Just when I thought revisionism couldn't get any easier...
I took Stubble's advice just for a short moment and decided to look a bit closer at the context of some of the documents in the Auschwitz Index and the very first document I actually look at closely, and the very first phrase I translate is this one:
- Effekten.jpg (55.5 KiB) Viewed 219 times
It pertains to this item under "Contemporary German Documents" in the HC Auschwitz Index:
List of barracks of 30 June 1942 on “effect barracks for special treatment 3 pieces” [Bartosik, The beginnings of the extermination of Jews...,p.118]
The actual document scan (provided by Hans) is here:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/i ... Cp.118.png
[ Backed up here:
https://imagebin.ca/v/8RaCjDpCjzZJ ]
Here is the full transcribed text of the relevant document portion(s):
Typ X RAD
Aborthauser 8 Stück
Typ 263/9 OKH.
Fahrzeug und Gerätehalle 1 "
Typ 260/9
1.) Effektenbaracken
bei prov. Entlausung im K.L. aufgestellt
4 Stück
2.) Effektenbaracke für Sonder-
behandlung 3 Stück
3.) Effektenbaracke im FKL 1 Stück
4.) Unterkunftsbaracke Bor 1 Stück [Total #1-4:] 9 Stück
Typ Luftwaffe (Meyer Tarnow 42.50x12.50x2.30)
Mannschaftsunterkunftsbaracken für Kommandantur 4 Stück
(fertig aufgestellt u. belegt)
Typ Luftwaffe (Meyer Tarnow 42.50x12.50x2.30)
Mannschaftsunterkunftsbaracke (Stabsbaracke) 1 Stück
(fertig aufgestellt und belegt)
And here it is translated:
Type X RAD
Outhouses 8 pieces
Type 263/9 OKH.
Vehicle and equipment hall 1 "
Type 260/9
1.) Personal effects barracks
set up in the K.L. for prov. delousing
4 pieces
2.) Personal effects barracks for special treatment 3 pieces
3.) Personal effects barracks in the FKL 1 piece
4.) Accommodation barracks Bor 1 piece [Total #1-4:] 9 pieces
Type Luftwaffe (Meyer Tarnow 42.50x12.50x2.30)
Personnel accommodation barracks for the commandant's office 4 pieces
(fully set up and occupied)
Type Luftwaffe (Meyer Tarnow 42.50x12.50x2.30)
Personnel accommodation barracks (staff barracks) 1 piece
(fully set up and occupied)
( Here is a great deal of information on some of the "pieces" which were being ordered, above - that is,
Type 260/9 barracks:
https://dbxchange.eu/project/pferdestal ... e-2609-okh )
To be clear, what this document shows for item #1 under "Type 260/9 [barracks]" is
a provisional setup for delousing personal effects within Auschwitz-Birkenau. This was clearly the largest operation in scale per this document, given the greatest number of pieces/barracks is allocated for this purpose (4 pieces).
The phrase "Effektenbarackten bei prov. Entlausung im K.L. aufgestellt" is translated and interpreted as follows:
- "Effektenbarackten" refers to barracks where personal effects are stored.
- "bei prov. Entlausung" means "during provisional delousing," indicating a temporary or non-permanent setup.
- "im K.L." stands for "in the concentration camp."
The very next item pertains to personal effects barracks for special treatment. It is well-known that "special treatment" referred to hygienic practices. Here is an important example (Rudolf, The Chemistry of Auschwitz, p. 121):
At the behest of the garrison physician, a thoroughgoing program was launched at Birkenau in early May 1943 with the official designation “Special measures for the improvement of the hygienic installations.”
Therefore, this special treatment (applicable to personal effects) undoubtedly relates to the same "provisional delousing" (or similar operations) of the previous item. Here is a plausible interpretation:
Proposed Process Flow:
- Step 1: Confiscation of personal effects from prisoners.
- Step 2: Storage of personal effects in "Effektenbaracken bei prov. Entlausung im K.L. aufgestellt" for delousing.
- Step 3: After delousing, transfer of personal effects to "Effektenbaracke für Sonderbehandlung" for sorting and special treatment, which may involve:
-- Sorting valuables for appropriation (possibly to "Kanada" warehouses or other destinations).
-- Disposing of or repurposing non-valuable items.
On a separate note, relevant to other items in the Auschwitz Index, even terms like 'gas chamber' exclusively referred to disinfestation (Ibid., p. 85):
The only structures remaining intact in Auschwitz-Birkenau today encompassing a wing for the disinfestation of personal effects with Zyklon B are Buildings (Bauwerk, BW) 5a and 5b in Construction Sections B1a and B1b, respectively. These buildings were planned as mirror images of each other. The west (respectively east) wing of these buildings were used, at least temporarily, for disinfestation with Zyklon B. These rooms were expressly labeled “Gaskammer” (gas chamber) on the construction blueprints, see Figure 39. This is no triviality: rather, it is important proof that, if we follow the extant documentation, the term “gas chamber,” at that time, referred exclusively to installations for the disinfestation of personal effects, both by architects during the planning of such buildings, and by disinfestation experts.