Sobibor - Holocaust Propaganda And Reality - Unity of Nobility ...

J. GRAF, T. KUES, C. MATTOGNO, SOBIBÓR 121
worked full time digging up and transporting the bodies, 338 this task
would have been easily accomplishable. Yet in spite of this, 4 out of 6
mass graves discovered by Kola contain remains of unincinerated, saponified
corpses in their lower strata. This finding is obviously incompatible
with the claim that the SS did their best to eradicate all traces of
their alleged crime. 339
Where did the unincinerated corpses come from? One hypothesis
could be that they are the remains of detainees shot during the uprising.
According to Arad, those shot during the revolt or executed afterward
numbered between 380 and 420. 340 As the camp was hurriedly liquidated
during the following weeks and as there was a lack of work force
in the days immediately after the revolt (the dismantling of the camp
was reportedly done by a group of Jews brought in from Treblinka), it is
possible that their corpses were buried without prior cremation.
In Kola’s preliminary survey report from 2000 it is further made
clear that the corpses are not distributed over the entire area of graves
No. 4-6. Of the initial 15 core samples taken on the eastern side of the
memorial mound, 341 6 encountered human remains; 4 of those contained
“fragments of burnt human bones and charcoal,” whereas 2 contained
both human ashes and remains of saponified corpses. 342
What seems to speak against this hypothesis is the fact that the saponified
corpses were found in the lower parts of graves No. 3-6, with
“remains of cremated corpses” reported as present in the upper layers.
How did this come about? One possible explanation is that the burial
detail opened up already existing mass graves instead of digging new
ones. The reason for this would have been to save time and labor: since
infill soil is significantly less compact than undisturbed soil, it takes less
time and effort to dig through it, and there are no roots in the way. After
the burial of the uncremated corpses, which were possibly covered with
lime, the graves would have been filled in with the old infill soil as well
as the dug up cremated human remains and wood ashes. That the
corpses were placed at the very bottom of the graves could easily be explained
by cautiousness on the part of the SS – after the discovery of the
Soviet massacre victims in the Katyn forest, the Germans would have
338
339
340
341
342
Y. Arad, op. cit. (note 49), p. 171.
Ibid., pp. 170-178.
Ibid., pp. 363f.
These samples form a cross just to the south-east of the mound, most of which is inside
the area of what Kola later designated as grave No. 4; cf. Document 6, p. 405.
A. Kola, op. cit. (note 302), pp. 90f.