With this first step, the Germans deprived all those living in the ghetto of the opportunity to communicate with the outside world. In the last ten days of July, the deportation of Jews began. In the new announcements that were specially posted for this reason, they announced, firstly, that work and bread would be guaranteed in the East, and secondly, that everyone was allowed to take with them all valuables and money, and, in addition, up to 15 kilograms of other things.

It must be admitted that at that time we weren't concerned about our fate. Each of us believed that somewhere in Russia, things would be much easier for us. None of us had any doubts about this German undertaking. Moreover, the famine that had gripped the ghetto, and the significant morbidity and mortality caused by it—all this, to some extent, even pushed people to leave as quickly as possible. Life in the ghetto had become unbearable, and it was no coincidence that many of its residents volunteered to evacuate to the East. From the very first days, trains carried 6,000 to 10,000 people. People took everything they could carry, and, of course, significantly more than the established quota of 15 kg. For obvious reasons, no one checked the weight of their belongings during loading.

During the first few days, the Germans deported the elderly, children, women, and men not employed in German enterprises. Those employed in German factories and workshops remained for a time. The Germans attempted a tactic: as soon as the deportation of Jews from the ghetto began, they began seizing Jewish-owned businesses, workshops, and various institutions, announcing a labor recruitment drive, guaranteeing that all those who accepted the job would remain in Warsaw. They demanded a share contribution of 10,000–15,000 zlotys from those applying for the company. With incredible difficulty, people met this requirement, and many took jobs with German firms solely to remain in their hometown. And then the deception the Germans constantly resorted to was laid bare.

Trucks filled with people being transported to the station roamed the ghetto streets day and night. The Germans carried out endless roundups. Sometimes they would forcibly remove a family, temporarily leaving behind the main worker—the head of the family. Sometimes they would cordon off a factory, declare it legally abandoned,<ref name="ftn89">The word is underlined with a pencil. A question mark is in the margin on the left.</ref> and then drive all the workers to the station in trucks, leaving their families behind.

I too experienced these monstrous forms of evacuation. On September 6, I returned from work to find that the Germans had taken my wife away. My example is not isolated—it was a fairly common occurrence. The eviction of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto, for example, lasted two months. Of the 600,000 Jews living in the ghetto, by September 27, the day I left Warsaw, as a professor at the Warsaw Medical Institute later told me in the Treblinka camp, only up to 30,000 remained.

On September 27, 1942, the owner of the company where I worked, Wilhelm Toebbens, gathered all the workers and announced that we should go into the yard, where only our documents would be checked, and then we would return to work immediately. He even gave his word of honor and warned that there was no need to change clothes, as we would not be staying in the yard for long. There were 36 people in the department where I worked. We went out into the yard in our work clothes. By this time, about a thousand people from several other departments had gathered in the yard. At that moment, we noticed several armed SS men loading 50-60 people into cars and driving them to the station. I was among those taken away. A train of 60 cars was ready for us. Each car held 120 people. None of us had anything except our work clothes. We had eaten nothing all day and didn't have a single piece of bread. The train covered the distance from Warsaw to Treblinka at 4:00 PM. The car was so crowded that no one had the opportunity to lie down, let alone sit down. The heat was unbearable. With so many people in the car, there was only one small observation window. Thirst was especially tormenting for all of us. We were strictly forbidden from obtaining water from outside. And on those very rare occasions when the guards guarding the car did pass us half a glass of water, they took large sums of money and gold.

The train stopped at Tłuszcz station. One of our workers, Esther Friedman, fainted, and when I told the guard, he demanded 500 zlotys for half a glass of water. At the next station, everyone with a gold watch gave it up for a glass of water. Most had neither money nor watches.

On the way to Treblinka station, three women and two men died from lack of water and fresh air. Among them were Esther Friedman and Regina Serok. The shooting continued throughout the entire journey. In our car, no one knew what awaited us or where we were going. But in the other cars, some apparently had some knowledge of this and, naturally, tried to escape through the observation window or by breaking out boards. The guards brutally suppressed the slightest attempt to break free, shooting without warning. Others fired indiscriminately into the cars. So when we arrived at the Treblinka camp, almost every car was riddled with dead bodies, riddled with bullets. At least 500 corpses were carried out of the cars onto the platform.

It's worth noting that at Treblinka station, 3-4 kilometers from the camp itself, our train of 60 cars was divided into three trains. I was in one of the first 20 cars. When the car door opened upon arriving at the camp, we immediately noticed an unusual commotion on the platform, which, it was quite obvious to us, was being caused by the Germans and guards who had greeted our group. They were running around the platform in disarray, shouting, urging us on—in short, an immediate atmosphere created that prevented us from properly orienting ourselves to the circumstances we had found ourselves in or understanding what awaited us. This noise and bustle were nothing more than a psychological maneuver, carefully planned and orchestrated by the German camp administration. Without giving us time to reflect, all the women were immediately separated from the men. The women were then taken to a barrack located to the left of the square and ordered to take off their boots and stockings, leave all of this near the barrack, and go inside themselves.

We men were asked to undress completely within one or two minutes, right there in the square. Up to twenty Germans and guards milled around us, beating us with sticks for the slightest hesitation. One of the Germans announced that we were to hand over all personal belongings—clothing, shoes, documents, money, and jewelry—for safekeeping while we were in the bathhouse.

Even then, the situation was clear to all of us. The piles of personal belongings outside the barracks, the incessant roar of the excavator, the heavy stench of corpses emanating from another part of the camp—all of this spoke convincingly of one thing: we were about to die. Each of us was overcome by a single desire: to die as quickly as possible. It was clear to everyone that death was inevitable, that death was watching us, and, knowing the German nature, prone to prolonging human suffering, we feared that this procedure, this preparatory procedure, would be lengthy.

So we all asked the Jewish workers passing us not about how to escape death, but about how long they would have to endure the torment.

As I stood there, already undressed, I was noticed by an acquaintance of mine, engineer Galewski from Warsaw, who served as the foreman of the Jewish work brigade at the camp. He immediately went to the camp commander and, upon returning, suggested that I get dressed. As he later told me, I was then introduced to the camp commander as a suitable candidate for a translator, since I knew several foreign languages.

Of the entire train of 8,000 people, only three were selected in this way—me and two excellent shoemakers. Within minutes, everyone else was herded off to the "bathhouse." A group of Jewish workers and I were tasked with carrying the clothes everyone had abandoned in the square to Barrack A. All this time, we were beaten without provocation by Ukrainian guards and Germans who watched our every move. They beat us tirelessly, with whips and sticks, so much so that half an hour later, when I met the two shoemakers from my train, we didn't recognize each other. Our faces were covered in bruises, contusions, and bloody welts. The Germans even had a special term for this beating procedure for new arrivals: "Feuertaufe" ("baptism of fire"). We worked like this until noon. During this time, another train arrived from Częstochowa and Piotrków.<ref name="ftn90">This refers to Piotrków Trybunalski – a city in the Łódź Voivodeship of modern Poland.</ref> Everything was repeated with the same sequence. By 12 noon, 16,000 Jews had been sent to the "bathhouse." While I was working, I got into conversation with workers who had already been in the camp for some time. They told me that the same fate awaited us all—death. We wouldn't have to wait long—8-10 days—and then others would take our place. I felt a little uneasy.

I must admit quite frankly that I was then offended by engineer Galewski, who did not give me the opportunity to immediately end my life along with his colleagues at the enterprise, thereby saving himself from bullying and torment.

Taking advantage of the lunch break, I approached Galewski and expressed my dissatisfaction with the patronizing attitude he was showing me. He replied curtly, "Don't rush. We'll do something here. If you see people from the other trains who can be relied upon, let me know. I'll try to save them." And then a spark of hope and faith ignited in me that I could somehow take revenge on the monsters. I wasn't thinking about my own salvation then. In fact, I was convinced of the opposite. However, the desire for revenge began to overwhelm me in a profound way. Therefore, the rest of my stay in the camp was devoted to this goal.

Galewski assigned me to Barrack A, sorting property; more specifically, I collected and sorted eyeglasses. For several hours a day, I was used to translate documents from Polish, Russian, and French into German. Thus, my stay in the camp was significantly eased; I was, to a greater extent than before, shielded from the systematic executions to which the Germans and guards subjected people, and, most importantly, I was able to observe and work more within the conspiratorial organization.

On September 29th, a train from Węgrów arrived. Upon learning of this, I went out to the barracks to get a better look at everyone who had arrived. I was born in Węgrów, grew up in Węgrów, and spent my best school years there. My mother, sister, and two brothers were in Węgrów. And I saw them there, in Treblinka,<ref name="ftn91">Spelled “Tremblinka” in the text.</ref> on their way to their deaths. My mother, sister, and brother noticed me immediately. My mother clutched her head and let out a terrible scream. I don't remember how or what happened to me. I then found myself in the arms of a friend. He brought me back to my senses. At that moment, a guard named Grisha approached me and asked what had happened. I gathered my last strength, sat up, and pretended nothing was wrong. Because if I'd shown the slightest sign of illness, I would have been immediately sent to the so-called "infirmary." An infirmary is a pit where people were shot. This guard was still going to send me to this infirmary—he made this quite clear—but I was saved by the senior guard, Sashka, who approached us and was the only decent person on the entire staff. For the rest of the time, I was busy with the same work: translating the documents of the dead, sorting property, and loading this property into train cars.

The regime in the work team was as follows.

We got up at 5:00 a.m. At 6:00 a.m., roll call, and then work began immediately. It lasted until 12:00 p.m. We had an hour-long lunch break, and then work continued until 5:00 or 7:00 p.m. However, this was the routine under "normal circumstances." Often, we had to work much later. We, all Jewish workers, slept in a separate barracks. The bunks were arranged in two tiers, with 24 people on each tier. The filth in these rooms was unbearable. The Germans didn't provide water. From the only well located in the square, the Jewish workers could only draw a little water once every two weeks. Even in this case, it was absolutely necessary to obtain permission from the Germans. The rest of the time, despite the nature of our work—constant contact with dirty rags and old property—access to water was strictly prohibited. And it's no surprise that lice were a constant companion for everyone. In the morning, we received two glasses of coffee. And, as a rule, each of us kept one glass of coffee so we could at least wash ourselves. It's worth noting that the two glasses of coffee we received were all that made up our breakfast menu.

We received 200 grams of bread per day. Coffee in the morning, soup at lunch, a stew made from water and a few small unpeeled potatoes, and the same soup for dinner.

These sanitary living conditions, the starvation rations, and the backbreaking workload naturally led to significant morbidity. Typhus became the main scourge. At first, at the slightest sign of illness, Unterscharführer Mite would send the patient to the "infirmary" to be shot. This was the case with everyone, without exception. Somewhat later, the "izba khatykh" (sick hut) was established. Only the first two or three days of admission were patients treated. Subsequently, the sick stayed in this "izba khatykh" for a very short time, and then Mite sent them all to the "infirmary." I remember one time, twenty-five workers seriously ill with typhus were sent to the "izba khatykh" in the morning. By evening, none of them were there—they had all gone to the "infirmary." The Germans forcibly kept Warsaw's most famous laryngologist, Dr. Julian Charanzycki, with them. He, like all of us, was a prisoner, but the Germans exploited his deep knowledge in the field of medicine and resorted to his help because they did not have their own doctors. Doctor Kharanzhitsky<ref name="ftn92">The correct spelling is "Khoronzhitsky".</ref> told the Germans that it was unacceptable to send conscious patients to be shot. Mitya then ordered that people be euthanized before being sent to the "infirmary." Even those who could easily have been cured were euthanized. One can imagine the incredible suffering of those who found themselves in the "khatykh izba." Thus, people were treated with only one medicine—a bullet. That's why workers with high temperatures, reaching 39°C (102°F), went to work. However, their attempts to hide their illness were in vain. Mitya would go around everyone, peering intently into their eyes, and pointing with his finger at those whose sickly appearance betrayed them, he would point the way to the "khatykh izba." Every day, several dozen people from the work crew took their lives. Their places were taken by new arrivals to the camp. The work itself was carried out under the influence of whips. The Germans and guards would beat with whips for the slightest provocation and without any provocation, beating for the past, the present, and the future. We all walked around constantly with traces of beatings.

Three to four trains, each containing 60 train cars, arrived at the camp daily. Of course, there were days when only one or two trains arrived, but these were the exception, not the rule. Each train carried 6,000 to 7,000 Jews.

Our conspiratorial group, as I've already shown, kept meticulous records of all incoming contingents. Jews were brought to the camp from various European countries:* From Germany itself came 120,000;
* Austria – 40,000;
* Poland – 1,500,000;
* Czechoslovakia – 100,000;
* Russia – 1,000,000;
* Bulgaria and Greece – 15,000.

Thus, from the time when this record began to be kept, October 1, 1942, to August 2, 1943, a total of 2,775,000 men, women, old people and children of Jewish nationality were brought to the camp.

At Treblinka station, the trains were uncoupled into three separate trains of 20 cars each. A specially coupled locomotive pulled the trains to the camp. Before entering the camp, the guards were changed: the guards who had accompanied the trains were not allowed into the camp, handing over their duties to the camp guards. When the doors of the freight cars were opened (Jews from Poland and Russia were brought in freight cars, and Jews from other countries in passenger cars), terrifying screams and groans of distraught, exhausted people could be heard. Several hundred corpses were carried from each train onto the platform and then to the "hospital" for cremation. Dozens of armed German soldiers and Ukrainian guards scurried back and forth along the platform. They were obviously creating unnecessary fuss, urging the people on at every step. Such a panicked atmosphere was created that people leaving the carriages completely lost their heads and lost all ability to understand what was happening to them and around them.

A few months after the Treblinka Camp No. 2 began operating, when news of the monstrous atrocities committed by the Germans in this hellish death factory had spread far beyond the camp and the mere mention of Treblinka caused fear among Westerners, when the mere word Treblinka among the people sent there gave rise to protest and active resistance, manifested in various forms, the Germans undertook such a maneuver.

The camp's name, "Arbeitslager" ("Work Camp"), was changed to "Ober-Majdan" ("Main Square"), and a large sign reading "Ober-Majdan" appeared on the square immediately behind the platform. Also on the square and buildings located near the unloading area were various signs and announcements, creating the appearance of some sort of transit railway station. For example, signs reading "Białystok," "Wołkowysk," "Transfer to the East," "Ticket Office," "Information," "Telephone/Telegraph," "Railway Workshop," "No Entry," and a large station clock.

This sham calmed the crowd to some extent. As soon as they entered the square, they were lined up, men and women were separated, the former led to the right, the latter to the left. The women were asked to remove their boots and stockings, tie them all up, and leave them right there near the barracks. Then they were led into the barracks and undressed. There, driven by whips, they were required to strip naked, leave their belongings in the locker room, and carry documents, money, and jewelry.

It's worth noting that throughout the entire journey from the train to the "bathhouse," the Germans used every means necessary to rush the people, not giving them time to recover. In the second part of the barracks, all the women had their hair cut and were ordered to proceed to the bathhouse. Along the way to the bathhouse, there was a cash register where everyone was required to hand over their documents, money, and valuables. The men undressed right on the square and, urged on by the Germans and guards, carried their belongings, documents, money, and valuables to the sorting barracks. Then they were herded to the bathhouse. All sick or weak men and women, as well as most of the elderly and children, were not allowed through the "bathhouse." They were selected while still on the square and taken to the so-called infirmary. The infirmary was a pit approximately 25 x 5 x 3 meters in size, fenced in and covered on all sides by a dense row of pine saplings. Jews wearing Red Cross armbands stood at the entrance. Their function was to undress those who came. After this, the hospital chief, Unterscharführer Mentz,<ref name="ftn93">Mentz Willi (1908-1978) joined the NSDAP in 1932. In 1940, he became involved in the "T-4" euthanasia program. In the summer of 1942, he was transferred to Treblinka, and in the autumn of 1943 to Sobibor. He then participated in punitive actions in Italy. At the beginning of 1945, he was wounded.</ref> would arrive and shoot everyone with a submachine gun. Then they would all be thrown into a large bonfire. No one bothered to determine whether they were being burned alive or dead. The screams and groans of the wounded, but still alive, elderly and children could be heard constantly from the hospital; some were thrown into the fire alive. If mothers entered the locker room with infants, Unterscharführer Sepp,<ref name="ftn94">This refers to Josef Hirtreiter, who is often referred to as Sepp.</ref> who was particularly skilled at killing children, would snatch the child from its mother, grab it by the legs, and slam the child against the wall with such force that a second blow was never necessary. I personally observed these "exercises" of Sepp's several times. Working as a sorter of glasses, I had comparatively more freedom of movement than any of the other workers. So, when a train from Warsaw arrived, I always approached the barracks, intending to find acquaintances.

It was then that I noticed the incidents I described above. During my time in the camp, I was confined to the 1st Section. I had absolutely no access to the 2nd Section, where the "bathhouse" was located and the cremation of corpses took place. Naturally, as one of the organizers of the conspiratorial group, I couldn't help but be interested in everything that was happening on the other side of the fence, where the actual murder of millions of people took place. I relied on the accounts, albeit very brief, of workers who, for one reason or another, found themselves in the 1st Section area for short periods of time. I discussed this matter extensively with Dr. Kharonzhitsky, one of the first figures in the conspiratorial organization, who was particularly interested in the killing methods. Kharonzhitsky, too, had no access to the cabins. But from what was known, he told me the following:

People were herded into large groups of so-called bathhouses. These cabins were hermetically sealed. At first, killing was done by pumping out the air, then they switched to another method: poisoning with chlorine gas and cyclone gas. The camp had a special warehouse with a large quantity (up to 15 tons) of so-called chlorene. Chlorene looked like white stones. Every day, before my eyes, barrels of this chlorene were carried to the 2nd section.

I didn't see any containers of cyclone gas. However, periodically, rarely, sealed boxes would arrive on trains, and guards would immediately transport them to the 2nd section. The motors at the bathhouses ran around the clock. I didn't hear whether carbon monoxide poisoning occurred there.

For the first months, I was told, the corpses were buried and covered with a layer of earth. Dentists would extract gold teeth as soon as the corpses were removed from the cells.

By the time I arrived at the camp, the corpses were being burned in primitive ovens. Fires blazed day and night. Clouds of smoke obscured the sky above the camp, rendering us permanently in darkness. The stench, the smell of roasting human flesh, filled every pore of our camp site and permeated our clothing, so much so that each of us felt as if we were living on the corpses themselves, sleeping on corpses, eating on corpses. The number of people killed in the camp can be judged by the number who entered, because none of them ever left.

The Germans weren't content with simply killing people. Before they sent a person into the death machine, they used every minute remaining to commit the most vile and savage tortures. They resorted to everything: physical and spiritual violence, deception, and undisguised cynicism. However, they loved to disguise all of this as humor and amusement.

I will give just a few examples of facts that I witnessed.

A train arrived from Vienna. Among the passengers was the sister of the famous Austrian psychology professor Sigmund Freud, a woman of about 50.<ref name="ftn95">Freud’s sisters, who were deported to Treblinka, were between 78 and 82 years old.</ref> Right there on the platform, she approached the deputy camp commandant, Untersturmführer Kurt Franz, and asked him to assign her to some light work in the office, as she was exhausted and, besides, was an accountant by trade. Franz, with astonishing politeness, asked for her identification papers. After reviewing them, he politely replied, "Yes, you are indeed Sigmund Freud's sister. Look, there's been a mistake. You are not subject to deportation from Vienna. Never mind, we'll fix it. You'll hand over all your belongings and valuables, take a bath, and then I'll send you home on the first train." He then led her to the train schedule posted on the platform and, in the most serious tone, expressed his opinion on the advisability of taking one train rather than another. This gentlemanly advice couldn't have aroused any doubt in this unfortunate woman. Following it, she handed over all her belongings to Franz and went to the "bathhouse," from which she never returned.

In May 1943, an acquaintance of mine, Associate Professor Stein of the Faculty of Medicine at Warsaw University, was brought to the camp. He introduced himself to the camp commandant, Hauptsturmführer Stangl, and asked him to find him a job in his field. Stangl asked him to wait a few minutes. Soon, Kurt Franz emerged with his dog, Bari, and set it loose on Stein. He stood to the side, smiling, watching as the dog began to tear chunks of Stein's flesh. Half-dead and covered in blood, Associate Professor Stein was carried on a stretcher to the "infirmary" and thrown into a fire.

One day in the fall of 1942, an elegantly dressed man stepped off an arriving train. Hauptsturmführer Stangl, who was on the platform at the time, saw him, greeted him enthusiastically, and led him into the chancery in a friendly manner. This surprised us all, as this newcomer was Jewish. Stengel flirted with him. After a while, they both left the camp grounds. We heard a gunshot. Stengel entered the camp alone, without his companion, and ordered the body to be taken away and carried "to the fire." Outside the infirmary, we began to remove his belongings and from his documents, we discovered that he was the brother of the Soviet ambassador to Paris, Surits.

That same day, Stangl considered his act the height of nobility, telling us that he had met Surits’s brother at some international conference and, due to connections, did not want to send him to a cell.<ref name="ftn96">Yakov Zakharovich Surits (1882-1952) was the Soviet ambassador to France from 1937 to 1940. His cousin, Mikhl, is being referred to here.</ref>

All property, personal belongings, money, and valuables confiscated from the hundreds of thousands of people arriving on the trains were sorted in specially designated barracks "A," "B," and "C" and then shipped to Germany.

Our conspiratorial organization had representatives in the departments responsible for sorting and packing the property to be shipped (Rosenblum, Kurland, Galewski, and myself). One of the organization's members served as a supervisor in the department, where 12-15 people were tasked with sorting money and valuables, determining their value, and packing them. He was also required to submit a daily report to the Germans. He also sent weekly reports to us. About once a week, we checked everyone's records:

From October 1, 1942, to August 2, 1943, the following were shipped to Germany:
* 25 train cars of women's hair,
* 248 train cars of various clothing,
* 100 train cars of shoes,
* 22 train cars of new textiles,
* 46 train cars of pharmaceutical and chemical preparations,
* 12 train cars of various artisan tools,
* 4 train cars of surgical and other medical instruments,
* 260 train cars of blankets, pillows, carpets, and rugs,
* 400 train cars of various items (eyeglasses, gold fountain pens, combs, dishes, briefcases, umbrellas, etc.).

About 120 million in gold were exported in coins of Russian rubles, French francs, Greek drachmas and ducats, and American dollars.

In addition, 40,000 gold wristwatches, 150 kilograms of wedding rings, 4,000 carats of diamonds weighing two carats each, several thousand pearl necklaces, and paper money amounting to 2,800,000 US dollars, 400,000 British pounds, 12 million Soviet rubles, and 140 million Polish zlotys were taken away.

This figure does not include paper money intentionally burned by members of the conspiratorial organization or money appropriated by camp personnel.<ref name="ftn97">At the end of the sentence, there is a blue cross drawn with a pencil.</ref>

Question: List the camp staff and provide a brief description of them.

Answer:
# Obersturmführer Stangl – camp commandant, a German from Vienna, oversaw all camp activities. He excelled at robbing incoming prisoners, appropriating large quantities of valuables. He received a two-week leave every four weeks and always took home jewelry made from precious stones. According to rough estimates, he smuggled away jewelry worth several hundred million zlotys.
# Untersturmführer Kurt Franz – deputy commandant, a German from Thuringia. He was the most cruel and sadistic individual. He was in charge of maintaining order and discipline in the camp; he would set a dog on the workers, then send the victim to the stake; he was an expert at hanging them by the legs; he killed people without provocation. He always demonstrated his boxing prowess on defenseless and sick people.
# Hauptsturmführer Kicha Kutner<ref name="ftn98">This probably refers to Fritz Küttner.</ref> – chief of the workers, a gendarme from Leipzig before the war. He beat up workers and sent dozens to be shot.
# Untersturmführer Miethe – assistant to the workers' chief, a German, devoted all his time to selecting the rich for execution in the "hospital."
# Untersturmführer Sepp Hitreider – a German from Alsace-Lorraine, was an unrivaled specialist in the murder of children.
# Untersturmführer Mene – a German, chief of the "hospital," his specialty was the execution of the sick, weakened, elderly, and children.
# Untersturmführer Bredow – a German from Berlin, specialized in the beating of workers.

I've listed only those members of the camp staff with whom I interacted almost daily. The entire German staff consisted of 38-40 people. The rest worked in the 2nd Section and in the office.

Question: Which high-ranking Nazi officials visited the camp?

Answer: All Germans in the camp belonged to the SS-Sonderkommando. Their seals and documents bore the SD symbol, which stands for Sonderdienst ("special service").

Three or four times during my stay in the camp, generals from Berlin and Lublin visited. During these visits, all the workers were herded into barracks.

Himmler came to the camp twice, once in September 1942, and again in July 1943. Preparations for his arrival lasted three days. The plane landed on a square near the camp both times. Himmler arrived accompanied by several high-ranking SS officials. I had seen his photographs many times in newspapers and magazines, so when he appeared at the camp, I and all the other workers recognized him immediately. He inspected the camp for 30-45 minutes and then left. The workers were in the barracks during this time. But the door was open, and we had no trouble getting a good look at him.

Question: How did you manage to escape from the camp?

Answer: Several months before the uprising, a conspiratorial organization made a bread mold of the lock on the weapons depot. On August 2, 1943, they managed to open the depot and stealthily remove 25 automatic rifles, 25 grenades, and 20 pistols. One of our conspiratorial group members, acting as a disinfectant, doused the camp buildings scheduled for burning with gasoline instead of disinfectant. After the first signal shot, the buildings were set ablaze, and all weapons in our possession were used from all sides. Workers from the 2nd Section tore down the barbed wire fence with shovels and crowbars. Germans were immediately killed—Hauptscharführer Kicha Kitner, Unterscharführer Kurt Seidel, and several others.<ref name="ftn99">The names and surnames of the Germans are underlined with a pencil.</ref> Two hundred prisoners escaped, the rest remained. I was among the two hundred. I can't add anything more. Written down from my words correctly and read to me /signature/.

Military investigator, senior lieutenant of justice /signature/ [Khorovsky]

= Józef Sopilo. Treblinka death camp. Węgrów. September 26, 1944 =

''' Interrogation protocol of local resident Józef Sopilo regarding the construction of the Treblinka death camp. Węgrów, September 26, 1944. GARF 7445-2-134 pp. 120-121. '''

On September 26, 1944, the military investigator of the Military Prosecutor's Office of the 65th Army, Guards Senior Lieutenant of Justice Malov, in compliance with Articles 162-168 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the RSFSR, interrogated as a witness a resident of the city of Węgrów, Sokołów County, Warsaw Voivodeship, Sopilo Józef Stebast'yanovich, born in 1911, native of Węgrów, driver, 7th grade education.

I have been warned about liability for giving false testimony under Article 95 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR /signature/.

Until April 4, 1942, I worked as a passenger bus driver on the Sokołów-Warsaw route. Because I was 15 minutes late for work, the German owner sent me to work in the Treblinka camp for three months. They brought me to the labor camp, where I spent four days, loading sand and driving to the road construction site in Małkinia. After that, they found out I was a driver and transferred me to the garage to wash cars. Before that, the camp commandant, I don’t know his last name, ordered me to be tied up and beaten with sticks in front of all the workers, giving me 50 lashes for hiding the fact that I was a driver. On April 10, 1942, a German came and announced that an order had been received: within 14 days, a camp with barracks was to be built, fenced in with barbed wire, foundations were laid, and a railway line was to be built to this camp. And after this order, we began building the camp. On the first day, timber was cut, posts were dug in, and the territory of the future camp was surrounded by barbed wire. Over the course of nine days, we built a railway line. Near it, to the left, we built two large foundations for buildings. Between them, we dug a well. All this was also surrounded by a barbed wire fence and camouflaged with branches. To the east of these foundations, 70-80 meters away, two foundations of different sizes were built. Later, from one of the barracks, or rather, foundations, that were near the railway line, a path was laid to these foundations, fenced with barbed wire and blocked off with branches. On April 20, 1942, seven trucks with trailers approached the two sites, carrying two motors, pipes, and about 10 bottles of some white liquid. The bottles were about 1.70 meters high and 70 cm in diameter. The bottles were sealed, and the caps read "achtung..." (attention) in German. The rest of the words were not visible, as all the bottles were covered with tarpaulins. The motors were about a meter high and covered with tarpaulins. The motors were unloaded on the smaller foundation, and the pipes and bottles were loaded onto the larger foundation. The next day, bricks began to be delivered to the site. About 600 Poles and about 350 Jews were working on the construction at the time. Once the foundations were built, all the Poles were sent to a labor camp, leaving the Jews to continue the construction. Before this, they lined up all the Jews who had worked with us before our eyes. About 80 of the weak and unfit for work were selected, taken to the forest, and all shot. At the same time, they shot six Poles who were building the right-hand foundation near the railway line. I don't know why they were shot. I don't know what was subsequently built on these foundations, as no Poles were allowed anywhere near the camp. On my last day in the construction camp, a truck covered with a tarpaulin arrived. No one was allowed near the truck, but it smelled of chlorine. This truck was parked in the camp, and in the morning it was taken to the foundations where the engines were, but in the meantime we were sent to a work camp, where I stayed for about seven days, then fell ill and was released from the camp.

The working conditions for the Poles building the camp were appalling. The work was extremely hard, and the food was very poor. They beat them horribly with whips and sticks. If a Pole fell ill, they were thrown to the ground behind the latrine, and no one dared approach them. That's where these sick people usually died, as they weren't given any food. On May 3, 1943, three carloads of Poles, about 120 people, were brought from somewhere. Everyone's hands were tied. They were all taken to the forest, brutally murdered, and thrown into pits. I saw their bodies myself. They were beaten with some kind of blunt instruments.

I can't show you anything else.

The report, based on my words, is written down correctly /signature/.

Interrogated by military investigator of the Guard, Senior Lieutenant of Justice /signature/

= Bronia Teperman. Treblinka death camp. September 26, 1944 =

''' Interrogation of Bronia Teperman regarding the extermination of Jews at the Treblinka death camp in 1943, September 26, 1944. GARF 7445-2-134 pp. 50-51. '''

On September 26, 1946, military investigator of the 65th Army's military prosecutor's office, Guards Senior Lieutenant of Justice Malov, in compliance with Articles 162-168 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the RSFSR, interrogated as a witness:

Teperman, Bronia Berkovna, born in 1920, native of Warsaw, Jewish, housewife, 9th grade education, resident of Danzig. Warned of liability for giving false testimony under Article 95 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR /signature/.

On July 22, 1942, the Germans began rounding up Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto and sending them out of Warsaw in trains. Before departure, they announced that they were allowed to take 15 kg of luggage with them and that the Jews were being sent to the East, where they would work. I hid in Warsaw until January 20, 1943, and on January 20, 1943, during a roundup, I was captured, put in a freight car that was part of a train, and sent to the Treblinka camp, where I arrived on January 22, 1943. When they unloaded us from the cars at the camp, I saw many corpses of Jews killed and suffocated during the journey being carried out of our train.

Upon arrival at the camp, everyone was asked to quickly exit the train cars, with the women heading left toward the barracks and the men heading right. Everyone was then given rope laces to tie their shoes, which they were asked to remove. After their shoes were removed, the women were asked to strip naked. Then, in a special room, their hair was cut and they were sent in pairs down an alley lined with pine trees. The alley was covered with sand. Naked men followed along at the same time. There was terrible screaming and crying. Small children asked their parents, "Where are they taking us?" Meanwhile, the Germans and guards beat people with whips, sticks, and stabbed them with daggers. After I took off my shoes, as a seamstress, I, the only person in the train, was left behind and sent to work. While the men were being undressed, one Jew grabbed a grenade he had brought in his pocket and threw it at the Germans, killing two. After that, the shooting began, and many Jews were killed, while the rest were beaten and driven to the "bathhouse." All this happened in winter, when there was frost and snow. I remained in this camp, which the Germans called "Tot lager," or "death camp," until August 2, 1943, the time of the uprising.

Living conditions for the Jewish work crew were very harsh; they worked 12-hour shifts. They were fed soup made from unpeeled potatoes and a little bread. During the work, the Jews assigned to the work crew were beaten to death with whips and sticks and then shot. Anyone weakened was sent to the so-called "infirmary," where they were killed. I worked in the tailor's workshop until July 15, 1943, after which I was transferred to the section of the camp where people were killed in "baths" and corpses were burned. In this section, I worked in the kitchen of the barracks of the work crew, which was responsible for removing corpses from the baths and burning them. The work crew, selected from among the Jews for this purpose, consisted of 256 Jews. In total, I worked in this section of the camp until August 2, 1943. While working in this section of the camp, I witnessed how people were driven into bathhouses for suffocation and how the bodies of those strangled in the "bathhouses" were dragged out. Two brick buildings were used for suffocation, each containing a suffocation chamber. I was in a building with three chambers. The chambers had tiled floors. Half of the walls were also tiled. The ceiling was cement. Inside the chambers, pipes from the engine ran, carrying exhaust gas into the chambers. The engine was in a room next to the chambers. I once had the opportunity to examine this engine, and I clearly remember that it had the inscription "Citroen," a French manufacturer. Grooves were made in the floors of the chambers to allow blood to drain. If the engine malfunctioned, suffocation was carried out with chlorinated lime. I myself saw a can of chlorinated lime standing near the "bathhouses," and how buckets of chlorinated lime were hoisted onto the roofs of the "bathhouses." In these cases, the bodies of people removed from the cabins were blue. Three hundred to four hundred people were crammed into each cabin. I knew it was chlorinated lime because I used that same barrel to wash my laundry, so it would be white. The men who removed the bodies from the cabins said that after the people were suffocated with chlorinated lime, the smell of chlorine could be detected in the cabins. The bodies were cremated on special rigs consisting of rails placed on stones. Women's bodies were placed on the rails first, as they burned more readily. They were set on fire with pine wood, which was doused with flammable liquid to ensure the wood burned more efficiently. The bodies were burned day and night. The bodies of both newly strangled people and those previously exhumed from pits were burned. It was impossible to breathe; the stench of corpses filled the air and soaked people's clothes. I know that the Germans kept a tally of the people killed. During the burning of the corpses, one member of the work crew specifically counted how many bodies were brought from the "bathhouse" for cremation. This information was submitted to Arthur Mates, a German who was the head of the camp's extermination department. The commander of the entire "death camp" was Hauptsturmführer Otto Stangel. Before him, the camp commander was Dr. Ebert. Two weeks before the uprising, the Germans fired a salvo in the camp. The Germans themselves said that the salvo was fired in honor of the extermination of 3.5 million Jews.

Question: Under what circumstances did you manage to escape from the camp?

Answer: On August 2, 1943, a rebellion occurred in the camp, during which I, along with other prisoners, escaped from the camp.

I have nothing more to testify to.

The report was transcribed correctly from my words and was read to me /signature/.

Interrogated by Military Investigator of the Guard, Senior Lieutenant of Justice /signature/

The interrogation was conducted with the participation of Deputy Military Prosecutor of the 65th Guard Army, Major of Justice /signature/ [Mazor]

= References =
<references/>

= Sources =

Mattogno, Carlo. ''The “Operation Reinhardt” Camps Treblinka, Sobibór, Bełżec: Black Propaganda, Archeological Research, Expected Material Evidence.'' 1st ed. Holocaust Handbooks 28. Academic Research Media Review Education Group Ltd, 2024. https://holocausthandbooks.com/book/the-operation-reinhardt-camps-treblinka-sobibor-belzec/.

Mattogno, Carlo, and Jürgen Graf. ''Treblinka: Extermination Camp or Transit Camp?'' 4th ed. Holocaust Handbooks 8. Academic Research Media Review Education Group Ltd, 2024. https://holocausthandbooks.com/book/treblinka/.

Mattogno, Carlo, Thomas Kues, and Jürgen Graf. ''The “Extermination Camps” of “Aktion Reinhardt”: An Analysis and Refutation of Factitious “Evidence,” Deceptions and Flawed Argumentation of the “Holocaust Controversies” Bloggers.'' 2nd, slightly corrected edition eds. Vol. 1. Castle Hill Publishers, 2015.

Mattogno, Carlo, Thomas Kues, and Jürgen Graf. ''The “Extermination Camps” of “Aktion Reinhardt”: An Analysis and Refutation of Factitious “Evidence,” Deceptions and Flawed Argumentation of the “Holocaust Controversies” Bloggers.'' 2nd, slightly corrected edition eds. Vol. 2. Castle Hill Publishers, 2015.

Pachaljuk, Konstantin Aleksandrovič, ed. ''Treblinka: Research, Memories, Documents.'' Naučnoe izdanie. Яуза, 2021. Originally published as ''Treblinka: Issledovanija, vospominanija, dokumenty. '' https://docs.historyrussia.org/ru/nodes/354229-treblinka-issledovaniya-vospominaniya-dokumenty

= See also =

*[[Soviet_Treblinka_Investigation_1944-August|August 1944, 65th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front]]
*[[Soviet_Treblinka_Investigation_1944-SMERSH|September/November 1944, SMERSH]]
*[[Soviet_Treblinka_Investigation_1944-ChGK|October/December 1944, Extaordinary State Commission (ChGK)]]

Soviet Treblinka Investigation 1944-SMERSH

2026-01-05T15:26:10Z

Pilgrimofdark:

In September and November 1944, the Soviet organization SMERSH ("Death to Spies") conducted interrogations of a number of alleged former guards of the Treblinka camps.

__TOC__

= Treblinka guards. Kozlov, Shkarup-Poleschuk, Sirota, Rekalo, Rozhansky and Shevchenko =

''' In the case of the arrested guards of the Treblinka camp – Kozlov, Shkarup-Poleschuk, Sirota, Rekalo, Rozhansky and Shevchenko. Special note No. 4/6451. '''

Top secret

TO THE COMBAT COUNCIL OF THE 65TH ARMY

DETAIL NOTE

In the case of the arrested guards of the Treblinka camp KOZLOV, SHKARUPA-POLESHCHUK, SIROTA, REKALO, ROZHANSKY AND SHEVCHENKO.-

I inform you that during the investigation into the case of the guards of the Treblin camp, Kozlov, Rozhansky, and others, whom we arrested, it was established, according to the latter's statements, that the camp began its existence in the second half of 1941 and operated until the end of July 1944. The Germans used Polish tax evaders for its construction. Simultaneously with the construction of the camp, a railway line was built, along which trains loaded with people doomed to death were brought from the Małkinia station to the camp.

In July 1942, the Treblinka camp was divided into two branches: "work camp" No. 1, where highly skilled, able-bodied citizens were imprisoned, and Camp No. 2, the so-called "death camp" for people of all ages, who were exterminated in various ways upon arrival at the camp.

The first camp was located one and a half to two kilometers from the second, between which there was a telephone connection and a highway was built.

Camp No. 2, the so-called "death camp," occupied an area of more than three hectares and was surrounded by two rows, a wire fence intertwined with barbed wire and pine needles, and curtained with old blankets and various rags for camouflage, so that it would not be visible what was happening inside the camp.

Eleven buildings were built on the southern half of this camp: a "gas chamber," "changing rooms-barracks," a "hospital," and storage facilities. All of these areas were in turn isolated by a system of barbed wire fencing. The northern half of the camp was separated from the southern half by barbed wire with two gates. This area was filled with large pits, where the corpses were carried out from the "gas chamber."

This camp in Treblinka was built by the Germans specifically for the mass extermination of mainly the Jewish and Polish population.

Every day, trains with people arrived at this camp from Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, France and other European countries, in quantities of up to 3-4 echelons per day, and all those delivered in these trains were people of both sexes and different ages, including the decrepit, the elderly and infants, thousands were exterminated daily by the Germans in gas chambers and brutally murdered in other ways.

People arriving at Camp No. 2 / "death camp"/ were pre-sorted before they were even admitted to this camp, and the most able-bodied people were sent to "work camp" No. 1 for their use in work.

In this "work camp," prisoners were deliberately starved, forced to work around the clock, systematically subjected to beatings, torture, and abuse, and then shot. The survivors, exhausted by hunger, backbreaking labor, and torture, were transferred from the "work camp" under heavy guard to Camp No. 2, the "death camp," for extermination in a "gas chamber."

Thus, the investigation has established that in the Treblinka camp / both of its branches / seven million Jews, Poles and Gypsies brought here by the Germans from various European countries they occupied were exterminated in various ways.

The watchmen we brought in for this crime, KOZLOV, ROZHANSKY and others, took an active part in these atrocities.

Additionally, a guard of Treblinka Camp No. 2, the “death camp,” was identified and delivered to us.

<blockquote>SHEVCHENKO Ivan Semenovich, born in 1921, injured in the village of Maidanovka, Zvenigorod district, Kyiv region, Ukrainian, citizen of the OOOR, former member of the peasant committee, education – 5th grade, single, no criminal record, former serviceman of the Red Army</blockquote>

who, while serving in the Red Army, was captured by the Germans in July 1941, after which in April 1942 he "expressed a desire and voluntarily entered the school for guards, after which he initially completed practical training in guard duty, and then from August 1942 to July 1943 served in the Treblinka death camp" as a guard.

The arrested SHEVCHENKO, interrogated in this case, testified:

<blockquote>...During the period of my service from August 1942 to July 17, 1943, in the Treblinka camp, I was an eyewitness and participant in the atrocities committed to the extermination of the civilian population, mainly of Jewish nationality. Three to four trains arrived at the camp daily, loaded with civilians of all ages, who were exterminated on the same day. Jewish families arriving daily at the camp with their property from Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, France and Bulgaria were transported under the guise of supposedly going to a collection point for subsequent shipment to Palestine. For the purposes of deception, the Germans posted signs and posters on the walls of the barracks located parallel to the railway line, where the trains arrived, with the inscriptions: "Palestine awaits you" and others. There was even a train schedule and a ticket office. This appearance continued until the trains were completely unloaded and the train went beyond the camp.

The trains carrying the population were unloaded in two or three batches of 17-20 cars each. This was done because the camp grounds could not accommodate more cars for unloading, and the number of people brought in these batches corresponded precisely to both the "carrying capacity" of the gas chambers and the simultaneous extermination of the people in them.

As soon as the gas chamber was emptied of the first batch of murdered people, a second batch arrived, and then a third. This happened daily for a year.

The convoy arriving at the camp was cordoned off from the rear by guards so that none of the people arriving at the camp could escape or get through the barbed wire fence.

A "work team," led by a "captain," consisting of 20-25 Jews, would approach the train, one by one, open the doors, and direct those arriving with their belongings to the buildings and "dressing rooms." The "work team" loaded sick and weakened elderly people who were unable to move independently and carried them on stretchers to the "changing room" buildings...</blockquote>

Continuing his testimony, the accused SHEVCHENKO said:

<blockquote>...After the cars were completely unloaded and the train departed, the prisoners condemned to death were told to leave their belongings and enter the barracks, where they were to undress and prepare for the 'bathhouse.' From that moment on, the prisoners were convinced of their destination and the purpose for which they had been brought. A horrific scene began, the heart-rending screams of those condemned to death, especially women and children, which continued with increasing force until the moment of their death. But despite everything, the 'work crew,' guards, and Germans herded the people into the 'dressing rooms,' brutally beating them with whips, buttocks, and sticks. The men were sent from here to the 'dressing room,' while the women and children were sent to another 'dressing room' barrack.

In the "changing rooms" everyone, without exception, including infants, undressed completely.

In the barracks where the women undressed, there was a passageway where everyone's hair was cut off and piled before being sent to the gas chamber. In the barracks—the "changing rooms"—the "kada" (cabinet) declared that valuables—watches, gold, and money—were to be deposited at the cash register, which was located along the route to the "bathhouse" and the "gas chamber." That is why many of those heading to the gas chamber did not yet fully believe that they were being taken to destruction; they took with them tenge, chairs, gold, rings and other valuables and handed them over to the cashier.

The Germans, guards, and the "work crew" first stripped the men, then the women and children, and drove them into the gas chambers, up to 200 people in each, where they were killed by gassing...</blockquote>

On the issue of killing people in the "gas chamber" and the arrangement of the death chambers, the unindicted SHEVCHENKO testified:

<blockquote>...From July 1942 to March 1943, the gas chamber was in a small stone building, consisting of three gas chambers, which, due to the daily arrival of a large number of people of Jewish nationality in the camp, did not ensure their extermination. Therefore, over the course of several days in March 1943, a large "gas chamber" was built, consisting of nine chambers, the "throughput" of which ensured the destruction of the population entering the camp.

The tenth chamber housed a high-power motor, which released exhaust gas into the chamber. The chambers were located on either side of a corridor that ran down the center of the building and was two meters wide. Each chamber had iron entrance doors from the corridor, which were hermetically sealed, then locked with three iron latches and covered with curtains. The five gas chambers, located on the north side of the building, had iron exit doors through which the corpses were thrown into pits located 10-20 meters away. Each gas chamber was up to 5 meters long and 4-4.5 meters wide.

The floor and ceiling were cement, and the walls were lined with ceramic tiles. The last chamber, the tenth, housed a gasoline or naphtha-powered engine, the exhaust pipe of which was inserted into the ceiling, from which small-diameter pipes with a tip, supposedly for a shower, extended into the chambers. At first glance, this building was difficult to distinguish from a very ordinary bathhouse.

As soon as all nine chambers were filled to capacity with people, the doors were hermetically sealed one by one on the orders of Unterscharführer FUCHS. The motorman of the gas chamber, Vaktman Ivan MARCHENKO, started the engine, from which exhaust gas flowed through specially installed pipes into the chambers, and within 15-20 minutes, the people inside died, the "work crew" carried the bodies to the pits. Those who did not have time to die in the gas chamber were killed by the Germans and guards with rifle and pistol shots at the pits.</blockquote>

Speaking about the so-called "lazaret" SHEVCHENKO testified:

<blockquote>...People who were unable to move independently in the gas chambers were not placed, but usually remained near the barracks until everyone was driven into the chambers of the gas chambers, and then they were carried naked on stretchers to the so-called "infirmary", where there was a Jew in the guise of a doctor, who supposedly "examined" and from there directed them to the pits, where the Germans and guards shot them. In this way, all people who entered the territory were destroyed-foxes...</blockquote>

In terms of the destruction of people from the "workers' command" SHEVCHENKO testified:

<blockquote>...The Germans selected the "work team" from among the men arriving at the camp for extermination, the physically weak, and renewed it daily, with the goal of avoiding an uprising.

Usually, a person stayed in the team for several days, sometimes up to a month, and then they were destroyed in the same “murder chamber”.</blockquote>

The investigation failed to establish that, until the spring of 1943, the bodies of those killed in the "extinguisher van" were buried in large pits and covered with earth. In order to conceal traces of the criminal atrocities from the world public, by order of the German command, in the spring of 1943, the camp administration began excavating the graves, removing the bodies, and burning them.

The interrogated SHEVCHENKO testified regarding the destruction of corpses:

<blockquote>...until the spring of 1943, the bodies of those killed in the "gas van" and those shot were buried in large pits and covered with earth. Then, by order of the German command, two excavators were used daily in the camp, removing decomposed bodies from the pits. A "work crew" carried these bodies onto specially laid rails on bricks, doused them with flammable liquid, and burned them. At the same time, the bodies from the "gas van" were carried out and burned on bonfires.

Almost daily, day and night, five or six such large fires burned in the camp, burning tens of thousands of human corpses. The stench of burning corpses spread for several kilometers around, making it impossible to breathe day or night.

The "work team" passed the ashes of the burned corpses through specially made sieves. The ashes were then dumped into pits cleared of corpses and mixed with sand. After the bodies were destroyed, the ash pits were leveled, and later that same year, 1943, the area was sown with grain. In this way, the Germans covered up the traces of their heinous crimes of exterminating the civilian populations of occupied European countries...</blockquote>

SHEVCHENKO testified about his participation in the atrocities carried out to exterminate the population in the Treblinka camp:

<blockquote>...During my service at the Treblinka death camp, I, along with the guards and Germans, participated in the extermination of the population. Along with the guards and the "work squad," I drove people into the changing rooms and "gas chambers," and systematically beat those who did not want to go there with the butt of a rifle. Two or three times a month, or more, I was present at the unloading of corpses from the chambers into the pits and onto the fires, where I personally finished off with a rifle shot those people who did not have time to die in the "gas chamber." I cannot say exactly how many people I personally shot, since I do not remember. During my service, I shot approximately 50 people...</blockquote>

The testimony of the arrested SHEVCHENKO is confirmed by witnesses KATZ, PUKHOV, KORTH and others, as well as by the accused, brought in on this body.

In addition to extermination in the "death camp," the Germans and guards shot and massacred people in the so-called "work camp." Every day, they employed ever newer methods of humiliation and torture: throwing people off cliffs, covering them with sand, beating them with sticks, and so on.

KOZLOV, who was asked to be accused, told about the extermination of people and his participation in these atrocities and testified:

<blockquote>...During my service in Treblin "work camp" No. 1 from March 1943 until the end of July 1944, in the position of a guard, I took part in the mass extermination of prisoners, beat them and shot them.

In June 1943, while driving prisoners out of the barracks to work, I beat them with a stick, and when one of the prisoners went to the well to wash his hands, I walked up to him, hit him on the head several times with a stick and killed him.

At the end of July 1943, during a prisoner escape from a camp, I raised the alarm and, along with the Germans, pursued the escapees, shooting them with a rifle. I personally killed one person, and several others were killed by the Germans.

In the last days of March 1944, I, along with a group of guards and several Germans, on the orders of Unterparführer SHTUMPE, led more than 50 Jewish prisoners from the barracks to the camp courtyard, beat them with sticks and rifle butts, and then stabbed them all to death with bayonets.

On the second day, I was part of the same group of guards. We led a group of more than 50 prisoners out of the barracks and shot them all.

In April 1944, on orders from Unterierführer STUMPE, I took two sick Jewish prisoners from the camp into the forest and shot them there. Furthermore, in July 1944, I took part in the mass execution of 575 Jewish, Polish, and Roma prisoners, who were shot on the same day by the Nazis and the Nazis.

Guards POLESHCHUK, REKALO and others took part in these executions...</blockquote>

The accused ROZHANSKY, who was interrogated in this entire case, testified:

<blockquote>In Treblin, the so-called 'work camp' No. 1, Jewish, Polish, and Roma prisoners were systematically exterminated in various ways, and I took an active part in their extermination. The Germans and guards carried out mass executions, during which they shot 50-100 or more people. In addition to the executions, the guards and Germans beat prisoners with sticks, threw them from six-meter towers, buried them in sand, drowned them in barrels, and killed them with specially bandaged mallets for entertainment."

In addition, dozens of prisoners died daily from hunger and the unbearable weight of the corpse. In July 1943, during my service in the camp, the camp commandant, Hauptsturmführer VON EUPPEN, with Unterscharführers LIANG, GAGEN and other Germans and group watchmen, having gotten drunk, went into a barracks, took 5 Jews from there to a tower and, having fun, threw them out of a window to the ground, after which they finished them off with pistols and went back to drinking.

In the summer of 1943, while prisoners were working loading sand into train cars-, the guard of our group SVDERSKIY and the guard of OLMANNIKOV buried a Jew alive in the sand for fun, where he lay for 15-20 minutes and died.

In July 1944, by order of the camp commandant, the Nazis and Germans, including KOZLOV, POLETSUK and I and others, shot more than 500 Polish, Jewish and Gypsy prisoners in one day...</blockquote>

Obernakhtman REKALO, Nektman SHKARUPA-POLESHCHUK and SIROTA, interrogated as defendants in this case, gave similar testimony and spoke about their participation in these atrocities.

Furthermore, the meeting established that a camp similar to the Treblinka camp existed in Krakow. Regarding the nature of this camp, the defendant in this case, Rozhansky, who served there as a guard from January to April 1943, testified:

<blockquote>...After finishing the guard school, I was sent to serve in the Krakow camp, located in a large Jewish cemetery, which held more than two thousand Jewish prisoners who were used for various types of work and starved.

In the camp, the Germans and the guards systematically shot prisoners, one by one and in groups, and new groups of Jews from various German-occupied countries arrived in their place.

In February 1943, on the orders of the camp commandant, a group of guards, including myself, selected more than 200 prisoners from the general population, stole their gold and valuables, and then shot them all. I personally shot seven people on this occasion. The mass extermination of prisoners in the Krakow camp was systematic and almost daily...</blockquote>

The investigation into the case continues in the direction of uncovering all criminal activities of the accused and identifying their participants.

The participants in these crimes that we have identified are wanted.

HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT OF COUNTER AZ EDKI "SMERI" 65 ARMY

COLONEL

"17" September 1944/TRAPEZNAKOV/

No. 4/6451

= Treblinka guard. Leleko Pavel Vladimirovich =

''' On the arrest of Guard of the Treblinka Death Camp – Leleko Pavel Vladimirovich. Special message No. 8186/SO. '''

TOP SECRET

TO THE CHIEF OF THE SMERSH COUNTERINTELLIGENCE DEPARTMENT OF THE 2ND BELARUSIAN FRONT-GENERAL-LIEUTENANT U-

TO COMRADE YEDUNOV.

SPECIAL MESSAGE

about the arrest of the guard of the Treblin death camp – Pavel Vladimirovich LELEKO.

On November 17, 1944, the Army's SMERSH Counterintelligence Department detained a guard at the Treblin "death camp" /Poland/, a former Red Army soldier.-

<blockquote>LELEKO Pavel Vladimirovich, born in 1922, native of the village of Chaplinka, Chaplinsky district, Nikolaev region, Ukrainian, citizen of the USSR, non-party member, 7th grade education, single, according to his words, no criminal record,</blockquote>

who, fearing responsibility for the crime he had committed, hid in Poland under the name "VOZNIAK Kazimierz."

During the process of identifying himself, LELEKO was caught in criminal activity and arrested.

It was established through the accused that the Treblinka "death camp" was built by the Germans-by the Nazi invaders in the autumn of 1941 to exterminate the Jewish population of the occupied countries of Europe and operated until July 1944.

The "death camp" covered an area of up to 6 hectares and was surrounded by a barbed wire fence. Anti-tank obstacles, entangled with barbed wire, were installed 100-150 meters from the barbed wire fence. A deep ditch and earthen embankment ran nearby around the "camp." All this made escape impossible.

A railway line ran from the Małkinia station to the "camp," along which trains of Jewish children, women, and elderly people arrived daily from various European countries. Those sent to Treblinka were given documents stating that they were going to work in Ukraine or resettling as beggars in Palestine.

On the "camp" grounds, trains were unloaded near two barrack-type buildings. While unloading, they were surrounded by a heavy guard. A clock and train schedule to Tarnopol and other stations were painted on the "station" building. After unloading, the train passengers were sorted into two or three groups: the elderly, the sick, and the exhausted. A "work team" of condemned prisoners led them to the so-called "hospital," where they were undressed and then executed by the Germans and guards.

Men and women capable of working were led in groups to the “changing room”, from where they were supposedly heading to the bathhouse and along the way they “handed over their belongings, clothes and valuables”.

During the "sanitary treatment" the women had their hair removed, which was then packed into bags and sent to Germany.

The naked ones were driven in groups along a path surrounded by barbed wire fencing to the "bathhouse", while the Germans and guards beat them with whips and rifle butts.

"Banya" was a brick building containing eight gas chambers. When the chambers were full, a motor would turn on, and after 15-20 minutes, people would be poisoned by exhaust gas.

The bodies of the "work crew" were carried out and piled into pits, then burned. Those who didn't die from the gas were shot by the Germans and guards. Special furnaces were built for burning the bodies, consisting of racks of rails fixed to a cement foundation. Thousands of bodies were burned in a single batch over the course of four to five hours.

Thus, in the Treblinka "death camp" up to five million Jews, brought there by the Germans from France, Belgium, Holland and other European countries they occupied, were exterminated in various ways.

The investigation established that LELEKO, whom we arrested, surrendered to the enemy while serving on the front lines of the Great Patriotic War in May 1942 during a battle near Kerch. He was subsequently held in the Rivne prisoner-of-war camp, where in August 1942 he voluntarily enrolled in a guard school located in Trawniki, Poland. After graduating in September 1942, he was sent to the Treblinka "death camp" as a guard, working there until August 1942.

During interrogation, LELEKO testified about the mass extermination of the population imprisoned in the camp:

<blockquote>...During the 11 months of my service in the "death camp," more than two million of the Jewish population were exterminated. Women and men capable of working were killed in "gas chambers," and those who were sick or weakened were passed through the so-called "hospital," led to pits, shot, and burned...</blockquote>

LELEKO testified about his participation in the atrocities committed by the Germans in the Treblinka "death camp":

<blockquote>...During my service in the Treblinka “death camp”, I, together with the Germans and guards, took part in the extermination of the population.

I personally participated in the executions of prisoners in the "camp" ten times. Twice in the autumn of 1942, at night, I was part of the cordon around the "work brigade" that the Germans and other guards were executing. Six times in the winter of 1942-43, I participated in the executions of the sick and elderly who had been through what was called the "hospital." During these six times, I personally executed 25-30 people...</blockquote>

We continue the investigation into the case.

Head of the Counterintelligence Department "SMERSH"

65th Army – Guards Colonel-/s. Los/

22 November 1944

No. 8186/SO

2ex.gam.

= Sources =

Ausen, S.L. ''Special message No. 8186/SO chief of the Smersh ROC of the 65th Army of Colonel S.L. Ausen to the head of the UKR “Smersh” of the 2-nd Belarusian Front, Lieutenant-General Y.A. Edunov “On the arrest of Wachmann of the Treblin Death Camp - Leleko Pavel Vladimirovich.”'' No. 8186/SO. SMERSH, 1944. FSB of Russia in the Omsk region. [http://www.fsb.ru/fsb/history/archival_material/Treblinka.htm http://www.fsb.ru/fsb/history/archival_material/Treblinka.htm].

Trapeznikova, N.G. ''Special note No. 4/6451 of the head of the ROC “Smersh” of the 65th Army of Colonel N.G. Trapeznikova to the Military Council of the 65th Army “In the case of the arrested wakhmans of the Treblin camp - Kozlov, Shkarup-Poleschuk, Sirota, Rekalo, Rozhansky and Shevchenko.”'' No. 4/6451. SMERSH, 1944. FSB of Russia in the Omsk region. [http://www.fsb.ru/fsb/history/archival_material/Treblinka.htm http://www.fsb.ru/fsb/history/archival_material/Treblinka.htm].

= See also =

*[[Soviet_Treblinka_Investigation_1944-August|August 1944, 65th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front]]
*[[Soviet_Treblinka_Investigation_1944-September|September 1944, Soviet-Polish Commission]]
*[[Soviet_Treblinka_Investigation_1944-ChGK|October/December 1944, Extaordinary State Commission (ChGK)]]

Soviet Treblinka Investigation 1944-ChGK

2026-01-05T15:23:04Z

Pilgrimofdark:

In early October 1944, the Deputy Military Prosecutor of the 65th Army conducted interrogations with numerous witnesses about the deportation and execution of American and British citizens at the Treblinka camp.

As a result, the Extraordinary State Commission (ChGK) created a Draft Report, dated December 1, 1944, with numerous corrections.

__TOC__

= Gustav Boraks. Treblinka death camp & barbers. Węgrów. October 3, 1944 =

''' Interrogation protocol of witness Gustav Boraks about the Treblinka death camp and the work of the barber team. Węgrów, October 3, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-10 pp. 1-3. '''

Deputy Military Prosecutor of the 65th Army, Guards Major of Justice Mazor, interrogated as a witness:

Boraks Gustaw Yuzefovich, born in 1906, ''a native of the city of Wieluń, currently residing''<ref name="ftn1">The phrase highlighted in italics is written in a different ink color (black, not blue).</ref> in the city of Węgrów, Sokołów County, Warsaw Voivodeship, a hairdresser by profession, with a 5th grade education, Jewish by nationality, citizen of the Polish state.

The interrogation was conducted in the presence of the representative of the Extraordinary State Commission D. I. Kudryavtsev.

Witness Boraks has been warned of liability for giving false testimony /signature/.

Witness Boraks' testimony was given in Polish. Translation into Russian was provided by citizen E.K. Kozachkov, who has been warned of liability for the accuracy of the translation under Article 95 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR. [signature/]

On October 5, 1942, I was among thousands of Jews brought from Częstochowa to the Treblinka death camp, established by the Germans. All the Jews who arrived with me were exterminated that same day in the so-called "bathhouse." I survived because the Germans needed hairdressers to cut the hair of women being sent to be killed in the "bathhouse."

For seven months, I worked as a hairdresser in the barracks where the arriving women undressed. During this time, 6,000-7,000 ''women''<ref name="ftn2">The word is written at the top. At the bottom of the page there is a note: "The inserted word 'women' is to be believed."</ref> passed through the barracks daily, not counting children. After the women undressed, they went to the hairdressing salon, which was located in the same barracks behind a partition. There were 25 hairdressers working there. Each woman sat on a bench, and her hair was instantly cut with scissors. It was done very quickly. I managed to cut 45-50 women's hair in an hour. The hair of girls from 10 years old and older was also cut, as was the hair of children who had long hair.

Many women sat on the barbershop benches, holding their babies. There were cases of women breastfeeding their babies while getting their hair cut. The babies screamed terribly. The sounds of children crying, screaming, and mothers sobbing filled the barbershop. Many women were pregnant. Some women were bleeding, leaving blood on the bench after their haircuts.

The situation was horrific. Some women and girls went crazy; such incidents were common. I remember one case where a beautiful eighteen-year-old girl from Grodno, upon seeing the horrific atmosphere of the hair salon, immediately went crazy.

There were many cases of women driven mad, breaking into song, scratching their faces until they bled, tearing out their hair, and attacking the Germans. Mothers mourned the loss of their daughters and granddaughters.

The scenes were so horrific that it was hard to bear. The barber Bosak, who had arrived from Częstochowa, took poison and died after his first few days of cutting women's hair.<ref name="ftn3">Here and throughout this document, the underlining has been done with a red pencil.</ref>

The head of the barbershop was Unterscharführer Max Beller. He demanded that we not tell the women that death awaited them in the "bathhouse." Max Beller demanded that we, the barbers, cut the hair shorter and leave as little hair on the women's heads as possible. He argued with Unterscharführer Sukhomil, who demanded that we cut the hair as quickly as possible, even if it meant sacrificing the length of the hair.

The hairdressers, including myself, threw the hair cut with scissors into large boxes specially made for this purpose in the carpentry shop.

The hair was transferred from the boxes into large sacks. We carried these sacks of women's hair to a disinfection chamber built in the same barracks. The disinfection process lasted for an hour to an hour and a half, after which the hair was laid out on blankets on the barracks floor to dry. Before disinfection, ribbons, hairpins, and other objects were removed from the hair. After drying, the hair was packed into new sacks and loaded into train cars in batches of 35-40 sacks and transported. In February 1943, I participated in loading 40 train cars full of sacks of hair. The sacks were heavy, and three of us carried each sack. After we placed one row of sacks in the car, we placed boards on top, on which we placed a second row of sacks of hair. The car in which the hair was being loaded had the sign "Lublin" on it.

From among the women passing through the hairdressing salon, the Germans selected the most beautiful and young, who were taken away and used for sexual purposes. I remember one time the Germans selected more than 30 women at once for this purpose.

Naked women were searched. They looked for valuables and money. Each woman was asked to spread her legs. A specially assigned person checked to see if anything was hidden in their genitals. They also checked their mouths and ears. Unterscharführer Sukhomil oversaw this humiliating inspection.

The women, stripped naked after being searched and having their hair cut, were led down the alley to the “bathhouse,” where they were killed.

Men were also subjected to searches. In the winter of 1943, 40 zlotys were found on one man during a search. The Germans then suspended him by his feet, where he remained for several hours. Blood flowed from his mouth and ears as he hung, and he was whipped on the genitals. He was then taken down and shot.

While in the camp until August 2, 1943, I had to see terrible pictures of the abuse and torture of people that the Germans carried out on Jews.

I have nothing further to add to my testimony. My words are written down correctly. It was read aloud to me in Polish translation, and I hereby sign.

Interrogated by: Deputy Military Prosecutor of the 65th Army, Guards Major of Justice /signature/

= Chaim Ciechanowski. US & British citizens. Węgrów. October 3, 1944 =

''' Transcript of the interrogation of witness Chaim Ciechanowski regarding the deportation of US and British citizens to Treblinka. Węgrów, October 3, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-10 pp. 18-19. '''

Deputy Military Prosecutor of the 65th Army, Guards Major of Justice Mazor, interrogated as a witness:

Ciechanowski Chaim Itskovich, born in 1905, native of the village of Stoczek, Sokolow County, Warsaw Voivodeship, currently residing in the city of Węgrów, a shoemaker by profession, with a 4th grade education, Jewish by nationality, citizen of the Polish state.

The interrogation was conducted in the presence of the representative of the Extraordinary State Commission D. I. Kudryavtsev.

Witness Ciechanowski has been warned of liability for giving false testimony /signature/.

Witness Ciechanowski gave his testimony in Polish. Translation into Russian was provided by citizen E. Kh. Kazachkov, who has been warned of liability for the accuracy of the translation under Article 95 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR. /signature/

In early June 1942, the Germans carried out a roundup of Jews in the village of Stoczek. 150 Jews captured by the Germans during the roundup were loaded into trucks and taken away. I was among those taken away. We were told we were being taken to work on the highway construction site in Ostrów Mazowiecka, but in fact, we were taken to the site where Treblin Camp No. 2 was being built at the time.

At first I worked as a digger at the construction site of Camp No. 2, and from the end of July 1942 the Germans transferred me to work as a shoemaker.

In late July 1942, trains carrying Jews from the Warsaw ghetto began arriving at the camp. The people were unloaded from the trains, immediately undressed, and immediately sent to the so-called bathhouse, where they were killed.

The shoemaker's workshop was located about 50 meters from the square where people were unloaded from the train trains, and so I often saw train trains full of people arriving. Usually, people were brought to the camp for extermination in freight cars. But one day, I saw first-class passenger cars being pulled into the camp. Seeing these cars, I left the workshop, approached the cars, and asked the people arriving in them, "Where are you from?" My question, which I asked in Polish, was not answered because they did not understand me. A little later, one of the arrivals answered me in broken Polish: "We are English, we were brought from Warsaw." I don't remember the exact date these people arrived at the camp, but it was 6-7 weeks after I arrived at the camp, and I arrived at the camp, as I already indicated above, at the beginning of June 1942. I stood two or three meters from these cars and watched the unloading of people. The people were well dressed, and most had a hexagonal star made of yellow fabric sewn onto their right chest. A circle was cut out in the center of this star. They had similar stars on the left back. Almost all the arrivals were wearing hats. The women also wore hats and silk dresses. They did not resemble Polish citizens at all. The arrivals were in a good mood. They talked among themselves and laughed. I understand Polish, Hebrew, and German, but the people did not speak any of these languages. Some of the arrivals resembled Jews, while others did not.

The head of the work team, who was in charge of unloading people arriving at the camp and cleaning the wagons, Maier<ref name="ftn4">Originally written "Maiar". The "a" was corrected to "e" in pencil by hand.</ref> Greenberg, told me then that “a train of Englishmen arrived today; they had good things and food.”

These arriving people were asked to undress and taken to a “bathhouse” where they were destroyed.

A prisoner named Mardyks worked in the shoemaker's shop; he knew English, and when I brought shoes from the square where these people who had arrived were undressing to the shop, Mardyks read an inscription in English on the lining of one shoe and told me that this shoe was made in England.

Maier Greenberg told me that these people who arrived, when they went to the bathhouse, asked not to frighten their clothes and to return their own suits to them after washing, but they did not return from the “bathhouse”.

On the day these people arrived at the camp and after they had been sent to the "bathhouse," I went to the square where those arriving at the camp for extermination were undressing and where the belongings they had left behind were being sorted. I saw with my own eyes how members of the work crew removed money from the pockets of the people they said were English: British pounds, Polish zlotys, and American dollars. And they sorted them. There were more British pounds, which were found in suitcases. From all these facts, I concluded that the people who arrived and were exterminated in the camp were British subjects.

I have nothing further to add to my testimony. My words have been written down correctly and read aloud to me in Polish translation, which I hereby sign.

Interrogated by: Deputy Military Prosecutor of the 65th Army, Guards Major of Justice /signature/

= Alexander Kudlik. US & British citizens. Węgrów. October 3, 1944 =

''' Interrogation protocol of Alexander Kudlik regarding the deportation of US and British citizens to Treblinka. Węgrów, October 3, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-10 pp. 7-9. '''

The Deputy Military Prosecutor of the 65th Army, Guards Major of Justice Mazor, interrogated as a witness:

Alexander Dawidowicz Kudlik, born in 1916, a native of Częstochowa, currently residing in Węgrów, Sokołów District, Warsaw Voivodeship, an employee with a sixth-grade education, Jewish by nationality, and a citizen of the Polish state.

The interrogation was conducted in the presence of D. I. Kudryavtsev, a representative of the Extraordinary State Commission.

Witness Kudlik has been warned of liability for perjury /signature/.

Witness Kudlik's testimony was given in Polish. Translation into Russian was provided by citizen E. K. Kozachkov, who has been warned of liability for the accuracy of the translation under Article 95 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR /signature/.

I arrived at the Treblinka camp on October 5, 1942, from Częstochowa by train. Our train had 60 cars, each carrying 100-120 people. Immediately after unloading the people from the cars, the Germans ordered the women to go to the left, take off their shoes, strip naked in the barracks, and proceed to the bathhouse. The men stripped naked in the square. The Germans immediately selected about 50 men to work in the camp. The remaining men, like the women, were led naked to the bathhouse. In this so-called bathhouse, all the people sent there were killed.

I was among those selected for work, so I wasn't sent to the "bathhouse" and survived. I was assigned to sort the belongings of those who had been killed. As a prisoner, I worked at this job until August 2, 1943, when I escaped from the camp during a prisoner uprising.

Death trains from Poland, Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Greece arrived at the Treblinka camp daily. In January 1943, the number of people killed daily reached 18,000–20,000, and sometimes exceeded that number.

The number of people killed while sorting items reached 700–800.

Hundreds of American and British citizens were murdered in the so-called bathhouse, or rather, gas chamber, of the Treblinka camp in July 1942.

They were brought from Warsaw and other places where the war had overtaken them and from where they could no longer return to their homeland. A prisoner named Józef (whose last name I don't remember) who worked sorting belongings told me about this in the camp. In September 1942, he personally sorted the belongings of British and American citizens, removing British and American passports from their pockets. Other prisoners in the camp who worked sorting belongings also reported this.

I personally saw British and American passports among a pile of documents belonging to the murdered. I picked up four or five of these passports and, from the stamps on the photographs, confirmed that the prisoners' accounts of the extermination of British and American citizens in the camp were accurate. I remember one passport bearing a stamp reading "Philadelphia," while the stamp on another passport read "London."

As I've already shown, the Germans assigned me to sorting items. I was tasked with sorting "Eternal Pen" pens. There were a lot of these pens during the sorting process. I encountered many Canadian Parker-Vacumatin pens from 1938-39. I know that pens from this company weren't sold in Poland before the war. The presence of Canadian "Eternal Pen" pens in the camp confirmed prisoners' stories that British and American citizens were being exterminated in the camp.

Every day, I sorted up to 1,000 pens taken from people brought to the camp for extermination. After sorting, I packed the pens into suitcases with 300-500 pens in each. The pens, along with other belongings of the murdered people, were sent to Germany.

The belongings left behind by the people driven into the "bathhouse" were sorted by type by prisoners from the work brigade: clothing, shoes, pens, etc.

Pockets were immediately inspected, and all contents were removed and sorted.

After this, each type of item was in turn sorted by designated sorters, who had strict specializations. There were special sorters for eyeglasses, hats, gloves, jackets, women's stockings, and other items. Jackets and trousers were packed in bundles containing 25 of each item.

The belongings were loaded onto train cars. Very often, train cars carrying the belongings were headed to Lublin.

I can't show you anything else. This is written down correctly from my words. It was read aloud to me in Polish translation, which I hereby sign /signature/.

Interrogated by: Deputy Military Prosecutor of the 65th Guards Army, Major of Justice /signature/

= Oskar Strawczynski. Treblinka death camp. Węgrów. October 3, 1944 =

''' Interrogation protocol of Oskar Strawczynski regarding the functioning of the Treblinka death camp. Węgrów, October 3, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-10 pp. 12-14. '''

Deputy Military Prosecutor of the 65th Guards Army, Major of Justice Mazor, interrogated as a witness:

Strawczynski Oskar Józefovich, born in 1906, a native of Lodz, currently residing in Węgrów, Sokołów County, Warsaw Voivodeship, a tinsmith by profession, with a seventh-grade education, a citizen of the Polish state, and Jewish by nationality.

The interrogation was conducted in the presence of D. I. Kudryavtsev, a representative of the Extraordinary State Commission.

Witness Strawczynski has been warned of liability for perjury under Article 95 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR /signature/.

The translation from Polish into Russian was performed by citizen E. Kh. Kozachkov, who has been warned of the accuracy of the translation under Article 95 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR /signature/.

I, Oskar Józefovich Strawczynski, lived permanently with my family in Łódź. In February 1940, my family and I moved to Częstochowa. My move was prompted by the fact that the German authorities in Łódź had created unbearable living conditions for the population. The Germans carried out roundups and forcibly deported people to the East, to the General Government they had established in Poland. I assumed that living conditions in Częstochowa would be better, but things turned out differently, as in April 1941, the entire Jewish population of Częstochowa was resettled in a "ghetto" created by the Germans.

In mid-September 1942, the Germans began forcibly deporting Jews from the "ghetto" by train to the East, where they promised land and work, warning that anyone who did not go would be shot.

On October 4, 1942, my wife, Anka Abuvna Strawczynski, 28, my daughter Guta, 9, my son Adas, 4, my father, Yuzef Davidovich Strawczynski, 64, and my mother, Malka Oizerovna Strawczynski, 64, were forcibly deported by the Germans, along with many other Jews, to the East.

The train we were traveling in consisted of 60 cars. The cars were freight cars. Each car was loaded with a large number of people; the car I was in held 120. It was terribly cramped and stuffy. The train was escorted by German gendarmes and guards, who beat people with whips as they boarded the cars and robbed them en route.

The train I was traveling in arrived at Treblinka station on the night of October 4-5, 1942. On the morning of October 5, 1942, the train was divided into three parts, each containing twenty cars, and these parts were transported to the Treblinka camp.

When we arrived at the camp, the German SS, beating us with whips and rifle butts, forced us out of the train cars and sent us to the platform. The cars were swept by Jewish labor detachments and sent back to Treblinka station.

On the platform, the Germans asked the women to go left and the men to go right.

The women were asked to remove their shoes and stockings near the barracks and proceed to the barracks located on the square. Once there, the women were asked to strip naked and proceed to another section of the barracks, which housed a sort of "hairdressing salon." More than 25 Jewish labor detachments were working there, cutting off the women's hair with scissors.

The cut hair was collected and stored in a special storage room by specially appointed German workers.

At the end of the barracks was a large disinfection chamber, designed for processing and disinfecting women's hair. Three specially assigned workers from the work team worked at this disinfection chamber. They took hair from the storage room and ran it through the disinfection chamber.

After passing through the disinfection chamber, the hair was spread out on the barracks floor to dry and then packed into large sacks. The sacks of hair, on camp administration orders, were periodically loaded onto train cars and sent to Germany. While working at the camp as part of a labor team, I repeatedly witnessed this process of processing and packaging hair cut from women, and I also saw the sacks of hair being loaded into train cars for shipment.

After the women's hair was cut, they were herded naked by Germans and guards down a special alley fenced with barbed wire and pine trees to the "bathhouse."

The men stripped naked right there on the square, leaving their belongings behind, and followed the women down the alley to the "bathhouse."

In this "bathhouse," men, women, and children were exterminated, and their bodies were burned. The Germans forcibly sent the weak and elderly, unable to move independently, to the "hospital," where they were shot.

The "hospital" was a large pit near which people were shot. This pit was surrounded by barbed wire and pine trees.

After being unloaded from the train car at the camp, I was one of 50 others selected for work. As part of a "work team" until August 2, 1943, I worked as a tinsmith.

My entire family—my wife, son, daughter, father, and mother—was stripped naked, sent to the "bathhouse," and exterminated there.

While in the camp from October 5, 1942, to August 2, 1943, working as a tinsmith, I witnessed with my own eyes how almost daily trains of people arrived at the camp, headed for the "bathhouse" and were exterminated.

The bodies of the murdered were burned on large bonfires. These bonfires burned day and night. The air was thick with the stench of roasting human flesh. Breathing was extremely difficult. Few managed to escape this death factory.

I managed to escape from the camp on August 2, 1943, during a prisoner uprising there.

I have nothing further to add to my testimony. My words have been transcribed accurately. A translation into Polish was read aloud to me, and I hereby sign [signature].

Interrogated by: Deputy Military Prosecutor of the 65th Army, Guards Major of Justice /signature/

= Oskar Strawczynski. US & British citizens. Węgrów. October 3, 1944 =

''' Interrogation protocol of Oskar Strawczynski regarding the deportation of US and British citizens to Treblinka. Węgrów, October 3, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-10 pp. 15-17. '''

Deputy Military Prosecutor of the 65th Army, Guards Major of Justice Mazor, interrogated as a witness:

Strawczynski Oskar Józefovich, born in 1906, a native of the city of Lodz, currently residing in the city of Węgrów, Sokołów County, Warsaw Voivodeship, a tinsmith by profession, with a 7th grade education, a Jew by nationality, a citizen of the Polish state.

The interrogation was conducted in the presence of D. I. Kudryavtsev, a representative of the Extraordinary State Commission.

Witness Strawczynski has been warned of liability for giving false testimony /signature/.

Witness Strawczynski gave his testimony in Polish.

Translation into Russian was performed by citizen E. Kh. Kozachkov, who has been warned for the accuracy of the translation under Article 95 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR. /signature/

I, Oscar Józefovich Strawczynski, and my family were transported from Częstochowa to the Treblinka camp on October 5, 1942.

Our transport contained over 6,000 men, women, and children. Of this number, 50 of the strongest men were selected for labor in the camp.

All the others were stripped naked immediately after being unloaded from the train cars and taken, supposedly to a bathhouse, where they were murdered. Among those murdered on October 5, 1942, were: my wife, Anka Abuwna Strawczynski, 28; my daughter, Guta, 9; my son, Adas, 4; my father, Józef Davidowicz Strawczynski, 64; and my mother, Malka Oizerowna Strawczynski, 64.

I was selected as a specialist tinsmith and physically strong for the job. For 10 months, I worked in the camp in my specialty, as a tinsmith.

Almost daily, trains arrived at the camp carrying Jewish people from various parts of Poland, Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Greece, and the German-occupied regions of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic.

In July 1942, American and British citizens were also brought to the Treblinka camp and killed immediately upon arrival. Those American and British citizens who had arrived in Poland and Czechoslovakia from England and the United States but were unable to return to their homelands due to the German occupation of those countries were brought to the Treblinka camp for extermination.

They were told that they would be exchanged for German prisoners of war and would return to their homeland, but instead they were taken to the Treblinka camp.

I personally saw, among a huge pile of passports belonging to murdered people, many American and British passports with the words "USA" and "British" written on them. I also saw photographs with city stamps on the back: New York, Boston, and Chicago. The photographs attached to the passports had stamps with the words "USA" printed in large letters in the middle.

All prisoners in the Treblinka camp knew about the extermination of American and British citizens. This was told to me by the blacksmith Hersz Jabkowski from Stoczek, who was brought to the camp on July 18, 1942, and who personally witnessed the arrival of American and British citizens and their extermination. The cook Maier from Płock, who arrived in Treblinka in July 1942, also told me about the extermination of American and British citizens in the camp. Many other carpenters, tailors, and shoemakers who worked in the camp as prisoners also told me about the extermination of American and British citizens.

The murder of British nationals in the Treblin camp is also confirmed by the following fact: my cousin, Esther Malka Abramovna Mrówka, 22, was a British citizen. Before the war, she came to Poland to visit relatives. In August 1942, she was captured by the Germans in the village of Mstów (near Częstochowa) and, along with others, sent to the Treblin camp, where she was murdered.

In Częstochowa, at number 20 Varshavska Street, lived a 68-year-old British citizen named Woznica. He had come to visit his children and grandchildren before the war. In April 1942, he was summoned to the Gestapo office, where he was offered the option of returning to Britain via Turkey. He packed his things, said goodbye to his family and friends, and went to the Gestapo, never to return. He promised to write to his children from Turkey and the journey, but not a single letter was received from him. On October 4, 1942, his entire family, consisting of 10 children and grandchildren, was taken along with us to the Treblinka camp, where they were murdered.<ref name="ftn5">The word is underlined with a simple pencil.</ref>

When later in the camp I personally saw the passports of the murdered citizens of America and England and learned that the Germans were murdering citizens of these countries, it became clear to me that Voznitsa, having ended up in the Gestapo, was killed by the Germans.

I personally confirm, as can other former prisoners of the Treblinka camp, Kudlik Aleksander and Ciechanowiecki Chaim, that hundreds of British and American citizens living in Poland and other German-occupied countries were exterminated in this camp.

Most of these British and American citizens, killed in the camp in 1942, came to Poland in 1939 to visit their relatives, but due to the war they were unable to return.

I can't add anything further to my testimony. It was written down correctly. It was read aloud to me in Polish translation, and I hereby sign.

Interrogated by: Deputy Military Prosecutor of the 65th Army, Guards Major of Justice /signature/

= Mendel Koritnicki. US & British citizens. Sterdyń. October 4, 1944 =

''' Interrogation protocol of witness Mendel Koritnicki regarding the deportation of US and British citizens to Treblinka. Sterdyń, October 4, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-10 pp. 5-6. '''

Deputy Military Prosecutor of the 65th Army, Guards Major of Justice Mazor, interrogated as a witness:

Koritnicki Mendel Izrailevich, born in 1909, a native of the city of Warsaw, currently residing in the city of Sterdyń, a tailor by profession, a Jew by nationality, with a 6th grade education, a citizen of the Polish state.

The interrogation was carried out in the presence of a member of the Extraordinary State Commission, D. I. Kudryavtsev.

Witness Koritnicki has been warned of liability for giving false testimony /signature/.

In addition to my testimony given on September 23, 1944, I can report the following: in 1942, I found myself in the Warsaw ghetto. In late June or early July 1942, the German authorities posted a notice inviting American, British, and French citizens to prepare to return to their homeland. I personally did not read this notice, but many people from the ghetto told me about its contents.

In July 1942, British and American citizens, Jews by nationality, were taken by car from the "ghetto" by the Germans to the Pawiak prison, located in the area designated for the "ghetto" in Warsaw. Everyone in the "ghetto" knew that these were imprisoned British and American Jews, as they wore the insignia of their respective countries on the left side of their chests. I cannot say exactly how many British and American citizens were taken to the prison, but in any case, more than a thousand people, including women, children, and the elderly.

I personally saw these people who were driving in a car with suitcases and other things.

In September 1942, I was transported by train along with thousands of other Jews to the Treblinka death camp and was selected to work there. When I arrived at the camp, carpenter Skiba Shlema, blacksmith Jabkovsky Gersh from Stoczek, tailor Wenger Leib, and other camp prisoners told me that in July 1942, the Germans brought Jews—British and American citizens—by car and exterminated them in the camp's gas chamber. I was also told that British and American citizens, Jews by nationality, were among the first to be brought to the death camp.

In September 1942, I was sorting things in the camp. While sorting things, I personally saw suitcases labeled in English. There were labels like "New York," "Washington," "Brooklyn," "Chicago," and others. I personally saw British and American passports being collected and burned during the sorting process. Among the money taken from people arriving at the camp for extermination were many American dollars and British pounds.

I have nothing further to add to my testimony. My words have been written down correctly and read aloud to me, and I hereby sign my name.

Interrogated by: Deputy Military Prosecutor of the 65th Army, Guards Major of Justice /signature/

= Szymon Rosenthal. US & British citizens. Sterdyń. October 4, 1944 =

''' Interrogation protocol of witness Szymon Rosenthal regarding the deportation of US and British citizens to Treblinka. Sterdyń, October 4, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-10 pp. 10-11. '''

Deputy Military Prosecutor of the 65th Army, Guards Major of Justice Mazor interrogated as a witness:

Rosenthal Szymon Leizerovich, born in 1905, native of the village of Kozienice, Kozienice County, Kielce Voivodeship, currently residing on the farm of Albinów, Sokołów County, Warsaw Voivodeship, a shoemaker by profession, with a 2nd grade education, Jewish by nationality, citizen of the Polish state.

The interrogation was carried out in the presence of a member of the Extraordinary State Commission, D. I. Kudryavtsev.

Witness Rosenthal has been warned of the responsibility for giving false testimony /signature/.

Witness Rosenthal’s testimony was given in Polish. Translation into Russian was provided by citizen Kozachkov, who has been warned of liability for the accuracy of the translation under Article 95 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR. [signature/]

In October 1942, I arrived from Kozienice to the Treblinka death camp on a train carrying 11,000 people.

The Germans left me at work in the camp, sorting the belongings of the dead. My job was to remove documents from jacket pockets.

I put the documents I found in my pockets in a special box, and then a specially assigned person from the work team, named Alter Kohn,<ref name="ftn6">The first and last names are underlined in the text with a red pencil.</ref> who arrived at the camp from Kozienice, took these documents to the fire, where they were burned.

While reviewing the documents, I personally encountered passports, college diplomas, stocks, marriage certificates, and other documents belonging to British and American citizens. The passports of American citizens had the words "USA" written on them.

I can say this because I lived for seven years in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Chile, where I frequently saw passports of citizens of these countries, as well as passports of American citizens. I encountered exactly the same passports in the camp during sorting.

One day in the fall of 1942, while sorting documents and encountering several American passports, I noticed that the jackets from whose pockets I had removed American documents had patches of the American firms that had made them on the inside collars. These patches indicated that the jackets had been made in Brooklyn, New York, Chicago, and elsewhere. I also saw among the shoes of the dead people high lace-up boots, a type of footwear common among the American population. That same day, I removed dollars, pounds, and gold coins from the pockets of jackets bearing patches of American firms. I showed the American passports I had removed from the jacket pockets to Yakov Ackerman and Cohn Mendel, who were working with me at the sorting station. They, in turn, told me this was nothing new to them, as they'd encountered American documents and items many times before while sorting. When I was sorting through the documents, I found many American postage stamps, including some with images of the White House in Washington.

I claim that hundreds of American citizens, Jewish by nationality,<ref name="ftn7">This word is written by hand at the top.</ref> were killed in the Treblinka death camp along with other citizens of European countries and Poland.

The inserted "by nationality" is to be believed.

I have nothing more to add to my testimony.

It is written down from my [words] correctly, it was read aloud to me, and I sign it /signature/.

Interrogated by: Deputy Military Prosecutor of the 65th Army, Guards Major of Justice /signature/

= Wolf Szejnberg. US & British citizens. Kosów Lacki. October 4, 1944 =

''' Interrogation protocol of witness Wolf Szejnberg regarding the deportation of US and British citizens to Treblinka. Village of Kosów Lacki, October 4, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-10 pp. 20-22. '''

Deputy Military Prosecutor of the 65th Army, Guards Major of Justice Mazor interrogated as a witness:

Szejnberg Wolf Shlyamovich, born in 1902, native of the city of Warsaw, living in the city of KosówLyadski, Sokołów County, Warsaw Voivodeship, a baker by profession, with an 8th grade education, Jewish by nationality, citizen of the Polish state.

The interrogation was carried out in the presence of a member of the Extraordinary State Commission, D. I. Kudryavtsev.

Witness Szejnberg has been warned of liability for giving false testimony /signature/.

Witness Szejnberg gave her testimony in Polish. Translation into Russian was provided by citizen E. Kh. Kazachkov, who has been warned of liability for the accuracy of the translation under Article 95 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR. /signature/

In addition to my testimony from September 22 of this year, I can testify as follows:

I am a resident of Warsaw. On July 20, 1942, notices were posted in the Warsaw Ghetto and other parts of the city by order of the SD. These notices stated that all citizens of foreign countries, friendly and hostile, were required to report to Pawiak Prison in Warsaw with their families and luggage weighing up to 25 kilograms by July 22, 1942. At the same time, this notice stated that failure to appear would result in execution.

After this, all American and British subjects, Jews, reported to this prison along with their immediate families. Thus, American and British subjects were imprisoned in the SS prison on Pawiak Street. I and everyone else in the Warsaw "ghetto" knew they were subjects of these countries because they wore the insignia of these countries on their left chests. The fact that American subjects were imprisoned is evidenced by the following: my cousin, 49-year-old Jacob Szejnberg, a physician by profession, his wife, Hella Szejnberg, and his son, Shlema Szejnberg, a physician by profession, were American subjects. I myself saw their American passports. This family had recently lived in Warsaw at 38 Marszałkowskiego Street. Szejnberg’s wife arrived in Warsaw from America three weeks before the outbreak of war between Germany and Poland. One day in July 1942, I was at Szejnberg’s apartment and saw five Germans from the SS arrive, including three officers. They asked Szejnberg and his wife, Helle, who were at home, to pack their things and follow them, as they were going to America. In fact, they were taken to Pawiak Prison. Szejnberg’s son, Dr. Shlema, was taken to this prison by the Germans two days later. A few days later, one of the prison guards brought me a letter from Yakov Scheinberg, in which he wrote that they were being beaten and denied food in prison and asked that food be sent. After this, I repeatedly brought parcels to the prison for Yakov Szejnberg, his wife, and son. One day in September 1942, I brought a parcel to the prison for Yakov Szejnberg, but it was not accepted, and a German SS officer said they no longer needed the parcels, as they had been shot. I received this reply from the prison office.

On October 9, 1942, I, along with many hundreds of Jews, was transported by train from the Warsaw "ghetto" to the Treblinka camp. At the Treblinka death camp, I was selected for work as a physically fit person and sent to the so-called Labor Camp No. 1. In this camp, I worked as a baker. While working as a baker, I had the opportunity to walk around the camp, visit the death camp, and learn the news.

In February 1943, American and British Jewish subjects were brought to the Treblinka labor camp three times in trucks and shot right there in the forest (the forest is located near the camp). I particularly remember one such incident. One day in February 1943, more than 25 people were brought in a truck, all wearing American and British badges on the left side of their chests. Among those brought were women and children. I passed by the people who had been brought in and asked them, "Where are you from?" They replied that they had been brought from Warsaw, from Pawiak, and that they had been told they would be taken to America. They asked what would happen to them. I told them that death awaited them. Two hours later, they were led into the forest, where they were shot. The belongings of those executed were brought from the forest, which were then stored in a warehouse in the camp. I personally saw these belongings. American and British badges were pinned to their jackets. This finally convinced me that these people had been shot.

While in Camp No. 1, I personally learned of the following fact. Among the prisoners there was a pilot named Melion,<ref name="ftn8">Here and throughout the text, surnames are underlined with a red pencil.</ref> originally from Prague. It turned out he was born in America and was an American citizen. His father, who lived in Warsaw and worked at the Dworzec-Wiechodni train station, constantly petitioned for his son's release from the camp. Abel, the camp office clerk, told me that documents had arrived at the camp confirming Melion's American citizenship. He was summoned to the camp office for this reason and executed a few days later. This was in December 1942. Thus, the arrival of documents confirming Melion's American citizenship hastened his death.

Koritnicki, who was a prisoner at the death camp, told me that the extermination of American and English citizens also took place in this camp.

I have nothing further to add to my testimony. It is written down correctly from my words, read aloud to me, and I sign it.

Interrogated by: Deputy Military Prosecutor of the 65th Army, Guards Major of Justice /signature/

= Pinkhus Weissman. US & British citizens. Kosów Lacki. October 4, 1944 =

''' Interrogation protocol of Pinkhus Weissmann regarding the deportation of US and British citizens to Treblinka. Village of Kosów Lacki, October 4, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-10 pp. 4-4b. '''

Major Novoplyansky D.I. interrogated as a witness:

Weissman Pinkhus Ionovich, born in 1907, a native of Warsaw, currently residing in the city of Kosów, Sokołów County, Warsaw Voivodeship, a carpenter by profession, with a 7th grade education, a Jew, a citizen of Poland

The interrogation was conducted in the presence of the representative of the Extraordinary State Commission D. I. Kudryavtsev.

On July 20, 1942, notices were posted on all streets of Warsaw, warning all British, American, and other foreign nationals to report with their belongings to the SS prison on Pawi Street within two days. British and American citizens living in various parts of Warsaw reported with their families to the SS prison, taking with them their essential belongings. I personally accompanied my good friend, US citizen Avraham Berger, and his wife, who lived at 23 Sventoyarskaya Street, to the prison gates. They were carrying a suitcase and bedding with them into the prison. I helped them carry their belongings. I personally saw badges with the emblems of the US and other countries, particularly England, Argentina, and Brazil, on the left chest of all the foreigners entering the prison.

At least 1,500 foreigners, primarily US and British nationals, were detained in the SS prison. The streets adjacent to the prison, Karmelitskaya, Delnaya, and Stara, were filled with arriving citizens of these countries and their families. Children were also imprisoned along with their parents. I personally witnessed ''15-year-old Yuri Friedman, born in Britain, enter the prison''.<ref name="ftn9">The highlighted part of the sentence, which appears on a separate line in the document, is written in a smaller font. It is likely that the sentence was completed later.</ref>

I brought parcels to my friends Berger and Vyshinsky, both US citizens, in prison many times. I gave them bread, sugar, and sausage.

In late August or early September 1942, some American and British citizens were transported from the Warsaw SS prison to the Treblinka camp. Lichtenbaum, Stolzman, Finkel, and other acquaintances told me about this, and everyone in the Warsaw ghetto knew about it. Personally, while working in a carpentry shop on Gęsia Street, I saw covered black trucks leaving the prison. The back of the trucks was uncovered, and I saw prisoners inside—men, women, children, and the elderly. They were transporting American and British citizens. In May 1943, I was taken with other Jews to the Treblinka death camp, where I learned that British and American citizens had been exterminated in the gas chamber. All the prisoners were talking about this. Attorney Reisner<ref name="ftn10">The surname is underlined with a red pencil.</ref> told me that American and British citizens were not only killed in the "bathhouse" but also shot in the Maliszewski forest near Camp No. 1.

Some of the foreigners gathered in the Warsaw SS prison and not transported to Treblinka<ref name="ftn11">The word is underlined with a simple pencil.</ref> were later taken to the Vitel camp on the German-French border. I learned of this from a letter Berger wrote on March 30, 1944, which I received in May 1944. The letter arrived at a Warsaw firm and was forwarded to me by a driver, Peipi Gross. Berger writes that the Germans have been promising to exchange them—American citizens—and return them to America for over a year and a half, but so far they haven't been exchanged, and it seems they'll have to go to where his wife's mother is. His wife's mother, Doba Messing, was taken by the Germans to the Treblinka camp back in 1943 and murdered there.

This is written down correctly from my words. It was read aloud to me in Polish translation, which I also sign.

Interrogated by: Major D. Novoplyansky.

= Residents of Kosów Lacki. Murder of US citizen. Kosów Lacki. October 4, 1944 =

''' Collective appeal of the residents of Kosów Lacki regarding the murder of US citizen S. Rachel. The village of Kosów Lacki, October 4, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-10 p. 23. '''

To the Chairman of the Extraordinary State Commission D. I. Kudryavtsev

We, the undersigned residents of the town of Kosów Lacki, Sokołów County, Warsaw Voivodeship, Gershtein S. B., Tsegel S. M., Burstein Kh. E., Shedletsky Kh. Sh., report the following:

Syr Rachel lived in Kosów, near the church, for 32 years. She came to Kosów from Chicago, USA. Her father, mother, brother, and sisters currently live in Chicago. Syr Rachel was an American citizen and held an American passport. We have seen this passport ourselves. In 1939, as we know from conversations with her, she planned to return to America, to Chicago. However, she was unable to leave because the war between Germany and Poland began.

Syr Rachel, fearing extermination at the Treblinka death camp, went into hiding. In November 1942, she was captured by the Germans and murdered in Zambrów, a fact we confirm with our signatures.

City of Kosów Lacki, October 4, 1944.

Gershtein Sh. B. /signature/

Tsegel Sh. M. /signature/

Burstein H. /signature/

Shedletsky X. /signature/

I certify the signatures of Gershtein, Tsegel, Burstein, and Shedletsky. Commandant of the city of Węgrów, Lieutenant Colonel /signature/ October 4, 1944

= Draft report of the Extraordinary State Commission. December 1, 1944 =

''' Draft report of the Extraordinary State Commission for the Establishment and Investigation of the Crimes of the Nazi Invaders and Their Accomplices "On the Murder by the Germans in Treblinka Concentration Camp No. 2 in Poland of Citizens of the United States of America, Great Britain, the USSR, Poland, France, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Other Countries" (December 1, 1944)<ref name="ftn12">Here and throughout the text, the words and phrases in italics are those that were added by hand to the draft version and were included in the final version sent to the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs on December 1, 1944.</ref> GARF P-7021-115-9 pp. 2-11 (Draft: pp. 84-91). '''

The Extraordinary State Commission received ''documents and statements''<ref name="ftn13">Inserted in place of "information from military personnel."</ref> from Red Army soldiers, as well as from former prisoners of the Treblinka German Camp No. 2, located in the Warsaw Voivodeship, Poland, regarding the ''mass'' murder by the Nazi invaders of citizens of the United States of America, Great Britain, the USSR, Poland, France, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and other countries imprisoned in this camp,<ref name="ftn14">The amendment proposing to add the words "including" after this word was not included in the final version.</ref> who had lived in various European cities before the war.<ref name="ftn15">The draft version originally contained the phrase "occupied by Germany".</ref>

<ref name="ftn16">In the draft version, the paragraph began with the following sentence, which was later removed: "The Extraordinary State Commission instructed the military prosecutor's office to investigate the killing of citizens of the United States of America and Great Britain."</ref>The Military Prosecutor's Office, with the participation of D. I. Kudryavtsev,<ref name="ftn17">Dmitry Ivanovich Kudryavtsev was an engineer-economist and specialist in international law. In the 1920s, he worked at the Soviet trade mission in Vienna. He was one of the most active members of the Extraordinary State Commission (ChGK). In August 1944, he served as deputy chairman of the Polish-Soviet Extraordinary Commission for investigating German atrocities at Majdanek in Lublin.</ref> a representative of the Extraordinary State Commission, ''conducted an investigation'' and interrogated former prisoners of the Treblinka camp who were ''accidentally still alive''—witnesses to the mass extermination of citizens of the United States, Great Britain, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and other countries.

Based on the testimony of ''these individuals'',<ref name="ftn18">The phrase was inserted in place of "former camp prisoners who accidentally escaped death."</ref> as well as materials and documents, the Extraordinary State Commission determined:

1. In June 1942, 3 kilometers southeast of the Treblinka railway station, 2 kilometers southwest of the village of Wólka Okrąglik in the Warsaw Voivodeship, the Germans built concentration camp No. 2, in which they killed civilians, mainly Jews, citizens of the United States of America, England and various occupied European countries – France, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Bulgaria and others.

2. In the same year of 1942, the Germans deported<ref name="ftn19">Further on, the word "forcibly" appeared in the draft version.</ref> citizens of the USA, Great Britain, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Bulgaria and other countries from various cities of Europe occupied by Germany to Warsaw, where they were imprisoned in the SS prison ''on Pawiak Street'', and then transported to the Treblinka camp and all were killed.<ref name="ftn20">The final version does not include the correction – the phrase that ends the sentence: "by suffocation with gases."</ref> Some prisoners of this camp managed to remain alive until they were liberated by the advancing units of the Red Army. ''The military prosecutor's office, with the participation of the representative of the Extraordinary State Commission D. I. Kudryavtsev, interrogated the following witnesses to the murder of citizens of various foreign countries by the Germans'':<ref name="ftn21">This phrase was inserted in place of "The witnesses to the monstrous crime committed by the Germans – the killing of US and British citizens – were the prisoners of the Treblinka camp."</ref> Strawczynski O. Yu., Koritnicki M. I., Szejnberg V. I. G., Kudlik A. D., Rosenthal Sh. L., Ciechanowski Kh. I., Weissmann P. I. and others.

The testimony of these witnesses establishes that the German authorities carried out the extermination of citizens of the United States, Great Britain, the USSR, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Bulgaria, and other countries who fell into their hands. This brutal extermination was carried out primarily by gassing in a specially equipped room. Some prisoners were shot.

Before killing the prisoners, the Germans subjected them to incredible torture. Sometimes, the prisoners were gathered together in one place, and the camp guards would mount their horses and gallop into the crowd of defenseless people. The Nazis selected beautiful women from among the prisoners, raped them, and then shot them.

All atrocities at the Treblinka camp were carried out by the Germans under the direction and with the personal participation of the camp commandant, Baron von Eupen.<ref name="ftn22">The surname is underlined with a red pencil.</ref>

Former camp inmate M.I. Koritnicki testified: "At the end of June or beginning of July 1942, the German authorities posted ''a notice in Warsaw'' inviting American, British, and French nationals to prepare for departure to their homelands. ''After this'', British and American nationals, Jews by nationality,<ref name="ftn23">The draft version also contained the phrase "from the ghetto."</ref> were transported to Pawiak Prison in Warsaw.<ref name="ftn24">The draft version then contained the phrase "in the area designated as the ghetto."</ref> I cannot, of course, say how many British and American nationals were taken to the prison, but in any case, it was more than 1,000 people, including women, children, and the elderly. I personally saw these people traveling in cars with suitcases and other belongings. In September 1942, I was transported along with thousands of other Jews to the Treblinka death camp, where I was selected to work in the camp.<ref name="ftn25">The draft version contained the phrase "I was transported by train."</ref> When I arrived at the camp, carpenter Skiba Shlema, blacksmith Jabkovsky Gersh from Stoczek,<ref name="ftn26">Possily refers to Stoczek Łukowski, a town in the Lublin Voivodeship of modern-day Poland.</ref> tailor Wenger L., and other camp prisoners told me that in July 1942, the Germans brought Jews—British and American citizens—by car and murdered them in the gas chamber. In September 1942, I worked in the camp sorting the belongings of the murdered. While sorting the belongings, I personally saw suitcases with labels in English: "New York," "Washington," "Brooklyn," "Chicago," and others. I<ref name="ftn27">Later, the word "personally" was included in the draft version.</ref> saw British and American passports."<ref name="ftn28">The draft version then contained the phrase "which were collected and burned during sorting."</ref>

A former prisoner named Rosenthal Sh. L., who worked as a shoemaker in the camp, testified: “My duties included removing documents from the pockets of the clothing of the murdered people. While looking through the documents, I personally found passports, diplomas from higher educational institutions, shares, various certificates and other documents belonging to citizens of England and the United States. For seven years, I lived in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Chile, where I very often saw passports of citizens of these countries and passports of American citizens. I encountered exactly the same passports in the camp... the jackets of the murdered had patches from American companies.<ref name="ftn29">Further down in the draft, there was the phrase "where were these suits made?".</ref> The patches indicated that the jackets were made in the cities of Brooklyn, New York, Chicago and others. I showed the American passports<ref name="ftn30">The draft version also included the clarification "taken by me from the pockets of the jackets."</ref> to Yakov Ackerman and Kohn Mendel, who worked with me.<ref name="ftn31">Further on, the draft version included the clarification "during sorting".</ref> They, in turn, told me that this was nothing new for them, since they had already encountered American documents and items many times.

I confirm that hundreds of American and British citizens were killed in the Treblinka death camp along with citizens of other countries."<ref name="ftn32">In the draft version, the sentence ended with the phrase "of Jewish nationality."</ref>

Maryana Kobus, a resident of the village of Wólka Okrąglik, testified: “The Treblinka camp was 2 km from our village. It was established by the Germans in 1941 and existed for four years. I visited it twice a week for three years. I went to haul timber, stones, and do other work. Anyone who refused to work was sent to the camp. The camp was fenced with barbed wire up to 4 meters high. 60-70 train cars of people were brought to the camp every day. You could hear screams and cries of children and adults all day long. Corpses were burned. The stench was unbearable. The smoke and stench continued for two years, every day. People were brought from all over the world: Czechoslovakia, France, Russia.”

A former prisoner of the camp, Kh. I. Ciechanowski, currently residing in the city of Węgrów (Poland), testified: “I saw how passenger cars were brought into the camp. Upon seeing these cars, I left the workshop, approached them and asked the people who had arrived in these cars:<ref name="ftn33">Further on, the draft version included a clarification regarding the type of "first-class" carriages.</ref> “Where are you from?” One of the arrivals answered in broken Polish: “We are English, we were brought from Warsaw.” The senior worker of the team who was engaged in unloading, Maier Greenberg,<ref name="ftn34">The surname is underlined with a red pencil.</ref> said that a trainload of Englishmen had arrived.<ref name="ftn35">Further on, the draft version included a sentence stating that the people had food with them.</ref> The Germans asked the ''people who had arrived at the camp'' to undress, and then took them to the “bathhouse.”<ref name="ftn36">Further on, the draft version contained the phrase "where they were destroyed."</ref> Maier Greenberg told me that the people who had arrived, when leaving for the “bathhouse,” asked that their clothes not be mixed up and that their own suits be returned to them after washing. But they did not return from the “bathhouse.” On the day of these people’s arrival and after they had been sent to the “bathhouse,” I went to the ''camp square'' where the arrivals were undressing. I saw with my own eyes how people from the work team took money out of the pockets of the clothes of the arriving ''Englishmen'':<ref name="ftn37">The word was inserted in place of the less specific phrase "people who were said to be English."</ref> English pounds, Polish zlotys, American dollars.”<ref name="ftn38">Further on, the clarification that this money was being sorted has been crossed out.</ref>

Witness P. I. Weissmann, currently residing in Kosów (Warsaw Voivodeship), testified: “On July 20, 1942, notices were posted on all streets of Warsaw stating that all British and American citizens<ref name="ftn39">Further on, the draft contained a phrase, later deleted, "and subjects of other foreign states."</ref> must report with their belongings to the SS prison on Pawiak Street within two days.<ref name="ftn40">The draft version then contained the following sentence: "British and American citizens, residing in various districts of Warsaw, arrived at the SS prison with their families, bringing with them their necessary belongings."</ref> I personally accompanied a good friend of mine, an American citizen, Abraham Berger, and his wife, who lived at 23 Świętojerska Street, to the prison gates. They carried a suitcase and bedding with them to the prison. I helped them carry their belongings.

"At least 1,500 foreigners, primarily US and British nationals, were detained in the SS prison. The streets adjacent to the prison—Karmelitskaya, Delnaya, and Smocha—were filled with citizens of these countries and their families. Children were also imprisoned along with their parents. I personally witnessed the entry of 15-year-old Yuri Friedman, a British-born teenager. I often brought parcels to the prison for my US citizen acquaintances, Berger, and others.

"In late August or early September 1942, some American and British citizens were transported from the Warsaw prison to the Treblinka camp. Lichtenbaum, Stolzman, Finkel, and other acquaintances told me about this, and everyone in the Warsaw ghetto knew about it. Personally, while working in the carpentry shop on Gęsia Street, I saw covered black trucks leaving the prison. The backs of the trucks were open, and I saw men, women, children, and elderly prisoners inside. These were American and British citizens. In May 1943, I was taken to the Treblinka death camp with other Jews, and there I learned that British and American citizens had been exterminated in a gas chamber. All the prisoners spoke of this. Attorney Reisner told me that American and British citizens were killed in the "bathhouse" and also shot in the Maliszewski Forest."<ref name="ftn41">The draft then contained a paragraph in which the witness reported that some of the foreigners gathered in the SS prison in Warsaw were sent to the Vittel camp on the "German-French border," where they were held until the spring of 1944, and were all promised that they would be exchanged and released to America, which Weissman himself learned from a letter from an acquaintance.</ref>

V. Sh. Szejnberg, a former prisoner who worked as a baker in the camp and previously lived in Warsaw, reported: “One day in July 1942, I was in the apartment of Yakov Szejnberg and personally saw five Germans from the SS arrive at this apartment; among those who arrived were three officers. They asked Yakov Szejnberg and his wife Hella to pack their things and follow them, supposedly for a trip to America. In fact, they were taken to Pawiak prison. Szejnberg is my cousin, a doctor by profession, his wife Hella Szejnberg, her son Shlema Szejnberg, a doctor by profession, were American citizens. The Germans took Szejnberg’s son to prison two days later. I repeatedly brought packages to the prison for Yakov Szejnberg, his wife, and son. One day in September 1942, I brought a package for Szejnberg, but it was not accepted, and an SS officer said that Szejnberg had been shot. In February 1943, American and British Jewish nationals were brought by truck to Treblinka Labor Camp No. 1 and immediately shot in the forest. The belongings of those executed were brought from the forest and stored in a camp warehouse. I personally saw these belongings. American and British badges were pinned to them.<ref name="ftn42">The sentence "This finally convinced me that these people had been shot" was subsequently removed.</ref>

"Among the prisoners in this camp was a pilot named Melion, an American citizen.<ref name="ftn43">The surname is underlined with a red pencil.</ref> In December 1942, Melion was executed."

Former camp inmate O. Yu. Strawczynski,<ref name="ftn44">The surname and initials are underlined with a pencil.</ref> a native of Lodz, testified: "In July 1942, American and British citizens who were unable to return to their homeland due to the occupation of Poland and Czechoslovakia were brought to the Treblinka camp. They were told they would be exchanged for German prisoners of war and would be returned to their homeland, but instead they were brought to the Treblinka camp and exterminated. I personally saw many American and British passports among the huge pile of passports of the murdered people. I also saw photographs with postmarks on the back with the names of New York, Boston, and Chicago. The photographs attached to the passports had ''American'' stamps.<ref name="ftn45">The word was inserted in place of the removed subordinate clause: "in the middle of which the words 'USA' were printed in large letters."</ref> All prisoners in the camp knew about the extermination of American and British citizens in the Treblinka camp. This was told to me by the blacksmith Gersh Yabkovsky, who was brought to the camp on July 18, 1942 and personally observed how citizens of America and England arrived at the camp and how they were destroyed.

The murder of British nationals in the Treblinka camp is confirmed by the following fact: my cousin, Esther-Malka Abramovna Mrówka, 22, was a British citizen. She came to Poland before the war to visit relatives. In August 1942, she was captured by the Germans in the village of Mstów near Częstochowa and, along with others, sent to the Treblinka camp, where she was murdered.

Former camp prisoners, residents of Kosów, Gershtein P.I. B., Tsegel Sh. M., Burstein H.E., Shedletsky H.Sh. reported: “In Kosów, near the church, lived Syr Rachel, 32 years old. She came to Kosów from Chicago. Her father, mother, brother, and sisters currently live in Chicago. Syr Rachel was a US citizen. In 1939, as we know well from conversations with her, she was planning to return to America, to Chicago, but did not have time to leave, as the war between Germany and Poland began. Syr Rachel, fearing ''arrest by the Germans'',<ref name="ftn46">Inserted in place of the word "destroyed."</ref> went into hiding, but in November 1942 she was caught and killed in Zambrów, which we confirm with our own signatures. Kosów-Lacki, October 4, 1944.”

On the basis of the investigation carried out, the Extraordinary State Commission established that this monstrous crime – the extermination of US and British citizens – was committed by the commandant of the Treblinka camp, Baron van Eupen, the head of the camp, Oberscharführer Franz, his assistant, Oberscharführer Fles, Unterscharführers Fuchs, Mitzik, Stumpe, Schwartz, Zenf, Lanz, Hagen, on the orders of the Hitlerite government.<ref name="ftn47">Throughout the entire paragraph, the surnames are underlined in red pencil. The paragraph is marked with a double pencil line on the left. In the draft version, this paragraph is handwritten and ends with a phrase that is omitted in the final version: "They must all receive severe punishment for the crimes they have committed." The last phrase in the final version, "at the direction of the Hitler government," is absent in the draft.</ref>

= References =
<references/>

= Sources =

Mattogno, Carlo. ''The “Operation Reinhardt” Camps Treblinka, Sobibór, Bełżec: Black Propaganda, Archeological Research, Expected Material Evidence.'' 1st ed. Holocaust Handbooks 28. Academic Research Media Review Education Group Ltd, 2024. https://holocausthandbooks.com/book/the-operation-reinhardt-camps-treblinka-sobibor-belzec/.

Mattogno, Carlo, and Jürgen Graf. ''Treblinka: Extermination Camp or Transit Camp?'' 4th ed. Holocaust Handbooks 8. Academic Research Media Review Education Group Ltd, 2024. https://holocausthandbooks.com/book/treblinka/.

Mattogno, Carlo, Thomas Kues, and Jürgen Graf. ''The “Extermination Camps” of “Aktion Reinhardt”: An Analysis and Refutation of Factitious “Evidence,” Deceptions and Flawed Argumentation of the “Holocaust Controversies” Bloggers.'' 2nd, slightly corrected edition eds. Vol. 1. Castle Hill Publishers, 2015.

Mattogno, Carlo, Thomas Kues, and Jürgen Graf. ''The “Extermination Camps” of “Aktion Reinhardt”: An Analysis and Refutation of Factitious “Evidence,” Deceptions and Flawed Argumentation of the “Holocaust Controversies” Bloggers.'' 2nd, slightly corrected edition eds. Vol. 2. Castle Hill Publishers, 2015.

Pachaljuk, Konstantin Aleksandrovič, ed. ''Treblinka: Research, Memories, Documents.'' Naučnoe izdanie. Яуза, 2021. Originally published as ''Treblinka: Issledovanija, vospominanija, dokumenty.'' https://docs.historyrussia.org/ru/nodes/354229-treblinka-issledovaniya-vospominaniya-dokumenty

= See also =

*[[Soviet_Treblinka_Investigation_1944-August|August 1944, 65th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front]]
*[[Soviet_Treblinka_Investigation_1944-September|September 1944, Soviet-Polish Commission]]
*[[Soviet_Treblinka_Investigation_1944-SMERSH|September/November 1944, SMERSH]]

Soviet Treblinka Investigation 1944-August

2026-01-05T14:56:33Z

Pilgrimofdark:

In August 1944, the 65th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front of the Soviet Union Red Army conducted an investigation of the area of the Treblinka camps.

The documents below include the testimonies of witnesses, the excavations of individual and mass graves, and the official report.

__TOC__

= Max Lewit. Treblinka Labor Camp. August 1944 =

''' Testimony of Max Lewit about life in the Treblinka labor camp and its liquidation [August 1944]. GARF P-7021-115-11 pp. 40-42 '''

(33 years old, Jewish, carpenter from Warsaw, prisoner of Treblinka I)

I was in the camp from May 1943 to July 1944. After the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, I was assigned to a group of carpenters sent by the Germans to the Treblinka camp. Upon arrival, I immediately set to work alongside many of my colleagues, making furniture for the German army headquarters.

How did we live in the camp? Upon arrival, we were housed in barracks on bare boards. They packed us in like sardines. They even forced us to sleep naked on the bare boards. The next morning, they sent us to work on the camp's earthworks. We built roads. The work was very hard. The workday lasted 10 hours. We were given 250 grams of black bread each. Soup consisting of water and potato peelings. In the evening, we ate the bread if there was any left, and in the morning, only murky boiling water. We were treated so badly that many died of starvation, then Hauptsturmführer Van Eupen<ref name="ftn1">Misspelled "Vaneipen" in text.</ref> would order a new batch of artisans from Treblinka station. So, in my opinion, murders occurred in the labor camp just as they did in the Jewish camp. But these were murders committed through backbreaking labor and starvation. Moreover, the guards found fault with every little detail and killed. They killed people if they were weakened, worked sluggishly, or somehow displeased a guard. Not a day went by without four to eight or more people being killed this way. If one escaped or tried to escape from the camp, 10-15 were shot. SS officers would often come at night, count off 15-20 people, wake them up, and take them away for fun. The fun consisted of drunken SS officers demonstrating murder techniques to each other and then demonstrating these techniques on the prisoners. Sometimes, at night, the oldest people in the camp were awakened and exterminated. The camp's veterans knew a lot about the Germans' crimes and could have become dangerous witnesses if necessary. This continued every day. People who went to bed had no certainty they would survive until morning. Those who went to work in the morning had no certainty they would return to their barracks in the evening.

Boys aged 12 to 14 were also recruited for work in the "work camp." I remember how, in March 1942,<ref name="ftn2">1942 in the text.</ref> 60 boys of the same age were brought from Warsaw. Untersturmführer Fritz Preifi, nicknamed "Old Man," selected 15 of the weakest, skinniest boys and immediately ordered their extermination as unfit for labor.<ref name="ftn3">Underlined with pencil in the text.</ref> A German who had previously lived in Odessa, by the name of Svidersky (nicknamed "One-Eyed"), he was blind in one eye, together with other guards took hammers and with blows to the bridges of their noses and heads killed all 15 guys before our eyes. We heard the heart-rending cries of some of the children, but overall, the children died peacefully, because they had apparently long since realized that death awaited them. The children only asked to be shot, and the guards, mostly Ukrainians, replied, "Oh, you guys! Shooting is too good a death for little Jews. No, we'll finish you off with hammers."

Later, the boys selected by Fritz Preifi<ref name="ftn4">Underlined with red pencil.</ref> worked in the kitchen, peeling potatoes, scattering ashes from the ovens where people had been burned, herding cows, and so on. Two boys named Moishe and Polutek, who had tried to escape, were hanged by the Germans in front of the other boys. The hangmen were Untersturmführers Lanz, Hagen, Lindeke, Stumpe (Laughing Death), and camp commander van Eupen.<ref name="ftn5">All surnames underlined with red pencil.</ref> Moishe's rope turned out to be very long, and his foot touched the ground. Lanz, a master carpenter and the foreman in the workshop, approached, untied the rope from the gallows, threw the boy to the ground, stepped on his head, and yanked the rope. Their comrades, watching this scene, wept and said, "Moishe and Polutek are lucky; now they won't live anymore."

Thus, about 15 more boys were exterminated by gallows and rods. The 30 remaining survivors were shot by the Germans at the moment of the camp's liquidation, when the Red Army was already approaching the Kosów region. All 30 boys, led by their leader Leib, marched to the grave in formation, singing Soviet songs such as "My Homeland Is Wide," "My Moscow," and "The Internationale," and shouting, "Long Live Stalin." These were the children of workers from Warsaw, Grodno, Białystok, Brest, and elsewhere.

The day before the execution, the boys dug their own grave.

Backbreaking physical labor was used in the camp. A huge iron roller was used for road construction. Fifteen to twenty of the weakest people were harnessed to this roller and forced to compact the road, which was covered in human ash and cinders. The people couldn't drag the roller fast enough. For their slowness, they were beaten with sticks and whips. They were beaten to death. In Polish, the word "roller" is called "waltz." Therefore, working with the roller was called "ostatny waltz" (the last waltz). Because after a person was assigned to such work, [they] never returned to the barracks.

Slowness in loading sand or any other work resulted in execution on the spot. During snow clearing, the snow would be red with human blood.

For over a year, every day and every night, I saw lights and black smoke rising from the square of the neighboring camp, or, as we called it, the "death camp." The Germans were burning the corpses of the people they were killing. We could hear the terrible screams of those being killed and the unbearable smell of burning human bodies. We were told that up to 15,000 corpses were burned daily at the death camp.

Very often, every week, Hagen, Lanz, Lindeke, Stumpe, Reige, von Eupen, and Fritz Preich<ref name="ftn6">The surnames are underlined in red pencil. Possibly a typo in the last one.</ref> would line us up and pick out the weak and those whose physiognomies they didn't like, and send them in groups of 50-100 to be burned at the "death camp." This was the constant extermination of people, and each of us waited his turn. For three years, a policy of exterminating working people—specialists—and bringing in new groups of skilled workers to replace those killed was pursued.

In March 1944, all unskilled and semi-skilled laborers were selected and killed. Only highly skilled craftsmen and a few unskilled laborers remained in the camp.

With the front approaching, the Germans were preparing to liquidate the camp by exterminating all remaining people. On Sunday, July 23, 1944, having learned of the Germans' intentions, at five o'clock in the morning we attempted to take the guards' rifles and break out of the camp by force. Our attempt failed. Some among us believed it was too early to rebel, that we needed another day or two to prepare and then escape. This mistake cost almost everyone our lives. The Germans drove everyone out of the barracks. They forced us to lie face down in a row and, counting us off by ten, led us into the forest to be shot.

The group, including me, was led to the pit at 7 p.m. Standing at the edge of the grave, I took Dr. Badash's<ref name="ftn7">Underlined with red pencil.</ref> arm and waited. Shots rang out. Dr. Bodash's<ref name="ftn8">The surname is underlined in red pencil. In both cases, the surname is spelled differently.</ref> head was hit by a bullet, and as he fell, he pulled me into the pit. The guards, slightly drunk, approached the grave of the survivors. They were poor shots, and four, including me, survived. Then they brought in the children I mentioned earlier and shot them too. We expected to be covered with earth, but that didn't happen, and as dusk fell, the guards left. The four of us, seizing the moment, rose from beneath the children's corpses and fled into the forest. Among the dead were four brothers, eight engineers, lawyers, and other intellectuals.

Signature: Lewit Max.

Correct: Major /signature/

= Józef Łukaszek. Treblinka labor camp. Kosów-Lacki. August 1944 =

''' Testimony of Józef Łukaszek about the cruelty of the administration of the Treblinka labor camp and the executions of prisoners. The village of Kosów Lacki, [August 1944]. GARF P-7021-115-11 p. 26 '''

(36 years old, resident of the village of Kosów Lacki, landowner, arrested after his brother escaped from the Germans, was in the camp from June 16, 1943 to June 15, 1944.)

I worked loading sand onto railroad cars. We were given 170 grams of bread a day and half a liter of muddy water, called soup. This quickly weakened us. Many swelled up and died. And those who were alive couldn't work well loading sand. For being slow at work, we were beaten with sticks. Many were punished in the following way: they were carried up a mountain and thrown down from a height of 10-12 meters. The guards standing over the quarry took stones and threw them after the man rolling down, beating him with sticks. The Germans ordered all the prisoners to hand over their money. I had 150 zlotys in my wallet, which I handed over, but in my side pocket there were another 110 zlotys, which I forgot about. Upon learning of this, the guards took my money and, stripping me naked, hit me on the back 22 times with sticks. One day, during a heavy rain, we were working loading sand. The guards ordered us to quickly strip naked and continue working. About 30 people, including me, didn't manage to undress quickly enough, so we were all beaten with sticks and shovels, each receiving 15 blows.<ref name="ftn9">This passage is underlined with a pencil. A vertical line drawn in pencil is marked in the margin to the left.</ref> One day, a Ukrainian guard, having learned my wife's address, went to her place and tried to rape her. My wife broke free and ran away. The enraged guard returned to the camp and beat me with a stick because my wife "disobeyed" him. He beat me so severely that my pleura ruptured, and I remain seriously ill.

In the Polish camp, they took Polish and Jewish artisans into the forest and shot them there. This was often done at random. People were also killed in the camp. In the Jewish camp, people weren't shot; rather, as the guards themselves told us, they were herded into special chambers and gassed. Then they were taken away in trucks and dumped into special giant pits and burned. I know that Jews were burned not only from the guards' words, but also from my experience working and living in the camp, smelling the unbearable stench of burning human bodies day and night for months. Our camp was two kilometers from the Jewish one, yet the smell was unbearable. I saw the fires where Jews were burned with my own eyes. During the day, gigantic columns of black smoke were clearly visible. The camp was guarded by Ukrainians recruited from among the prisoners of war. The camp command staff were German SS men.

I was sentenced to a year in Treblinka without questioning. After serving that sentence, my wife approached the headman and offered a bribe (butter, eggs), and I was released.

Łukaszek Józef.

CORRECT: Major /signature/

= Lucjan Puchała. Treblinka camps. Wólka Okrąglik. August 1944 =

''' Testimony of senior railway worker Lucjan Puchała about the conditions of detention in the Treblinka camps. The village of Wólka Okrąglik, [August 1944]. GARF P-7021-115-11 p. 15 '''

(a Pole, 43 years old, a resident of the village of Wólka Okrąglik, a senior worker on the railway)

I was mobilized to work in a camp near Treblinka station as a railway repairman. I worked there from June 15, 1942, to May 14, 1943.<ref name="ftn10">Underlined in pencil.</ref> For delivering letters to prisoners and food from relatives, I was arrested and imprisoned in a camp. I was held in Camp No. 1 for over seven months.<ref name="ftn11">This refers to Treblinka I, a labor camp.</ref> During my time working on the railway and in the camp, I witnessed the following.

From July 1, 1942, until August 1943, trains arrived at the camp daily—one, two, or three trains a day, each with 60 carriages.<ref name="ftn12">To the left, this sentence is highlighted with a pencil.</ref> Each carriage held between 150 and 250 people.<ref name="ftn13">The numbers are underlined with a pencil.</ref> The camps were so densely packed that in the summer, more than half of them arrived at the camp suffocated. The carriages included men and children as young as two, five, or six months old. They were mostly Jews and Roma, with significantly fewer Poles. As the train approached and the cars were being unloaded, none of us were allowed near. The Germans even removed their own guards. Meanwhile, a brass band played marches at full blast, and excavator engines roared to drown out the cries of the unfortunate "passengers." Items were thrown into a pile, then the valuables were selected and taken to Germany, while the less valuable items were burned or buried. All men, women, and children were stripped naked and herded into a chamber, where they were murdered. On average, 12,000 to 18,000 people were killed this way daily. This took place in a Jewish "death camp." In the Polish camp, people did various jobs. They made furniture, did metalwork, blacksmithing, tailoring, and other work for the German army, or exported their products to Germany. I worked in a sand quarry as a foreman, loading sand onto wagons. Although the camp was called Polish, there were still many Jews and people of other nationalities there. The working conditions were unbearable. Guards killed people without reason. They killed for refusing to pay the guard, or for having good boots, which the guard took away when killing the prisoner. They also killed for "fun." They killed with a blow to the head with a shovel, hung them from train cars, threw them down from a 12-15 meter quarry, and buried them alive. I repeatedly saw people hanged by their feet, upside down, by their arms, and then, after holding the unfortunate man in this position for an hour, remove him for a break, and then hang him again. Repeating this several times, they finally killed their victim. Those who worked nonstop for 10 or more hours were given 150 grams of bread per day, consisting of water and a few potatoes. Many died of exhaustion. The unsanitary conditions of the camp led to widespread illness. Many people died of typhus.

Signature: Lucjan Puchała.

Correct: Major /signature/

= Kazimierz Skarżyński. Treblinka death camp. Wólka Okrąglik. August 1944 =

''' Testimony of prisoner Kazimierz Skarżyński about the disposal of ashes from burnt corpses in the Treblinka death camp. The village of Wólka Okrąglik, [August 1944]. GARF P-7021-115-11 p. 16 '''

(65 years old, Polish, peasant, resident of the village of Wólka Okrąglik)

I was forced to work in the camp. I used my cart to haul ashes from the ovens where people were burned.<ref name="ftn14">The sentence is underlined with a pencil, and a pencil mark is placed in the margin to the left.</ref> This ashes, according to Jewish prisoners, were transported from the ovens to the camp fence in wagons and dumped there. Peasants, including myself, carried and scattered the ashes along the highway. We knew these ashes were from corpses. This was what the 12- to 15-year-old boys who dumped the ashes said. Jewish prisoners in the camp said they had locked hundreds<ref name="ftn15">This part of the sentence is marked with a checkmark in pencil on the left.</ref> of prisoners tightly into hermetically sealed cells and suffocated them by pumping out the air.<ref name="ftn16">This part of the phrase is underlined with a pencil.</ref>

People died very quickly—in 10-12 minutes. The oven, according to Jewish accounts, was a pit 25 meters long, 20 meters wide,<ref name="ftn17">This part of the sentence is underlined with a pencil, and there are two vertical pencil lines in the left margin.</ref> and 5-6 meters deep, with a grate of rails at the bottom, which formed an ash pit. Corpses were stacked on the rails and burned. The glow of the fire was visible for 15 kilometers.<ref name="ftn18">This sentence is underlined with a pencil.</ref> Black smoke billowed during the day. The smell of burning could be felt 30 kilometers from the camp in a strong wind.

The screams, cries, and groans of those being killed could be heard for 2-3 kilometers. The residents of Vulok sometimes couldn't bear it any longer and fled the village. For a year, from April 1943 to May 1944, I hauled and scattered ashes. The camp was closed in September 1943.<ref name="ftn19">These two sentences are underlined with a pencil, and there are two vertical pencil lines in the left margin.</ref> But in order to hide the traces of the crime, for almost a whole year, until May 1944, I hauled and scattered mountains of slag and ashes from the burned people along the highway. The ashes were thrown onto the paved road connecting Camps No. 1 and No. 2 (3 kilometers). Then they ground them up and rolled them with iron rollers. Large chunks of slag, where human bones were visible, were buried in the ground. Gold teeth, gold dollars, coins minted in the tsarist era, and diamonds were also found, which the guards, raking through the ashes, scavenged for themselves. I saw eight or nine trains packed with people arriving at Treblinka every day. The trains traveled like this for about a year.<ref name="ftn20">These two sentences are underlined with a pencil.</ref> People cried, tore up money and other belongings, and threw them out the freight car windows. The numbers 108, 120, and 150—the number of people in each car—were written in chalk on the cars. In the summer of 1943, people ran out of the cars. The guards shot many of them—51 from one train, 49 from another. They were men, women, and four children aged 4 to 6. These victims were buried near Wólka.

Initially, the Germans killed people in the death camp with axes and sticks, shot them, and buried them. When new convoys of prisoners ceased arriving in the fall of 1943, the order was given to dig up the old bodies for cremation, which was done. Day and night, excavators dug up the bodies and placed them on a continuously burning pyre. To completely cover up the traces of their crimes, the Germans leveled the pits, plowed them, and planted lupines and potatoes.<ref name="ftn21">These sentences are underlined with a pencil.</ref>

Signature: Kazimierz Skarżyński.

Correct: Major /signature/

= Franciszek Wieselowski. Treblinka labor camp. Kosów Lacki. August 1944 =

''' Testimony of Franciszek Wieselowski about living conditions in the Treblinka labor camp. Village of Kosów-Lacki, [August 1944]. GARF P-7021-115-11 pp. 38-39. '''

(27 years old, Polish, was imprisoned in the Treblinka camp on June 14, 1943)

Why I was imprisoned in the camp, I still don't know. There I worked loading sand onto railroad cars. The sand was transported to various stations to repair damage from bombing. They treated us brutally. One day, I found a piece of bread in the sand and picked it up. A guard noticed this and gave me 50 lashes. One time, a fellow worker gave me a cigarette butt. For this, the guard beat my friend, giving him 25 lashes with a lash. He took off his trousers, put him on boards, and beat him like that. I know of cases where people died after such beatings within 2-3 days.

All personal belongings—watches, wallets, cigarette cases—were confiscated by the guards. These items were usually either spent on drink or given to prostitutes in exchange for cohabitation. The Germans and guards were heavy drinkers. Besides obtaining alcoholic beverages from outside sources, they were also generously supplied by the camp authorities.

Untersturmführer Stumpe<ref name="ftn22">Underlined in red pencil.</ref> (nicknamed Zack-Zack, "Laughing Death") was particularly notorious for his brutality. He personally gouged out eyes for no reason. He beat people, personally determining how many blows to inflict on each person. There was also a German, Schwarz,<ref name="ftn23">Underlined in red pencil.</ref> who also beat people a great deal. There were also Lendecke<ref name="ftn24">Underlined in red pencil.</ref> and others who carried out punishments and murders of camp prisoners.

The Jews in the so-called Polish camp were treated even worse. I know of many cases where Jews were beaten to death with sticks.

The Ukrainian guards told us that in the neighboring Jewish camp, there was a special room with entrances, marked "Women's Dormitory and Men's Dormitory." When the Jews opened the doors, it turned out to be not a dormitory at all, but a cell where, as I heard, people were gassed.

I personally witnessed thick black smoke rising above the Jewish camp during the day, and the glow of campfires in the evening. If the wind blew in our direction, the unbearable stench of burning corpses reached us. We smelled this odor day and night for over a year. I was told by people who saw trains carrying Jews approaching the camp; they claimed that tens of thousands of Jews were arriving daily, but none were leaving. Naturally, they were exterminated, since otherwise there would have been no room for them in the barracks or on the camp grounds. There were several barracks in the Jewish camp, mainly for the service personnel. So, those arriving were not moved in and, apparently, were exterminated that same day.

To avoid the large train convoys approaching the camp being noticeable, two carriages were detached from the train at Treblinka station and transported to the camp using gasoline.

I was sentenced, without interrogation or trial, to one year in a labor camp. After serving this sentence, I was released. My father was also taken to the camp with me. Six months later, my father fell ill with typhus and was severely emaciated. His family took him to the hospital, where he died at the age of 43.

Signature: Franciszek Wieselowski.

Correct: Major /signature/

= Stanisław Zdonek. Treblinka labor camp. Kosów Lacki. August 1944 =

''' Testimony of Stanisław Zdonek about the first months of the Treblinka labor camp. Village of Kosów Lacki, [August 1944]. GARF P-7021-115-11 p. 20. '''

(56 years old, Polish, from the village of Kosów Lacki, was in the camp from November 1 to 30, 1941.)

I was arrested for failing to give the Germans the required amount of potatoes. I worked in a Polish camp, uprooting tree stumps. There were many Jews among us. The Germans killed them there because they weren't working energetically. We were lined up to watch them kill Jews. Once, before my eyes, they brought five Jews and forced them to squeeze through a narrow passage of barbed wire, specially woven for this purpose. The Jews got stuck in the passage and couldn't get through, so the Germans beat them with sticks. That's how they killed all five.

Working in the forest, 10-15 Jews died every day. The Germans killed them with sticks, and we were forced to drag the bodies and bury them in pits. If needed, I can show you where these pits are in the forest. Even back then, in November 1941, many Jews were brought to the camp; the young were selected for work, while the elderly, women, and children were sent to the Jewish camp, where they were killed. I personally saw black smoke and the smell of burning corpses from afar.<ref name="ftn25">Officially, the “death camp” began operations in July 1942.</ref>

Many Jews and Poles died of hunger. Bread was distributed haphazardly, not according to rations. Sometimes they were given a microscopic piece—15-20 grams, compared to the standard ration of 150 grams.

I was old and sick, and I couldn't keep up with the younger workers in the stump-pulling work. I was beaten with sticks more than once. Under threat of death, I strained myself to work. After work, someone from the management would come and inspect our work. If he felt we hadn't accomplished enough, he would order everyone beaten with sticks. People were shot every day. The Germans continually selected and shot all those prisoners who, due to exhaustion or illness, lost their ability to work. We lived in terribly cramped conditions, in cold barracks, on bare boards. The filth and crowding led to illness, especially typhus; weakened people quickly died from typhus.

Signature: Stanisław Zdonek.

Correct: Major /signature/

= Barbara Zemkiewicz. Treblinka labor camp. Kosów-Lacki. August 1944 =

''' Testimony of Barbara Zemkiewicz about German abuses in the Treblinka labor camp. Village of Kosów-Lacki, [August 1944]. GARF P-7021-115-11 p. 21. '''

(22 years old, village Kosów-Lacki, Polish; was in the camp from May 16 to July 15, 1943)

The Germans arrested my mother, my sister, and me on suspicion of selling vodka. In fact, she wasn't selling vodka. Six months later, my mother died of starvation at the age of 53. My sister and I were released two months later. Soon after, my sister died of exhaustion. In July 1944, the Germans came, took my husband, a mechanic, and drove him away.

The women worked on agricultural labor from morning until evening without rest. The Germans would round up a group of women, mount their horses themselves, and gallop into the crowd, crushing them. Camp Commander van Eupen himself enjoyed this on numerous occasions. One day, van Eupen caught me and tried to rape me.<ref name="ftn26">On the left, this and the previous sentences are highlighted with two pencil lines.</ref> I resisted, preventing him from carrying out his vile act. He mounted his horse, grabbed my hand tightly, and urged the horse into a trot. The horse ran for half an hour, while seven more Germans on horseback chased me, threatening to trample me if I escaped his grasp.

One time, I picked an apple from a tree. The deputy camp commander noticed, came up to me, kicked me in the stomach with all his might, and then beat me with sticks. Women were punished with canes for every little thing. One time, a woman picked up a cigarette butt. The guards grabbed her, took off her skirt and leggings, laid her on a board, and gave her 25 blows on the bottom with a stick. There were cases where the beaten woman never rose again and died.

When I arrived at the camp that day, a thousand Jews, men and women, had been brought in. The young, strong men were selected to work in the quarry. The officers selected 30 of the most beautiful young women for themselves. The rest were sent to the Jewish camp. The camp commander, van Eupen, and his assistants took one Jewish woman each night and shot her in the forest in the morning. The Polish camp had many Jewish artisans. They quickly became exhausted from the starvation rations and were unable to work. The Germans brought in fresh batches of artisans and shot the exhausted ones. Swollen from hunger, dying people were carried out into the fields, where they died before the eyes of the workers. Then their bodies were buried in one place. If necessary, I can show you their grave. A thousand people must be buried there.

Signature: Barbara Zemkiewicz.

Correct: Major /signature/

= Mieczysław Anyszkiewicz. Treblinka camps. Radość. August 15, 1944 =

''' Testimony of local resident Mieczysław Anyszkiewicz about the Treblinka camps. Village of Radość, August 15, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-11 p. 36. '''

There were two camps in Treblinka: one Jewish, the other Polish. Each camp was surrounded by five rows of barbed wire fences supported by posts up to 2 meters high. The camp covered an area of at least 350 hectares. The Polish camp was in a field, and the Jewish camp in a forest. The camp was located 2-3 kilometers south of Treblinka. People who had failed to pay their taxes for various reasons were sent to the Treblinka camp: they hadn't had time to file their taxes or they had nothing to pay.

Jews were sent to the camp to be exterminated. The Polish camp had 15 barracks. I delivered potatoes to the camp as far as the barbed wire fence; they wouldn't let me any further. I saw smoke in the camp, which lasted for six months. The smoke and stench reached the village of Radość and beyond; it was impossible to breathe. The smoke appeared in the evening or early in the morning, lasting two to three hours a day. The camp was burned by the Germans when the Red Army arrived. By the time the Red Army arrived, the Jewish camp had long since disappeared. Only the Polish one remained. The Jewish camp had been plowed and rye had been sown.<ref name="ftn27">The sentence is underlined with a pencil, and a double vertical line is drawn in the margin to the left.</ref> Only one house remained on the site, where a Ukrainian, or perhaps a German, lived, but he lived in Ukraine, his last name was Strebel.<ref name="ftn28">Underlined in red pencil.</ref>

The testimony was given by Mieczysław Anyszkiewicz.

August 15, 1944

Correct: Major /signature/

= Maryana Kobus. Treblinka death camp. Wólka Okrąglik. August 15, 1944 =

''' Testimony of freed laborer Maryana Kobus about the murder of Jews in the Treblinka death camp. Village of Wólka Okrąglik, August 15, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-11 p. 19. '''

The Treblinka camp is 2 kilometers from our village. It was established by the Germans in 1941 and existed for four summers.<ref name="ftn29">The phrase is underlined with a pencil.</ref> I was in the Polish camp, going there twice a week for three years. I hauled timber, stones, and did other work. Anyone who refused to go was sent to the camp. The camp was surrounded by two rows of wire up to 4 meters high. There were a lot of people in the camp. The Jewish camp also had barracks and a barbed wire fence. Jews were beaten there. Every day, 60-70 train cars of Jews were brought to the camp.<ref name="ftn30">The phrase is underlined with a pencil, and highlighted on the left with two pencil lines.</ref> You could hear screams and cries of children and adults all day long. Jews were shot, beaten, and burned. Smoke and stench, it was impossible to breathe. In the evening, fire was visible. The smoke and stench continued every day for two years. Jews were brought from all countries (Czechoslovakia, France, Russia, etc.). I saw Jews escaping from train cars; they were shot with rifles and machine guns. Up to 60 people were killed then. This happened more than once. They killed children, women, and the elderly. There were machines in the camp that dug long ditches and buried Jews in them. The machines ran every day. The Poles worked, and those who didn't were killed. Many died of hunger. The food they ate was coffee and slop. They were given 200 grams of bread, and meat only when a horse or a cow died. No one was allowed into the Jewish camp.<ref name="ftn31">This phrase is underlined with a pencil.</ref> A week before the Red Army arrived, the Poles were released from the camp. All the Jews, even the service personnel, were killed.

Maryana Kobus gave testimony.

CORRECT: Major /signature/

= Tadeusz Kan. Treblinka camps. Tosie. August 16, 1944 =

''' Testimony of prisoner Tadeusz Kan about the Treblinka camps. The village of Tosie, Kosuvskoy volost, August 16, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-11 p. 37. '''

On January 1, 1943, I was arrested by the German gendarmerie. I spent 12 days in Kosów and from there was sent to the Polish camp of Treblinka. I remained in the camp until August 1, 1944. Ten days before the arrival of the Red Army, the Germans disbanded the Polish camp and killed the Jews who worked there. To this day, I don't know why I was arrested. No charges were brought.

The camp occupied the lands of Majdan Glodomory and the Milewko farmstead. A railway line led to it.

In 1943, the camp had five barracks for 600 people each, a kitchen, barns for cows and horses, and a bathhouse.

The barracks were built during my time there. Eight more barracks for people, a bakery, and workshops were also built. The barracks were built of wood and roofed with tar paper. On both sides were three-story bunks for men and two-story bunks for women. The area enclosed by barbed wire was 2-2.5 hectares. The barbed wire fence was up to 3 meters high. The second camp was for Jews. It was in the forest between Majdan Kupientyński and Wólka Okrąglik, also enclosed by barbed wire. I didn't see the Jewish camp; I wasn't there. No one was allowed in. Both camps were built in 1941-42. All the Poles were sent to work—loading sand into train cars, gardening, and so on.

They fed us: 200 grams of bread, half a liter of thin soup in the morning and a liter at lunch. In the evening, half a liter of coffee and that's it. They gave us meat when the horses died. They were gathered from the villages for Treblinka. The Poles died of hunger at the rate of 8-10 people a day. They didn't accept parcels. My wife brought me a parcel, and I accepted it. For this, my wife was put under arrest for a day, and I was given 50 lashes. There were cases when those bringing parcels to the camp did not return. Poles were brought from various villages. They were not placed in barracks, but taken to the forest and shot there. They were buried in ditches. Dogs dragged away the corpses. I heard that in the Jewish camp, Jews were gassed, electrocuted, and burned. First, they were killed and buried in a ditch dug by a machine. Later, everything was dug up and burned, and rye was sown on the site in 1943. People were burned every day for two years. I heard the screams of women and children, as well as gunshots. Jews were brought in two or three trains a day. The smoke and stench from the Jewish camp made it difficult to breathe. The road from the Jewish camp to the Polish one was strewn with the ashes of burned people. When the camp was disbanded, there were about 300 Poles and about 500 Jews. All the Jews were shot and buried in the forest.<ref name="ftn32">The fragments highlighted in this paragraph are underlined with a pencil.</ref>

The testimony was given by Kan Tadeusz.

August 16, 1944

Correct: Major /signature/

= Hejnoch Brenner. Treblinka death camp. Żarki. August 17, 1944 =

''' Testimony of Hejnoch Brenner on the situation of prisoners at the Treblinka death camp. Żarki, August 17, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-11 pp. 30-32. '''

(born 1913, Jewish, was a prisoner of the Jewish camp Treblinka, lives in the town of Żarki near Częstochowa)

When I lived in Żarki, they wanted to send us to Treblinka. I went into hiding with my family, but was caught by the SS, Ukrainian, and Polish police in Leluf. They herded everyone into the square. It was 7 km to the train station. They beat the children right there in the square (they smashed their heads against stones). Those who ran were shot.

At Koniecpol station, crying children were also killed. Their best shoes were removed before being loaded onto the train cars. Each train carried 150 people.

I arrived at the camp with my entire family in October 1942. Twenty-five people died in our train car during the two-day journey. When we arrived at the camp, I knew death would be here. I kissed my family and said goodbye. For this, a German hit me on the head with a whip.<ref name="ftn33">To the left of the paragraph, there are two vertical lines drawn with a pen.</ref>

Children aged 2 to 5 months were killed with sticks. This was carried out by a German SS officer named Sepp.<ref name="ftn34">The nickname (referring to Sepp Hirtreiter) is underlined in red pencil. To the left, the paragraph is marked with four vertical lines in pen.</ref>

One woman, eight months pregnant, hid naked in a pile of clothes. She was found, beaten with whips, and then killed in the "infirmary."

Before strangulation, the women had their hair cut.<ref name="ftn35">The sentence is underlined with a pencil.</ref> I hid in my clothes, got dressed, and joined the workers in the camp. I cut the women's hair. So I had to cut my wife's hair too, preparing her for death. The Jews temporarily assigned to work did not hand over any money. One Jew was found to have money. The camp commandant, Captain Ranz (SS),<ref name="ftn36">The surname is underlined in red pencil. It's probably a typo, and the intended name is Kurt Franz.</ref> hanged this Jew by his feet. The "workers" were lined up and shown: "Hanged for having money, so will you if you do not hand over." We had brought food with us. If they saw you eating, they killed you. Each train contained 6,000 people. The "bathhouse" killed 5,000 at a time.<ref name="ftn37">The sentence is underlined with a pencil.</ref> The remaining thousand naked people were placed in the square. They were forced to box and play football. One Jew gave a Ukrainian money to buy bread. For this, the Jew was made to stand and ordered to raise his hands. The Germans and Ukrainians approached him and beat him with sticks. He swelled up completely and then died.<ref name="ftn38">The paragraph on the left is highlighted with a vertical line (drawn with a pen).</ref>

In the morning they gave 150 grams of bread and coffee. For lunch, thin "water" soup, in the evening 6-8 jacket potatoes. A Jew dressed in rabbi's clothes was stationed near the latrine. On his chest hung a sign that read: "Scheissen zwei minuten" [shitting for two minutes]. On his chest hung a watch. There was a fact: Commandant Franz approached the latrine.<ref name="ftn39">The surname is underlined in red pencil. This probably refers to Kurt Franz, who was the deputy commandant of the camp.</ref> He noted<ref name="ftn40">Possibly a typo for "measured."</ref> the time the Jew spent in the latrine. The Jew did not make it within 2 minutes. When he came out of the latrine, he was killed by the commandant. The Jews worked on sorting clothes. They had to rip off the badges that the Jews wore on orders from the Germans (the Shield of David) from the back and chest of their clothes. The color was yellow. After the badges were ripped off, an imprint remained on the clothes. This had to be eliminated before being sent to Germany. One Jew did this unsuccessfully. For this, he was ordered to stand facing the German. The latter pointed a pistol. If a Jew closed his eyes, he was beaten and had to die looking down the barrel of a gun.

There are many pits in the camp territory, into which we, while sweeping the camp, threw garbage and household items left over from the dead (spoons, knives, mugs, etc.), and burned all of it.

From the railway line built long ago to the Milewko farmstead, the Germans built a short railway line to the Jewish camp. The line was 20 cars long. The train was divided into three parts. The Jews did not live in the camp for long.<ref name="ftn41">The sentence is underlined with a blue pen.</ref> They were killed on the same day they were brought in. The barracks in the camp could accommodate no more than 1,000 Jews serving the camp. They were also killed.

To keep the camp secret, the Germans did the following:<ref name="ftn42">On the left, the sentence is highlighted with a double vertical line (drawn with a pen).</ref>
# The train guards were not allowed into the camp.
# The barbed wire fence was covered with branches so that it was impossible to see what was going on in the camp.
# At the entrance to the camp there was a sign: "Boarding to Wołkowysk and Białystok." A platform was made. A railway ticket office was built. A luggage storage room. A passenger train schedule. A large railway clock. The appearance of a railway station was created. The "station" was not called Treblinka, but "Ober-Majdan."
# Jews arriving from other countries had tickets. At the Ober-Majdan station, a Jew dressed as a station attendant stood and collected tickets, directing them to Białystok and Wołkowysk.
# It was mandatory to write letters to relatives abroad. In the letters, they were required to write that they were living well and had something to eat. The place of work was indicated in the letters as "Kosów Work Camp."
# An orchestra was organized from among the Jews. The musicians were well dressed. There was also a theater. When a train arrived, the orchestra played, and the "artists" performed.

The Germans took beautiful Jewish women and lived with them. In the camp was the sister of psychiatrist Professor Sigmund Freud,<ref name="ftn43">The surname is underlined with a blue pencil.</ref> who was living in America. She showed the Germans documents proving she was the famous psychiatrist's sister. The Germans received her "hospitably." They offered her a bathhouse and some rest, no work. They showed her the way to the death house. She went and was killed. Afterward, the Germans laughed and boasted to us: "The sister of the famous Sigmund Freud has also been killed."

The French minister's brother, Surets, was also in the camp.<ref name="ftn44">A distorted reference to the cousin of the Soviet ambassador to France, Yakov Surits, Mikhlu (1896-1942).</ref> When he presented his documents, the commandant invited him to dinner and then ordered his death. Surets' brother was shot in the back of the head.

On August 2, 1943, there was a Jewish revolt in the camp. They dug up a weapons cache, took 20 grenades, pistols, carbines, and a machine gun. They killed the guards, sabotaged the engine of an armored car, cut the telephone line, burned the camp, and fled. I was one of them.

From that time on, the camp ceased to exist.

On August 17, 1944, Hejnoch Brenner testified.

Correct: Major /signature/

= Abe Kon. Treblinka death camp. Częstochowa. August 17, 1944 =

''' Testimony of Abe Kon about gassing at the Treblinka death camp. Częstochowa, August 17, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-11 pp. 33-34. '''

(Abe Kob, born in 1917, Jewish)

I lived in the city of Częstochowa. After nine months in the ghetto, on October 2, 1942, my family and I (father, mother, two sisters, one brother) were sent to the Treblinka camp. We were transported to the camp in train cars with 150 people in each. They transported us worse than cattle. The train consisted of 60 train cars. We were told that they were taking us to Ukraine to work, where we would live well. They told us to take luggage up to 20 kg and money. We traveled for two days without water or food. The guards promised water only in exchange for valuables (watches, gold, etc.), they took the things, but did not give us water. We drank urine. We relieved ourselves in the train car. Twelve people died in our car, five people were killed for turning on the light. They shot through the wall. Many were wounded. The dead, murdered, and wounded weren't unloaded until Treblinka. Arriving at the camp, we were received by a new SS guard. The guards traveling with us were not allowed into the camp, even though they were partly German. We were taken to the square. We walked to the camp between two rows of Germans and Ukrainians. As we passed, we were beaten with whips. In the square, the women were separated from the men: the women went to the barracks, and the men remained in the square.<ref name="ftn45">The section is underlined with a pencil.</ref> The camp square was fenced with barbed wire and, to hide what was happening in the camp, obscured with branches. All men, women, and children were ordered to undress and hold money and documents in their hands.<ref name="ftn46">The word is underlined with a pencil, and there is a double vertical pencil line in the left margin.</ref> Everyone was lined up in rows and demanded to hand over documents and money to the cash register. Rings were forcibly removed and earrings were torn from their ears. After this, a German searched the women to make sure they hadn't hidden valuables. He looked in their hair, under their arms, in their genitals. After this, the women had their hair cut. The hair was used to make mattresses and submarine ropes. Afterwards, they gave us towels and soap and told us we were going to the bathhouse.<ref name="ftn47">This sentence is marked with a vertical pencil line in the left margin.</ref> They led us down a road, fenced with barbed wire on both sides and guarded by sentries. Flowers lined the sides of the road. The alley was covered with sand.

Naked people passing by were beaten with whips. They approached a building beautifully constructed of cement. The building bore the Jewish "Shield of David" symbol. A Ukrainian stood at the entrance to the "bathhouse" with a knife and a whip. Those who refused to enter were stabbed and pushed into the room. The staff called this Ukrainian "Ivan the Terrible."<ref name="ftn48">It is underlined with a red pencil, and there is a vertical pencil line in the left margin.</ref>

"Bathhouse" plan

The "Bathhouse" consisted of 12 cabins.<ref name="ftn49">On the left in the margin, the phrase highlighted with a double pencil line.</ref> Each cabin was 6 by 6 meters. The height was 2.5 meters. 400 people were forced into each cabin. The people stood. Children pounced on them from above. The cabin had two doors that sealed hermetically. In the corner between the ceiling and the wall were two openings connected by hoses. Behind the "bathhouse" stood a machine. It pumped the air out of the chambers.<ref name="ftn50">Underlined with a pen.</ref> People suffocated after 6 to 15 minutes. They opened the second door and carried them out.<ref name="ftn51">From this sentence to the end of the paragraph, three vertical double lines are placed one below the other in the left margin.</ref> Their teeth were examined. Gold teeth were pulled out. Then they were carried away on stretchers, and the bodies were buried in the ground. They were buried no further than 100 meters from the "bathhouse." People were driven into the "bathhouse" three times a day. In this way, 15 to 18 thousand people were exterminated daily.<ref name="ftn52">The sentence is underlined with a pen.</ref> This went on for up to two months.<ref name="ftn53">The highlighted phrase is underlined with a pen.</ref> Later, all the corpses from the machine were dug up and burned in ovens. At least 1 million were burned.

Further extermination was carried out in the same way: strangulation and burning. The bodies were burned in a specially made oven that could hold up to 6,000 corpses.<ref name="ftn54">The phrase is underlined with a pen, and there is a double vertical line in the left margin.</ref> The oven was filled with corpses, doused with gasoline or oil, and set alight. The burning lasted up to an hour. The same was done to the men.

Those who couldn't reach the "bathhouse" (the disabled, the elderly) were sent to the "hospital," where they were taken. They were placed on the edge of a deep pit, at the bottom of which was a bonfire of people. They were shot in the back of the head—the victims fell into the pit and burned. If there were many "sick," they were gathered together and destroyed with grenades, and then burned. This happened every day. All the clothes were taken to Germany. My entire family perished. I escaped during the uprising in August 1943.

Kon Abe gave evidence.

August 17, 1944

Correct: Major /signature/

= Stanisław Kon. Treblinka death camp. August 17, 1944 =

''' Testimony of Stanisław Kon about the murder of Jews in the Treblinka death camp, August 17, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-11 p. 35. '''

I lived in the ghetto in Częstochowa.<ref name="ftn55">The highlighted phrase is underlined with a pencil, and there is a vertical line in the left margin.</ref> From there, I was sent to the Treblinka camp with my family (my mother, wife, and nine-month-old son). We arrived at the camp on October 2, 1942.<ref name="ftn56">The highlighted phrase is underlined with a pencil.</ref> The camp for the extermination of Jews was built in July 1942. It had a plan (see appendix).<ref name="ftn57">The appendix is missing from the documents examined.</ref> For 13 months, 15,000 to 18,000 people were killed daily.<ref name="ftn58">The highlighted phrase is underlined with a pencil.</ref> For about two months, fewer trains arrived: 1-2, or none at all. I think that up to 3 million people were killed in total.

Little ash remained after burning. It flew away with the smoke. The remaining ash accumulated in a pit (in the oven), mixing with the earth in the same pit. The ashes were not removed. The camp commandant ordered songs to be sung. The songs were sung in German (see the appendix for songs).

Corpses can be found in the camp. When I fled the camp, the Poles told me the smoke and stench could be seen and heard 20 kilometers away. There was screaming and crying in the camp. Children asked adults, "Are they going to shoot us, burn us?" Sometimes children would plead with their mothers, "Don't cry, Mom, the Russians will avenge our blood."

Testimony was given by Kon Stanisław.

August 17, 1944

Correct: Major /signature/

= Cheni Trać. Treblinka labor camp. Kosów Lacki. August 26, 1944 =

''' Testimony of Cheni Trać about the liquidation of Jewish prisoners of the Treblinka labor camp. The village of Kosów Lacki, August 26, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-11 p. 29. '''

My husband, Lejba Trać, my 13-year-old daughter, Sofia, and my 8-year-old son, Abram, and I were held there from March 1942 to July 1944. On July 23rd at 8:00 PM, the Germans led a group of Jews into the forest to be shot. The group consisted entirely of me, my husband, my daughter, and my son. They brought us to a pit and ordered us to lie face down. I was thinking about how to escape. My children went to my husband. Shots rang out. My husband was fatally wounded in the head, and I covered his wounded head with a handkerchief. The children and I were not yet wounded. My husband told me to run. I took the children and ran, and the children returned to their wounded father. I ran into the forest and was immediately wounded in the side. I don't know what happened to them—either they were killed or they escaped. That day, the Nazis shot 500-700 people.

Cheni Trać gave evidence.

August 26, 1944

CORRECT: Major /signature/

= Stanisław Krym. Treblinka labor camp. Wólka Okrąglik. August 28, 1944 =

''' Testimony of civilian worker Stanisław Krym about life in the Treblinka labor camp. Village of Wólka Okrąglik, August 28, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-11 p. 28. '''

(60 years old, Polish, resident of the village of Wólka Okrąglik)

I've lived in this area since 1928. Before the occupation and under the Germans, I worked as a laborer in a quarry. I remember how, as soon as the Germans captured Poland, they began construction of Treblin Camp No. 1. By September 1941, the camp had already been built, and Polish prisoners from Warsaw, Częstochowa, and other places began arriving. Before the construction of Treblin Camp No. 2 (a Jewish camp),<ref name="ftn59">This fragment is underlined with a pen.</ref> Camp No. 1 exclusively housed Poles from various regions of Poland. The camp was officially called "Labor Camp No. 1."

I know about life in this camp from the stories of Polish prisoners who worked in the quarry. We, the free ones, were forbidden to communicate with them, but we still managed to talk to them occasionally. They were given 150-200 grams of bread for the whole day, 10 grams of sugar, half a liter of water in the morning and half a liter in the evening; a liter of thin soup for lunch. That was their entire daily ration.

The prisoners lived in camp barracks with triple bunks. They worked in the quarry loading ballast into train cars for 10 hours a day.<ref name="ftn60">On the left, this sentence is highlighted with two vertical pencil lines.</ref>

All but a few Polish prisoners were emaciated and could barely move. Giving them any aid or passing them anything was forbidden under penalty of death.

Many Polish prisoners died of hunger and disease. The Germans shot many. My house is located 200-250 meters from the execution site. I saw many times when the Germans led groups of Polish prisoners to be shot. My family and I listened to the volleys and single shots, the cries and screams of dying people. As far as I remember, the first time I heard shots and screams was at the end of 1941, but I can't remember the exact month and day.

I know almost nothing about Camp No. 2. I've only heard that Jews were burned there. I personally saw a large fire in the Jewish camp, flames 7-8 meters high. I saw that fire around the clock for 5-6 months.

I saw wagons bringing in slag and ash every two or three days. Five or seven such wagons arrived. The slag was unloaded from the wagons down a slope. Soon, peasant carts arrived, 20 to 30 a day, to deliver and scatter this slag and ash along the highway. According to stories, this slag in wagons came from Camp No. 2, but I didn't witness it myself.<ref name="ftn61">To the left of this paragraph, double vertical lines have been drawn twice with a pen.</ref>

It was written down correctly from my words and read to me.

Stanisław Krym.

CORRECT: Major /signature/

= Acts of Opening of Graves =

== Report No. 1. Individual grave ==

''' Reports of the opening of graves on the territory of Treblinka I. Report No. 1, August 22, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-11 p. 27. '''

We, doctors of the 65th Guard Army, Major of the Medical Service M. E. Golovan and Guard Lieutenant of the Medical Service N. V. Kadolo, at the suggestion of the Army Military Council, examined the body from pit-grave No. 1 of the Treblinka camp.

At the external examination, we discovered a semi-decayed male body wearing a demi-season coat, a wool suit, and calfskin boots; the clothing was decayed. Identification of the body was impossible. There were no documents.

Some short-cropped hair remained on the face and skull. Soft tissue was separated from the bones. In the right parietal region of the head, there were two regular openings in the skull measuring 1.5 x 10 cm and 1.5 x 7 cm, and in the occipital region, one measuring 1.5 x 5 cm.

The blows were inflicted with a sharp bladed weapon (an axe blade). He was buried in the winter of 1942–1943.

The body is approximately 25 years old.

Guard Major of the Medical Service Golovan

Guard Lieutenant of the Medical Service Kadolo

CORRECT: /signature/

== Report No. 2. Individual grave ==

''' Reports of the opening of graves on the territory of Treblinka I. Report No. 2, August 22, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-11 p. 2. '''

We, doctors of the 65th Guard Army, Major of the Medical Service M. E. Golovan and Guard Lieutenant of the Medical Service N. V. Kadolo, at the suggestion of the Army Military Council, examined the body from pit-grave No. 1 of the Treblinka camp.

Upon external examination, we discovered a partially decayed male body in civilian clothing: a padded woolen short coat, a military-style woolen tunic (domestic), and calfskin boots. The clothing was decayed.

The body could not be identified. There were no documents. Soft tissue on the face and neck was missing, and short-cropped hair remained in places on the head.

In the right lobe of the occipital bone, there was an irregularly shaped hole measuring 6 x 8 cm. A small amount of viscous brain matter was visible in the hole.

There is a fracture at the base of the skull above the brow. The blow was inflicted on the back of the head with a heavy blunt object, and with great force.

Age: approximately 40 years. Buried in the winter of 1942-1943.

Guard Major Golovan

Guard Lieutenant of the Medical] Service] Kadolo

CORRECT: /signature/

== Report No. 3. Individual grave ==

''' Reports of the opening of graves on the territory of Treblinka I. Report No. 3, August 22, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-11 p. 5. '''

We, doctors of the 65th Guard Army, Major of the Medical Service M. E. GOLOVAN and Guard Lieutenant of the Medical Service N. V. KADOLO, at the suggestion of the Army Military Council, conducted a medical examination of the body from pit-grave No. 1 of the Treblinka camp.

A visual examination revealed: a partially decayed male corpse in men's civilian clothing, a homespun linen shirt, canvas trousers, and leather shoes with wooden soles. The corpse cannot be identified. There are no documents.

On the back of the corpse and in the shirt is a small hole measuring 1 x 1 cm, surrounded by a stain of blackened blood. Death was caused by a gunshot wound.

Age: approximately 35 years. Burial date: winter 1942-1943.

Guard Major of the Medical Service Golovan

Guard Lieutenant of the Medical Service Kadolo

CORRECT: /signature/

== Report No. 4. Individual grave ==

''' Reports of the opening of graves on the territory of Treblinka I. Report No. 4, August 22, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-11 p. 6. '''

We, doctors of the 65th Guard Army, Major of the Medical Service M. E. GOLOVAN and Guard Lieutenant of the Medical Service N. V. KADOLO, at the suggestion of the Army Military Council, conducted a medical examination of the body from pit-grave No. 1 of the Treblinka camp.

A visual examination revealed: a partially decayed male body in men's civilian clothing: a demi-season cloth coat, a woolen jacket, a scarf around the neck, trousers, underpants, and shoes missing. The clothing was decayed.

The body could not be identified. There were no documents. A shoebrush was found in the jacket pocket. Traces of blackened blood were found on the left chest and on the clothing.

Death was caused by a gunshot wound.

Age: approximately 30 years. Burial: winter 1942-1943.

Guard Major of the Medical Service Golovan

Guard Lieutenant of the Medical Service Kadolo

CORRECT: /signature/

== Report No. 5. Individual grave ==

''' Reports of the opening of graves on the territory of Treblinka I. Report No. 5, August 22, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-11 p. 7. '''

We, doctors of the 65th Guard Army, Major of the Medical Service M. E. GOLOVAN and Guard Lieutenant of the Medical Service N. V. KADOLO, at the suggestion of the Army Military Council, conducted a medical examination of the body from pit-grave No. 1 of the Treblinka camp.

A visual examination revealed: a decayed male body, dressed in a winter coat, woolen trousers, and leather boots.

The body cannot be identified.

There are no documents. The soft tissue under the clothing is easily separated from the bones. The face and lower jaw are exposed. In places, skin with short-cropped hair remains on the skull.

In the right half of the occipital region, there is an irregularly shaped hole measuring 7 x 12 cm. Viscous brain matter is visible. In addition, there is a basal skull fracture and a crack in the left temporal bone, apparently resulting from a high-force blow to the occipital region with a blunt object.

The body was buried in the winter of 1942-1943.

Guard Major of the Medical Service Golovan

Guard Lieutenant of the Medical Service Kadolo

CORRECT: /signature/

== Report No. 6. Individual grave ==

''' Reports of the opening of graves on the territory of Treblinka I. Report No. 6, August 22, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-11 p. 8. '''

We, doctors of the 65th Guard Army, Major of the Medical Service M. E. GOLOVAN and Guard Lieutenant of the Medical Service N. V. KADOLO, at the suggestion of the Army Military Council, conducted a medical examination of the body from pit-grave No. 1 of the Treblinka camp.

Upon external examination, we discovered: a decayed male body in men's clothing: a Polish-style cap, a padded jacket, a cotton shirt, and military-style (Great Patriotic War) quilted trousers, no shoes.

The clothing was half-rotted. It was impossible to identify the body. There were no documents.

The soft tissue under the clothing was easily separated from the bones; the hair on the head was preserved in places. The skull was broken into pieces (six pieces). The blow to the head was inflicted with a blunt, heavy object, and with great force.

Age: approximately 25 years. Burial date: winter 1942-1943.

Guard Major of the Medical Service Golovan

Guard Lieutenant of the Medical Service Kadolo

CORRECT: /signature/

== Report No. 7. Individual grave ==

''' Reports of the opening of graves on the territory of Treblinka I. Report No. 7, August 22, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-11 p. 9. '''

We, doctors of the 65th Guard Army, Major of the Medical Service M. E. GOLOVAN and Guard Lieutenant of the Medical Service N. V. KADOLO, at the suggestion of the Army Military Council, conducted a medical examination of the body from pit-grave No. 2 of the Treblinka camp.

A visual examination revealed: a male body in underwear, no shoes, and semi-woolen clothing. It was not possible to identify the body.

No documents.

The skin and muscles are easily separated from the bones. Closely cropped hair remains on the scalp. The skull bones are intact. The cause of death has not been determined.

About 30 years old. Buried in the spring of 1943.

Guard Major Golovan

Guard Lieutenant Kadolo

CORRECT: /signature/

== Report No. 8. Individual grave ==

''' Reports of the opening of graves on the territory of Treblinka I. Report No. 8, August 22, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-11 p. 10. '''

We, doctors of the 65th Guard Army, Major of the Medical Service M. E. GOLOVAN and Guard Lieutenant of the Medical Service N. V. KADOLO, at the suggestion of the Army Military Council, conducted a medical examination of the body from pit-grave No. 2 of the Treblinka camp.

An external examination revealed the body of a male wearing partially decayed underwear and no shoes.

The body could not be identified. There were no documents.

The soft tissues were partially decayed. The skin of the back was dense and black. The skull bones were intact. The cause of death was not determined.

Age: approximately 35 years. Buried in the spring of 1943.

Guard Major of the Medical Service Golovan

Guard Lieutenant of the Medical Service Kadolo

CORRECT: /signature/

== Report No. 9. Individual grave ==

''' Reports of the opening of graves on the territory of Treblinka I. Report No. 9, August 22, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-11 p. 11. '''

We, doctors of the 65th Guard Army, Major of the Medical Service M. E. GOLOVAN and Guard Lieutenant of the Medical Service N. V. KADOLO, at the suggestion of the Army Military Council, conducted a medical examination of the body from pit-grave No. 2 of the Treblinka camp.

An external examination revealed the body of a male wearing half-rotted underwear and no shoes. The body could not be identified. There are no documents.

The skin is very dense, yellow-brown in color. The superficial soft tissues have begun to dry out. The body was lying in the upper layer, closer to the surface of the earth. The skull bones are intact.

Age: approximately 30 years. Buried in the spring of 1943.

Guard Major of the Medical Service Golovan

Guard Lieutenant of the Medical Service Kadolo

CORRECT: /signature/

== Report No. 10. Individual grave ==

''' Reports of the opening of graves on the territory of Treblinka I. Report No. 10, August 22, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-11 p. 12. '''

We, doctors of the 65th Guard Army, Major of the Medical Service M. E. GOLOVAN and Guard Lieutenant of the Medical Service N. V. KADOLO, at the suggestion of the Army Military Council, conducted a medical examination of the body from pit-grave No. 2 of the Treblinka camp.

A visual examination revealed a male body in decayed underwear and no shoes. The body could not be identified.

The soft tissues were decayed and easily separated from the bones. The cause of death could not be determined.

Age: approximately 40 years. Buried in the spring of 1943.

Guard Major of the Medical Service Golovan

Guard Lieutenant of the Medical Service Kadolo

CORRECT: /signature/

== Report No. 11. Individual grave ==

''' Reports of the opening of graves on the territory of Treblinka I. Report No. 11, August 22, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-11 p. 13. '''

We, doctors of the 65th Guard Army, Major of the Medical Service M. E. GOLOVAN and Guard Lieutenant of the Medical Service N. V. KADOLO, at the suggestion of the Army Military Council, conducted a medical examination of the body from pit-grave No. 2 of the Treblinka camp.

A visual examination revealed: a male body in civilian clothes, without shoes, trousers and underwear pulled down below the knees. Large stains on the body. It was not possible to identify the body. There were no documents.

Entry bullet wound in the occipital region, exit wound in the right eye.

Death was caused by a bullet wound.

Age approximately 35. Buried approximately two months ago.

Guard Major of the Medical Service Golovan

Guard Lieutenant of the Medical Service Kadolo

CORRECT: /signature/

== Report No. 12. Individual grave ==

''' Reports of the opening of graves on the territory of Treblinka I. Report No. 12, August 22, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-11 p. 14. '''

We, doctors of the 65th Guard Army, Major of the Medical Service M. E. GOLOVAN and Lieutenant of the Medical Service N. V. KADOLO, at the suggestion of the Army Military Council, conducted a medical examination of the body from pit-grave No. 3 of the Treblinka camp.

An external examination revealed the body of a female, dressed in a homespun dress, no shoes.

There are stains on the body. The body could not be identified. There are no documents.

An entry bullet wound is on the left side of the back of the head, and an exit wound is on the right side of the crown.

Death was caused by a bullet wound.

Age approximately 20 years. Buried approximately 2 months ago.

Guard Major of the Medical Service Golovan

Guard Lieutenant of the Medical Service Kadolo

CORRECT: /signature/

== Report No. 13. Individual grave ==

''' Reports of the opening of graves on the territory of Treblinka I. Report No. 13, August 22, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-11 p. 17. '''

We, doctors of the 65th Guard Army, Major of the Medical Service M. E. GOLOVAN and Guard Lieutenant of the Medical Service N. V. KADOLO, at the suggestion of the Army Military Council, conducted a medical examination of the body from pit-grave No. 3 of the Treblinka camp.

Upon external examination, we discovered: a male corpse in civilian clothes, wearing a wool sweater and homespun canvas trousers, no shoes, and the underwear and trousers were pulled down below the knees.

There are black spots on the body.

It was not possible to identify the body. There are no documents.

There is an entry wound from a bullet in the back of the head and an exit wound in the forehead.

Age: approximately 35 years. Buried approximately two months ago.

Guard Major of the Medical Service Golovan

Guard Lieutenant Kadolo

CORRECT: /signature/

== Report No. 14. Individual grave ==

''' Reports of the opening of graves on the territory of Treblinka I. Report No. 14, August 22, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-11 p. 18. '''

We, doctors of the 65th Guard Army, Major of the Medical Service M. E. GOLOVAN and Guard Lieutenant of the Medical Service N. V. KADOLO, at the suggestion of the Army Military Council, conducted a medical examination of the body from pit-grave No. 3 of the Treblinka camp.At the external examination, we discovered: a male corpse, dressed in a thin factory-made linen shirt and woolen trousers, the trousers and underpants pulled down below the knees. There were stains on the body.

The body could not be identified. There are no documents.

Entry bullet wound in the occipital region, exit wound in the right parietal region.

Age approximately 30 years. Buried approximately two months ago.

Guard Major of the Medical Service Golovan

Guard Lieutenant of the Medical Service Kadolo

CORRECT: /signature/

== Report No. 1. Mass grave ==

''' Reports on the study of mass graves. Report No. 1, August 23, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-11 p. 1. '''

We, the undersigned representatives of the 65th Army, Major KONONUK S. L.,<ref name="ftn62">Kononyuk Savely Leontievich (1900-1945) was a major and political officer in the 65th Army's political department.</ref> Major APRESIAN V. Z.,<ref name="ftn63">Apresyan Vargam Zakharovich (1907 – ?) was a correspondent for the 65th Army's newspaper "Stalin's Strike."</ref> Senior Lieutenant RODINOV F. A.,<ref name="ftn64">This likely refers to Fedor Alexandrovich Rodionov (1900 – after 1945) – as of October 1945, the head of the food supply depot sections of the 65th Army.</ref> Major of the Medical Service GOLOVAN M. E., Lieutenant of the Medical Service Kadolo N. V., representatives of the Kosów city and volost authorities of the Sokołow district of the Warsaw voivodeship Dudkovsky Joseph, doctor TVUSH Emanuel, residents of the village of Wólka Okrąglik of the Kosów volost, teacher TRUSKOLASKI Kazimierz and peasant SKARŻYŃSKI Kazimierz, examined grave No. 1 of the former German Treblin camp No. 1 and established:

1. The grave measured 10 x 5 meters, was 2 meters deep, and the bodies were buried 45-50 centimeters below the ground surface and arranged randomly in 5-7 rows. The soil was sandy loam. The grave was opened for a length of five meters.

2. 105 bodies were removed from the pit. Five bodies were subjected to medical examination. The remaining bodies underwent external examination.

3. All the victims were clothed and had shoes. Local residents determined that the clothing was of Polish origin.

4. No documents or personal belongings were found in the pockets of the victims.

5. After exhumation and examination, the bodies were returned to the same grave.

Signed:

MAJOR KONONYUK

MAJOR APRESSIAN

SENIOR LIEUTENANT RODYONOV

MAJOR OF THE MEDICAL SERVICE GOLOVAN

LIEUTENANT OF THE MEDICAL SERVICE KADALO<ref name="ftn65">Correct: "Kadolo."</ref>

Representatives of the Kosów Volost – DUDKOVSKY

Doctor TVUSH

Residents of the village of Wólka Okrąglik

teacher TRUSKOLYASKY,

peasant – SKARŻYŃSKI

CORRECT: /signature/

== Report No. 2. Mass grave ==

''' Reports on the study of mass graves. Report No. 2, August 23, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-11 p. 3. '''

We, the undersigned representatives of the 65th Army, Major KONONUK S. L., Major APRESSIAN V. Z., Senior Lieutenant RODIONOV F. A., Major of the Medical Service GOLOVAN M. E., Lieutenant of the Medical Service KADALO N. V.,<ref name="ftn66">Correct: "Kadolo."</ref> representatives of the Kosów city and volost authorities of the Sokolow district of the Warsaw voivodeship DUDKOVSKY Iosif, doctor TVUSH Emanuel, residents of the village of Wulka-Krąglik of the Kosów volost, teacher TRUSKOYASKI Kazimierz<ref name="ftn67">Correct spelling: "Truskolaski."</ref> and peasant SKARŻYŃSKI Kazimierz, have dug up and examined grave No. 1 of the former German Treblinka camp No. 1 and have established:

1. The grave measures 10 x 5 meters and is 1.9 meters deep. The bodies are buried 50 cm below the ground surface and arranged in 5-6 rows. The soil is sandy loam. The grave has been opened for 5 meters in length.

2. Ninety-seven bodies were removed from the pit-grave. Five bodies were subjected to medical examination. The remaining bodies were examined externally.

3. All victims were found wearing underwear and barefoot.

4. The following items were found in the grave pit on the bodies: 20 enamel mugs of various colors, 17 enamel teapots of various colors made in Poland, 44 dinner plates and dishes, 13 cast-iron frying pans, 61 iron table spoons, 80 table forks, 27 enamel saucepans, and 30 half-liter bottles.

5. After exhumation and examination, the bodies were buried in the same grave.

Signed:

MAJOR KONONYUK

MAJOR APRESSIAN

SENIOR LIEUTENANT RODIONOV

MAJOR OF THE MEDICAL] SERVICE GOLOVAN

LIEUTENANT OF THE MEDICAL] SERVICE KADALO<ref name="ftn68">Correct: "Kadolo."</ref>

Representatives of the Kosów Volost: DUDKOVSKY

Doctor: TVUSH

Residents of the village of Wólka Okrąglik, teacher: TRUSKOLYASKY,

peasant: SKARŻYŃSKI

CORRECT: /signature/

== Report No. 3. Mass grave ==

''' Reports on the study of mass graves. Report No. 3, August 23, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-11 p. 4. '''

We, the undersigned representatives of the 65th Army, Major KONONUK S. L., Major APRESSIAN V. Z., Senior Lieutenant RODIONOV F. A., Major of the Medical Service GOLOVAN M. E., Lieutenant of the Medical Service KADALO N. V.,<ref name="ftn69">Correct: "Kadolo."</ref> representatives of the Kosów city and volost authorities of the Sokolow district of the Warsaw voivodeship DUDKOVSKY Iosif, doctor TVUSH Emanuel, residents of the village of Wólka Okrąglik in the Kosów volost, teacher TRUSKOLASKY Kazimierz and peasant SKARŻYŃSKI Kazimierz, have dug up and examined section of grave No. 2 of the former German Treblinka camp No. 1 and have established:

1. The grave measured 10 x 5 meters, 2.5 meters deep, with the bodies buried 50 cm below the ground surface and arranged randomly in 5-6 rows. The soil was sandy loam. The graves were dug 5 meters long.

2. 103 bodies were exhumed from the pit grave. Of these, 25 were female. Four bodies were examined. The remaining bodies underwent external examination.

3. All bodies were found wearing underwear. Underpants, shorts, and trousers were pulled down below the knees.

4. Various clothing and documents were found on the bodies: 65 leather belts, 17 leather shoes, 28 calfskin and chrome boots, 16 wooden shoe trees, 42 civilian trousers, a Polish uniform jacket, 7 skirts, 17 caps, a white medical coat, an ear tube (phonendoscope), and 10 different documents in Polish.

5. After exhumation and examination, the bodies were buried in the same grave.

Signed:

MAJOR KONONUK

MAJOR APRESSIAN

SENIOR LIEUTENANT RODIONOV

MAJOR OF THE MEDICAL SERVICE GOLOVAN

LIEUTENANT OF THE MEDICAL SERVICE KADALO<ref name="ftn70">Correct: "Kadolo."</ref>

Representatives of the Kosów Volost, Doctor TVUSH

Residents of the village of WÓLKA OKRĄGLIK

Teacher TRUSKOLYASKY

Peasant SKARŻYŃSKI

CORRECT: /signature/

= Act of German Crimes in the Treblinka Camp =

''' Act of German Crimes in the Treblinka Camp, August 24, 1944. GARF P-7021-115-9 pp. 103-110. '''

We, the undersigned, representatives of the 65th Army, Major KONONUK S. L., Major APRESSIAN V. Z., Major of the Medical Service GOLOVAN M. E., Senior Lieutenant RODIONOV F. A., Lieutenant of the Medical Service KADALO N. V.,<ref name="ftn71">Correct: "Kadolo."</ref> representatives of the Kosów city and caraway authorities of the Sokołów County, Warsaw Voivodeship, DUDZHOWSKI Joseph, physician TBUSH Emmanuel, residents of the village of Wólka-Okrąglik in the Kosów Commune, teacher TRUSKOLASKI Kazimierz and peasant SKARZYNSKI Kazimierz, on the basis of witness testimony, personal inspection of the former German camps No. 1 and No. 2 in Treblinka, exhumation and examination of corpses, on-site verification of certain documents and materials, HAVE ESTABLISHED:

== I ==

Four kilometers south of Treblinka station, near a sand quarry, German military authorities built a prison camp between May and September 1941. This camp operated under the name "Labor Camp No. 1." The site, near a sand ballast quarry and a forested area, was chosen for the purpose of using slave labor and exterminating the active Polish population and people of other nationalities. Geographically, the camp site was in a relatively remote area, where the Germans hoped to conceal their monstrous crimes.

In addition to Poles, the camp also housed Jews, Roma, Czechs, and others.

The camp was divided into sectors: women's, Polish, and Jewish. The camp measured 500 x 500 meters. The double-row barbed wire fence was 3 meters high, and the sectors were 5 meters high.

In September 1941, the first batches of Polish and Jewish prisoners began arriving from Warsaw, Częstochowa, and other places. Around 50,000 people passed through the camp during its existence.

The camp existed until August 1944 and was burned down by the Germans 7-8 days before the arrival of the Red Army.

== II ==

The German invaders didn't limit themselves to the creation of "Labor Camp No. 1." Carrying out their plan for the wholesale extermination of the Jewish population, they built a second camp in July 1942, 3 km southeast of the Treblinka train station. The camp was officially called "Concentration Camp No. 2."

The camp's area was 780 x 600 m. It was surrounded by two rows of 3-meter-high barbed wire fencing. The barracks, platforms, warehouses, and paths inside the camp were in turn surrounded by 5-6-meter-high barbed wire fencing and camouflaged with branches. The camp operated until September 1943 (13 months). Approximately 3 million people—men, women, and children—were murdered in this camp by various means. The camp was liquidated by the Germans after a riot by Jewish prisoners.<ref name="ftn72">On the left, the last two sentences of the paragraph are marked with a vertical pencil line.</ref>

== III ==

In the so-called "Labor Camp No. 1," the Germans meticulously implemented a brutal regime and methods of physical extermination. Prisoners were starved to death. They were given 100-150 grams of ersatz bread per day, 10 grams of jam or sugar (not always and not for everyone), a liter of thin soup for lunch, and half a liter of boiling water in the morning and evening. Prisoners lived in specially equipped barracks with three-tiered bunks in horribly overcrowded conditions.

Exhausted and starving, the prisoners performed forced labor in the ballast pit, in the fields, and in the workshops. They worked 10 to 16 hours a day.

For the slightest "violation" of the established regime, the camp administration and guards subjected the prisoners to sophisticated abuse and torture. For example:
# The "guilty" were stripped naked, placed on boards, and beaten 25 to 50 times with rubber truncheons (witness testimony: Franciszek WIESELOWSKI, Józef ŁUKASZEK, Marianna ŁUKASZEK, and Barbara ZEMKIEWICZ);
# The prisoners were hauled up the quarry hill and thrown down from a height of 10-12 meters (witness testimony: Józef ŁUKASZEK and Stanisław KRYM);
# The women were gathered into a group, mounted on horses, and galloped into the crowd, crushing them. This was carried out by the camp commander, Hauptsturmführer VAN EUPEN (witness testimony: Barbara ZEMKIEWICZ);<ref name="ftn73">The name is underlined in blue ink.</ref>
# They selected beautiful girls, Jewish and Polish, staged drunken orgies, raped them, and shot them in the morning (testimony of witnesses Max LEWIT and Barbara ZEMKIEWICZ);
# Emaciated and sick children aged 10 to 14 were killed with hammer blows to the bridge of the nose and head (testimony of witness Max LEWIT);<ref name="ftn74">On the left margin, this item is highlighted with a vertical line in blue ink.</ref>
# There were frequent cases of the Germans, at gunpoint, forcing Jews to kill other Jews with hammers to the head.

"In March 1942," says former prisoner of Labor Camp No. 1, Max LEWIT, "60 boys aged 12 to 14 were brought from Warsaw. Untersturmführer Franz Preifi selected 15 of the weakest boys and immediately ordered their execution as unfit for labor. He and a German with a Russian surname, Sviderski, took hammers and, with blows to the bridge of the nose and the head, destroyed all 15 boys before our eyes."

"One time," Franciszek WIESELOWSKI points out, "I found a piece of bread in the sand and picked it up. A guard noticed it, and they gave me 50 lashes with a stick. I know of cases where people died two or three days after such beatings."

"I once saw," says Barbara ZEMKIEWICZ, "how the Germans gathered a group of women, mounted their horses, and galloped into their midst, crushing them. Because I resisted an attempt to rape me, the camp commander, VAN EUPEN, sat on his horse, grabbed my hand, held it tightly, and urged him on. The horse trotted for half an hour, and I ran alongside it like a dog.

"The Germans," says Józef ŁUKASZEK, "ordered all prisoners to hand over their cash. I had 165 zlotys in my wallet, which I handed over. But in my side pocket there were another 110 zlotys, which I'd forgotten about. When the Germans found this money during the search, they stripped me naked and hit me on the back 22 times with sticks.

"My mother and sister," says Barbara ZEMKIEWICZ, "were prisoners in the camp and died of starvation. My mother was 53 years old. Several people died daily from hunger and disease.

Dozens of prisoners—men, women, and children—died daily as a result of starvation, torture, and abuse.

The mass extermination of prisoners was also carried out by shooting. Dozens of witnesses testified that they saw the Germans taking prisoners out of the camp to be shot.

"I saw many times," says Stanisław, a worker at the Crimea quarry (not a prisoner), "how the Germans led prisoners from the 'labor camp' into the forest to be shot. My house is 250-300 meters from the execution site. My family and I repeatedly heard volleys and single shots, the cries and screams of dying people. As far as I remember, the first such incident occurred at the end of 1941."

Former KAC prisoners and Cheni TRAĆ recount witnessing people being taken daily from the camp to be shot in the forest.

The Germans carefully covered up their crimes. They killed and buried people in various places in the forest. However, 58 pit-graves measuring 10 x 5 meters and 2 x 2.5 meters deep were discovered. These are far from all the graves.

Three hundred and five bodies, including 25 women, were recovered from three excavated pit-graves, measuring a total of 15 x 5 meters. The bodies were buried 50 cm below the ground surface.

According to preliminary estimates, 10,000-12,000 executed Poles and Jews were buried in these pit-graves.

Fourteen bodies were subjected to medical examination. The examination revealed a horrific picture of the methods of execution.

In Grave No. 1, the skulls of the murdered people were found to have been pierced by blows from axes and other heavy objects.

In Grave No. 2, all the corpses were shoeless. Numerous household utensils and children's toys were found on the corpses in the grave.

In Grave No. 3 (fresh), all the corpses were in their underwear. Their underpants, shorts, and trousers were pulled down below the knees. The removed clothing and shoes of those executed were piled on top of the corpses.

The corpses of those executed on July 23 of this year were buried in fresh pits. According to witnesses, on that day, the Germans executed all the remaining prisoners in the camp — 700–900 people.<ref name="ftn75">A small checkmark is written in pen before the beginning of the paragraph.</ref>

"On Sunday, July 23, 1944," says Max LEWIT, a former prisoner who escaped the execution, "at 5 a.m., the Germans drove everyone out of the barracks, forced them to lie face down, and, counting them off in groups of ten, led them to the forest to be shot. Three huge pits had been prepared in advance. The group, which included me, was led out at 7 p.m. Standing at the edge of the grave with my pants pulled down below my knees, I took Dr. BADASH’s arm.<ref name="ftn76">In both cases, as well as in the interrogation protocol itself, the surname is spelled differently.</ref> Shots rang out. Dr. BADASH was hit in the head by a bullet, and as he fell, he pulled me into the pit. I was not wounded. The Germans, slightly drunk, approached the pit and began finishing off the wounded and the survivors. By chance, four, including me, survived. Then they brought 30 boys to the same pit and also shot them. We expected to be buried under the earth, but it didn't happen. As dusk fell, the soldiers left. We took advantage of the opportunity to crawl out from under the children's corpses and retreat into the forest.

“My husband, Lejba TRAĆ, my daughter Sofia, 13, and my son, Abram, 8,” says Cheni TRAĆ, “and I were in the camp from March 1942 to July 1944. On July 23 of this year, at 8 p.m., the Germans took a group of Jews into the forest to be shot. My entire family was in that group. They brought us to a pit and ordered us to lie face down. I was wondering how to escape. Shots rang out. My husband was mortally wounded in the head. I covered his wound with a handkerchief. The children and I were not yet wounded. My husband categorically ordered me to run, but he himself could not move. I took the children and ran, but the children broke free and, shouting, “To daddy!” ran back to their father. I was immediately wounded in the side. And I crawled into the forest. I know nothing about the children’s fate. In all likelihood, they died. On this day, the Nazis shot 700 people – men, women and children.

== IV ==

Treblinka Camp No. 2 was a massive death factory. The entire Jewish population, along with many "undesirable" people of other nationalities, was brought here from all German-occupied European countries for incineration. For 13 months, from July 1942 to September 1943, this death factory operated around the clock, where SS men mercilessly and relentlessly exterminated millions of people. This diabolical enterprise only ceased to exist after a revolt by Jewish prisoners in the camp.

Dozens of witnesses claim to have seen one to three trains of Jews, each containing 60 cars, arrive at the camp daily. The trains left the camp either loaded with sand or empty.

The camp's surviving death row inmates recount being transported in train cars with 150, 180, or 200 people in each. They were starved to death along the way. They were given no water. They drank urine. SS guards, promising water, took valuables and gold in exchange. They took the valuables, but brought no water. Many were killed along the way. Hundreds of "passengers" died of starvation. In the summer, many died from the crush and heat in the train cars.

To conceal their insidious plans, the German executioners claimed that the Jewish population was being resettled in Ukraine, where they would find work in their specialties and live well.

On the Treblinka railway line, the camp created the appearance of a beautiful train station, with a platform designed for 20 train cars. All the special buildings where people were killed were carefully camouflaged and outwardly beautifully appointed. The paths were covered in sand, flowers, flowerbeds, and fir trees—all this deceived the "passengers."<ref name="ftn77">The paragraph is marked on the left margin with a double vertical line in blue ink.</ref>

Furthermore, to maintain secrecy, the Germans did the following:

1. Train guards were not allowed into the camp.

2. The barbed wire fences were covered with branches so that no one could see what was happening in the camp.<ref name="ftn78">Both points are highlighted on the left margin with a double vertical line in blue ink.</ref>

3. At the entrance to the "station" were signs: "Boarding for Wołkowysk-Białystok," "To Łomża," "To Baranovichi." First, second, and third-class lounges, a railway ticket office, a luggage storage room, a passenger train schedule, and a large railway clock.<ref name="ftn79">The paragraph is marked on the left margin with a double vertical line in blue ink.</ref> The station was not called Treblinka, but Ober-Majdan.<ref name="ftn80">Written as lower-case “ober-Majdan” in text.</ref>

4. Jews arriving from other countries had tickets to Ober-Majdan station. Upon arrival, a Jew dressed as a station attendant stood on the platform and collected tickets, directing the way for "boarding." A jazz band, composed of Jewish musicians, played. There was a theater and a restaurant, pop artists were performing, and the radio was blaring.<ref name="ftn81">The paragraph is marked on the left margin with a double vertical line in blue ink.</ref>

5. Residents of surrounding villages were not allowed within a kilometer of the camp. Even German planes were forbidden from crossing the camp.<ref name="ftn82">The paragraph is marked on the left margin with a double vertical line in blue ink.</ref>

6. They were forced to write letters to their relatives. In these letters, they were required to state that they were living well and had something to eat. The place of "work" was indicated in the letters as "Kosów work camp."

The noise of orchestras, radios, and motors, which the Germans deliberately turned on, was created to drown out the cries of the dying. Amid this noise, the Nazis carried out their vile deed—burning 10,000 to 15,000 people daily.<ref name="ftn83">The highlighted phrase is underlined in blue ink.</ref>

Several people who miraculously escaped the fires recounted horrific images of the burning process.

Upon arrival at the camp, Jews were received by SS guards. Men were sent to a special area, while women and children were sent to barracks.<ref name="ftn84">On the left margin, the beginning of the paragraph is marked with a double vertical line (blue ink).</ref> The Germans kept beautiful young Jewish women for one night. All men, women, and children were stripped. Women's hair was cut, and their hair was sent to Germany as raw material. Clothing was sorted and also sent to Germany. Valuables—gold, paper money, documents—were ordered to be taken with them. Naked, they were allowed one by one to the cash register and required to hand them over. After handing them over, everyone was lined up and led down a sandy, flower-lined alley to the "bathhouse," where they were given soap, towels, and underwear. After handing over their valuables, politeness gave way to rudeness on the way to the "bathhouse." Passersby were urged on with whips and beaten with sticks.

The "Banya"—the suffocation chamber—consisted of 12 cabins,<ref name="ftn85">The fragment is underlined with a pencil.</ref> each 6x6 meters in size. 400-500 people were forced into each cabin. It had two doors that sealed hermetically. In the corner between the ceiling and the wall were two openings connected by hoses.

Behind the "banya"<ref name="ftn86">The highlighted section is underlined with a pencil.</ref> stood a machine. It pumped the air out of the chamber. People suffocated within 6-10 minutes. The second door was opened, and the dead were taken in carts to special ovens.<ref name="ftn87">The word is underlined with a pencil.</ref>

Prominent scientists, doctors, teachers, musicians, and relatives of famous people were burned there. Among them were the sister of the renowned psychiatrist Sigmund Freud, the brother of the French minister Sourets, and others (testimony of Kon Abe, Drener Choynoh, and Rajzman Samuel).

The vast camp area is strewn with slag and ash. The three-kilometer highway connecting the two camps is covered in slag and ash 7-10 centimeters thick. Large chunks of slag can be easily detected by the naked eye (lime is known to form when bones are burned). There were no industries in the camp, and tons of slag and ash were removed from the camp daily. Slag and ash were transported from the camp to the siding in train cars. This cargo was unloaded from the cars, and 20-30 peasant carts would transport it daily and scatter it along the highway (testimony of witnesses Lucian Itukhav, Kazimierz Skarżyński, Stanisław Krym, and others).

Witness testimony, the book "A Year in Treblinka," the presence of enormous quantities of ash and slag, and the presence of personal belongings and documents scattered around the camp, buried in pits, confirm the existence of ovens where people were burned.

Initially, the Germans buried the bodies of the murdered. After Himmler visited the camp, the bodies were dug up with an excavator and burned.

While it is difficult to uncover the traces and secrets of this oven-like incineration factory, the available data allows us to imagine it.

The furnace is a large ditch dug by an excavator. It is 250-300 meters long, 20-25 meters wide, and 5-6 meters deep. Three rows of reinforced concrete pillars, up to one and a half meters high, are dug into the bottom of the ditch. The pillars are connected by crossbars, or rails. Rails are laid on the crossbars, spaced 5-7 cm apart. This serves as a giant grate for the furnace. A narrow-gauge railway ran along the edges of the ditch (witness testimony from KON Abe, DRENERA Khoinokh, and Samuil RAJZMAN, and materials from the book "A Year in Treblinka").

"I am one of the few," says Rajzman, "who were not burned. I arrived at the camp in September 1942 and escaped in September 1943. During my escape, I caught a glimpse of the oven where the Jews were burned. In 11 months, I believe the Germans burned about 3 million people."

Hundreds of villagers within a 10-15 km radius of the camp reported smelling the unbearable stench of burning meat, seeing giant plumes of black smoke, and at night, the glow of a fire could be seen 15 km away. Residents of the village of Wólka Okrąglik, two kilometers from the camp, confirmed hearing terrifying screams.

"For many months," says Stanisław, a worker at the Crimea quarry, "I personally witnessed a large fire in the Jewish camp, with flames reaching 7-8 meters high. The stench spread for kilometers, making it impossible to breathe.

Similar testimonies are given by Lucjan Puchała, Kazimir TRUSKOLASKI, priest DOMBROWSKI and others.<ref name="ftn88">The paragraph is marked on the left margin with a vertical pencil line.</ref>

== V ==

The Germans attempted to cover up their crimes. After the Jewish revolt, they demolished all the camp buildings that survived the fire. Oats, rye, and lupine are now sown on the grounds of the former "death camp." The walls of the burned-out residential building and the barnyard of the colonist Streben, who settled on the site of the camp, remain. Signs of the camp's existence remain: barbed wire fences, ashes, slag, and numerous pits where the household items of the burned Jews were buried.<ref name="ftn89">The paragraph is marked on the left margin with a vertical pencil line.</ref>

== Conclusions<ref name="ftn90">Underlined, printed with wide spacing.</ref> ==

# Preliminary data has indisputably established the burning of people. The scale of extermination is enormous – approximately 3 million.<ref name="ftn91">The first three points are separated from the others on the left side by a vertical pencil line.</ref>
# The Treblinka camp is one of many instances of Nazi atrocities in Poland.
# The Treblinka camp, with its deliberate, horrific method of extermination, once again powerfully confirms the state-sponsored nature of the Nazis' mass murder.<ref name="ftn92">The word is underlined in black ink.</ref>
# The names of some of the perpetrators of Nazi atrocities are known. These include the commander of Camp No. 1, Hauptsturmführer VAN EUPEN; the commandant of the "death camp" (Camp No. 2), Baron von OPFEIN (others call him Captain FRANZ); and Untersturmführers STUMPE, SCHWARZ, LENDECKE, ZENF, LANZ, and GAGEN – all of them are responsible for the crimes.
# The Treblinka camp deserves the attention of the Soviet government and the Polish Committee of National Liberation.
# Camp No. 2 must be guarded and scientific research must be brought in for further investigation.

SIGNED:

Major KONONUK

Major APRESSIAN

SENIOR LIEUTENANT RODIONOV

Major of the Medical Service GOLOVAN

Lieutenant of the Medical Service KADALO<ref name="ftn93">Correct: "Kadolo."</ref>

Representatives of the Kosów Commune Mayor: DUDKOWSKI, TWUSH

Residents of the village of Wólka Okrąglik: teacher TRUSKOLASKI, farmer SKORZHINSKI

Correct: /signature/

= References =
<references/>

= Sources =

Mattogno, Carlo. ''The “Operation Reinhardt” Camps Treblinka, Sobibór, Bełżec: Black Propaganda, Archeological Research, Expected Material Evidence.'' 1st ed. Holocaust Handbooks 28. Academic Research Media Review Education Group Ltd, 2024. https://holocausthandbooks.com/book/the-operation-reinhardt-camps-treblinka-sobibor-belzec/.

Mattogno, Carlo, and Jürgen Graf. ''Treblinka: Extermination Camp or Transit Camp?'' 4th ed. Holocaust Handbooks 8. Academic Research Media Review Education Group Ltd, 2024. https://holocausthandbooks.com/book/treblinka/.

Mattogno, Carlo, Thomas Kues, and Jürgen Graf. ''The “Extermination Camps” of “Aktion Reinhardt”: An Analysis and Refutation of Factitious “Evidence,” Deceptions and Flawed Argumentation of the “Holocaust Controversies” Bloggers.'' 2nd, slightly corrected edition eds. Vol. 1. Castle Hill Publishers, 2015.

Mattogno, Carlo, Thomas Kues, and Jürgen Graf. ''The “Extermination Camps” of “Aktion Reinhardt”: An Analysis and Refutation of Factitious “Evidence,” Deceptions and Flawed Argumentation of the “Holocaust Controversies” Bloggers.'' 2nd, slightly corrected edition eds. Vol. 2. Castle Hill Publishers, 2015.

Pachaljuk, Konstantin Aleksandrovič, ed. ''Treblinka: Research, Memories, Documents.'' Naučnoe izdanie. Яуза, 2021. Originally published as ''Treblinka: Issledovanija, vospominanija, dokumenty.'' https://docs.historyrussia.org/ru/nodes/354229-treblinka-issledovaniya-vospominaniya-dokumenty

= See also =

*[[Soviet_Treblinka_Investigation_1944-September|September 1944, Soviet-Polish Commission]]
*[[Soviet_Treblinka_Investigation_1944-SMERSH|September/November 1944, SMERSH]]
*[[Soviet_Treblinka_Investigation_1944-ChGK|October/December 1944, Extaordinary State Commission (ChGK)]]

The Burning of the Treblinka II Death Camp (Photographs)

2026-01-01T15:38:42Z

Pilgrimofdark:

"The Burning of the Treblinka II Death Camp" is a series of two known photographs that were in the possession of Polish railway dispatcher Franciszek Ząbecki. One of the photos was donated in 1965 by Ząbecki to the Ghetto Fighters House Museum in Israel, while the other was printed in Ząbecki’s 1977 memoirs ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe''.

The photos are purported to have been taken during the August 2, 1943 revolt at Treblinka II, where several hundred Jewish prisoners set the camp on fire and escaped into the surrounding Polish countryside.

__TOC__

<gallery widths=300 mode="slideshow">
File:Tii-fire-archive.png|Donation photo
File:Tii-fire-memoirs.jpg|Memoirs photo
</gallery>

= Provenance & History =

The photo with the larger perspective was donated by Franciszek Ząbecki to Miriam Novitch of the Ghetto Fighters House Museum at the Hotel Germania in Düsseldorf, Germany, on January 19, 1965.<ref>Ząbecki, “Testimony about the Treblinka extermination camp.”</ref> This was after Ząbecki testified in the trial of Kurt Franz.

<blockquote>I, the undersigned, Franciszek Zabeki, born on 8 October 1907, residing in Plastów (Warsaw), ul. 22 LIPCA 16/1, confirm that the photograph which I handed to Ms. Miriam Novitch on 19 January 1965 in Düsseldorf, in the court building, where I was questioned as a witness, comes from Mr. Zygmunt Wierzbowski and was taken by him on 2 August 1943: I present: The burning of the Treblinka II Death Camp.

This is original. I confirm that in the years 1941-1945, I was on duty at the Treblinka Station.

Donates Photographs to the Ghetto Uprising Museum in Israel.</blockquote>

The second photo is printed in Ząbecki's memoirs ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe''. <ref>Ząbecki, Wspomnienia dawne i nowe. image inserts after p. 112.</ref>

= Photo Comparison =

Comparing the photos side-by-side and isolating to the relevant portion of the landscape shared by each, it is clear these are separate and distinct photographs taken moments apart.

Key differences include the following:

* the shape and contour of the smoke cloud ascends and expands between photographs
* the photo from the memoirs includes more of the landscape to the right, showing more of the foreground bush and the background treeline, indicating the camera was slightly moved between shots
* the branches on the tree in the foreground alter in shape, most likely due to wind

== Colorized ==

Colorizing the photos maps contrast differences onto color gradients, highlighting the form of the smoke plume between images. This helps control for printing artifacts between the archival document and the version printed in the memoirs.

[[File:Burning-sidebyside-colorized.jpg|x500px|Left: Donation photo, colorized and cropped to area of interest. Right: Memoirs photo, colorized.]]

== Overlay ==

Overlaying both photos highlights the section of the photo from the memoirs that is absent in the archival photograph. This can be explained by a slight shift of the camera between shots, or possibly that the archives do not have a full copy of their photograph.

[[File:Tii-fire-overlay.jpg|x500px]]

== Fine Details ==

Zooming in to focus on finer details, the smoke plume is seen growing in size and ascending between photographs. Additionally, the landscape viewable through the tree branches changes between shots.

[[File:Tii-burning-finedetails.jpg|x500px]]

== Crossfade Animation ==

Layering the images with a crossfade animation highlights the growth of the smoke plume, as well as the difference in the amount of detail on the right of the Memoirs photo that is absent from the Donation photo. Click on the photo for the full size showing animation.

[[File:Tbgif-colorized.gif|x400px|Click to view animation]]

= References =

<references />

= Sources =

Ząbecki, Franciszek. “Testimony about the Treblinka extermination camp.” January 19, 1965. Ghetto Fighters House Archives. http://www.infocenters.co.il/gfh/notebook_ext.asp?item=51626&site=gfh&lang=ENG&menu=1.

Ząbecki, Franciszek. ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe.'' PAX, 1977.

= See Also =

[[Outdoor cremation]]

Main Page

2025-12-30T00:33:39Z

Pilgrimofdark:

MediaWiki has been installed.

Consult the [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Help:Contents User's Guide] for information on using the wiki software.

== Getting started ==
* [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Configuration_settings Configuration settings list]
* [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Manual:FAQ MediaWiki FAQ]
* [https://lists.wikimedia.org/postorius/lists/mediawiki-announce.lists.wikimedia.org/ MediaWiki release mailing list]
* [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Localisation#Translation_resources Localise MediaWiki for your language]
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= See Also =

[[Special:AllPages|All Pages]]

The Burning of the Treblinka II Death Camp (Photographs)

2025-12-30T00:09:59Z

Pilgrimofdark:

"The Burning of the Treblinka II Death Camp" is a series of two known photographs that were in the possession of Polish railway dispatcher Franciszek Ząbecki. One of the photos was donated in 1965 by Ząbecki to the Ghetto Fighters House Museum in Israel, while the other was printed in Ząbecki’s 1977 memoirs ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe''.

__TOC__

<gallery widths=300 mode="slideshow">
File:Tii-fire-archive.png|Donation photo
File:Tii-fire-memoirs.jpg|Memoirs photo
</gallery>

= Photo Provenance =

The photo with the larger perspective was donated by Franciszek Ząbecki to Miriam Novitch of the Ghetto Fighters House Museum at the Hotel Germania in Düsseldorf, Germany, on January 19, 1965.<ref>Ząbecki, “Testimony about the Treblinka extermination camp.”</ref> This was after Ząbecki testified in the trial of Kurt Franz.

<blockquote>I, the undersigned, Franciszek Zabeki, born on 8 October 1907, residing in Plastów (Warsaw), ul. 22 LIPCA 16/1, confirm that the photograph which I handed to Ms. Miriam Novitch on 19 January 1965 in Düsseldorf, in the court building, where I was questioned as a witness, comes from Mr. Zygmunt Wierzbowski and was taken by him on 2 August 1943: I present: The burning of the Treblinka II Death Camp.

This is original. I confirm that in the years 1941-1945, I was on duty at the Treblinka Station.

Donates Photographs to the Ghetto Uprising Museum in Israel.</blockquote>

The second photo is printed in Ząbecki's memoirs ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe''. <ref>Ząbecki, Wspomnienia dawne i nowe. image inserts after p. 112.</ref>

= Photo Comparison =

Comparing the photos side-by-side and isolating to the relevant portion of the landscape shared by each, it is clear these are separate and distinct photographs taken moments apart.

Key differences include the following:

* the shape and contour of the smoke cloud ascends and expands between photographs
* the photo from the memoirs includes more of the landscape to the right, showing more of the foreground bush and the background treeline, indicating the camera was slightly moved between shots
* the branches on the tree in the foreground alter in shape, most likely due to wind

== Colorized ==

Colorizing the photos maps contrast differences onto color gradients, highlighting the form of the smoke plume between images. This helps control for printing artifacts between the archival document and the version printed in the memoirs.

[[File:Burning-sidebyside-colorized.jpg|frame|center|x500px|Left: Donation photo, colorized and cropped to area of interest. Right: Memoirs photo, colorized.]]

== Overlay ==

Overlaying both photos highlights the section of the photo from the memoirs that is absent in the archival photograph. This can be explained by a slight shift of the camera between shots, or possibly that the archives do not have a full copy of their photograph.

[[File:Tii-fire-overlay.jpg|x500px]]

== Fine Details ==

Zooming in to focus on finer details, the smoke plume is seen growing in size and ascending between photographs. Additionally, the landscape viewable through the tree branches changes between shots.

[[File:Tii-burning-finedetails.jpg|x500px]]

== Crossfade Animation ==

Layering the images with a crossfade animation highlights the growth of the smoke plume, as well as the difference in the amount of detail on the right of the Memoirs photo that is absent from the Donation photo. Click on the photo for the full size showing animation.

[[File:Tbgif-colorized.gif|x400px|Click to view animation]]

= References =

<references />

= Sources =

Ząbecki, Franciszek. “Testimony about the Treblinka extermination camp.” January 19, 1965. Ghetto Fighters House Archives. http://www.infocenters.co.il/gfh/notebook_ext.asp?item=51626&site=gfh&lang=ENG&menu=1.

Ząbecki, Franciszek. ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe.'' PAX, 1977.

= See Also =

[[Outdoor cremation]]

The Burning of the Treblinka II Death Camp (Photographs)

2025-12-28T16:56:57Z

Pilgrimofdark: /* Crossfade Animation */

"The Burning of the Treblinka II Death Camp" is a series of two known photographs that were in the possession of Polish railway dispatcher Franciszek Ząbecki. One of the photos was donated in 1965 by Ząbecki to the Ghetto Fighters House Museum in Israel, while the other was printed in Ząbecki’s 1977 memoirs ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe''.

__TOC__

<gallery widths=300 mode="slideshow">
File:Tii-fire-archive.png|Donation photo
File:Tii-fire-memoirs.jpg|Memoirs photo
</gallery>

= Photo Provenance =

The photo with the larger perspective was donated by Franciszek Ząbecki to Miriam Novitch of the Ghetto Fighters House Museum at the Hotel Germania in Düsseldorf, Germany, on January 19, 1965.<ref>Ząbecki, “Testimony about the Treblinka extermination camp.”</ref> This was after Ząbecki testified in the trial of Kurt Franz.

<blockquote>I, the undersigned, Franciszek Zabeki, born on 8 October 1907, residing in Plastów (Warsaw), ul. 22 LIPCA 16/1, confirm that the photograph which I handed to Ms. Miriam Novitch on 19 January 1965 in Düsseldorf, in the court building, where I was questioned as a witness, comes from Mr. Zygmunt Wierzbowski and was taken by him on 2 August 1943: I present: The burning of the Treblinka II Death Camp.

This is original. I confirm that in the years 1941-1945, I was on duty at the Treblinka Station.

Donates Photographs to the Ghetto Uprising Museum in Israel.</blockquote>

The second photo is printed in Ząbecki's memoirs ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe''. <ref>Ząbecki, Wspomnienia dawne i nowe. image inserts after p. 112.</ref>

= Photo Comparison =

Comparing the photos side-by-side and isolating to the relevant portion of the landscape shared by each, it is clear these are separate and distinct photographs taken moments apart.

Key differences include the following:

* the shape and contour of the smoke cloud ascends and expands between photographs
* the photo from the memoirs includes more of the landscape to the right, showing more of the foreground bush and the background treeline, indicating the camera was slightly moved between shots
* the branches on the tree in the foreground alter in shape, most likely due to wind

== Colorized ==

Colorizing the photos maps contrast differences onto color gradients, highlighting the form of the smoke plume between images. This helps control for printing artifacts between the archival document and the version printed in the memoirs.

[[File:Burning-sidebyside-colorized.jpg|frame|center|x500px|Left: Donation photo, colorized and cropped to area of interest. Right: Memoirs photo, colorized.]]

== Overlay ==

Overlaying both photos highlights the section of the photo from the memoirs that is absent in the archival photograph. This can be explained by a slight shift of the camera between shots, or possibly that the archives do not have a full copy of their photograph.

[[File:Tii-fire-overlay.jpg|x500px]]

== Fine Details ==

Zooming in to focus on finer details, the smoke plume is seen growing in size and ascending between photographs. Additionally, the landscape viewable through the tree branches changes between shots.

[[File:Tii-burning-finedetails.jpg|x500px]]

== Crossfade Animation ==

Layering the images with a crossfade animation highlights the growth of the smoke plume, as well as the difference in the amount of detail on the right of the Memoirs photo that is absent from the Donation photo. Click on the photo for the full size showing animation.

[[File:Tbgif-colorized.gif|x400px|Click to view animation]]

= References =

<references />

= Sources =

Ząbecki, Franciszek. “Testimony about the Treblinka extermination camp.” January 19, 1965. Ghetto Fighters House Archives. http://www.infocenters.co.il/gfh/notebook_ext.asp?item=51626&site=gfh&lang=ENG&menu=1.

Ząbecki, Franciszek. ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe.'' PAX, 1977.

The Burning of the Treblinka II Death Camp (Photographs)

2025-12-28T02:00:40Z

Pilgrimofdark:

"The Burning of the Treblinka II Death Camp" is a series of two known photographs that were in the possession of Polish railway dispatcher Franciszek Ząbecki. One of the photos was donated in 1965 by Ząbecki to the Ghetto Fighters House Museum in Israel, while the other was printed in Ząbecki’s 1977 memoirs ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe''.

__TOC__

<gallery widths=300 mode="slideshow">
File:Tii-fire-archive.png|Donation photo
File:Tii-fire-memoirs.jpg|Memoirs photo
</gallery>

= Photo Provenance =

The photo with the larger perspective was donated by Franciszek Ząbecki to Miriam Novitch of the Ghetto Fighters House Museum at the Hotel Germania in Düsseldorf, Germany, on January 19, 1965.<ref>Ząbecki, “Testimony about the Treblinka extermination camp.”</ref> This was after Ząbecki testified in the trial of Kurt Franz.

<blockquote>I, the undersigned, Franciszek Zabeki, born on 8 October 1907, residing in Plastów (Warsaw), ul. 22 LIPCA 16/1, confirm that the photograph which I handed to Ms. Miriam Novitch on 19 January 1965 in Düsseldorf, in the court building, where I was questioned as a witness, comes from Mr. Zygmunt Wierzbowski and was taken by him on 2 August 1943: I present: The burning of the Treblinka II Death Camp.

This is original. I confirm that in the years 1941-1945, I was on duty at the Treblinka Station.

Donates Photographs to the Ghetto Uprising Museum in Israel.</blockquote>

The second photo is printed in Ząbecki's memoirs ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe''. <ref>Ząbecki, Wspomnienia dawne i nowe. image inserts after p. 112.</ref>

= Photo Comparison =

Comparing the photos side-by-side and isolating to the relevant portion of the landscape shared by each, it is clear these are separate and distinct photographs taken moments apart.

Key differences include the following:

* the shape and contour of the smoke cloud ascends and expands between photographs
* the photo from the memoirs includes more of the landscape to the right, showing more of the foreground bush and the background treeline, indicating the camera was slightly moved between shots
* the branches on the tree in the foreground alter in shape, most likely due to wind

== Colorized ==

Colorizing the photos maps contrast differences onto color gradients, highlighting the form of the smoke plume between images. This helps control for printing artifacts between the archival document and the version printed in the memoirs.

[[File:Burning-sidebyside-colorized.jpg|frame|center|x500px|Left: Donation photo, colorized and cropped to area of interest. Right: Memoirs photo, colorized.]]

== Overlay ==

Overlaying both photos highlights the section of the photo from the memoirs that is absent in the archival photograph. This can be explained by a slight shift of the camera between shots, or possibly that the archives do not have a full copy of their photograph.

[[File:Tii-fire-overlay.jpg|x500px]]

== Fine Details ==

Zooming in to focus on finer details, the smoke plume is seen growing in size and ascending between photographs. Additionally, the landscape viewable through the tree branches changes between shots.

[[File:Tii-burning-finedetails.jpg|x500px]]

== Crossfade Animation ==

Layering the images with a crossfade animation highlights the growth of the smoke plume, as well as the difference in the amount of detail on the right of the Memoirs photo that is absent from the Donation photo.

[[File:Tbgif-colorized.gif|x400px|Click to view animation]]

= References =

<references />

= Sources =

Ząbecki, Franciszek. “Testimony about the Treblinka extermination camp.” January 19, 1965. Ghetto Fighters House Archives. http://www.infocenters.co.il/gfh/notebook_ext.asp?item=51626&site=gfh&lang=ENG&menu=1.

Ząbecki, Franciszek. ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe.'' PAX, 1977.

The Burning of the Treblinka II Death Camp (Photographs)

2025-12-28T01:59:40Z

Pilgrimofdark:

"The Burning of the Treblinka II Death Camp" is a series of two known photographs that were in the possession of Polish railway dispatcher Franciszek Ząbecki. One of the photos was donated in 1965 by Ząbecki to the Ghetto Fighters House Museum in Israel, while the other was printed in Ząbecki’s 1977 memoirs ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe''.

__TOC__

<gallery widths=300 mode="slideshow">
File:Tii-fire-archive.png|Donation photo
File:Tii-fire-memoirs.jpg|Memoirs photo
</gallery>

= Photo Provenance =

The photo with the larger perspective was donated by Franciszek Ząbecki to Miriam Novitch of the Ghetto Fighters House Museum at the Hotel Germania in Düsseldorf, Germany, on January 19, 1965.<ref>Ząbecki, “Testimony about the Treblinka extermination camp.”</ref> This was after Ząbecki testified in the trial of Kurt Franz.

<blockquote>I, the undersigned, Franciszek Zabeki, born on 8 October 1907, residing in Plastów (Warsaw), ul. 22 LIPCA 16/1, confirm that the photograph which I handed to Ms. Miriam Novitch on 19 January 1965 in Düsseldorf, in the court building, where I was questioned as a witness, comes from Mr. Zygmunt Wierzbowski and was taken by him on 2 August 1943: I present: The burning of the Treblinka II Death Camp.

This is original. I confirm that in the years 1941-1945, I was on duty at the Treblinka Station.

Donates Photographs to the Ghetto Uprising Museum in Israel.</blockquote>

The second photo is printed in Ząbecki's memoirs ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe''. <ref>Ząbecki, Wspomnienia dawne i nowe. image inserts after p. 112.</ref>

= Photo Comparison =

Comparing the photos side-by-side and isolating to the relevant portion of the landscape shared by each, it is clear these are separate and distinct photographs taken moments apart.

Key differences include the following:

* the shape and contour of the smoke cloud ascends and expands between photographs
* the photo from the memoirs includes more of the landscape to the right, showing more of the foreground bush and the background treeline, indicating the camera was slightly moved between shots
* the branches on the tree in the foreground alter in shape, most likely due to wind

== Colorized ==

Colorizing the photos maps contrast differences onto color gradients, highlighting the form of the smoke plume between images. This helps control for printing artifacts between the archival document and the version printed in the memoirs.

[[File:Burning-sidebyside-colorized.jpg|frame|center|x500px|Left: Donation photo, colorized and cropped to area of interest. Right: Memoirs photo, colorized.]]

== Overlay ==

Overlaying both photos highlights the section of the photo from the memoirs that is absent in the archival photograph. This can be explained by a slight shift of the camera between shots, or possibly that the archives do not have a full copy of their photograph.

[[File:Tii-fire-overlay.jpg|x500px]]

== Fine Details ==

Zooming in to focus on finer details, the smoke plume is seen growing in size and ascending between photographs. Additionally, the landscape viewable through the tree branches changes between shots.

[[File:Tii-burning-finedetails.jpg|x500px]]

== Crossfade Animation ==

Layering the images with a crossfade animation highlights the growth of the smoke plume, as well as the difference in the amount of detail on the right of the Memoirs photo that is absent from the Donation photo.

[[File:Tbgif-colorized.gif|x300px]]

= References =

<references />

= Sources =

Ząbecki, Franciszek. “Testimony about the Treblinka extermination camp.” January 19, 1965. Ghetto Fighters House Archives. http://www.infocenters.co.il/gfh/notebook_ext.asp?item=51626&site=gfh&lang=ENG&menu=1.

Ząbecki, Franciszek. ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe.'' PAX, 1977.

File:Tbgif-colorized.gif

2025-12-28T01:55:58Z

Pilgrimofdark:

The Burning of the Treblinka II Death Camp (Photographs)

2025-12-28T00:56:13Z

Pilgrimofdark:

"The Burning of the Treblinka II Death Camp" is a series of two known photographs that were in the possession of Polish railway dispatcher Franciszek Ząbecki. One of the photos was donated in 1965 by Ząbecki to the Ghetto Fighters House Museum in Israel, while the other was printed in Ząbecki’s 1977 memoirs ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe''.

__TOC__

<gallery widths=300 mode="slideshow">
File:Tii-fire-archive.png|Donation photo
File:Tii-fire-memoirs.jpg|Memoirs photo
</gallery>

= Photo Provenance =

The photo with the larger perspective was donated by Franciszek Ząbecki to Miriam Novitch of the Ghetto Fighters House Museum at the Hotel Germania in Düsseldorf, Germany, on January 19, 1965.<ref>Ząbecki, “Testimony about the Treblinka extermination camp.”</ref> This was after Ząbecki testified in the trial of Kurt Franz.

<blockquote>I, the undersigned, Franciszek Zabeki, born on 8 October 1907, residing in Plastów (Warsaw), ul. 22 LIPCA 16/1, confirm that the photograph which I handed to Ms. Miriam Novitch on 19 January 1965 in Düsseldorf, in the court building, where I was questioned as a witness, comes from Mr. Zygmunt Wierzbowski and was taken by him on 2 August 1943: I present: The burning of the Treblinka II Death Camp.

This is original. I confirm that in the years 1941-1945, I was on duty at the Treblinka Station.

Donates Photographs to the Ghetto Uprising Museum in Israel.</blockquote>

The second photo is printed in Ząbecki's memoirs ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe''. <ref>Ząbecki, Wspomnienia dawne i nowe. image inserts after p. 112.</ref>

= Photo Comparison =

Comparing the photos side-by-side and isolating to the relevant portion of the landscape shared by each, it is clear these are separate and distinct photographs taken moments apart.

Key differences include the following:

* the shape and contour of the smoke cloud ascends and expands between photographs
* the photo from the memoirs includes more of the landscape to the right, showing more of the foreground bush and the background treeline, indicating the camera was slightly moved between shots
* the branches on the tree in the foreground alter in shape, most likely due to wind

== Colorized ==

Colorizing the photos maps contrast differences onto color gradients, highlighting the form of the smoke plume between images. This helps control for printing artifacts between the archival document and the version printed in the memoirs.

[[File:Burning-sidebyside-colorized.jpg|frame|center|x500px|Left: Donation photo, colorized and cropped to area of interest. Right: Memoirs photo, colorized.]]

== Overlay ==

Overlaying both photos highlights the section of the photo from the memoirs that is absent in the archival photograph. This can be explained by a slight shift of the camera between shots, or possibly that the archives do not have a full copy of their photograph.

[[File:Tii-fire-overlay.jpg|x500px]]

== Fine Details ==

Zooming in to focus on finer details, the smoke plume is seen growing in size and ascending between photographs. Additionally, the landscape viewable through the tree branches changes between shots.

[[File:Tii-burning-finedetails.jpg|x500px]]

= References =

<references />

= Sources =

Ząbecki, Franciszek. “Testimony about the Treblinka extermination camp.” January 19, 1965. Ghetto Fighters House Archives. http://www.infocenters.co.il/gfh/notebook_ext.asp?item=51626&site=gfh&lang=ENG&menu=1.

Ząbecki, Franciszek. ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe.'' PAX, 1977.

File:Tii-burning-finedetails.jpg

2025-12-28T00:52:56Z

Pilgrimofdark:

The Burning of the Treblinka II Death Camp (Photographs)

2025-12-28T00:49:40Z

Pilgrimofdark:

"The Burning of the Treblinka II Death Camp" is a series of two known photographs that were in the possession of Polish railway dispatcher Franciszek Ząbecki. One of the photos was donated in 1965 by Ząbecki to the Ghetto Fighters House Museum in Israel, while the other was printed in Ząbecki’s 1977 memoirs ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe''.

__TOC__

<gallery widths=300 mode="slideshow">
File:Tii-fire-archive.png|Donation photo
File:Tii-fire-memoirs.jpg|Memoirs photo
</gallery>

= Photo Provenance =

The photo with the larger perspective was donated by Franciszek Ząbecki to Miriam Novitch of the Ghetto Fighters House Museum at the Hotel Germania in Düsseldorf, Germany, on January 19, 1965.<ref>Ząbecki, “Testimony about the Treblinka extermination camp.”</ref> This was after Ząbecki testified in the trial of Kurt Franz.

<blockquote>I, the undersigned, Franciszek Zabeki, born on 8 October 1907, residing in Plastów (Warsaw), ul. 22 LIPCA 16/1, confirm that the photograph which I handed to Ms. Miriam Novitch on 19 January 1965 in Düsseldorf, in the court building, where I was questioned as a witness, comes from Mr. Zygmunt Wierzbowski and was taken by him on 2 August 1943: I present: The burning of the Treblinka II Death Camp.

This is original. I confirm that in the years 1941-1945, I was on duty at the Treblinka Station.

Donates Photographs to the Ghetto Uprising Museum in Israel.</blockquote>

The second photo is printed in Ząbecki's memoirs ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe''. <ref>Ząbecki, Wspomnienia dawne i nowe. image inserts after p. 112.</ref>

= Photo Comparison =

Comparing the photos side-by-side and isolating to the relevant portion of the landscape shared by each, it is clear these are separate and distinct photographs taken moments apart.

Key differences include the following:

* the shape and contour of the smoke cloud ascends and expands between photographs
* the photo from the memoirs includes more of the landscape to the right, showing more of the foreground bush and the background treeline, indicating the camera was slightly moved between shots
* the branches on the tree in the foreground alter in shape, most likely due to wind

== Colorized ==

Colorizing the photos maps contrast differences onto color gradients, highlighting the form of the smoke plume between images. This helps control for printing artifacts between the archival document and the version printed in the memoirs.

[[File:Burning-sidebyside-colorized.jpg|frame|center|x500px|Left: Donation photo, colorized and cropped to area of interest. Right: Memoirs photo, colorized.]]

== Overlay ==

Overlaying both photos highlights the section of the photo from the memoirs that is absent in the archival photograph. This can be explained by a slight shift of the camera between shots, or possibly that the archives do not have a full copy of their photograph.

[[File:Tii-fire-overlay.jpg|x500px]]

= References =

<references />

= Sources =

Ząbecki, Franciszek. “Testimony about the Treblinka extermination camp.” January 19, 1965. Ghetto Fighters House Archives. http://www.infocenters.co.il/gfh/notebook_ext.asp?item=51626&site=gfh&lang=ENG&menu=1.

Ząbecki, Franciszek. ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe.'' PAX, 1977.

File:Burning-sidebyside-colorized.jpg

2025-12-28T00:40:17Z

Pilgrimofdark: Pilgrimofdark uploaded a new version of File:Burning-sidebyside-colorized.jpg

The Burning of the Treblinka II Death Camp (Photographs)

2025-12-28T00:16:34Z

Pilgrimofdark:

"The Burning of the Treblinka II Death Camp" is a series of two known photographs that were in the possession of Polish railway dispatcher Franciszek Ząbecki. One of the photos was donated in 1965 by Ząbecki to the Ghetto Fighters House Museum in Israel, while the other was printed in Ząbecki’s 1977 memoirs ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe''.

__TOC__

<gallery widths=300 mode="slideshow">
File:Tii-fire-archive.png|Donation photo
File:Tii-fire-memoirs.jpg|Memoirs photo
</gallery>

= Photo Provenance =

The photo with the larger perspective was donated by Franciszek Ząbecki to Miriam Novitch of the Ghetto Fighters House Museum at the Hotel Germania in Düsseldorf, Germany, on January 19, 1965.<ref>Ząbecki, “Testimony about the Treblinka extermination camp.”</ref> This was after Ząbecki testified in the trial of Kurt Franz.

<blockquote>I, the undersigned, Franciszek Zabeki, born on 8 October 1907, residing in Plastów (Warsaw), ul. 22 LIPCA 16/1, confirm that the photograph which I handed to Ms. Miriam Novitch on 19 January 1965 in Düsseldorf, in the court building, where I was questioned as a witness, comes from Mr. Zygmunt Wierzbowski and was taken by him on 2 August 1943: I present: The burning of the Treblinka II Death Camp.

This is original. I confirm that in the years 1941-1945, I was on duty at the Treblinka Station.

Donates Photographs to the Ghetto Uprising Museum in Israel.</blockquote>

The second photo is printed in Ząbecki's memoirs ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe''. <ref>Ząbecki, Wspomnienia dawne i nowe. image inserts after p. 112.</ref>

= Photo Comparison =

Comparing the photos side-by-side and isolating to the relevant portion of the landscape shared by each, it is clear these are separate and distinct photographs taken moments apart.

Key differences include the following:

* the shape and contour of the smoke cloud ascends and expands between photographs
* the photo from the memoirs includes more of the landscape to the right, showing more of the foreground bush and the background treeline, indicating the camera was slightly moved between shots
* the branches on the tree in the foreground alter in shape, most likely due to wind

== Colorized ==

Colorizing the photos maps contrast differences onto color gradients, highlighting the form of the smoke plume between images. This helps control for printing artifacts between the archival document and the version printed in the memoirs.

[[File:Burning-sidebyside-colorized.jpg|x500px]]

== Overlay ==

Overlaying both photos highlights the section of the photo from the memoirs that is absent in the archival photograph. This can be explained by a slight shift of the camera between shots, or possibly that the archives do not have a full copy of their photograph.

[[File:Tii-fire-overlay.jpg|x500px]]

= References =

<references />

= Sources =

Ząbecki, Franciszek. “Testimony about the Treblinka extermination camp.” January 19, 1965. Ghetto Fighters House Archives. http://www.infocenters.co.il/gfh/notebook_ext.asp?item=51626&site=gfh&lang=ENG&menu=1.

Ząbecki, Franciszek. ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe.'' PAX, 1977.

File:Tii-fire-overlay.jpg

2025-12-28T00:11:36Z

Pilgrimofdark:

The Burning of the Treblinka II Death Camp (Photographs)

2025-12-27T22:06:12Z

Pilgrimofdark:

The Burning of the Treblinka II Death Camp (Photographs)

2025-12-27T22:05:15Z

Pilgrimofdark: Created page with ""The Burning of the Treblinka II Death Camp" is a series of two known photographs that were in the possession of Polish railway dispatcher Franciszek Ząbecki. One of the photos was donated in 1965 by Ząbecki to the Ghetto Fighters House Museum in Israel, while the other was printed in Ząbecki’s 1977 memoirs ''Wspomnienia dawne i nowe''. __TOC__ <gallery widths=300 mode="slideshow"> File:Tii-fire-archive.png|Donation photo File:Tii-fire-memoirs.jpg|Memoirs photo </..."

File:Burning-sidebyside-colorized.jpg

2025-12-27T21:58:42Z

Pilgrimofdark:

File:Tii-fire-memoirs.jpg

2025-12-27T21:43:04Z

Pilgrimofdark:

File:Tii-fire-archive.png

2025-12-27T21:42:34Z

Pilgrimofdark:

Account of a Treblinka Escapee (Abraham Krzepicki)

2025-12-23T14:30:04Z

Pilgrimofdark:

Abraham Krzepicki is reported to be an early escapee of the Treblinka II camp.

He was allegedly deported from the Warsaw Ghetto to Treblinka on August 25, 1942, and escaped eighteen days later on September 13. He then spent a month in Węgrów before returning to the Warsaw Ghetto.

Two texts are assigned to him, a shorter Polish text handwritten by two people, and a long Yiddish text written by Rachel Auerbach. Both texts are part of the Ringelblum Archive. Each text contains a slightly different map of the Treblinka camp.

A third sketch of a portion of the camp is also attributed to Krzepicki, written on a postcard sent by Hersz Manyszewicz from Węgrów to Warsaw, Poland, on September 4, 1942.

The text below is of the shorter Polish handwritten version of Krzepicki's narrative with its accompanying map. The text cuts off abruptly at the end, indicating it is unfinished.

__TOC__

<gallery widths=400 mode="slideshow">
File:KrzepickiAccount-2.png
File:KrzepickiAccount-3.png
File:KrzepickiAccount-4.png
File:KrzepickiAccount-5.png
File:KrzepickiAccount-6.png
File:KrzepickiAccount-7.png
File:KrzepickiAccount-8.png
File:KrzepickiAccount-9.png
File:KrzepickiAccount-10.png
File:KrzepickiAccount-11.png
File:KrzepickiAccount-12.png
File:KrzepickiAccount-13.png
File:KrzepickiAccount-14.png
File:KrzepickiAccount-15.png
File:KrzepickiAccount-16.png
File:KrzepickiAccount-17.png
</gallery>

== Map Key (pl) ==
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">

: ≠≠≠≠ zasieki z drutu kolczastego
: ↑↑↑↑ las

: 1. Tor kolejowy
: 2. Bocznica – Stacja Treblinki
: 3. Barak na ubrania
: 4. Barak dla robotników żydowskich
: 5. Tablice
: 6. Barak do rozbierania się
: 7. Droga do kaźni
: 8. Budynek łaźni
: 9. Budynek przeznaczony na krematorium
: 10. Doły
: 11. Barak grabarzy
: 11. Barak Ukrainców (mis-labeled as a second #11)
: 13. Barak uprzywilejowanych robotników żyd
: 15. Barak załogi
:: a. Pomieszczenie rzemieślników
:: b. [blank]
:: c. Kuchnia żydowska
:: d. [blank]
:: e. [blank]
: 15. Barak załogi niemieckiej
:: a. Wartownia Ukrainców
:: b. Sypialnia Niemców
:: c. Sypialnia Niemców
:: d. Kuchnia niemców
: 16. Obserwatory
</div>

== Map Key (en) ==

<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
: ≠≠≠≠ barbed wire fences
: ↑↑↑↑ forest

: 1. Railway track
: 2. Siding – Treblinka station
: 3. Clothes shed
: 4. Barracks for Jewish workers
: 5. Boards
: 6. Barracks for undressing
: 7. The road to execution
: 8. Bathhouse building
: 9. Building intended for use as a crematorium
: 10. Pits
: 11. Gravediggers' barracks
: 12. Ukrainian barracks (mis-labeled as a second #11)
: 13. Barracks for privileged Jewish workers
: 14. Crew barracks
:: a. Craftsmen's room
:: b. [blank]
:: c. Jewish kitchen
:: d. [blank]
:: e. [blank]
: 15. German crew barracks
:: a. Ukrainian Guardhouse
:: b. German quarters
:: c. German quarters
:: d. German kitchen
: 16. Observatories
</div>

= Transcript (pl) =
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
[strona 2] [WRITER “A”]

W okresie wysiedlenia pracowałem w fabryce miodu sztucznego “Palma” w charakterze dozorcy nocnego. Łudząc się przeświadczeniem że praca w fabryce chroni mnie [acc.] przed wysiedleniem wyprowadziłem się ze mego mieszkania na Nowolipiach i stale przebyłem na fabryce.

Dnia 25 sierpnia podwórze fabryczne zostało otaczane i zablokowane. Na podwórzu naszym mieścił się szop wyrobów słomianych pf. [pod firmą] “Waldemar Schmidt”. Nie przerywaliśmy pracy. Nagle do lokalu fabryki wtargnął SS-man w otoczeniu Ukrainców. “Alle heraus” brzmiał okrzyk.

Na podwórzu stali już zgrupowani pracownicy szopu “Waldemar Schmidt”. Dołączyliśmy do nich i pod eskortą Ukraińcom poprowadzono nas do Umschlagplatz.

Przed wejściem na plac próbowałem uciec z szeregu. Zauważył mnie [acc.] żydowski policjant i siłą zmusił do powrotu.

Grupę naszą pognano natychmiast w kierunku wagonów. Nie było żadnej “selekcji”. Wszyscy zostali załadowani. Po kilku minutach pociąg ruszył.

Wagon, w którym się znajdowałem był natłoczony ludźmi. Panowały w nim straszliwe duszności wzmagające się z każdą chwilę.

Wraz z ruszeniem pociągu zapanowało [WRITER “B”] w wagonie głębokie przygnębienie. Myśl o bliskiej śmierci opanowała wszystkich i wzbudziła uczucia przerażenia. Ze wszystkich stron wagonu rozlegały się słowa modlitwy pośmiertny “Kadisz”.

[strona 3]

Po dwóch godzinach jazdy pociąg stanął. Stał przez całą noc. Około północy szedł do wagonu Łotysz z rewolwerem na ręku. Skupił wszystkich z jednej strony wagonu. Pod groźbą kul zażądał wydania mu pieniędzy i kosztowności. Po rabunku Łotysz spuścił wagon starannie zamykając za sobą drzwiczki. Pociąg stał. Dwóch mężczyzn przedarło się [WRITER “A”] do otwartego okienka i wyskoczyło na tor kolejowy. Niemal jednocześnie rozległo się kilka strzałów. Myślałem o ucieczce tą drogą ale nieznośny upał w wagonie odbierał siły i energię potrzebne do utorowanie siebie drogi do okienka. Ludzie w wagonie mdleli i słabli od pragnienia wody i duszności. Z obnoszonych ciał spływał strumieniami pot.

Nad ranem pociąg ruszył. Jechaliśmy długo. Nie wiedzieliśmy nic o kierunku w którym posuwał się pociąg. Po kilku godzinach jazdy do wagonu wszedł SS-man. Uprzejmie i przekonywująco zapewniał że jedziemy do wsi Treblinki na postój – a po segregacji pojedziemy dalej do miejsca pracy. Nawoływał do posłuszeństwa i pracowitości. Pod koniec przemówienia oświadczył, że znajdujemy w bliskości miejsca przeznaczenia.

Niemiec opuścił wagon. Nastrój poprawił się. Umęczeni i spragnieni oczekiwaliśmy końca podróży.

[strona 4]

Nareszcie pociąg zatrzymał się. Drzwiczki wagonu gwałtownie się otwarły i znaleźliśmy się na placu otoczonym ze wszystkich stron drutem kolczastem. W poliku widać było zabudowania i baraki różnej wielkości. Zjawił się SS-man i uszeregował nas w dwóch grupach. W jednej znajdowały się kobiety i dzieci. W drugiej wyłącznie mężczyźni. [WRITER “B”] Po przejściu znaleźliśmy się na podwórzu otoczonym zasiekami z drutów. Po obu stronach wzdłuż podwórza ciągnęły się baraki. Obok znajdowały się dwie tablice z napisami “Achtung Warschauer” niżej widniał regulamin obozu.

Mimo usilnych próśb picia nie otrzymaliśmy. Kobiety zostały wprowadzone do baraku po lewej stronie podwórza, mężczyźni otrzymali rozkaz ustawienia się w pośrodku placu.

Na podwórzu zauważyliśmy trupy i mnóstwo szmat i ubrań. Wszystkich ogarnęła groza. Przeczucie śmierci zawisło w powietrzu. Nikt jednak nie zdobył się na żaden odruch czynu.

Byliśmy sparaliżowani strachem zmęczeniem i głodem.

W pewnym momencie zjawił się SS-man. Przemawiał. Doświadczył, że wszyscy otrzymany pracę i jedzenie, żeby się nie obawiać – ci – powiedział wskazując na na trupy – zginęli bo byli buntownikami.

Wybrał dziesięć osób do pracy i odszedł. Reszcie kazano czekać. Po kilku minutach zjawił się inny SS-man oświadczył że potrzeba mu 60-ciu ludzi do pracy. Mimo zmęczenia wszyscy zgłaszali się ochotniczo. Widząc to Niemiec zaczął przebierać.

[strona 5]

Znalazłem się wśród wybranych. Wyprowadzono nas z podwórza i poprowadzono na plac położony na zabudowaniu. [WRITER “A”] Leżały tam skłębione masy trupów o strasznych twarzach. Byli to poduszeni w wagonach.

Praca nasza polegała na zanoszeniu ciał do dołów w pobliżu. Praca była straszna. Maski trupów były siwo-czarne wydęte, oczy patrzyły dziko, ciała były poplątane i ciężkie. Stanialiśmy się na nogach. Mimo to nie wolno było ani przez chwilę odpoczywać. Gdy Niemiec dostrzegał że ktoś zwalnia tempo pracy rozlegał się wystrzał i jeszcze jeden trup padał na ziemię. [WRITER “B”]

Liczba osób pracujących poczęła się zmniejszać. Czułem się coraz gorzej. W pewnym momencie poczułem że grozi mi omdlenie. Szukałem ratunku.

Korzystając z chwilowej nieuwagi Niemca, posunąłem się pod pobliski barak, obok którego leżały ogromne stosy ubrań. Ukryłem się w nich. Dobiegały mnię [=mnie] okrzyki Niemca i odgłosy strzałów. Potem zapanowała cisza. Minęła godzina. W pobliżu zapanował ruch. Uchyliłem nieco szmat i wyjrzałem. Na placu stała grupa złożowa z kilkudziesięciu ludzi. Nie było wśród nich moich towarzyszy pracy. Ostrożnie wydostałem się z pomiędzy szmat i zbliżyłem się do nich.

Okazało się że jest to nowa grupa wybrana z pośród zwieżego [=zwierzego] transportu. O ludziach, którzy tu poprzednio pracowali nikt nic nie wiedział. Rozmowa nasza przerwało zjawienie

[strona 6]

się SS-mana i kilku Ukrainców. Kazano nam ruszyć. Poprowadzono nas do bocznicy kolejowej. Na szynach stał pociąg a wielkich rosyjskich wagonach. [wrong case, or missing preposition, and/or incomplete phrase]. Transport pochodził z Międzyrzeca. Wagony były pełne poduszonych [NB: The writer uses this word more than once, but I think the word uduszonych is more correct, or else podduszonych, but that would mean only partially suffocated]. Języki trupów wywieszone, wargi białe, oczy wyłażące z orbit.

Kazano nam opróżniać wagony. W jednym z nich znajdowało się żywe kilkuletnie dziecko.

“Pic!” [=pić] błagało strasznym głosem. Ale nikt nie miał wody. Byliśmy straszliwie spragnieni. Niemcy przyrzekli nam że po zakończeniu pracy dostaniemy wodę i zupę.

Jeszcze długie godziny męki i przerażenia i pragnienia. Straszliwym wysiłkiem woli zmuszałem się do pracy. Plecy straszliwie bolały przy najsłabszym przegięciu tułowia, usta i wnętrzności stanowiły jedną, spragnioną kropli chłodu, ranę.

Nareszcie koniec.

Ustawiamy się w szeregu. Zjawiają się kubły wody. Każdy otrzymuje kubek wody. Czuję, że wstępuje we mnie [loc] życie, że powoli uświadamiam sobie, że jestem człowiekiem, że żyję, czuję i myślę.

W ślad za tym przyszło – stłumione chwilową ulgą odczucie straszliwej rzeczywistości. Wiedzieliśmy wszyscy, że po ukończeniu pracy dana grupa robotników idzie na śmierć ;“na szmelc” jak określano tragiczny koniec setek tysięcy ludzi. Rzeczywiście, po jakimś czasie sformowano nową grupę robotników. Rozmyślałem gorączkowo nad tym, jakby wydostać się z grupy mojej przeznaczonej już na śmierć. Usiłowałem połączyć się z ludźmi przybyłymi do pracy z karnego obozu “Treblinki Jeden” w odróżnieniu od obozu śmierci, zwanego “Treblinkami dwa”.

[strona 7]

Nie zgodzili się jednak, tak bardzo bali się o siebie, że bezlitośnie wypchnęli mnię [=mnie] ze szeregów. Wracając na plac spostrzegłem na ziemi złotą monetę dwudziestodolarową. Podniosłem ją i zbliżyłem się do ukraińskiego wartownika, [który] za wręczone mu złoto zgodził się przepuścić mnię [=mnie] do położonej nieopodał [=nieopodal] ubikacji. Przesiedziałem tam długie godziny. Na placu odbyła się tym razem selekcja, która polegała na tym, że część ludzi przeznaczono do natychmiastowej śmierci od kuli, pozostałych odprowadzono do łaźni. Dochodziły mnię [=mnie] odgłosy strzałów, przekleństwa Ukraińców, straszne krzyki mordowanych. Drżałem febrycznie na całym ciele – mimo, że wrażliwość na krew i trupy zmalała już. Słysząc strzały, człowiek mimowolni [=mimowolnie] cieszył się, że jeszcze żyje, że ta kula przeznaczoną była dla innego.

Egzekucja na placu dobiegła końca. Przeczekałem jeszcze czas jakiś i wyszedłem. Na ziemi we krwi walały się ciała. Przeznaczeni do wykąpania się czekali swojej kolei – większość znieruchomiała w osłupieniu apatii, w grozie nieludzkiej, ponad siły. Inna grupa robotników, utworzona ze świeżo przybyłego transportu, czekała na odstawienie jej na miejsca pracy.

Niespostrzeżenie zbliżyłem się do niej. Dowodzący grupą był Żydem z Wiednia. Rozmawiałem z nim po niemiecku. Paniczny strach nie zastąpił [w nim?] jeszcze innych uczuć: współczucia, poczucia solidarności w położeniu w jakim znaleźliśmy się wszyscy. Pozwolił na przystanie do jego grupy. Przyłączyłem się do nich, ale w tej chwili, poznał mnię [=mnie] Niemiec schwycił za kołnierz ubrania i kopiąc, chciał odprowadzić do grupy skażonych [=skazanych] na śmierć. Uratowała mnię [=mnie] znajomość języka niemieckiego i wstawiennictwo Wiedeńczyka.

[strona 8]

Znów cudem prawie uszedłem śmierci.

Przeznaczono nas do pracy w magazynach. Polegała ona na przeszukiwaniu olbrzymiej ilości ubrani i sortowaniu znalezionych kosztowności. Spędziliśmy przy niej 8 dni – w ciągu tego czasu nie nadchodziły transporty ludzi do obozu. Nastąpiła chwilowa stabilizacja naszego życia robotników obozowych. W ciągu tego czasu poznałem obóz i dowiedziałem się nieznanych mi dotychczas szczegółów: na olbrzymim placu otoczonym zasiekami z drutu kolczastego znajdują się magazyny na ubrania, baraki dla załogi obozu i dla robotników, puste przestrzenie dla skupienia ludzi i miejsca przeznaczone na egzekucję przez rozstrzeliwanie. Ale najwięcej może miejsca zajmują doły. Zanim zaczęto zwozić tu ludność dniem i nocą pracowały tu kopaczki, ryjąc ziemię, przygotowując groby milionom ludzi.

Od środkowego placu przez las wiedzie droga ku łaźni. Jest to niewielki budynek ukryty w zaroślach zamaskowany zieloną siatką umieszczoną na dachu. Sądzeni do łaźni ludzie rozbierają się w drodze do naga, oddając poszczególne części specjalnie do tego przeznaczonym robotnikom, rozstawionym po drodze. Za opieszałość lub niedokładność, np. w złożeniu ubrania eskorta bije ich okrutnie i w szczególnych wypadkach na dany przez Niemca znak, strzelają Ukraińcy. Te, znaczące drogę do miejsca kaźni, ciała są sprzątane szybko przez robotników. Wypadki te zresztą są rzadkie – pędzeni tu ludzie nie są już tak zrezygnowani ogłuszeni i steroryzowani [=sterroryzowani], że odruchy oporu prawie, że się nie zdarzają.

[strona 9]

Do łaźni wpuszcza się naraz 800-1000 ludzi. Nikt ze nas, robotników, nie wiedział dokładnie w jaki sposób jest śmierć. Wydawało się nam jednak, że wokół łaźni unosi się z trudem uchwytny zapach chloru. Nie pracowałem nigdy przy wypróżnianiu kamery z ciał, wiedziałem jednak, że odnosi się je do pobliskich dołów, gdzie są następnie spalone wraz z wszelki odpadkami obozu.Przedtym [=przedtem] jednak, w małej budce położonej w pobliżu obok łaźni wyrywa się trupom złote zęby. Pracują przy tym specjalnie uprzywilejowani robotnicy – grabarze, bez zresztą przeznaczeni do tej samej śmierci przy zadawaniu której asystują. Wiedzieliśmy wszyscy, że praca, której chwytaliśmy jak deski ratunku przedłuża tylko mękę oczekiwania na śmierć w potwornej grozie obozu. Nadzieja ratunku, nadzieja ucieczki była zupełnie znikoma.

Są w obozie robotnicy odznaczeni żółtymi lub czerwonymi łatami. Tacy mają lepszy wikt i lepszy barak oraz zawodną nadzieję dłuższego życia. Kobiety zatrudnione w barakach dla załogi pracują tam stale od początku istnienia obozu. Wszelkie w ogóle prace na terenie obozu wykonywują [=wykonują] Żydzi. Załoga obozu składa się z kielkudziestu [=kilkudziesięciu] Niemców i stukilkudziesięciu Ukrainców.

My stanowiliśmy grupę zwykłych robotników. Spaliśmy w baraku na gołej ziemi, otrzymywali lizy liche zupy w ciągu dnia. Mieliśmy możność gromadzenia olbrzymich ilości pięniędzy i kosztowności pozostawionych w ubraniach wymordowanych. Sam zakopałem w obozie około kilograma złota, z myślą o tym, aby nie dostało się ono na ręce Niemców.

[strona 10]

Ale gromadzenie skarbów było bardzo bezcelowe. Wiedzieliśmy: przyjdzie chwila, gdy zostawimy ubrania w drodze przez zielony lasek, w drodze do kaźni.

Minęło osiem dni. Przybył nowy transport wysiedleńców z Warszawy. Na placu dokonano nowej selekcji w grupie: wraz z innymi wydarło z niej dwóch towarzyszy moich ustawionych obok mnie [loc] z prawy i lewej strony. Ja pozostałem znowu. Znowu wydarłem się śmierci.

W nowej grupie robotników praca polegała na tym odbieraniu części ubrań. Ja odbierałem buty kobietom które natychmiast po przybyciu były kierowane do łaźni. Bito mnię [=mnie] przy tej pracy gdy przyjmowałem niezwiązane buty. Bito kobiety, które ich nie związały. Bił Niemiec - z sadyzmym długo.

W krótki czas potem, miała nastąpić ponowna segregacja. Byłem przeświadczony o tym, że to już koniec, że nie można tym razem ufać ślepemu losowi, przypadkowi, który mnię [=mnie] chronił dotychczas. Tego wieczoru, poprzedzającego przypuszczalną egzekucją, wszyscyśmy - skazanej - długo w noc nie spali, mimo zmęczenia pracą. Płakałem. Tyle razy cudem unikałem śmierci, że nie mogłem pogodzić się z myślą o poddaniu się. Rezygnacja i apatia nie miały do mnie [gen] przystępu ale opanowała mnię [=mnie] szalowa, bezsilna rozpacz. Jeden z towarzyszy uspokajał mnię [=mnie]. On pogodził się ze śmiercią swoją jako jednostki w milionowej masie skazańców. Ja nie potrafiłem. Nie chciałem.

Następnego dnia stanęliśmy do segregacji na środkowym placu w obozie.

[strona 11]

Z chwilą jednak odstawienia na bok, pierwszej, przeznaczonej na śmierć grupy ludzi, zdarzył się wypadek niezwykły: jeden z towarzyszy (był to obywatel argentyński wzięty bezprawnie z całą rodziną) oderwał się od grupy, szybkim krokiem zbliżył się do Niemca, dokonywującego [=dokonującego] selekcji i jednym ruchem zatopił mu w plecach nóż. Niemiec spał na ziemię, ale rozwścieczeni Ukraińcy łopatami usiekli na krwawą miazgę naszego towarzysza.Chwile, które potem nastąpiły, były straszne. Przerażeni Niemcy pochowali się w barakach pozostawiwszy jednak zwyrodniałym Ukraińcom rozkaz dokonywania pogromów. Rozpoczęły się rzezie grupy pracujących rozstrzeliwano każdego wieczora. Krew płynęła strumieniami.

Od razu po wypadku, korzystając z szalonego zamieszania ukryłem się w stercie ubrani [=ubrań]. Potem udało mi się połączyć z grupą robotników napełniających wagony ubraniami. Wiedziałem już jednak, że nie ma czasu na namysłu, że to są ostatnie dni lub nawet godziny pozostałych przy życiu w obozie i byłem zdecydowany za wszelką cenę pojąc probę ucieczki.

Zamierzałem schować się w wagonie z ubraniami. Zadanie było niełatwe. Robotnicy przy wagonach byli liczeni i brak jednego z nich obciążał odpowiedzialnością wszystkich pozostałych. Udało mi się wreszcie nakłonić towarzyszy do tego, aby pomogli mi w okryciu się olbrzymią ilością ubrań w wagonie. Wraz ze mną ukryli się dwaj mężczyźni - ojciec i syn. Na miejsca nasze udało nam się przyłączyć do grupy mężczyzn sprowadzonych z placu. Zagrzebany w ubraniach, w niezwykłem zapięciu nerwów oczekiwałem tego co nastąpi.

[strona 12]

W krótce szarpnięte drzwiczki otworzyły się. Czuliśmy jak czyjaś ręka przerzuca ubrania w poszukiwaniu ukrytych, dostrzegaliśmy silne błyski reflektora. Czekaliśmy z zamarłymi sercami, ale na wszystko gotowi.

Trzask zamykanych drzwiczek oznajmił koniec udręki. Rozległ się wystrzał: widocznie poszukiwania w sąsiednim wagonie nie przyniosły osiągnęły pożądany skutek. Jakiś czas jeszcze stał pociąg rozlegały się wystrzały.

Wreszcie silne szarpnięcie: pociąg ruszył. Ochłonęliśmy – byliśmy uratowani. Ale cóż dalej?Nie wiedzieliśmy w jakim kierunku podąża pociąg, ale wiedzieliśmy, że nie wolno nam dojechać do miejsca jego przeznaczenia. Wyczekawszy chwili gdy pociąg zwolnił biegu wyskoczyłem przez okienko w nieznaną przestrzeni. Oszołomiło mnię [=mnie] świeże powietrze nocy. Przez chwilę rozkoszowałem się gwałtownie poczuciem swojej wolności. Znikł koszmar minionych dni lecz jakże szybko miał powrócić wraz z innym: koszmarem przyszłości.

Zaczęła się uciążliwa i długa wędrówka. W drodze znikąd nie było pomocy. Chłopi odmawiali nie tylko noclegi i pożywienia ale nawet wskazówek. Wędrowaliśmy nocami a w dzień spali pod gołym niebem, w przydrożnym rowie. W smutny sposób rozstałem się z mymi dwoma towarzyszami:

[strona 13]

Chłop, u którego chcieliśmy zanocować zmiarkowawszy, że mamy pieniądze rozdzielił nas podstępnie, twierdząc że boi się i musi pojedyńczo [=pojedynczo] prowadzić nas do chaty. Ruszyłem pierwszy. W lesie obrabował mnię [=mnie] i straciłem około 50,000 zł wyniesionych z obozu. Pozostawił przy mnie [loc] papiery wartościowe, których wartości nie rozumiał (ocaliłem jeszcze drogie kamienie ukryte w pudełko do zapałek) i puścił wolno w nieznaną drogą.

Dotarłem do miasteczka Stoczek, gdzie przez miesiąc żyłem ze sprzedaży kosztowności. Gdy w Stoczku szerzyć się zaczęły pogłoski o mającym nastąpić wysiedleniu, opuściłem pewnego wieczoru miasteczko i puścili się do lasu. Obudziły mnię [=mnie] rankiem odgłosy strzelaniny, znamionujące, że miasteczko jest otoczone.

W lesie spotkałem wielu uciekinierów z okolicznych miasteczek. Żyliśmy w lesie, ukrywaliśmy się w czasie obław w wykopanych przez siebie i zamaskowanych dołach, płacili grubo za dostarczaną żywność. Pozostawaliśmy jednak na danym terenie tak długo tylko dopóki nie wiedzieli o tym mieszkańcy okolicy, szczególnie wójtowie lub sołtysi. Żyliśmy życiem koczowniczym ale, gdy położenie stało się bez wyjścia, zdecydowałem się na powrót do Warszawy. Szczęśliwy powrót, tym razem bez przygód, zawdzięczam jednemu z chłopów i jego rodzinie - a był to jedyny z jakim się zetknąłem wypadek udzielenia pomocy Żydowi przez chłopa.

Po przybyciem do Warszawy, przebywałem przez jakiś czas w mieszkaniu rodziny tego samego człowieka przy ulicy Złotej, ale, nie chcąc nadużywać gościnność obcych mi ludzie, pożegnałem się z nimi i dnia…[End]
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= Translation (en) =
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[strona 2] [WRITER “A”]

During the period of forced displacement, I worked at the "Palma" artificial honey factory as a night watchman. Deluding myself with the belief that working at the factory would protect me from deportation, I moved out of my apartment in Nowolipie and stayed permanently at the factory.

On August 25th, the factory yard was surrounded and blocked off. Our factory yard housed a shed for straw products belonging to the company "Waldemar Schmidt". We continued working. Suddenly, an SS man, surrounded by Ukrainians, burst into the factory premises. "Everyone out!" was the shout.

In the courtyard, the workers from the "Waldemar Schmidt" workshop were already gathered. We joined them, and under the escort of the Ukrainians, we were led to the Umschlagplatz.

Before entering the square, I tried to escape from the line. A Jewish policeman noticed me and forced me to return.

Our group was immediately rushed towards the train cars. There was no "selection" process. Everyone was loaded onto the train. After a few minutes, the train departed.

The train carriage I was in was crammed with people. The air was terribly stuffy, and it was getting worse with every passing moment.

As the train started moving, [WRITER “B”] a deep sense of despair filled the train car. The thought of imminent death overwhelmed everyone and aroused feelings of terror. From all sides of the car, the words of the Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead, could be heard.

[strona 3]

After two hours of travel, the train stopped. It remained stationary all night. Around midnight, a Latvian man entered the carriage with a revolver in his hand. He gathered everyone to one side of the carriage. Under threat of being shot, he demanded that they hand over their money and valuables. After the robbery, the Latvian man left the carriage, carefully closing the door behind him.

The train remained stopped. Two men [WRITER “A”] forced their way to an open window and jumped onto the railway tracks. Almost simultaneously, several shots rang out.

I thought about escaping that way, but the unbearable heat in the carriage sapped my strength and energy, making it impossible to force my way to the window.

People in the carriage were fainting and weakening from thirst and suffocation. Sweat streamed from their exhausted bodies.

Early in the morning, the train departed. We traveled for a long time. We knew nothing about the direction the train was heading.

After several hours of travel, an SS officer entered the carriage. He politely and convincingly assured us that we were going to the village of Treblinka for a stop – and after sorting, we would continue to our place of work. He urged obedience and diligence. At the end of his speech, he declared that we were close to our destination.

The German man left the carriage. The mood improved. Tired and thirsty, we awaited the end of the journey.

[strona 4]

Finally, the train stopped.

The carriage doors opened abruptly, and we found ourselves in a square surrounded on all sides by barbed wire. In the distance, we could see buildings and barracks of various sizes. An SS man appeared and lined us up in two groups. One group consisted of women and children. The other consisted exclusively of men. [WRITER “B”] After passing through, we found ourselves in a courtyard surrounded by barbed wire fences. Barracks stretched along both sides of the courtyard. Next to them were two signs with the inscription "Achtung Warschauer" (Attention Warsaw residents), and below them was the camp's regulations.

Despite our repeated requests, we did not receive any water. The women were led into the barracks on the left side of the courtyard, while the men were ordered to line up in the middle of the square.

In the courtyard, we noticed corpses and a lot of rags and clothes. Everyone was overcome with horror. A premonition of death hung in the air.

However, no one mustered the courage to take any action. We were paralyzed by fear, exhaustion, and hunger.

At one point, an SS officer appeared. He gave a speech. He assured everyone that they would receive work and food, and that they shouldn't be afraid. “These people,” he said, pointing to the corpses, “died because they were rebels.”

He selected ten people for work and left. The rest were told to wait. After a few minutes, another SS officer arrived and announced that he needed 60 people for work. Despite their exhaustion, everyone volunteered. Seeing this, the German officer began to pick and choose.

[strona 5]

I was among those selected. We were led out of the courtyard and taken to a square located within the complex. [WRITER “A”]

There lay tangled masses of corpses with horrific faces. They were people who had been suffocated in the railway cars.

Our job was to carry the bodies to the pits nearby. The work was terrible. The faces of the corpses were grayish-black and bloated, their eyes stared wildly, their bodies were tangled and heavy. We were barely able to stand on our feet. Despite this, we were not allowed to rest for even a moment. If a German noticed someone slowing down, a shot would ring out, and another corpse would fall to the ground. [WRITER “B”]

The number of people working began to decrease. I felt worse and worse. At one point, I felt like I was about to faint. I was looking for help.

Taking advantage of the German's momentary inattention, I crept towards a nearby barracks, next to which lay huge piles of clothes. I hid myself among them. I could hear the German's shouts and the sound of gunshots. Then silence fell. An hour passed. There was movement nearby. I cautiously parted the rags and looked out. A group of several dozen people stood in the square. My workmates were not among them. I carefully extricated myself from the pile of clothes and approached them.

It turned out to be a new group selected from among the animal transport. Nobody knew anything about the people who had worked here before. Our conversation was interrupted by the appearance [strona 6] of an SS man and several Ukrainians. We were ordered to move. We were led to a railway siding. A train of large Russian wagons stood on the tracks. The transport came from Międzyrzec. The wagons were full of suffocated people. The corpses' tongues were hanging out, their lips were white, their eyes bulging from their sockets.

We were ordered to unload the train cars. In one of them, there was a live child, a few years old.

"Drink!" it pleaded in a terrible voice. But no one had any water. We were terribly thirsty. The Germans promised us that we would get water and soup after we finished work.

There were still long hours of torment, terror, and thirst ahead. With a terrible effort of will, I forced myself to work. My back ached terribly at the slightest bending of my torso, and my mouth and insides felt like one raw, burning wound, desperate for a drop of coolness.

Finally, it's over.

We line up in a row. Buckets of water appear. Everyone receives a cup of water. I feel life returning to me, that I am slowly realizing that I am a human being, that I am alive, that I can feel and think.

Following this came a feeling of terrible reality, momentarily suppressed by a sense of relief. We all knew that after completing their work, a given group of workers would be sent to their deaths; "to the scrap heap," as the tragic end of hundreds of thousands of people was called. Indeed, after some time, a new group of workers was formed. I frantically pondered how to escape from my group, which was already destined for death. I tried to connect with people who had come to work from the penal camp "Treblinka One," as opposed to the death camp, called "Treblinka Two."

[strona 7]

However, they disagreed; they were so afraid for themselves that they ruthlessly pushed me out of the ranks. Returning to the square, I noticed a twenty-dollar gold coin on the ground. I picked it up and approached a Ukrainian guard, who, in exchange for the gold, agreed to let me into a nearby latrine. I stayed there for many hours. This time, a selection took place in the square, which consisted of some people being designated for immediate death by shooting, while the rest were led to the bathhouse. I heard the sounds of gunshots, the curses of the Ukrainians, and the terrible screams of those being murdered. I trembled feverishly all over my body – even though my sensitivity to blood and corpses had already diminished. Hearing the shots, one involuntarily rejoiced that he was still alive, that the bullet was meant for someone else.

The execution in the square was over. I waited a while longer and then left. Bodies lay scattered on the ground, covered in blood. Those destined for the gas chambers waited their turn – most were motionless, stunned by apathy, overwhelmed by an inhuman, unbearable horror. Another group of workers, from a newly arrived transport, waited to be taken to their workplaces.

I approached it unnoticed. The man leading the group was a Jew from Vienna. I spoke to him in German. Panic had not yet replaced other feelings in him: compassion, a sense of solidarity in the situation we all found ourselves in. He allowed me to join his group. I joined them, but at that moment, a German recognized me, grabbed me by the collar of my clothes, and, kicking me, tried to drag me to the group condemned to death. My knowledge of German and the intervention of the Viennese man saved me. [strona 8] Once again, I narrowly escaped death by a miracle.

We were assigned to work in the warehouses. This involved searching through enormous quantities of clothing and sorting out any valuables we found. We spent eight days doing this – during that time, no transports of people arrived at the camp. There was a temporary period of stability in our lives as camp laborers. During this time, I got to know the camp and learned details I hadn't known before.

On a huge square surrounded by barbed wire fences were the clothing warehouses, barracks for the camp staff and the laborers, open spaces for gathering people, and places designated for execution by firing squad. But perhaps the most space was occupied by the pits. Before the population began to be brought here, day and night excavators worked, digging the earth, preparing graves for millions of people.

From the central square, a road leads through the forest to the bathhouse. It is a small building hidden in the bushes, camouflaged with green netting placed on the roof. The people being led to the bathhouse undress along the way, handing over their clothes to specially designated workers stationed along the path. For slowness or inaccuracy, for example, in folding their clothes, the escorts beat them brutally, and in exceptional cases, at a signal given by a German, the Ukrainians shoot them. These bodies, marking the road to the place of execution, are quickly removed by the workers. However, such incidents are rare – the people being driven there are so resigned, stunned, and terrorized that acts of resistance almost never occur.

[strona 9]

800 to 1000 people were admitted to the bathhouse at a time. None of us workers knew exactly how the deaths occurred. However, it seemed to us that a faint, barely perceptible smell of chlorine hung around the bathhouse. I never worked on emptying the gas chamber of bodies, but I knew that they were taken to nearby pits where they were then burned along with all the camp's waste. Before that, however, in a small hut located near the bathhouse, gold teeth were being extracted from the corpses. This work was carried out by specially privileged workers – gravediggers – who were themselves destined for the same death they were assisting in inflicting. We all knew that the work we clung to like a lifeline only prolonged the agony of waiting for death in the monstrous horror of the camp. The hope of rescue, the hope of escape, was practically nonexistent.

There are workers in the camp who are distinguished by yellow or red patches. These workers receive better food and better barracks, and have the faint hope of a longer life. The women employed in the barracks for the camp staff have been working there continuously since the camp's inception. All work within the camp is performed by Jews. The camp staff consists of several dozen Germans and over a hundred Ukrainians.

We were a group of ordinary laborers. We slept in a barracks on the bare ground and received meager rations of soup during the day.

We had the opportunity to collect enormous amounts of money and valuables left behind in the clothes of those who had been murdered. I myself buried about a kilogram of gold in the camp, hoping that it wouldn't fall into the hands of the Germans.

[strona 10]

But accumulating treasures was utterly pointless. We knew: the time would come when we would leave our clothes behind on the path through the green woods, on the way to our execution.

Eight days passed. A new transport of deportees arrived from Warsaw. A new selection was carried out in the group in the square: along with others, two of my comrades, who were standing next to me on my right and left, were taken away. I remained again. I escaped death once more.

In the new group of workers, the job involved collecting pieces of clothing. I collected shoes from the women who were immediately sent to the baths upon arrival. I was beaten while doing this work when I received untied shoes. The women who hadn't tied their shoes were also beaten. A German man beat them – with sadistic cruelty, for a long time.

Shortly afterwards, another selection was to take place. I was convinced that this was the end, that I couldn't trust blind fate or chance anymore, the same chance that had protected me until now. That evening, preceding the presumed execution, all of us – the condemned – stayed awake late into the night, despite our exhaustion from work. I cried. I had miraculously escaped death so many times that I couldn't reconcile myself to the thought of giving up. Resignation and apathy had no hold on me, but I was overwhelmed by a frantic, helpless despair. One of my companions tried to calm me down. He had come to terms with his own death as an individual in a mass of millions of condemned people. I couldn't. I didn't want to.

The next day, we lined up for selection in the central square of the camp. [strona 11] However, as soon as the first group of people destined for death was set aside, an extraordinary incident occurred: one of the prisoners (an Argentinian citizen who had been illegally arrested along with his entire family) broke away from the group, quickly approached the German who was conducting the selection, and with a single movement plunged a knife into his back. The German fell to the ground, but the enraged Ukrainians hacked our comrade to a bloody pulp with shovels.

The moments that followed were terrible. The terrified Germans hid in their barracks, but left the depraved Ukrainians with orders to carry out pogroms. Massacres began; groups of workers were shot every evening. Blood flowed in streams.

Immediately after the accident, taking advantage of the chaotic situation, I hid in a pile of clothes. Then I managed to join a group of workers loading clothes into wagons. However, I already knew that there was no time to think, that these were the last days or even hours for those still alive in the camp, and I was determined to attempt an escape at all costs.

I intended to hide in the freight car filled with clothes. The task was not easy. The workers at the freight cars were counted, and the absence of one of them would hold all the others responsible. I finally managed to persuade my companions to help me cover myself with a huge amount of clothes in the freight car. Two men—a father and son—hid with me. We managed to join a group of men brought from the yard. Buried in the clothes, with my nerves on edge, I waited for what would happen next.

[strona 12]

Shortly afterwards, the door was yanked open. We felt someone's hand rummaging through the clothes, searching for something hidden, and we saw strong flashes of a flashlight. We waited with pounding hearts, but ready for anything.

The bang of the closing doors signaled the end of the ordeal. A gunshot rang out; apparently, the search in the neighboring carriage had not yielded the desired result. The train remained stationary for some time, and more gunshots were heard.

Finally, a strong jolt: the train started moving. We breathed a sigh of relief – we were saved. But what next?

We didn't know which direction the train was going, but we knew we couldn't reach its destination. Waiting for the moment the train slowed down, I jumped out of the window into the unknown. The fresh night air overwhelmed me. For a moment I reveled in the sudden feeling of freedom. The nightmare of the past days disappeared, but how quickly it was to return, along with another: the nightmare of the future.

The arduous and long journey began. There was no help to be found anywhere along the way. The peasants refused not only lodging and food but even directions. We traveled at night and slept during the day under the open sky, in a roadside ditch. I parted ways with my two companions in a sad manner. [strona 13] The peasant with whom we wanted to spend the night, realizing that we had money, cunningly separated us, claiming that he was afraid and had to lead us to his hut one by one. I went first. In the forest, he robbed me, and I lost about 50,000 zlotys that I had taken from the camp. He left me with the securities, whose value he did not understand (I also saved some precious stones hidden in a matchbox), and let me go free on an unknown road.

I arrived in the town of Stoczek, where I lived for a month by selling valuables. When rumors of an impending deportation began to spread in Stoczek, I left the town one evening and headed into the forest.

I was awakened in the morning by the sound of gunfire, indicating that the town was surrounded.

In the forest, I met many refugees from the surrounding towns. We lived in the forest, hiding during raids in pits we had dug and camouflaged, and paying exorbitant prices for food. However, we only stayed in a given area as long as the local inhabitants, especially the village heads or mayors, didn't know about us. We lived a nomadic life, but when the situation became hopeless, I decided to return to Warsaw. I owe my safe return, this time without incident, to one of the peasants and his family – and this was the only instance I encountered of a peasant helping a Jew.

Upon arriving in Warsaw, I stayed for a while in the apartment of the same man's family on Złota Street, but, not wanting to abuse the hospitality of people I didn't know, I said goodbye to them and on that day…
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= Sources =

Engelking, Barbara, and Jacek Leociak. ''The Warsaw Ghetto: A Guide to the Perished City''. Yale University Press, 2009.

Krzepicki, Abraham. “Account of a Treblinka escapee.” Warsaw Ghetto, December 1942. Originally published as ''Relacja uciekiniera z Treblinki''. ARG II 378. Center for Jewish History. https://cbj.jhi.pl/documents/727956/0/.

Rudolf, Germar, ed. “Krzepicki, Abraham.” In ''Holocaust Encyclopedia: Uncensored and Unconstrained''. Academic Research Media Review Education Group Ltd, 2023. https://holocaustencyclopedia.com/witness/victim/krzepicki-abraham/634/.

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