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Belzec
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Belzec was chosen as a death camp solely for logistical reasons. Belzec railway station was connected with the railway centre in Rawa Ruska (a town situated today in Ukraine), located 14 km from Belzec. The main railway lines from Lwow and Stanislawow in the east and from Rzeszow, Przemysl, Tarnow, and Krakow in the southwest, were concentrated in Rawa Ruska. The site chosen for the camp was on a railway siding, at a distance of about 400 meters from the Belzec railway station, and only 50 meters east of the main Lublin - Lwow railway line. Richard Thomalla of the SS-Zentralbauleitung Zamosc supervised the construction works. The on-site supervisor was an unidentified red haired SS officer, known as "the Master" (der Meister). Skilled manual Polish workers from Belzec and the surrounding area built the gas chambers and barracks, having been "well paid" They were later replaced by Jews from the nearby villages of Lubycza Krolewska and Mosty Maly. Following the clearing of trees from the northern half of a hill, construction began on 1 November 1941 and was completed by the end of February 1942. The entire camp occupied a relatively small, almost square area. Three sides measured 275 m; the fourth, southern side measured 265 meters. An adjoining timber yard was incorporated into the camp, which was itself surrounded by a double fence of chicken wire and barbed wire. The outer fence was camouflaged with tree branches. During the later reorganisation of the camp, the space between the two fences was filled with rolls of barbed wire. On the eastern side, another barrier was erected on a steep slope by the fixing of tree trunks to wooden planks. During the second phase of the camp's existence, a wooden fence was built along the side of the road at the foot of the steep eastern slope. A line of trees was planted between the western outer fence and the Lublin – Lwow railway line. Four watchtowers were constructed: on the northeast and northwest sides, at the southwest corner and at the most westerly point of the camp. The northeastern tower was constructed on top of a concrete bunker at the highest point of the Belzec terrain, providing an excellent vantage point over the entire camp. A fifth tower in the centre of the camp overlooked the entire length of "the Sluice" (also known as "the Tube"), the camouflaged barbed wire pathway to the gas chambers. The corner watchtowers were manned by Trawnikimänner (Ukrainian Volksdeutsche from the Trawniki Labour Camp), armed with rifles. The central tower was equipped with a heavy machine gun and searchlight. In the camp's second phase, further watchtowers were erected, including one positioned at the far end of the ramp. The guardhouse, permanently manned by SS men and Ukrainians, was located close to the entrance gate on the west side of the camp. There was a separate compound for the Trawnikimänner to the east of the main gate. The Ukrainian area included three barracks, comprising two large huts and one smaller structure. The first large hut was used as housing for the Trawnikimänner. The second large hut housed the sickbay, a dentist and a barber. The third and smallest of the structures was used as the kitchen and canteen (mess hall). Belzec was divided into two sections. Camp I, in the northern and western section, was the reception area and included the railway ramp, which could only accommodate 10 wagons. Some sources suggest that a disused siding was subsequently added to provide a second ramp for the later phase of exterminations. Together, the two ramps would have provided unloading facilities for many more wagons. However, according to other testimonies, every transport was divided into segments of 10 wagons. Initially only the first segment of the transport was pushed into the camp. The subsequent segments waited at the railway station until the preceding segment had been “processed”. A 200 meters long railway spur led through the gate on the northwestern side of the camp. A secondary inner gate was constructed at the point where the two sidings inside the camp diverged, close to the beginning of the disused siding/second ramp. A "holding pen" (an enclosed yard) at the far end of the disused siding/second ramp was used for the "overflow" from the huge later transports. In the second killing phase there were two undressing barracks, one for women and children, and the other for men. "There arrived in Belzec in Oct 1941, three SS-men who demanded 20 workers from the Belzec community. The municipal office appointed 20 inhabitants of Belzec as workers – I was one of them. The Germans selected the area to the SE of the Railway station where a siding ended. Alongside the siding ran the railway to Lemberg (Lwow). We began work on 1 Nov 1941 with the building of barracks at the end of the siding. One barrack – which stood right next to the siding – was 50m long and 12.5m wide; it was a waiting room for the Jews. The second barrack – 25m long and 12.5m wide – was appointed for the Jews to bathe in. Near this barrack we built a third barrack which was 12m long and 8m wide. This barracks was divided into 3 parts by wooden walls – each part being 4m wide and 8m long. The height of each section was 2m. The inner walls of this barrack were so constructed that we nailed planks to them and filled the empty space between with sand. The interior walls of this barrack were covered with pasteboard, and the floor and walls – to a height of 1.10m – were covered with zinc sheeting. From the first barrack to the second barrack, about which I have already spoken, there led an alleyway of barbed-wire fencing 3m wide by 3m high. The side of the fence nearest the siding was specially covered with pine and fir branches, so that nothing was visible from the siding. From the second barrack a covered passage 2m wide, 2m high and about 10m long led to the third barrack. Through this passage one arrived at the corridor of the third barrack, which led via 3 doors into the 3 parts of the barrack. Each part of this barrack had a door on its north side– about 1.80m high and 1.10m wide. These doors, as well as those in the corridors, were sealed with rubber. All the doors in this barrack opened outwards. The doors were very strong – constructed of planks 75mm thick and fastened from the outside by a wooden bar which fitted into 2 iron hooks. In each of the 3 parts of this barrack there was a water pipe fixed at a height of 10cms from the floor. The water pipe branched from each corner along the wall of each part of this barrack to the middle of the wall, and ended in an opening at a height of 1m from the floor. These water pipes were joined to a main pipe at a junction under the floor. In each of the 3 parts of the above mentioned barrack stoves were placed weighing 250 kilos. One must surmise that the water pipes were later connected to these stoves. The stoves were 1.10m high, 55cm wide and 55cm long. Out of curiosity I glanced into the stove through the open door. I did not see any grate there. The interior of the stove was- so it seemed – lined with firebrick. I could not ascertain what the other stoves were like. The stove opening was oval, with a diameter of about 25cm, placed about 50cm above the floor. Along the north side of this barrack a 1m high ramp made of planks was erected and along this ramp a narrow gauge railway track was laid which led to the grave right in the northeast corner, which had been dug by the `Blacks’ (Ukrainian guards).This grave was excavated by 70 “Blacks”. It was 6m deep, 20m wide and 50m long. This was the first grave in which the Jews who were killed in the death camp were buried. The “Blacks” took 6 weeks to dig the grave, during the time we were building the barracks. This grave was later extended to the middle of the northern boundary.
The stoves described were used to heat the shed's rooms, thus allowing the bottled carbon monoxide gas and Zyklon B used in the early stage of the camp's killing activities to work more efficiently in cold weather. It was in this manner that the camp operated in the early weeks, but not without some "difficulties": The gas chambers were in fact, nothing more than a wooden barrack adapted and constructed to give the impression of a bathing facility. To enhance this deception, the false showerheads that an SS man involved in the camp's construction, Erich Fuchs, had been unable to fit earlier, were now installed and signs indicating a bathhouse displayed. Despite all of their efforts, the construction team were unable to make the building airtight. According to Werner Dubois, at each gassing operation in the wooden barrack, sand had to be piled against the outer door to rectify this problem. After the gassing, the sand had to be removed to allow access to the corpses. It became apparent that major alterations were necessary, particularly since the gas chambers were proving inadequate in size. Christian Wirth, commander of the camp and its most dominant figure, ruled Belzec by fear and terror. He was known by his fellow SS members as "Savage Christian". The Ukrainians nicknamed him "Stuka". Gottfried Schwarz acted as deputy commander, with Johann Niemann in charge of Camp II. Niemann was soon transferred to Sobibor, where he was killed during the uprising there. Josef Oberhauser, Wirth’s right hand man, deputised in Wirth's absence. Together, they selected Trawnikimänner for service in Belzec. Lorenz Hackenholt was in charge of the gassing engines, with two Ukrainians subordinated to him. Schwarz and Niemann supervised the gas chambers during the first phase, and Dubois or Karl Schluch in the second phase. Heinrich Unverhau oversaw the sorting depot in the old locomotive building from July 1942. In phase I, the same role had been performed by Rudolf Kamm. All of the SS men were given assignments in the camp administration and were in charge of specific activities, some having several duties. From time to time there were changes in these assignments. Close to the expected time of arrival of a transport, the SS men were allocated their respective duties in the handling of the liquidation of the deportees, from disembarkation to extermination. These duties included the shooting those unable to be taken to the gas chambers. Although they had been allocated these specific roles in the killing process, in practice the entire SS staff was involved in every aspect of the annihilation of people after the transport arrived at the camp. Some SS-men supervised the unloading of the wagons; others were on duty in the undressing barracks. Another group was present at the “Sluice” and before the gas chambers. All of them carried horsewhips and all of them were very cruel toward the victims. Possessions were sorted and sent onward to Aktion Reinhard warehouses in Lublin. The sorting depot was located outside the camp in the locomotive area, close to the Belzec station. Shortly before Christmas 1941, Wirth, an SS-Obersturmführer of the Stuttgarter Kriminalpolizei, arrived in Belzec along with a number of SS men. They were met by Oberhauser and Schwarz, who had been involved in the construction of the camp from an early date. Throughout the latter part of February and early March 1942, Wirth and Dr Helmuth Kallmayer, a chemist who worked for the euthanasia programme T4 in Berlin, carried out several tests on the toxicity of the exhaust gas produced by a Russian tank engine. In addition, during this period another series of experiments were carried out in Belzec, supervised by Wirth and Hackenholt, assisted by Siegfried Graetschus. They jointly converted a Post Office delivery van into a mobile gas chamber. Franz Suchomel, who served in Treblinka, described Belzec as a laboratory, and that would appear to have been the case. It was here that the system of mass murder was conceived and refined. Wirth carried out experiments to determine the most efficient method of handling the transports of Jews, from the time of their arrival until the time of their murder and burial. He developed basic concepts for the process of extermination and for the camp structure. The aim was to give the victims the impression that they had arrived at a transit camp from where they would be sent onward to a labour camp. The deportees were to believe this until they were enclosed within the gas chambers. In addition, everything was to be carried out with the utmost speed. The victims had to run, having no time to look around, to reflect upon or to comprehend what was happening to them. According to Wirth's annihilation scheme, the Jews themselves would carry out all physical work involved in the liquidation of each transport. In the first phase the Jewish work brigade consisted of 100-150 men. In the second phase, a total of 500 prisoners in Camps I and II were utilised. It was the task of these work brigades to remove the corpses from the gas chambers and bury them. They also collected and sorted clothing, suitcases and other goods left behind by the victims. During the first phase, Jewish workers were executed after a few days, although after July 1942, Wirth organised permanent work brigades in which each member knew his part. This was initiated in order to ensure that the entire process could function without disruption. There was also a group of women among the prisoners of the Sonderkommando. Most of these women had to be able to speak fluent German. Some worked in the Commandant‘s quarters or those of the SS-men, others in the camp laundry or in the camp kitchen. Included within this group were Czech and Polish Jewesses.
The Ukrainians manned the guard positions in the camp: at the entrance, in the watchtowers, and on certain patrols. Some of them assisted in operating the gas chambers. Before the arrival of a transport, the Ukrainians took up guard positions around the railway ramp, the undressing barracks and along the "Tube". During the experimental killings and the initial transports, they were also given the task of removing the bodies from the gassing shed and burying them. When transports arrived at the railway station in Belzec, the Trawnikimänner also had the duty of guarding the train containing the deportees. From the railway station they also conveyed the bodies of people who were shot trying to escape from the transport. The Trawnikimänner were mainly Ukrainians – until March 1943 most of them were from eastern Ukraine. But in these units there were also Russians, Tartars, even Georgians and ethnic Bulgarians. Most of them did not speak German. Transports arriving at Belzec station marshalling yard were held on spur lines in strict order of entry. In rotation, the wagons were uncoupled in blocks of 10 and shunted into the camp. Deportations arriving late in the evening were held overnight. The driver of the train shunting wagons into the camp was Rudolf Göckel (the German stationmaster of Belzec), who was described by Polish Railway workers as being both cruel and sadistic. Now the Jewish Sonderkommando, led by Zugführer Moniek, took over and removed the bodies at the rear of the gas chambers. The doors were opened and the corpses were thrown out. Straps were fastened to the bodies in order to drag them to the trolleys in which they were to be ferried to the mass graves. Each corpse was searched for valuables and any gold teeth removed before the bodies were lowered into the pits. Another commando cleaned the gas chambers, whilst still others raked the sandy pathways to the building.
Chaim Hirszman remembered: "A transport of children up to three years of age arrived. The workers were told to dig a big hole into which the children were thrown and buried alive. I cannot forget how the earth rose, until the children suffocated."
In the last week of May 1942 three small transports arrived at Belzec; on 22 May 1,000 Jews from Tyszowce, on 23 May 1,000 Jews from Komarow and on 27 May 500 Jews from Laszczow. In June 1942 new transports from the Krakow District arrived at the camp. Three trains with 5,000 Jews from the Krakow ghetto arrived between 3 and 6 June. From 11 to 19 June 1942 an additional 1,600 Jews were transported from the Krakow District. In June 1942 the first big transports from Tarnow arrived in Belzec, carrying to their death about 10,000 Jews. The "Sluice" ran through this copse. A 2 meters wide open air corridor enclosed within 3 meters high camouflaged fences, it led from the undressing barracks to the door of the second gassing building. The new building was 24 meters long and 10 meters wide. It had six gas chambers, each of them 4 x 8 meters (although some sources state 4 x 5 m). Toward the middle of July 1942 the new chambers were operational. According to Rudolf Reder, one of the few Jewish inmates to survive the camp, the new building was low, long and wide. It was constructed from grey concrete, and had a flat roof covered with pap (tar-paper). A net, covered with green branches, was strung above it. Three steps 1 meters wide and without railings led into the building. In front of the building was a large flowerpot filled with colourful flowers (geraniums). There was also a clearly written sign reading: “Bade- und Inhalationsräume” (Bath and Inhalation Rooms), as well as a sign that read "Stiftung Hackenholt" ("Hackenholt Foundation") named after the SS-NCO who designed the gas chamber. The steps led to a long, dark and empty corridor, 1.5 meters wide. On the right and left of the corridor were the 1 meters wide wooden doors to the gas chambers. The corridor and the chambers were lower than ordinary rooms, no higher than 2 meters. The wall opposite to the entry door of each chamber included another 2 meters wide removable door, through which the gassed bodies were removed. The chambers were 1.5 meters above ground level, with false showerheads in the ceiling. A metal "Mogen Dovid" (Star of David) was placed over the entrance door. Outside the building was a shed measuring 2 x 2 m, where the gassing engine was installed. During the second phase, the chambers were so full that it was found necessary to throw water over the bodies to facilitate their disentanglement. Wirth was appointed Inspector of the Aktion Reinhard death camps at the end of August 1942. He was replaced as camp commander of Belzec by Hering, who was an old acquaintance of Wirth, and had served with him in the Stuttgart Criminal Police. The peak period of "resettlement" was from July-October 1942. Three to four transports per day arrived at Belzec, where conditions were gruesome. In the month of August 1942 alone, about 130.000 people, mainly from the Galicia and Krakow districts, were murdered in Belzec. During the next month about 90.000 Jews were deported to the camp. Piles of flea-bitten, evil smelling, putrefying bodies were simply dumped on the ramps, awaiting removal by the Jewish work brigade. The next batch of deportees, which inevitably contained some who were dead on arrival, merely added to the mass of corpses on the ramps. Robert Jührs was ordered by Hering to take those too sick or too weak to be gassed to Camp II "for a pill" (a euphemism for a shot to the back of the neck). It was during the time of the arrival of a transport from Lwow on 16 August 1942 that Kurt Gerstein and Wilhelm Pfannenstiel inspected Belzec. Both from the SS Technical Disinfecting Services, they were ordered to test the efficiency of Zyklon B for the delousing of lice infected clothing. Possible improvements in the efficiency of the gas chambers were also under consideration. Gerstein allegedly committed suicide in a French prison, but left behind a very detailed description of what he witnessed on his visit to Belzec. According to Reder, Heinrich Himmler visited Belzec in October 1942, accompanied by Fritz Katzmann, the SSPF of Galicia. Realising that the prospect of a German victory in the war was rapidly disappearing, Himmler ordered that all traces of mass killings must be obliterated throughout the occupied areas. He directed Paul Blobel to form a special command for this, named "Sonderkommando 1005". The corpses were loaded onto the grates and soaked in heavy oil, then set alight. Between 434,000 and 500,000 corpses were cremated in this fashion at Belzec. For months the whole area lay under a heavy pall of black oily smoke. The local inhabitants scraped human fat from their windows. Attempts to destroy all evidence were assisted by the use of a bone-crushing machine (from the Janowska Labour Camp), operated by a certain "Szpilke".
The decommissioning of Belzec commenced in spring 1943. The elaborate system of fences and barriers, the barracks and gas chambers were all dismantled and items of use were taken to KZ Lublin (Majdanek). The entire area was then landscaped with firs and wild lupines. Wirth's house and the neighbouring SS building, which had been the property of the Polish Railway before the war, were not demolished. The camp leadership decided to transport the remaining 300 Sonderkommando Jews to Sobibor. Hering told the Jewish Kapos, that they were being taken to Lublin.
Dining tables and bread for three days, together with canned food and vodka were placed in the wagons. Leon Feldhendler, a Jewish prisoner at Sobibor, recorded: "On 30 June 1943 a transport of the last Jews from Belzec arrived under the supervision of SS-Unterscharführer Paul Groth, to be liquidated. Whilst being unloaded, the Jewish prisoners began to run in all directions. They were shot at random throughout the camp." With the exhumations and burning activities nearly completed, Hering left the camp, placing Tauscher in charge of the final liquidation. When that was completed, the Belzec SS garrison was dispersed to other camps. The local population descended on the camp, looking for gold and other valuables. Whilst doing this they unearthed parts of decomposed bodies. The scavenging of the death camp site was discovered by Dubois, who had been sent back from Sobibor by Wirth a few days after the SS had left. Dubois reported his findings to Wirth, who discussed the matter with Globocnik. They decided to plant trees and construct a farm for a permanent occupation by a Ukrainian family in order to guard the area from scavengers. In summer 1943, two small contingents of SS men and Ukrainians arrived to implement this work. One contingent came from Treblinka, the other from Sobibor. The Treblinka group was led by Karl Schiffner, the Sobibor contingent by Unverhau. A large Jewish house from the other end of Belzec village was demolished and then reconstructed as a farm for the Ukrainian custodian to inhabit. In summer 1944 the Belzec region was occupied by the Red Army. After the liberation, local villagers demolished the farm.
Gilbert Martin. The Holocaust – The Jewish Tragedy, William Collins Sons & Co. Limited, London, 1986 Gutman, Israel, ed. Encyclopedia of the Holocaust, Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, 1990 O'Neil Robin. Belzec: Prototype for the Final Solution, http://www.jewishgen.org/Yizkor/belzec1/belzec1.html#TOC Reder Rudolf. Belzec, Fundacja Judaica w Krakowie, Krakow,1999 Sereny, Gitta. Into That Darkness – From Mercy Killing To Mass Murder, Random House UK Limited, London, 1995 Tregenza, Michael. Belzec Death Camp, in: Wiener Library Bulletin, vol. XXX, London, 1977 Trial of Josef Oberhauser - Statement of Stanislaw Kozak , YVA TR-10/517 Photographs: Regional Museum of Tomaszow Lubelski Construction of Belzec - Mike Tregenza Collection SJ Archive
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