AUSCHWITZ: AN EYE-WITNESS ACCOUNT

Some  new facts about Auschwitz are at last beginning to make a tentative  appearance. They are contained in a recent work called Die Auschwitz-Lüge:  Ein  Erlebnisbericht von Theis Christopherson (The Auschwitz Legends:  An Account of  his Experiences by Thies Christopherson, Kritik  Verlag/Mohrkirch, 1973).  Published by the German lawyer Dr. Manfred  Roeder in the periodical Deutsche  Bürger-Iniative, it is an eye-witness  account of Auschwitz by Thies  Christopherson, who was sent to  the Bunawerk plant laboratories at Auschwitz to  research into  the production of synthetic rubber for the Kaiser Wilhelm  Institute.  In May 1973, not long after the appearance of this account, the  veteran Jewish "Nazi-hunter" Simon Wiesenthal wrote to the Frankfurt  Chamber of  Lawyers, demanding that the publisher and author of  the Forward, Dr. Roeder, a  member of the Chamber, should be brought  before its disciplinary commission.  Sure enough, proceedings began  in July, but not without harsh criticism even  from the Press,  who asked "Is Simon Wiesenthal the new Gauleiter of Germany?"  (Deutsche  Wochenzeitung, July 27th, 1973). Christopherson's account is certainly  one of the most important documents for a re-appraisal of Auschwitz.  He spent  the whole of 1944 there, during which time he visited  all of the separate camps  comprising the large Auschwitz complex,  including Auschwitz-Birkenau where it is  alleged that wholesale  massacres of Jews took place. Christopherson, however, is  in no  doubt that this is totally untrue. He writes: "I was in Auschwitz  from  January 1944 until December 1944. After the war I heard about  the mass murders  which were supposedly perpetrated by the S.S.  against the Jewish prisoners, and  I was perfectly astonished.  Despite all the evidence of witnesses, all the  newspaper reports  and radio broadcasts I still do not believe today in these  horrible  deeds. I have said this many times and in many places, but to no  purpose. One is never believed" (p. 16). Space forbids a detailed  summary here  of the author's experiences at Auschwitz, which include  facts about camp routine  and the daily life of prisoners totally  at variance with the allegations of  propaganda (pp. 22-7). More  important are his revelations about the supposed  existence of  an extermination camp. "During the whole of my time at Auschwitz,  l  never observed the slightest evidence of mass gassings. Moreover,  the odour of  burning flesh that is often said to have hung over  the camp is a downright  falsehood. In the vicinity of the main  camp (Auschwitz I) was a large farrier's  works, from which the  smell of molten iron was naturally not pleasant" (p.  33-4). Reitlinger  confirms that there were five blast furnaces and five  collieries  at Auschwitz, which together with the Bunawerk factories comprised  Auschwitz III (ibid. p. 452). The author agrees that a crematorium  would  certainly have existed at Auschwitz, "since 200,000 people  lived there, and in  every city with 200,000 inhabitants there  would be a crematorium. Naturally  people died there -- but not  only prisoners. In fact the wife of  Obersturmbannführer A. (Christopherson's  superior) also died there" (p. 33). The  author explains: "There  were no secrets at Auschwitz. In September 1944 a  commission of  the International Red Cross came to the camp for an inspection.  They were particularly interested in the camp at Birkenau, though  we also had  many inspections at Raisko" (Bunawerk section, p.  35). Christopherson points out  that the constant visits to Auschwitz  by outsiders cannot be reconciled with  allegations of mass extermination.  When describing the visit of his wife to the  camp in May, he observes:  "The fact that it was possible to receive visits from  our relatives  at any time demonstrates the openness of the camp administration.  Had Auschwitz been a great extermination camp, we would certainly  not have been  able to receive such visits" (p. 27). After the  war, Christopherson came to hear  of the alleged existence of a  building with gigantic chimneys in the vicinity of  the main camp.  "This was supposed to be the crematorium. However, I must record  the fact that when I left the camp at Auschwitz in December 1944,  I had not seen  this building there" (p. 37). Does this mysterious  building exist today?  Apparently not; Reitlinger claims it was  demolished and "completely burnt out in  full view of the camp"  in October, though Christopherson never saw this public  demolition.  Although it is said to have taken place "in full view of the camp",  it was allegedly seen by only one Jewish witness, a certain Dr.  Bendel, and his  is the only testimony to the occurrence (Reitlinger,  ibid, p. 457). This  situation is generally typical. When it comes  down to hard evidence, it is  strangely elusive; the building was  "demolished", the document is "lost", the  order was "verbal".  At Auschwitz today, visitors are shown a small furnace and  here  they are told that millions of people were exterminated. The Soviet  State  Commission which "investigated" the camp announced on May  12th, 1945, that  "Using rectified coefficients . . . the technical  expert commission has  ascertained that during the time that the  Auschwitz camp existed, the German  butchers exterminated in this  camp not less than four million citizens ..."  Reitlinger's surprisingly  frank comment on this is perfectly adequate: "The  world has grown  mistrustful of 'rectified coefficients' and the figure of four  millions  has become ridiculous" (ibid, p. 460). Finally, the account of Mr.  Christopherson draws attention to a very curious circumstance.  The only  defendant who did not appear at the Frankfurt Auschwitz  Trial in 1963 was  Richard Baer, the successor of Rudolf Höss  as commandant of Auschwitz. Though in  perfect health, he died  suddenly in prison before the trial had begun, "in a  highly mysterious  way" according to the newspaper; Deutsche Wochenzeitung (July  27th,  1973). Baer's sudden demise before giving evidence is especially  strange,  since the Paris newspaper Rivarol recorded his insistence  that "during the whole  time in which he governed Auschwitz, he  never saw any gas chambers nor believed  that such things existed,"  and from this statement nothing would dissuade him.  In short,  the Christopherson account adds to a mounting collection of evidence  demonstrating that the giant industrial complex of Auschwitz (comprising  thirty  separate installations and divided by the main Vienna-Cracow  railway line) was  nothing but a vast war production centre, which,  while admittedly employing the  compulsory labour of detainees,  was certainly not a place of "mass  extermination".