Question

How do the prisoners quoted in this reading describe the process of killing at Auschwitz? Who was involved in the killing? Why do you think the Nazis forced other prisoners (the Sonderkommandos) to assist in the murders? Why were Sonderkommandos killed and replaced every few months?

Answer 1

The Sonderkommandos were groups of Jewish prisoners forced to perform a variety of duties in the gas chambers and crematoria of the Nazi camp system. They worked primarily in the Nazi killing centers, such as Auschwitz, but they were also used at other killing sites to dispose of the corpses of victims.

Key facts:


1

Sonderkommando is the German word for “special command unit,” and it was used in many different contexts. Jewish Sonderkommando units in the camps should not be confused with the Sonderkommandos which comprised smaller units of Einsatzgruppen killing squads who murdered Jews in mass shootings in the German-occupied Soviet Union and elsewhere

2

Jews kept alive for forced labor were ordered to do a wide range of activities for the functioning of the camp and for the war effort and war economy. Those chosen for the Sonderkommandos were forced to participate in many tasks involving prisoners and their bodies before and after their deaths.

3

Members of the Sonderkommandos were usually killed after a few months and replaced by new arrivals. There were very few survivors from this group.