Ordinary Men

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Ordinary Men Page 25

by Christopher R. Browning


  10. It may well be that First and Second Platoons of Third Company had already been stationed in a cordon surrounding the village before Trapp’s speech. None of the men from these two platoons remembered the speech, and one witness (Bruno G., HW 2020) testified that the two platoons were not present.

  11. Heinrich S., HW 1563; Martin D., HW 1596; Paul H., HW 1648; Ernst N., HW 1685; Wilhelm K., HW 1767, 2300; Bruno G., HW 2019; August W., HW 2039; Wilhelm Gb., HW 2147; Heinrich B., HW 2596; Walter Z., HW 2618; Anton B., HW 2656; Ernst Hr., HW 2716; Joseph P., HW 2742; Kurt D., HW 2888; Otto I., HW 3521; Wolfgang H., HW 3565; August Z., G 275; Eduard S., G 639; Hellmut S., G 646; Karl S., G 657.

  12. Georg G., HW 2182.

  13. Hellmut S., G 647.

  14. Friedrich E., HW 1356.

  15. Bruno R., HW 1852.

  16. Harry L., G 223.

  17. Emst G., G 383.

  18. Hans Kl., G 363.

  19. Oskar P., HW 1743.

  20. Erwin G., HW 2503.

  21. Georg K., HW 2633; Karl S., G 657.

  22. Wilhelm K., HW 1769; Friedrich Bm., HW 2091; Ernst Hn., G 506. For other accounts of the search, see Max D., HW 1345—46; Alfred L., HW 1351; Friederick V., HW 1539; Friedrich B., HW 1579; Bruno D., HW 1875; Hermann W., HW 1947-48; Otto-Julius S., HW 1954; Bruno G., HW 2019; August W., HW 2040; Bruno R., HW 2084; Hans Kl., HW 2270; Walter Z., HW 2168-69; Anton B., HW 2687; Ernst Hr., HW 2716; Joseph P., HW 2742; August Z., G 275; Karl Z., G 318; Eduard S., G 640.

  23. Friedrich B., HW 1579; Bruno G., HW 2019; August W., HW 2041.

  24. Ernst Hr., HW 2716-17.

  25. Walter Z., HW 2618. For confirming testimony, see Anton B., HW 2688; Joseph P., HW 2742.

  26. Hermann W., HW 1948.

  27. Ernst Hn., G 507. Two witnesses (Eduard S., G 642; Hellmut S., G 647) remembered the first sergeant but not the doctor.

  28. August W., HW 2042.

  29. Martin D., HW 1597.

  30. Anton B., HW 2658-59.

  31. Heinz B., HW 821-22. Not a single policeman interrogated in Hamburg had been part of the escort, so Buchmann’s account is the only version of the fate of the work Jews. On the Luxembourgers making up the escort, see Heinrich E., HW 2167. For other accounts of the sorting of the workers and their being marched out of Józefów by Buchmann, see Wilhelm K., HW 1768; Hermann W., HW 1948; Friedrich Bm., HW 2092-93; Ernst Hn., G 507.

  32. For the testimony of First Company shooters, see especially Friedrich B., HW 1580-81; Friedrich Bra., HW 2091-93; Ernst Hn., G 507-8; Heinrich R., G 623; Hellmut S., G 646-47; Karl S., G 658-59.

  33. Paul H., HW 1648-49.

  34. Heinrich H., G 453.

  35. Wilhelm I., HW 2237.

  36. Friedrich Bra, HW 2092.

  37. Hellmut S., G 647.

  38. Heinrich Bl, HW 462.

  39. Hermann W., HW 1948.

  40. Alfred L., HW 1351.

  41. Bruno R., HW 1852.

  42. Erwin N., HW 1686.

  43. Bruno D., HW 1870; Anton B., HW 4347; Wilhelm Gb., HW 4363; Paul M., G 202.

  44. Ernst Hr., HW 2717.

  45. Erwin G., HW 1640, 2505.

  46. Friedrich Bm., HW 2092.

  47. Wilhelm G., HW 2149.

  48. Ernst Hr., HW 2718.

  49. Wilhelm Gb., HW 2538.

  50. Ernst Hr., HW 2719.

  51. Ernst Hr., HW 2720.

  52. Wilhelm Gb., HW 2539, 2149.

  53. Erwin G., HW 1639-40, 2504; Alfred B., HW 2518.

  54. Anton B., HW 4348. See also Max D., HW 2536.

  55. Walter Z., HW 2619-20; Erwin G., HW 4345.

  56. Heinrich S., HW 1567, 4364; Georg K., HW 2634.

  57. Joseph P., HW 2743-15.

  58. Paul M., G 206-7.

  59. Gustav M., G 168.

  60. Hans D., HW 1336, 3542.

  61. Walter N., HW 3926, G 230.

  62. August Z., G 277.

  63. Georg K., HW 2634.

  64. Otto-Julius S., HW 4579; Friederick V., HW 1540.

  65. Rudolf B., HW 2434, 2951, 4357.

  66. Franz K., HW 2483-86.

  67. In addition to the above cases, another policeman who asked to be released when his nerves were finished after a few rounds was Bruno D., HW 1876, 2535, 4361.

  68. Erwin G., HW 2505; confirmed by Rudolf K., HW 2646-47.

  69. Anton B., HW 2691-93, 4348.

  70. Willy R., HW 2085.

  71. Alfred B., HW 440; Walter Z., HW 2621; Georg K., HW 2635; August Z., G 278.

  72. Friedrich B., HW 1581.

  73. Julius Wohlauf, HW 758.

  74. Heinrich B., HW 2984.

  75. Alfred B., HW 441.

  76. August W., HW 2042.

  77. Otto-Julius S., HW 1955.

  78. Witness after witness used the terms erschüttert, deprimiert, verbittert, niedergeschlagen, bedrückt, verstört, empört, and belastet to describe the men’s feelings that evening.

  79. Friedrich Bm., HW 2093; Hellmut S., G 647.

  80. Heinrich Br., HW 3050.

  81. Wilhelm J., HW 1322.

  82. Willy S., HW 2053. See also Wolfgang Hoffmann, HW 774-75; Johannes R., HW 1809; Bruno R., HW 2086.

  83. Karl M., HW 2546, 2657.

  84. Friedrich Bm., HW 2093-94. See also Karl G., HW 2194.

  8. REFLECTIONS ON A MASSACRE

  1. Heinz B., HW 4413; Kurt D., HW 4339.

  2. In her analysis of Polish rescuers, Nechama Tec also notes that the initial decision to help Jews was impulsive and instinctive, not the result of prolonged reflection and calculation. When Light Pierced the Darkness: Christian Rescue of Jews in Nazi-Occupied Poland (New York, 1986), 188.

  3. Anton B., HW 2693.

  4. Bruno D., HW 2535, 2992.

  5. August W., HW 4592.

  6. Erwin G., HW 1640, 2505, 4344.

  7. Friedrich M., HW 1708.

  8. IMT 29.151 (1919-PS).

  9. Karl G., HW 2194.

  10. Hans Pz., HW 3938.

  11. Hero B., HW 890.

  12. Arthur S., HW 1165.

  13. Hermann W., HW 1947.

  14. Gustav M., G 169-70.

  15. Heinz B., HW 2439-40.

  16. Heinrich Br., HW 3050.

  17. Heinrich R., G 624; August W, HW 3303.

  18. Heinz B., HW 647, 822, 2438, 3940-41.

  9. ŁOMAZY: THE DESCENT OF SECOND COMPANY

  1. YVA, 0-53/121/27-31 (order of Kintrupp, KdO Lublin, July 9, 1942).

  2. Brustin-Berenstein, table 2.

  3. Kurt D., HW 1230, 4368; Anton B., HW 4371.

  4. Heinrich B., HW 2600, 2985.

  5. Kurt D., HW 1230, 1232, 2892, 4368; Ernst Hr., HW 2732.

  6. Paul M., G 207.

  7. Max F., HW 1387; Ernst Hr., HW 2722; Walter L., G 184; Fritz S., G 303.

  8. Anton B., HW 2698-99, 4371; Ernst Hr., HW 2722; Wolfgang H., HW 2211; Kurt D., HW 4368; August Z., G 273.

  9. Fritz S., G 303-4. See also Bernhard S., HW 1717; Ernst Hr., HW 2723; Heinrich B., HW 2985; Friedrich P., G 240.

  10. Ernst Hr., HW 2723; Joseph P., HW 2749-50; Walter L., G 185; Paul M., G 208.

  11. Gustav M., HW 1709.

  12. For the phrase, Max F., HW 1386; for the distance, Heinrich B., HW 2601; Walter L., G 185.

  13. Max F., HW 1386; Paul M., G 207.

  14. Walter Z., HW 2624; Georg K., HW 2638; Anton B., HW 4372.

  15. Anton B., HW 2700-2701.

  16. Wilhelm Gb., HW 2150; Karl G., HW 2197; Heinrich B., HW 2600; Georg K., HW 2638; Joseph P., HW 2750; Hermann Bg., G 98; Walter L., G 185; Paul M., G 207; August Z., G 282; Fritz S., G 313.

  17. Kurt D., HW 4335, 4368-70; Anton B., HW 2703, 3960, 4348; Joseph P., HW 2750; Henry D., HW 3071; Walter N., HW 3927; Ernst Hr., HW 3928; Heinz B., HW 3943; Walter Z., HW 3954. The only contrary testimony about Gnade is Ernst Hr., HW 3929; Walter Z., HW 3954; and Wolfgang Hoffmann, HW 4318.

  18. Wilhelm I., HW 2239.

  19. Friedrich P., G 241-42. This account is fully confirmed by August Z., HW 3519.
/>   20. Hermann Bg., G 98; Joseph P., HW 2750.

  21. Walter Z., HW 2625; Georg K., HW 2638.

  22. Friedrich P., G 241-42.

  23. Ernst H., HW 2725.

  24. Johannes R., HW 1810; Rudolf K., HW 2650; Joseph P., HW 2750-51; Kurt D., HW 4368; Paul M., G 209.

  25. Ernst Hr., HW 2725-26.

  26. Ernst Hr., HW 2256.

  27. Ernst Hr., H W 2256-57; Kurt D., HW 4368; August Z., G 282; Joseph P., HW 2750-51; Walter L., G 186-87; Max F., HW 1388.

  28. Bernhard S., HW 1717.

  29. Rudolf B., HW 405; Bruno D., HW 2535; Heinrich B., HW 2613-14; August Z., HW 3365-66, G 284.

  30. Fritz S., G 303-4; Paul M., G 209; Bernhard S., HW 1717.

  31. Anton B., HW 4374.

  32. August Z., G 282.

  33. Ernst Hr., HW 2727-28; August Z., G 284.

  34. Ernst Hr., HW 2727.

  35. Georg K., HW 2638.

  36. Paul M., G 206, 209.

  37. Adolf B., HW 441.

  38. Anton B., HW 2703-4.

  10. THE AUGUST DEPORTATIONS TO TREBLINKA

  1. Heinrich S., HW 1569.

  2. Georg K., HW 2637; Joseph P. HW 2747.

  3. Erwin G., HW 1642, 2507.

  4. Hans K., HW 2251; Georg K., HW 2636.

  5. On First Company’s role as the “search troops,” see Paul H., HW 1652; Hans K., HW 2251.

  6. For the Parczew deportations in general, see Heinrich S., H W 1569-73, 4383; Erwin G., HW 1641-42, 2507; Paul H., HW 1652; Bruno D., HW 1876-77; Heinrich E., HW 2170; Otto H., HW 2220; Hans K., HW 2251-52; Max D., HW 2536; Heinrich B., HW 2608; Georg K., HW 2636; August Z., HW 3366, G 278-79; Alfred K., G 575-76.

  7. Heinrich S., HW 1572. Steinmetz’s admission was the exception. It was far more common, of course, for the policemen to deny under interrogation that they had any notion about the impending fate of the deported Jews.

  8. Heinrich B., HW 2608; August Z., G 279.

  9. In the memories of almost all the policemen, the August deportation from Międzyrzec was telescoped into a single day. However, one policeman (Heinrich R., G 626) and all the Jewish witnesses (TaubaT., HW 1066-67; Berl C., HW 1092; Rywka G., HW 1112; ZStL, 8 AR-Z236/60 [investigation of KdS Aussenstelle Radzyń], 1:3-4 [excerpt from Feigenbaum]) remember two-day action. Given the number of Jews deported, two days were almost certainly needed.

  10. YVA, TR-10/710 (Landgericht Dortmund 8 Ks 1/70 judgment against Josef Burger), 16.

  11. Policemen from both First and Third Companies testified that Second Company also took part. However, outside of Third Platoon, not a single member of Second Company—even those who testified quite frankly about Łomazy and Józefów—remembered the August Międzyrzec deportation. I consider it most likely, therefore, that First and Second Platoons of Second Company were not present on this occasion.

  12. Ernst Hn., G 512; Heinrich R., G 625.

  13. *Heirich H., HW 976, 3219. See also Friedrich B., HW 1582, 3529; Hans K., 2252, 3220.

  14. H. evaluations of December 6, 1940, and March 31, 1941, in HW 565-67.

  15. R. evaluation of April 10, 1941, in HW 569.

  16. Trapp evaluation of July 21, 1941, in HW 574-80.

  17. Hans Pg., HW 1945; Ernst Hr., HW 2713.

  18. Heinrich E., HW 3351, 3354.

  19. Heinz B., HW 4414.

  20. Julius Wohlauf, HW 750-51, 760.

  21. Friedrich B., HW 1582; Friedrich Bm., HW 2099; Heinz B. and Arthur K., HW 3357; Ernst R., G 610; Heinrich R., G 627.

  22. The most detailed accounts of the Międzyrzec deportation are Heinrich H., HW 976-78; Friedrich B., HW 1582-83; Hans K., HW 2253-54; Ernst Hn., G 512-13; Ernst R., G 610-12; Karl S., G 659-60.

  23. Hans K., HW 2253.

  24. Karl S., G 659.

  25. Heinrich R., G 610.

  26. Friedrich B., HW 3529.

  27. Friedrich B., HW 1583; Ernst Hn., G 512.

  28. Heinrich H., HW 978, 3219; Hans K., HW 3220; Ernst R., G 611.

  29. Heinrich H., HW 977; Friedrich B., HW 1584; Hans K., HW 2254; Ernst Hn., G 513; Ernst R., G 612.

  30. Heinrich H., HW 977-78.

  31. Use de L., HW 1293.

  32. Heinrich H., HW 978; Hans K., HW 2254.

  33. Berl C., HW 1091.

  34. YVA 0-53/105/III (reports of the Warsaw Judenrat).

  35. ZStL, 8 AR-Z 236/60 (investigation of KdS Aussenstelle Radzyń) 3:464 (Ostbahn travel plan of August 25, 1942). For more on the breakdown at Treblinka, see Gitta Sereny, Into That Darkness (London, 1974), 156-64; Arad, 89-96, 119-23.

  11. LATE-SEPTEMBER SHOOTINGS

  1. Ferdinand H., HW 3257-58.

  2. Hans K., HW 2256.

  3. The most important testimony for the Serokomla shootings is Friedrich B., HW 1586-89, 3534; Hans K., HW 2256-60; Ernst R., G 612a-b; Karl S., G 661-62.

  4. Friedrich P., HW 3534.

  5. Hans K., HW 2258.

  6. Albert D., HW 3539; Arthur S., HW 3540.

  7. Heinrich Bl., HW 464; Hans K., HW 2255; Friedrich Bm., HW 2096.

  8. Heinrich E., HW 2173.

  9. Hans K., HW 2256.

  10. Ernst Hn., G 509.

  11. Ernst Hn., G 509; Friedrich B., HW 1590.

  12. Heinz B., HW 826.

  13. Georg W., HW 1733.

  14. Gerhard H., G 541.

  15. Hans K., HW 2255; Friedrich Bm., HW 2097; Hellmut S., G 648.

  16. Alfred H., HW 286.

  17. Heinrich Bl., HW 464-65.

  18. Friedrich Bm., HW 2097-98; Hans K., HW 2255-56; Hellmut S., G 648-19; Karl S., G 662.

  19. Trapp report to Police Regiment 25, September 26, 1942, HW 2548-50.

  20. Heinz B., HW 648, 822, 824, 2438, 2440-41, 3941, 4415.

  21. Heinrich E., HW 2172.

  22. Hans K., HW 2242; Kurt D., HW 2678; Arthur S., HW 3539; Alfred K., G 582; Ernst R., G 612d.

  23. Heinrich E., HW 2174.

  24. Heinz B., HW 648, 2438.

  25. Heinz B., HW 2441.

  26. Heinrich E., HW 2174.

  12. THE DEPORTATIONS RESUME

  1. Brustin-Berenstein, 21-92.

  2. YVA, 0-53/121 W 1/124-25 (order of Kintrupp, August 27, 1942, effective September 2, 1942).

  3. Testimony of survivors Jozef B., HW 1122, and Sara K., HW 3250. According to Brustin-Berenstein, table 2, some 6,000 Jews from the smaller villages of Biała Podlaska county were deported to Międzyrzec on September 23-24. She lists the deportations from the town of Biała Podlaska itself (4, 800 Jews) on September 26 and October 6 as going directly to Treblinka, but survivor testimony indicates that at least the September deportation from Biała went first to Międzyrzec.

  4. Brustin-Berenstein, table 1, gives the figure of 610 Jews from Komarówka, 800 from Wohyn, and 1,019 from Czemierniki.

  5. Johannes R., HW 1810-11; Kurt D., HW 1621; Anton B., HW 2705-6.

  6. Paul M., HW 2659.

  7. According to Brustin-Berenstein, table 10: 1,724 from Adamów, 460 from Stanin gmina, 446 from Ulan gmina, and 213 from Wojcieszków.

  8. YVA, TR-10/710 (Landgericht Dortmund, 8 Ks 1/70, judgment against Josef Bürger): 10, 16 (hereafter Bürger judgment).

  9. For estimates of Security Police and Gendarmerie manpower in Radzyń county, see ZStL, 8 AR-Z 236/60 (investigation of KdS Aussenstelle Radzyń), 1:28 (Braumüller), 113 (Burger), 120 (Käser); 2:176-79 (Reimer), 209-10 (Brämer), 408 (Behrens), 420 (Kambach); 4:550 (Schmeer), 715 (Avriham); and Sonderband (testimony of Rumminger, Schoeja, and Wald-ner), no pagination.

  10. Brustin-Berenstein, table 10.

  11. Helmuth H., HW 317-20, 991; Heinz B., HW 823; Heinrich E., HW 2176; Richard G., G 389.

  12. Heinrich S., HW 1573-74; Max D., HW 2536.

  13. Alfred H., HW 45, 279-30.

  14. Kurt D., HW 1266, 2966-67, 4391; Paul M., HW 2663.

  15. Alfred H., HW 45, 280-82.

  16. Peter Ö., HW 1790; Walter L., G 189-90; Friedrich P., G 244.

  17. Kurt D., HW 1268, 2968, 4390.

  18. Fri
edrich P., G 244.

  19. August Z., HW 3367-68, G 288.

  20. Alfred H. (HW 45, 282) initially testified to the deportation of 6,000 to 10,000 but later lowered his estimate to 1,000. Kurt D. (HW 1621) likewise gave a figure of 1,000. However, all witnesses agree that a Hiwi unit was sent to assist the Order Police in carrying out the early October action. It is very unlikely that a sizable contingent of Hiwis would have been sent for so small an action, given the availability of an entire company of Order Police. Such a small number of deportees is also unlikely in view of the many thousands of Jews who had been concentrated in Międzyrzec in the previous weeks.

  21. Helmuth H., HW 991; Stephan J., HW 1041-43; Tauba T., HW 1069; Friedrich B., HW 1585.

  22. Kurt D., HW 1270-71, 2790, 4391; Max F., HW 1389-90; Johannes R., HW 1012; Franz K., HW 2479.

  23. Lucia B., G 595-96; Hoffmann letter of May 5, 1943, HW 512.

  24. Julius Wohlauf, HW 752, 762-64.

  25. Heinrich H., HW 972; Rudolf B., HW 406-7; Max D., HW 1347.

  26. August Z., G 286; Konrad H., G 404-5; Wilhelm K., G 568.

  27. Wilhelm Gs., HW 2466.

  28. Bürger judgment, 18.

  29. Alfred K., G 579.

  30. Bürger judgment, 20; Aviram J., HW 1059-60; Gedali G., HW 1080; Friedrich Bm., HW 2100; Hans K., HW 2262-63. According to Hans K., Jurich shot the head of the Jewish council in a dispute over a sewing machine.

 

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