| Selections on the Ramp |
| |
that, for many reasons, is the worse problem if
they are in the working camp ... where there is only so much possibility [for
keeping limited numbers of people alive] .... Then the camp leadership comes
... and says, “You‘re sending us people we can’t do anything
with. They'll only croak.” . . . You understand that about these purely
technical issues there were heated and intense
discussions |
| Dr. B. told me that "the doctors really became active" in
confronting the overriding technical problem of burning large numbers of
corpses. With the crematoria unable to take care of the enormous new load,
trenches were dug and piled high with corpses. |
| |
One had to burn ... great piles — enormous
piles. Now that is a great problem, igniting piles of corpses. You can imagine
— naked — nothing burns. How does one manage this? ...
They
had been through the gas chambers and now thousands were lying there and had to
be burned. How does one do that? One tested numerous methods — and here
the doctors were drawn in to try to solve this problem and they helped find
solutions. |
| Ernst B. himself became a bit excited as he explained in
more detail the technical problem: |
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The gas chambers were sufficient, you see, that
was no problem. But the burning, right? The ovens broke down. And they [the
corpses] had to be burned in a big heap .... The problem is really a large
technical difficulty. There was not too much room, so first one thought one
would have to take small piles.... Well, ... that would have to be tried out
.... And then everyone contributed his knowledge of physics, about what might
possibly be done differently. If you do it with ditches around them, then the
air comes up from below and wooden planks underneath and gasoline on top —
or gasoline underneath and wood in between — these were the problems.
Well, the solution was not to let the fire die. And maintain the cooperation
between the gas chamber and the crematorium. When [the fire] reached a certain
intensity, then it was just right — but then you could not get to it, so
it was still too hot, etc. Those were the problems. |
| He went on to explain how different people did different
things to help: |
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And the actual work was of course done by the
subordinate commanders [Unterführer], you understand, the NCOs
[Unteroffizier] — people who were experienced in cleaning out
[wegräumen], who ... had to deal with these prosaic [hausbackenen;
literally, "home-baked"] problems. There are technically talented people ...
physicians as well as |
