Sonderkommandos were prisoners, usually young Jewish men, selected from a transport and made to work in the crematorium. They were intimate with the act of killing. They observed the act of killing directly, closely, and over long periods of time. They were present with the condemned in their last moments when they entered the undressing room, when they lined up to go into the gas chamber, and they were with the corpses minutes after they were gassed when their bodies were removed from the chambers and were “processed”. Pulled teeth from the dead victims mouth, they searched hidden cavities for valuables, they removed rings from fingers, and clipped hair that was bundled and shipped. They burnt the corpse in open pits or in crematory ovens, they crushed the bones and disposed of the ashes.
Selection Area at Auschwitz-Birkenau Extermination Center (photo by Terry Riversong 2022)
After selection process the Jews were lead to the underground undressing room, the Germans told the incoming Jews they were going to the showers and then to work. They instructed them to remember the hook upon which they hung their clothing on so they could retrieve them afterwards.
Underground Undressing Room - Crematory II, Auschwitz-Birkenau (photo by Terry Riversong 2022)
Crematory II, Auschwitz-Birkenau (photo by Terry Riversong 2022)
“First women were pushed into the gas chamber and packed as tight as they could, Then the men would go after that until the chamber was full to its capacity. Knowing it was going to be filled, they held the children back. As the chamber was filled to capacity the sonderkommandos would grab the children by their legs and arms, and shove them over the heads of people. We kept poking the people in the gas chamber so they would move farther back. The kids had to go further back, then they slammed the door and gave a signal to the SS man upstairs, to put the gas in.” - Sam Itzkowitz
“One day I was in the crematorium. I saw a middle aged man, very lean, very skinny, going up to the door where they were pulling out bodies. The big bodies couldn’t be picked up because they were heavy. He walked through the dead bodies, through the corpse, and he picked up small children and every one he picked up was just like a limp and he kissed every one of the children and he would recite the kaddish. I could see his lips moving as he walked to the ovens and laid it upon another prisoner and then shoved it into the fire. One after the other."
Ash Pit and gas chamber remains in background - Crematory II, Auschwitz-Birkenau (photo by Terry Riversong 2022)
“Did you cry,” Joseph Sachar, a Greek Jew who arrived in Auschwitz in 1944, was asked. His reply “Yes, but without tears”
Resources
Auschwitz-Birkenau Archives
'From The Heart of Hell' by Zalmen Gradowsky
'We wept without Tears' by Gideon Greif
'If This Is A Man" by Prima Levi
Testimony of Sam Itzkowitz