CHAPTER 7
THE BIRKENAU "ZENTRAL SAUNA" WITH ITS DISINFECTION
AUTOCLAVES AND ITS TOPF DISINFESTATION OVENS |
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THE BIRKENAU “ZENTRAL SAUNA” or
“NEUE SAUNA” designated worksite BW 32
A study of the
"Zentral Sauna" is necessary for several reasons: |
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| 1. |
The revisionists
(e.g. Faurisson) have situated here what they consider to be the only gas
chambers in Birkenau; |
| 2. |
In order to
distinguish between and separate as far as possible the extermination and
disinfestation installations, since the confusion between the two has often
been used as a system of defence by SS defendants (such as Dejaco); |
| 3. |
In order to show that
a realistic and in-depth study proves that there were no gas chambers in this
complex; |
| 4. |
In order to enable
the reader to compare the documentation produced by the author (drawings,
contemporary and recent photographs, correspondence and testimonies) with that
of the revisionists. |
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| The Zentral Sauna was the most comprehensive
disinfection and disinfestation installation in KGL Birkenau. Designed after
the “sanitary crisis” of August 1942 (typhus epidemic), the first
three drawings for it date from November 1942 [Drawings 1, 2 and 3]. Its
equipment was to include three disinfection autoclaves and four Topf
disinfestation hot air chambers [Drawing 4]. However the Bauleitung did
not rapidly commence construction on worksite 32 for two reasons: first, the
epidemic having been brought partially under control the need for a large
sanitary and delousing installation was felt less urgently; second, as a
consequence of a more "controlled" situation, obtaining funds from the WVHA-SS
for a major installation was less of a priority. The November 1942 drawings
were received by Berlin in January 1943. Designed for carrying out several
sanitary operations at the same time both on the prisoners (haircut, medical
examination, disinfection and shower) and on their clothing and effects
(disinfestation), the main fault with these initial plans was the inadequate
space allowed for reception and waiting areas for the prisoners. The Bauleitung
corrected this fault by having four more virtually definitive drawings produced
in March 1943 [Drawings 5, 6, 7 and 8]. The Berlin WVHA-SS was probably
informed of this since in the letters from WNHA of 28th April 1943 the first
three drawings are considered cancelled and the Auschwitz Bauleitung is
recommended to size the construction as accurately as possible for its purpose
[cf correspondence). The drainage drawing [Drawing 9] for the building was
produced in May, after acceptance of the new configuration of BW 32. The
necessary credits were made available at the beginning of June and work started
immediately, spurred by the perfectly justified fear of a resurgence of typhus
as summer approached. After a number of last-minute alterations [Drawing 10],
the installation was completed in the autumn of 1943 [Drawing 11; Photos 12,
13 and 14]. It entered service in December 1943 [Photos 15, 17, 25, 30,
31, 35 and 41] and functioned until the liberation of the camp in January
1945. It fell intact into Soviet hands [Photo 15]. It is not known whether
photos were taken of the interior of the building at that time. In the 50s or
60s the roof of the central part of the Zentral Sauna fell in. A fairly
complete restoration was then undertaken by the Auschwitz Museum. This must be
borne in mind when studying the present state of the premises [Photos 18 to
24, 26 to 29, 32 to 34, 36 to 40, 42 and 43]. As the level of the water
table has risen over the years due to a lack of maintenance of the drainage
system installed by the SS, the basement of the Zentral Sauna is completely
flooded with water which it is no longer possible to remove, despite the
installation of a pump for this purpose. |
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| THE CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING
THE ZENTRAL SAUNA (BW 32) |
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| In the Archives of the Warsaw Central
Commission for the investigation of Hitlerite crimes in Poland there is a
microfilm from the Soviet "October Revolution" central state
archives dated 1969 and with the reference number M 598c in the Section
“Arch.sammlung no.1372, Beschreibung no. 5 / Evidence no.156”,
with a series of 14 pages of letters tracing the history of the reasons for the
building of a disinfection and disinfestation centre subsequently to be called
the "Zentral Sauna," a building that was a sauna only in name. Not possessing a
copy of these letters, I give below a short résumé containing the
full list with, in brackets after the dates, the file number in the
Section |
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7th April 1943 (14): The Auschwitz Bauleitung
sent the project drawings for a disinfestation installation to Berlin (no doubt
the new drawings for BW 32, numbers 2151, 2157, 2159 and 2184).
28th
April 1943 (13 and 12), the Berlin WVHA replied to the Bauleitung after
assessing the drawings: |
“Die Warte, Aus-, Ankleideräume sind
nicht grösser als nötig vorzusehen / the waiting, undressing and
dressing rooms should not be any bigger than
necessary.” |
The first three drawings for B W 32 had not in
fact contained such big waiting rooms for the prisoners. Offering such
“comfort” to the ”enemies of the Reich” could be considered
“sabotage” of the war effort, which meant economies on the home front
in favour of the external fronts. In addition, the WVHA noted that the initial
drawings received on 13th January 1943 were “cancelled”
(ungültig) [the bureaucrat in Berlin who replied to the Auschwitz
Bauleitung was somewhat negligent in his work, because his numbers 1801, 1845
and 1850 should really be 1841, 1846 and 1850.]
4th June
1943 (9 and 8), after work had started on BW 32, the Bauleitung wrote to the
Berlin WVHA reporting on progress. The installation was now urgently required
because of the drastic health situation in the Gypsy Camp (Birkenau B.a.IIe).
The “Entwesungsofen / disinfestation ovens” (see drawing D 60283)
were supplied by Topf & Sons of Erfurt, the autoclaves by another
specialist firm in Munich. The future Zentral Sauna was also carefully
described.
5th June 1943 (7) a letter thought to be a handwritten note
from SS General Kammler of the WVHA.
9th June 1943 (6 and 5), 30th June
1943 (10), 8th July 1943 (11) and 17th July 1943 (4): letters reporting on the
progress made on the “Entwesungs- und Desinfektionsgebaüde im K. G.
L. / disinfestation and disinfection building at the POW camp.”
20th July 1943 (2), the Bauleitung stressed the “Hygienische
sofort Massnahmen im KL Bereich / immediate health measures in the
concentration camp area”. The letter mentioned the fight against rats and
spoke of the installation of a “Leichenhalle / corpse hall [morgue]”
in view of the increased number of deaths.
4th August 1943 (3 and 1)
two letters signed by the Head of the Bauleitung, Bischoff, again spoke of
building a Leichenhalle. |
| This exchange of correspondence highlights
three important points: |
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The dreadful state of hygiene and health in July 1943 in
the gypsy camp, a source of proliferation of pests carrying diseases such
typhus; |
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The presence of rats in the prisoners’ accommodation
(on top of the SS, Capos and Vorarbeiter); |
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The direct intervention of the Berlin WVHA in the design of
a disinfestation and disinfection building, the Zentral Sauna, which was after
all a fairly straightforward project. This dirigism on the part of Berlin was
to serve as an alibi for one of the Krematorium “architects,”
Untersturmführer Walther Dejaco, for example, in his deposition of 3rd
April 1962 before the Reutte Regional Tribunal (penal proceedings against Dr.
Georg Meyer and others), and during his own trial in Vienna in January-March
1972.] |
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| THE EFFECTS DISINFECTION AND
DISINFESTATION OPERATIONS |
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| These operations as carried out at the Zentral
Sauna were described in a letter sent to the Auschwitz Museum by a Czech former
prisoner: |
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| (Summary) |
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| The procedures used were: |
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| 1. |
Hot air: Large and heavy effects, such as coats,
outer clothing, etc.; |
| 2. |
Steam: “light” effects, such as
underclothes, shirts and any type of clothing considered as light, for example
the “Zebra-Kleider,” prison uniforms. Blankets were also included in
this group |
| 3. |
Other: Leather objects, such au shoes, belts. etc.
were disinfected using Karbol. Lysol or water containing hydrocyanic acid, a
mixture obtained by pouring Zyklon-B crystals into the water. |
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This letter mentions that the operations
continued 24 hours a day, with three shifts of prisoners on this task, changing
every eight hours.
It will be noted that the methods described by this
former prisoner were almost identical with those used in the US Army at that
time [see following page], |
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