CARLO MATTOGNO · THE REAL CASE AUSCHWITZ

500 CARLO MATTOGNO · THE REAL CASE FOR AUSCHWITZ
From mid-May onwards this installation was also used for the delousing
of the gypsy camp and of the straw mattresses, wool blankets,
underwear, and dresses of the women’s camp. These delousings,
which had to be accomplished in addition to our own, brought
in lice again in spite of all precautions, and the number of typhus
patients went up. […]
In the old men’s camp BIb this delousing of the blocks was carried
out by myself in this way and the camp would have become free
of lice, if the circumstances mentioned initially had not occurred.”
This shows that all the blocks of camp BIb were disinfested and that
the gas chamber of BW5a operated continuously at least from before
mid-May and after mid-July. Still, in spite of this feverish disinfestation
activity the camp was again infested. On June 26 the SS garrison surgeon
ordered the isolation of block 1, “because of the accumulation of
typhus cases in block 1.” 709 From a letter of the Lagerarzt of camp BIa
to Kommandantur, dated July 25, 1943, we learn that the situation had
worsened: disinfestation of blocks 1, 2, 3, 8 and 9 was scheduled for the
following day, and on July 27 blocks 5, 6, 11, 12 and 16 were to be
treated; in addition the “delousing of the sickbay” was to take place on
July 28 and 29. 710
In Kommandantursonderbefehl Nr. 16/43 dated July 23, 1943, Höss
gave detailed instructions “for the implementation of the delousing of
camp BIa,” which was to take place on July 24 and 25, including the
order not to loiter in the vicinity of camp BIa “because of the danger of
vapors of toxic gas” (Frei et al., pp. 314f.). He gave the same instructions
in Kommandantursonderbefehl Nr. 17/43 dated July 30, 1943, “for
the implementation of the delousing of camp BIId,” which was to take
place on July 31 and August 1 (ibid., pp. 319f.). In his “Report on the
continuation of the work on special measures in the PoW camp and in
the main camp,” Bischoff wrote the following on July 31: 711
“Building section I. Work has been stopped in BAI since July 26
because of the delousing action scheduled. For this reason a continuation
of the work is impossible until the end of the delousing action.”
In a report dated August 7 Bischoff stated: 712
709 Letter from SS-Standortarzt “an die Lagerführerin des Lagers BIa Birkenau” dated June
26, 1943. RGVA, 502-1-65, p. 74.
710 RGVA, 502-1-65, pp. 62-62a.
711 RGVA, 502-1-83, p. 99.
712
RGVA, 502-1-83, p. 237.