Children…

“We ceased to work, and the German soldiers and civilians ran
to the shelters. Most of us didn’t. So probably, we expressed our
superiority feeling, and a kind of revenge. We had nothing to lose,
only expected to enjoy the destruction of the big factory we were
building for the I.G. Farben Industrie. It was naturally so.
This happy feeling didn’t change also after the Americans
indeed, began to bomb, and we had casualties too—wounded
and dead. How beautiful was it to see squadron after squadron
burst from the sky, drop bombs, destroy the buildings and kill
also members of the Herrenvolk.
Those bombardments elevated our morale and, paradoxically,
awakened probably some hopes of surviving, of escaping from
this hell. In our wild imagination, we also saw a co-ordination
between the Allies and the indeed small underground movement
in the camp, with which I was in touch. We imagined a coordinated
destruction and escape; destruction from above by the
bombers, and from our hands, while escaping, even if we have to
be living bombs—to be killed. Unfortunately, this never occurred.”
SHALOM LINDENBAUM, AUSCHWITZ-MONOWITZ SURVIVOR
Bombing Auschwitz
From May to July 1944, the world looked on as the
Germans deported hundreds of thousands of Hungarian
Jews, through Slovakia, to be gassed at Auschwitz-
Birkenau. Many individuals and organisations pleaded
with the Allies to do something to stop the killing. The
idea of bombing the Birkenau death camp, whose function
was known to all, was especially promoted. Bombing
the railways to the camp was also urged.
The war was in its last year and the Allied air forces
ruled the skies of Europe. American bombers flying
from Italy passed almost daily over or near the camp.
Sometimes, they took high-altitude photographs of
Birkenau. These pictures, analysed only at the end of
the 1970s, show different phases of the mass murder.
Yet for a number of reasons, American and British
officials refused to order the camp bombed. Some of
the official explanations appear cynical. British Minister
Richard Law delayed answering Chaim Weizmann,
a prominent Jewish leader, for two months after his
request was made. In September 1944, he finally wrote:
“The matter received the most careful consideration of
the Air Staff, but I am sorry to have to tell you that, in
view of the very great technical difficulties involved, we
have no option but to refrain from pursuing the proposal
in present circumstances. I realise that this decision will
prove a disappointment for you, but you may feel fully
assured that the matter was most thoroughly investigated.”
Historians have argued that indifference explains the
failure to bomb; the controversy continues. Nonetheless,
no effort was made to stop the gassing of the Jews.
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