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Punishments in Auschwitz — the fourth part in the “Voices of Memory” series

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Written by agju

Wednesday, 10 March 2010

Everyone who was in the camp, even for a short period of time, was constantly under threat of being punished, abuse, and various forms of mistreatment from the SS men, as well as functionary prisoners. There was a constant danger of death that lurked around prisoners every day — during the morning roll call, long working hours, and even during the few hours of rest. The topic of punishments at Auschwitz is dedicated to the next book in the series. The book starts with an academic historical introduction by Dr. Irena Strzelecka, detailing the topic of punishments: the kinds and reasons for use against prisoners. Also included in this book are unique fragments of prisoner testimony as well as photographs of locations and objects in the camp, biographies of the authors of the memoirs, testimonies, and evidence. Other than the concentration camp documents – punishment reports, official memos, and regulations set by the camp authorities – the book is enriched with reproductions of art work showing scenes from the lives of camp prisoners, who have been subjected to punishments. The majority of the reproduced works were created after the war, soon after the liberation of the camp, when those who survived felt the need to share their tragic experiences. Other than the acts of arbitrary brutality and violence, the first years of the Auschwitz camp’s existence were characterized by punishments that were applied according to regulations, through written orders by the commandant or camp manager based on punishment reports by SS men and functionary prisoners. Punishments under regulations were most often: flogging, punishing exercise during the time free from labor, being put into the penal company, taken into the camp prison (Death Block), and the so-called punishment on the ‘the post’. The book is available through the Museum Book Shop and will be translate on English. A fragment from the testimony of former prisoner Danuta Mikusz-Mosiewicz on the topic of the women’s penal company: “Around 20 April 1944 Oberscharführer Kirschner found me in possession of a note from my husband who was also held in the Auschwitz camp. For the exchange of messages I was put into the SK – Strafkompanie – penal company. The women’s penal company at the time was in Block 18 in sector BIb (in Birkenau). In the penal company block there was a German woman who wore the red triangle, the writer Zofia Malys, and one of the stubendiensts was Lidia Szczurek from Chrzanow. In the summer of 1944 the penal company consisted of 120 female prisoners. The SK got up earlier than all other prisoners. After the roll call, which occurred in front of the block, it went off to work. Prisoners of the SK worked on the terrain of the camp, in demolition work of what remained of the houses in Rajsko, removing roots from areas cleared in the forest, road construction, and draining fields. The work was tough, because each prisoner had a quota. When it was warm, in the drained and plowed ponds, we had to break up the dried ridges using pickaxes.”