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

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J. GRAF, T. KUES, C. MATTOGNO, SOBIBÓR 31<br />

2.3.6. Adalbert Rückerl (1977)<br />

In 1977 Adalbert Rückerl, long-time head <strong>of</strong> the German Central<br />

Agency for the prosecution <strong>of</strong> Nazi crimes at Ludwigsburg, Germany,<br />

published a book entitled NS-Vernichtungslager im Spiegel deutscher<br />

Strafprozesse 36 (NS crimes in the light <strong>of</strong> German criminal proceedings),<br />

in which he documents the trials in Germany against former<br />

members <strong>of</strong> the camp personnel at Beec, Sobibór, Treblinka and<br />

Chemno. In chapter 6.4. devoted to the Hagen trial <strong>of</strong> 1965/66 we will<br />

refer to this book on many occasions. 37<br />

2.3.7. E.A. Cohen (1979)<br />

In 1979 the Dutch Jewish physician Elie A. Cohen, M.D., who had<br />

been interned at Auschwitz and Mauthausen during the war, published a<br />

book in Holland entitled De negentien treinen naar Sobibór 38 (The nineteen<br />

trains to Sobibór). Aside from extensive psychological considerations,<br />

the work gives us a summary <strong>of</strong> the orthodox version <strong>of</strong> the fate<br />

<strong>of</strong> the Jews during the Second World War as well as a résumé <strong>of</strong> the<br />

<strong>of</strong>ficial depiction <strong>of</strong> Sobibór, which Cohen had gathered from the literature<br />

about the camp – extremely sparse at the time – and from the files<br />

<strong>of</strong> the German trials.<br />

2.3.8. Miriam Novitch (1980)<br />

With a certain Miriam Novitch acting as editor, a collection <strong>of</strong> accounts<br />

entitled Sobibór. Martyrdom and Revolt 39 appeared in 1980. It<br />

consists <strong>of</strong> an introduction and <strong>of</strong> uncommented statements by 25 former<br />

Sobibór detainees. The year in which these statements were recorded<br />

is given only in a few cases. Most <strong>of</strong> the accounts are surprisingly<br />

brief, and some amount to little more than one or two pages. With its 24<br />

pages, the last account, written by Moshe Bahir, is an exception (pp.<br />

139 – 163). The credibility <strong>of</strong> this key witness can be judged by the following<br />

passage:<br />

36<br />

37<br />

38<br />

39<br />

Adalbert Rückerl, NS-Vernichtungslager im Spiegel deutscher Strafprozesse, dtv, Frankfurt<br />

a. M. 1977.<br />

Cf. section 5.4.<br />

Dr. E. A. Cohen, De Negentien Treinen naar Sobibór, B. V. Uitgeversmaatschappij Elsevier<br />

Boekerij, Amsterdam 1979.<br />

Miriam Novitch (ed.), Sobibór. Martyrdom and Revolt. Documents and Testimonies, <strong>Holocaust</strong><br />

Library, New York 1980.

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