The Gas Vans: A Critical Investigation - Holocaust Handbooks

SANTIAGO ALVAREZ, THE GAS VANS 89
– After having dealt with the clearing out of “the camp” (this refers to
the Semlin camp near Belgrade), the author suddenly changes tack,
as he is now worried about the attitude of “Jewish officers” held as
PoW, if they find out about that clearing. The author speaks again of
“the camp” in singular, although there were many PoW camps in
Germany and the German occupied territories. It is also inconceivable
why those (relatively few) Jewish officers could have “easily”
caused “complications.” And even if so, who would have cared,
since Jews are said to have been expendable anyhow?
– “repercussions on our prisoners in Canada”: even though some
German soldiers were held in Canadian PoW camps, the vast majority
of German PoW camps in early 1942 were located in Britain and
the U.S. In addition, if the Germans had to worry about any of their
PoW in Allied hands, it would have been primarily about those in
Soviet hands. The Canadians were the smallest players in that game.
It is therefore beyond comprehension why Turner should have mentioned
them. Unless, of course, the author of this letter was Canadian.
2.2.7.2. Problematic Language
– “möchte ich nicht verfehlen” – probably literal translation from English
“I don’t want to fail”; correct German would be: “möchte ich
nicht versäumen.”
– “meinen […] Dank […] zu übermitteln” – correct German: “meinen
Dank auzusprechen”; “übermitteln” means to convey thanks from a
third person.
– “I can also again today, the more so since you know me well
enough, only once more repeat” – a very circuitous way of saying
nothing.
– “Ich möchte nicht erinnern” – English “I don’t want to remind”; incomplete
phrase; correct German: “Ich möchte ihn nicht daran erinnern”
or “Ich möchte dies nicht anmahnen.” The sentence basically
makes the same statement twice: “I don’t want to remind, because
[…] I don’t feel entitled to remind.”
– “was allerdings weitergeführt worden ist” – English: “which, however,
was continued.” The “allerdings” (however) indicates a contradiction,
but there is none here.
– “Dann ist der Augenblick gekommen, in dem die […] jüdischen Offiziere
[…] hinter die nicht mehr vorhandenen Angehörigen kommen”