Garrison and Headquarters Orders of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp

By Aryan Sun

The records of the Auschwitz Camp are very extensive: among them are the approx. 350 headquarters orders, special headquarters orders, garrison orders and circulars that were issued by the Auschwitz Camp authorities from 1940 to 1945.

Garrison and Headquarters Orders of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp: A Critically Commented Selection

By Germar Rudolf and Ernst Böhm

Introduction

The records of the Auschwitz Camp are very extensive. Among them are the approx. 350 headquarters orders, special headquarters orders, garrison orders and circulars that were issued by the Auschwitz Camp authorities from 1940 to 1945, hence during the entire existence of the camp. As will be demonstrated below, these orders warrant the assumption that Auschwitz was a labor camp and that it was not an extermination camp.

Labor and Living Conditions

Given the context of the war years, the inmates’ working hours were reasonable and not unconscionable.

From October 1940:

7 a.m. – 11.30 a.m. and 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. = 8 ½ hours (KB 6a/40, p. 15)

From April 1941:

6 a.m. – 11.30 a.m. and 1.30 p.m. – 6.00 p.m. = 10 hours (KB 3/41, p. 28)

From April 1942:

6 a.m. – 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. – 7 p.m. = 11 hours (KB April 17, 1942, p. 126; see Document 4 in the Appendix)

From October 1944:

6 a.m. – 12 p.m. and 12.30 p.m. – 5 p.m. = 10 ½ hours (SB 25/44, p. 497)

From November 1944:

6.30 a.m. – 4 p.m. with a short lunch break = approx. 9 ½ hours (SB 28/44, p. 513).

The working hours of SS members and civilian employees in the camp’s offices were no less than those of the inmates (SB 29/44, p. 515). Besides, ask yourself how many hours a day many people have to work today, in so-called peacetime, to make ends meet for their family. The following headquarters orders clearly show that an aim was to preserve the inmates’ ability to work and not to destroy them. The one excludes the other.

Particularly diligent inmates were rewarded with various benefits. Document 53 in the Appendix is a report by the Central Construction Office at Auschwitz to the camp headquarters for the purpose of granting certain benefits to such inmates. This was not an exception, but the rule in cases of good conduct.

The actual living conditions of the inmates in the Auschwitz Camp can hardly be gleaned from garrison and headquarters orders. Other documents are much more suitable in this regard, such as the harsh criticism of the garrison physician at the time, Dr. Eduard Wirths, on the catastrophic living conditions due to the lack of hygienic and sanitary facilities. When Dr. Wirths took his post in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp on September 6, 1942, he was shocked by what he found there (Völklein 2005, pp. 40f.):

“Before my assumption of duties there it was explained to me by the head of all concentration camps Gruppenführer Glücks, and the head doctor of all concentration camps Standartenführer Dr. Lolling, that my exclusive task in Auschwitz was to combat a severe epidemic of typhoid fever and typhus among the guards, nothing else was to concern me. I discovered intolerable conditions for the prisoners. There was no running water, no proper toilets, no means of bathing. The barracks in which the prisoners were quartered were unheated, overcrowded, and beds were missing. Lice literally swarmed on the floors, clothes, bodies of the people. The walls were black with fleas. The people in an inconceivable condition, wasted to their ribs, plagued with vermin, the dead lying between the living and the dying. Every day hundreds of dead were carted off, often after lying for days among the living. I was so spiritually demoralized that I soon saw suicide as the only way out.”

Dr. Wirths’s heroic, sustained struggle against the camp bureaucracy and the sluggish SS Reich leadership to improve living conditions in Auschwitz is well documented (see Mattogno 2004 & 2016a).

Cleanliness, Hygiene, Medical Care

Great importance was attached to the cleanliness and hygiene of the inmates and their quarters:

“7. Cleanliness of the quarters The camp leaders have to convince themselves of the cleanliness of the guard and inmate quarters. They have to check whether the quarters are properly darkened at night.” (KB 6/44, p. 438)

“4. Camp-Internal Staff During various inspections of the individual satellite camps, I had to repeatedly complain to the camp-internal staff about issues such as bed maintenance, room and locker tidiness. The respective camp and unit leaders are responsible for the proper implementation. […]

Inmates’ foot roll call In each satellite camp, 10% of all beds are to be reserved for the inmates’ infirmary. In addition, care must be taken to ensure that the block elders, under the supervision of a block leader, conduct foot inspections of the inmates three times a week in order to monitor injuries and the cleanliness of the inmates’ feet.” (KB 2/43, p. 383f.)

Medical care was of course part of keeping the inmates healthy, whether working or under arrest:

“6. Medical examination of inmates under arrest I order that every inmate who is to be punished with arrest has to be seen by a doctor. In particularly urgent cases, the doctor has to be informed after the arrest. At the same time, I order that female inmates working in households etc. are not to be transferred to Birkenau for their arrest.” (SB 31/43, p. 321)

Here, too, the SS was not concerned with the inmates looking neat and smelling good, but more specifically, as before, to limit the spread of contagious diseases or to prevent them altogether.

The massive hygienic problems that the camp had to deal with since its inception, particularly the Birkenau Camp, have already been mentioned. At the beginning, both medical care of, and provisioning for, the inmates were similarly miserable, but in this respect Dr. Wirths made massive progress as well. The documentation on the medical care of the Auschwitz inmates is very extensive and proves that from 1943 onward the camp administration and the Reichsführung SS spared no expense or effort to raise the medical care of the inmates to an exemplary level. The plan was basically to transform Birkenau into a huge hospital camp where inmates from all surrounding camps and companies would be admitted who needed medical treatment.

Provisioning

Sufficient food was necessary to maintain the inmates’ ability to work:

“1. Provisioning at the satellite camps When the SS garrison physician visited a satellite camp, it was determined that there was not enough food. I hold the camp and unit leaders responsible for ensuring that no such complaints will occur in the future. If difficulties should arise, a complaint should be made immediately to the head of administration and to the leader of the protectiuve-custody camp, SS Lieutenant Schöttl.” (KB 2/43, p. 383)

Even during the last years of the war – or rather especially then – everything was done to maintain the the inmates’ ability to work. The prerequisite for this was health, which in turn was supported by adequate food, proper clothing, protection from the cold and the like.

Releases and Transfers

The Italian researcher Carlo Mattogno has moreover demonstrated that in 1944 and 1945 alone, more than 250,000 inmates were transferred from Auschwitz to other camps (Mattogno 2006). With a quarter of a million witnesses to a mass murder, secrecy would never have been possible.

The following garrison order dated April 12, 1944, in which the Camp Commandant Liebehenschel pointed out factors to be considered when preparing inmates for their release – some of whom had been infected with typhus – proves that inmates were released:

“11. Releases and transfers of inmates from Concentration Camp Auschwitz II

It has now repeatedly happened that inmates who were individually released or transferred from Concentration Camp Auschwitz II [Birkenau] came down with a disease dangerous to the public (typhus) outside of Concentration Camp Auschwitz after their release or transfer, despite having been quarantined. After consulting with the SS garrison physician at Auschwitz, I therefore order that, in the interests of preventing epidemics and thus preserving public health, inmates may only be individually transferred or released from Concentration Camp Auschwitz II if they are grouped together with batches of inmates who are being transferred to another concentration camp. Individuals may only be released or transferred from KL Auschwitz to a prison or back home or any other location outside of Concentration Camp Auschwitz, if they have been quarantined successfully for 21 days at Concentration Camp Auschwitz I [Main Camp]. This means that all inmates to be released or to be transferred individually are to be transferred from Concentration Camp Auschwitz II to Concentration Camp Auschwitz I for implementation of the 21-day release quarantine and then to be released directly from Concentration Camp Auschwitz I without reentering Concentration Camp Auschwitz II.” (SB 12/44, p. 435)

Clothing

As emerges already from the previously mentioned garrison order of February 14, 1944, great importance was attached to appropriate clothing for the inmates (cf. pp. 31f. as well as Document 38, p. 145). The same topic had been addressed two months earlier:

“6. Inmates’ clothing

The camp leaders of the satellite camps have to ensure that the inmates are properly dressed and provided with blankets, etc. Notification of compliance to the headquarters: 10 Feb 1943.” (KB 1/43, 2 Feb. 1943, p. 375)

The fact that protective clothing was also issued to inmates where necessary is evident from the following order, which was issued in connection with measures to prevent inmates from escaping:

“Addendum to Point 4.

In camps where protective clothing is issued to inmates by the factory [where they work], care must be taken to ensure that this clothing is always immediately marked under the supervision of an SS member, so that there can be no confusion with civilian workers, thus preventing any possibility of an escape.” (KB 8/44, p. 468)

Irregularities regarding benefits granted to inmates were investigated:

“5. Benefits for inmates – bonus coupons

It can be seen from the report on the labor situation that various armaments companies employing inmates pay very small bonuses to the inmates. Some camps were excluded from these bonuses altogether. The camp leaders have to determine instantly why premium payments in January 1944 were so low or didn’t occur at all. As soon as the individual reports have arrived, I will personally contact the companies or construction contractors instantly. Notification until 27 Feb. 1944.” (KB 4/44, p. 413)

Mistreatment of Inmates

Especially when it comes to the subject of “mistreatment of inmates,” the contradiction between the headquarters orders and the official version of the Holocaust becomes insurmountable. The following applies everywhere and at all times: where people have power over people, this power is misused by individuals, and injustices, mistreatment and even murder occur. However, the responsible commanders did not tolerate mistreatment of the inmates, and even punished them severely. And this zero-tolerance policy and the punishment of violators is strong evidence that there was no plan to kill the inmates, and certainly not on an industrial scale. Because if their extermination had been decided anyway, what plausible reason could there be to severely punish any abuse? The following headquarters states:

“7. Mistreatment of Inmates

It happened in a subcamp that inmates were beaten and sometimes maltreated by civilians with whom they were employed on the same job, so that they had to be temporarily admitted to the hospital. In cases in which cooperation with civilians is unavoidable, the camp leaders are responsible for order to be maintained, and they have to instruct the civilians again through the factory [mangagement] about how to deal with inmates. On the other hand, any abuse of an inmate by a civilian must be reported to me immediately.

On this occasion, I once more expressly draw your attention to the existing order that no SS man is allowed to lay hands on an inmate.

In the 5th year of the war, everything must be done to maintain the inmates’ ability to work.

If an inmate commits an offense, a report must be submitted as mandated.” (KB 4/44, p. 413)

In fact, every SS man had to sign a document when he took up duty at Auschwitz with which he committed himself to abide by the following, among other things (cf. Document 45 in the Appendix):

“No member of the SS and no one who is obliged to serve in the Waffen SS therefore has the right to lay hands on an enemy of state or to abuse him physically. The inmate may be punished only by the [camp] commandant. Similarly, executions to be carried out in concentration camps may be carried out only on the orders of the Reichsführer SS and by SS officers authorized by him.”

Correct Behavior towards Inmates

If, by means of official and distorted historiography, it is suggested that the SS guards ruled as cruel devils over powerless inmates, then the following order tells us otherwise.

SS members newly deployed to Auschwitz were instructed by headquarters orders as follows:

“2. Instruction of SS members In the light of recent events, it is pointed out again that all SS members, especially after having been transferred here from other units, are to be instructed immediately after their arrival at Auschwitz by the unit leaders about the existing regulations and provisions brought about by special circumstances. During this instruction, it is to be pointed out that in particular offenses involving military disobedience (prohibited interactions with inmates, sexual intercourse with inmates, etc.) and military theft (appropriation of inmate effects or effects of new arrivals) are punished by the SS and police courts. As is known, the instruction must be documented and kept on file.” (KB 5/43, p. 224)

Eight months after this headquarters order, it was announced once more that inmate possessions were untouchable:

“2. Inmate property

I have the occasion to point out for the last time that inmates’ property, no matter what it is (clothing, gold and valuables, food and other personal items), and no matter where it is located or where it is observed, remains untouched. The state decides on the use of the inmates’ property. In special cases, this property becomes state property. Anyone who seizes state property turns himself into a criminal and excludes himself from the ranks of the SS. I will ruthlessly turn over SS members who sully themselves with such a dirty act to the SS court for prosecution. I expect every clean, decent SS member – and that will be the majority – to help with open eyes so that any rascal in our midst can be removed quickly so that our ranks remain clean. The state ensures for every German person today that he can lead a decent life. It is therefore not necessary to go down crooked paths. Those who find themselves innocently in need ought to turn to their nearest superiors, whom I hereby instruct to make the most of the resources made sufficiently available by the state. Such requests from my area of supervision are to be submitted to me for my personal decision.” (SB 51/43, p. 359)

Careless Interactions with Inmates?

The following headquarters orders show how careless the guards were at times when dealing with the inmates, a behavior that would have been near-impossible if continual mass murders had been taken place in the background, because in such a case the relationship between the guards and the inmates would have been much too tense and suspicious for even the slightest sloppiness to take hold among the SS members. Attempts to escape would have been rarely successful under these circumstances:

“2. Guarding the inmates The chief of the Main Office has repeatedly observed, and recent events have demonstrated, that the members of the guard units are often poorly aware of their duties and responsibilities as guards. This is partly due to inadequate or missing instruction, partly due to the SS men’s ignorance or negligence. Frequent mistakes are conversations with inmates, especially on transport vehicles, and an insufficient distance from the inmate.” (SB 26/43, p. 307)

Furthermore:

“16. Gun storage It has been noticed that SS members unbuckle their pistol belt in the barber’s shop and hang it with the pistol on the coatrack so that inmates have an opportunity to grab the pistol. From now on, pistols are to be taken out of the pistol holster when the belt is removed. The same applies to all other rooms where inmates are present.” (SB 54/43, p. 372)

“5. Inmates’ attempts to escape […] To the camp commandants of the concentration camps Da., Sah., Bu., Mau., Flo., Neu., Au., Gr.-Ros., Natz., Nie., Stub., Arb., Rav., PoW Camp Lublin. Within a short period of time, inmates were able to escape from the concentration camp in three cases by means of a car with anSS license plate and in SS clothing, in one case even taking firearms and ammunition with them, in the latter case with an SS officer’s coat and an SS officer’s hat. With such a disguise, 2 to 3 inmates were smuggled out of the camp in the motor vehicle in all these cases. I ask the camp commandants, where they have it already, to order once again that all vehicles from the camp area, in particular motor vehicles, are carefully checked. As is usually done, a mere superficial glance is not enough to let the vehicle pass when recognizing an SS hat or uniform. Every person not personally known to the guard – including SS officers – whether on foot or in the vehicle, must be checked thoroughly when leaving the camp area.

It is to be ensured by headquarters order and by ongoing instructions of the guard and security personnel that all unoccupied motor vehicles in the camp area (also those owned by people who are not part of the camp) are kept locked with the windows closed. When inmates carry out repairs on official SS vehicles, particularly close surveillance is required. Likewise, it has been prohibited repeatedly to let inmates walk around in SS quarters without surveillance. Uniforms and weapons must be kept under lock and key at all times.” (KB 15/42, pp. 163f.)

Commendations

If an SS man prevented an inmate from attempting to escape, the headquarters commended him. For the IfZ, this gives rise to the following politically correct but scientifically completely unsustainable claim in the introduction to the IfZ book:

“The details of everyday terror and murder practice also include commendations for SS members who ‘prevented’ the escape of prisoners by ‘very prudent behavior’: in the camp SS’s jargon, this meant nothing other than that escapees were shot.”

This is pure speculation, because the subsequent commendations show that attempts to escape were prevented with appropriate means arising from the respective situation, including simply through arrests. If an escape was prevented by use of a firearm, this was also mentioned in the commendation. Here are a few examples:

“SS Private Wilhelm Danschke, headquarters’staff, agricultural department, managed to arrest a prisoner on 9 August 1941.” (KB 21/41, p. 61)

“SS Private Karl Mathey, 2nd SS Deathshead Squad, prevented an inmate from escaping by timely confiscating prepositioned civilian clothes.” (KB 25/41, p. 68)

“SS Private Otto Müller, 3rd SS Deathead Squad, managed to prevent an inmate who was already in civilian clothing from escaping, and he arrested him.” (KB 28/41, p. 73)

In the following four headquarters orders, escape prevention using firearms is expressly mentioned:

“When an inmate attempted to escape from Dwory, SS Lance Corporal Stolten, who was assigned to the unit as a block leader, behaved very carefully. He managed to thwart the escape and shoot him in the process.” (KB 15/41, p. 51)

“I hereby express my appreciation for good service to the SS members: SS Senior Private Johann Antoni, 3rd Squad, CC Au. II and SS Senior Private Hans Bartusch 3rd Squad, CC Au. II and grant them 8 days of vacation at the SS lodge. As guards and despite darkness, they successfully used their firearms during the attempted escape of 4 inmates.” (SB 22/44, p. 481)

It should also be kept in mind that the shooting of inmates at Auschwitz was not without consequences – on the contrary. If a prisoner died a violent death, this resulted in a criminal investigation by the responsible SS and police court against the perpetrator(s), even if they were SS men who had shot inmates while fleeing. These criminal investigations were generally shelved at the request of the headquarters of the Auschwitz Camp, since this type of killing of inmates was legally permissible according to the legal opinion at the time. But it is clear from this that the SS at Auschwitz could not simply shoot inmates or otherwise kill them without coming to the attention of the SS-internal criminal justice system, which produced a lot of incriminating documents in every single case. That rendered any attempt at keeping a “terrible secret” futile from the start.

Prohibitions for Unauthorized Persons

The IfZ editors comment not only on the headquarters orders on the prevention of inmate escapes in a reckless manner, but also on those promulgating a ban on taking photographs in the camp or on unauthorized persons entering the camp. Below we quote several headquarters orders which the IfZ editors cite as circumstantial proof for mass murders that presumably had to be kept a secret. This reasoning is not justified, because at all times, including today, at both military and civilian facilities, it is often prohibited to take photos, entering them is highly restricted, and publicizing internal information on an institution not intended for the general public is also illegal. Of course, this does not mean that all these institutions are trying to hide mass murders.

“1. Camp visits Despite repeated warnings, SS members have repeatedly taken female visitors to the camp or the canteen. I draw your attention once again to the fact that it is forbidden without exception for all SS officers, NCOs and rank-and-file men of the Auschwitz Camp to take any visitors to the camp or the canteen.” (KB 4/40, p. 7)

“10. Photographing executions. Extract from the ordinance sheet of the Waffen SS of 15 July 1942, No. 246. Photographing executions inside and outside the Reich territory is prohibited. It is also prohibited to have nonmembers of the Waffen-SS photograph executions. Permission to produce recordings for official purposes can only be granted by the heads of the state police (head) offices. If necessary, film exposed so far must be confiscated and destroyed.” (KB 13/42, p. 160; see Document 10 in the Appendix)

What is to be made of the following garrison order? The editors of the IfZ book are certain that it is a reference to “mass extermination”:

“2. Warning week The security of the Reich at the present crucial stage of the war demands unconditional conscientiousness and discipline from every SS and fellowship member when it comes to handling all matters and objects to be kept secret. The so-called ‘Pst’ campaign serves to foster this discipline. It begins as part of a warning week on 16 October 1944. […] During the warning week, the unit leaders and department heads are to give abundant instructions about the dangers of careless blabbering. When doing so, it is to be pointed out that the duty of confidentiality applies primarily to the SS members themselves. Every blabbermouth has to be confronted with the warning word ‘Pst’ during this week. If, from the start of this ‘Pst’ campaign, ten percent of all SS and fellowship members confront the other ninety percent with the word ‘Pst’, and if the meaning of this expression is understood, namely

‘Warning! Enemy is listening in! Don’t blabber! Be silent!’ then the action will be a success.” (SB 26/44, p. 499; see Document 43 in the Appendix)

If this slogan proves that gassings were carried out at Auschwitz, it also proves that people were gassed everywhere in Germany. The nonsense of such a conclusion is obvious.

Delousing and Disinfestation

Numerous headquarters and garrison orders relate to delousing operations for inmates’ clothing and the disinfestation of guard and inmate accommodations.

As is well known, lice are the carriers of typhus, a disease that, along with typhoid and malaria, was epidemic in the eastern German-occupied territories since 1941/42, and to which most inmates fell victim – especially toward the end of the war, when the infrastructure throughout the entire Reich had been destroyed to a large extent due to the Allied carpet-bombing campaign, and essential supplies could no longer be delivered.

Not even by the most extreme stretch of the imagination can any hints about “human gassing” be interpreted in these orders, although the IfZ staff tried to do exactly that right at the beginning of their book in the introduction, where we read:

“In August 1942, there was an accident at Auschwitz: an SS man contracted hydrogen-cyanide poisoning while doing his job on the camp grounds – not fatal but strong enough to incapacitate him temporarily. Rudolf Höss reacted immediately; the camp commander issued a special order to his subordinates to warn them that the gas recently used contained ‘less irritants’ and was ‘therefore particularly dangerous.’ Scenes like this – this was about handling of Zyklon B, which had been used at Auschwitz for almost a year not only for delousing clothes, but also for killing people [hear ye, hear ye!] – can be found in the documents presented here over and over again. However, direct instructions on mass murder cannot be found: even at the central location of the crime, the SS followed its self-imposed rules of camouflage.”

One of the more-important and detailed cases, however, is the garrison order of 23 July 1942, issued at a time when the typhus epidemic raging in the camp had gotten completely out of control. The drastic measures mentioned therein show the seriousness of the situation and reflect the catastrophic hygienic, sanitary and medical conditions in the camp at that time:

“Due to recurring cases of typhus in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp, the following is decreed in order to combat the epidemic:

1.) A comprehensive camp lockdown is imposed. All members of the SS living within the large chain of posts are not allowed to leave the camp area.

2.) All SS members residing outside the large chain of posts sign a declaration prepared in the headquarters, with which they commit to always go directly from their quarters to their office and vice-versa. Furthermore, they commit to change their laundry as often as possible, at least once a week, and to undergo continuous thorough cleaning. After signing this declaration, it must be presented to the garrison physician at the SS infirmary. Upon submission of this declaration, a pass with a limited validity is issued by the garrison physician. After this pass has expired, a new pass must be collected from the SS Infirmary after delousing and a physical examination. This order extends to all SS officers, NCOs and rank-and-file men. The passes are issued in the SS Infirmary from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

3.) Family members of SS members residing within the large chain of posts are not allowed to leave the camp area either. Family members of SS members residing outside the large chain of posts may not enter the camp area within the large chain of posts. For SS members and families residing outside the large chain of posts, one person from each family is authorized to go directly from their quarters to their home [sic] and back in order to obtain the family’s food and other everyday items. The condition for this is that the person concerned signs the same declaration as the one mentioned above for SS members with duty stations inside the camp. Likewise, the same conditions for renewing the declaration are to be observed as mentioned above for SS members.

4.) Family members of SS members who are visiting Auschwitz and are within the large chain of posts are subject to the same provisions as the SS members residing here, meaning that for the time being they are not allowed to leave the camp area. The family members of SS members outside the large chain of posts who are visiting have to leave the Auschwitz area of interest, leaving their home address at the SS infirmary, and return to their home.

5.) An immediate holiday cancellation is ordered for all SS members – officers, NCOs and rank-and-file men.

6.) Business trips can only be carried out if the items of clothing to be worn during the business trip are handed in at a specially designated location in the SS infirmary at least 36 hours before the start of the business trip, and the person who is carrying out the business trip is bathed and deloused in the infirmary before starting the business trip, and leaves directly from the SS infirmary for the business trip.

7.) External visits for departments should be avoided or, if urgent, processed in the Waffen-SS building. In any case, visitors who have to do business here may be received in the rooms of the heads of department (commandant, chief of administration, head of construction, garrison physician and also in the area of the HWL[15] etc.). They have to leave the camp directly without stopping.

8.) In order to work on the construction sites in question, civilian workers employed by the construction office may only leave and re-enter the camp at the checkpoint of the Hutta-Lenz Community Camp, but only in closed formation and accompanied by SS members who are to be assigned for this by the construction office.

9.) The release and transfer of inmates to other camps must be postponed until the lockdown is lifted.

10.) As of immediately, family health checks by the physician will take place on Tuesdays and Fridays at 3 p.m. in the camp school on the Sola.

11.) The number of SS members interacting with agencies outside the camp, such as food and other transports to and from Katowice, mail receptions at Auschwitz, or SS members who have to do business on an ongoing basis with railway and customs authorities, etc., has to be limited as much as possible, and exclusively […]. By signing a corresponding declaration in the same form as specified in Section 2, the […SS member?] that can be considered for this [commit?] to the special provisions issued for this purpose and receive the above-mentioned limited pass upon signing the declaration. They have to see a physician at specific intervals for a health check. The department heads in question must provide these SS members with a certificate stating that their work in relation to the duties to be performed outside the camp is of vital importance for the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. In this respect, the following can only be considered as head of department: the heads of Departments Ia, II, III, IV, V, construction office, DAW, HWL, Unit Zeppelin, agriculture and the leader of the SS deathshead squads. The passes previously issued on July 21st and 22nd, 1942 by the garrison physician are voided with the new regulation mentioned above.” (SB 19/42, pp. 155f.; see Document 7 in the Appendix)

This was followed by major delousing campaigns using Zyklon B for weeks and months in a desperate attempt to eradicate the carrier of typhus – the louse – which was reflected in a large number of documents, not a few of which were mendaciously distorted by the Holocaust orthodoxy as evidence for homicidal gassings.

Civilian Employees at Auschwitz

The Auschwitz Camp was swarming with civilian workers at all times since it was established, meaning civilians who lived outside the camp but were employed on various construction projects within the camp or in the camp’s various enterprises. Here are some orders reflecting this fact:

“1. All civilian workers are prohibited from entering the canteens and House No. 7. Only civilian workers with specially issued certificates are allowed to enter the canteen.

The green armbands of civilian workers are turned into the main guardhouse every evening. The SS New Construction Office has to submit a list of all civilian workers, listed by company, to the main guardhouse. The armbands must be numbered consecutively. These numbers must be entered in the list. It is the responsibility of the guards on duty to ensure that civilian workers leave the armbands at the guardhouse at night.” (Special headquarters order, 7 Aug. 1941, p. 60)

The main concern of the camp administration about the many civilians present in the camp was not that they could disclose secrets, but that they could help inmates to escape, as can be seen from the following two orders:

“4. Dealing with foreign civilian workers

The fact that an increased use of foreign workers in all areas of the economy cannot be avoided makes it necessary to emphasize urgently that the [SS] men be extremely cautious when talking to civilian workers. Off-duty interactions with foreigners must be avoided under all circumstances.

Civilian workers within our camp

The civilian workers in our camp must be instructed to remove their headgear each time they pass through the chain of guard posts or the main guardhouse in order to check that they are not prisoners who seek to flee in civilian clothes.” (KB 30/41, p. 77) “

Control of civilian workers

All enterprises and agencies affiliated to the Auschwitz Camp employing civilian workers must instruct them in detail that it is forbidden under threat of the most severe punishment to store or set down items of clothing anywhere within the camp area (large chain of posts) other than those civilian clothes with which the persons concerned are clothed. The SS deathshead squads require that all guards at roadside checkpoints receive detailed instructions that, apart from the necessary daily food allowances, no packages etc. may be taken into or out of the concentration camp by civilian workers. The guards at roadside checkpoints are instructed that civilians carrying parcels and boxes must be stopped and that parcels and boxes must be checked for contents by the checkpoint guards. In light of current events, this is meant to prevent that inmates can be assisted to escape with civilian clothes in the manner described herein.” (KB 9/42, p. 137)

How extensive the activity of civilian companies and civilian workers in the Auschwitz Camp really was is shown by a compilation of all the civilian companies that had been active in the Auschwitz Camp over the years – 46 in total – and the number of civilian workers working there – around 1,000 at the turn of 1942/1943, when the camp’s construction activities peaked. These figures are drawn primarily from archived documents of the Auschwitz Central Construction Office. This documentation is much more extensive and meaningful than the camp headquarters’ orders transcribed by Frei and colleagues (cf. Mattogno 2015 as well as Document 51 in the Appendix).

In view of the busy traffic of the civilians working inside the camp and the tens of thousands of inmates who left the camp every day in order to work at enterprises outside the camp, thus coming in contact with tens of thousands of other civilians there, it is absolutely implausible to claim that the camp SS ever would have dreamt of being able to keep any event inside the camp a secret from the world. Any “Pst! Enemy is listening!” slogans are only laughable.

The fairy tale of secrecy receives its final death blow from a special garrison order dated 10 June 1944, hence during the presumed culmination of the claimed extermination of the Hungarian Jews, when around ten thousand Jews are said to have been gassed every day and then burned primarily on huge pyres, which would have have engulfed the entire area in stench and thick smoke. The only noteworthy order during that period is the following:

“In order to finally prevent civilians from roving about the area of the Birkenau Camp, I have deployed with immediate effect an intensified patrol service by the local police company. Its task is to closely check all civilians, including women who are accompanied by SS men, for their identity cards. Suspicious individuals are to be arrested and brought to the political department.” (SB of 10 June 1944, p. 457; see Document 39 in the Appendix)

If the tall tale of the mass murder of the “Hungarian” jews were true, the SS would not only have thrown civilians without ID out of the camp, but would not have let any civilians anywhere near the camp. However, based on the analysis of Allied aerial photographs from that period, it has ultimately become clear that no mass incinceration of murdered jews occurred at that time, and therefore no mass murder either (cf. Mattogno 2016, Rudolf 2018, pp. 97- 106).

SS Family Members at Auschwitz

Many of the immediate family members of SS members working at the Auschwitz Camp not only lived in the immediate vicinity of the camp, but also had regular access to the camp itself. Other family members came to visit for certain periods of time. This may be inferred from a series of orders, some of which are cited below:

“Re: Visit of the wives I have noticed that recently SS members have let their wives or even the whole family come here without my permission. I would like to point out again that in every case, even if the visit or stay is only for a short period of time, my personal approval, stating the duration of the stay and where the visitor is staying, must be obtained.” (SB 9/43, p. 242)

A total of over 270 such visits are documented. In 1943, there was in fact no topic that was dealt with nearly as often in garrison and headquarters orders, and for which more paper and probably more time was used than for the approval of applications by SS members employed at Auschwitz for visits of family members. Any exhortation to preserve the claimed “terrible secrets”, however, is practically non-existent in these orders.

The only thing to be prevented was that civilians and SS family members enter and leave the camp in an uncontrolled manner. The constant in and out of these people was neither criticized nor restricted. It was only to be done in an orderly fashion.

Although these SS family members naturally lived in the buildings intended for SS members located outside the camp, it is very unlikely that an “industrial” mass extermination could have been hidden from them, despite the extensive camp area, especially given the fact that they were sometimes granted access to the actual camp area itself. If Auschwitz had been a huge extermination camp, it is extremely doubtful that SS family members would have been given permits to visit, and it would have been completely out of the question that they would have had access to the camp.

Visitors to the Auschwitz Camp

“1. Camp visits In spite of repeated warnings, it has repeatedly happened that members of the SS have taken female visitors to the camp or to the canteen, respectively. I draw your attention once again to the fact that it is prohibited without exception for all SS officers, NCOs and rank-and-file men of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp to take visitors into the camp or to the canteen.” (KB 4/40, p. 7)

Evidently, Auschwitz was a tourist attraction already before a museum was established there after the war, as the following garrison order suggests:

“2. Visit to the Auschwitz Concentration Camp I have noticed recently that visitors were taken into the concentration camp, and that sightseeing tours were given to these visitors, without my being informed. I would like to point out that sightseeing tours to the concentration camp and to the entire area of interest of the Au[schwitz]. CC can only be approved by the chief of Office Group D. If guests are visiting the individual heads of department, and if there is an intention to show them the operations of the concentration camp, an application must be submitted to the headquarters in good time, so that approval can be obtained from the chief of Office Group D for each case.” (SB 42/43, p. 344)

In actual fact, during the years when the claimed mass extermination is said to have taken place there, a host of official visitors from the Reich visited the camp. As can be seen from extant documents, these visits related to harmless aspects of the camp. None of these documents shows that something was wrong with Auschwitz (see Mattogno 2019, pp. 574-583).

All of this clearly proves that the camp administration never tried to hide any “terrible secret” from anyone.

Children at Auschwitz

When children arrived at the Auschwitz Camp, almost all of them were jews who had been deported along with their families. According to the official narrative, these children, if they were under the age of 14, were without exception gassed on arrival as “unfit for work”. The many entries of jewish children in the Auschwitz Death Books (Sterbebücher), however, which were properly registered in the camp and then died later mostly of illnesses, prove that this fairy tale is just that: an unsustainable legend (see Staatliches Museum Auschwitz 1995). But there is more: documents exist showing that pregnant mothers gave birth to children at Auschwitz. These infants were either registered as inmates in the camp or were released together with their mothers (see Subsection 7.4 in Part Two of Mattogno 2016a). According to the prevailing legend, however, pregnant mothers should have ended up immediately in the gas chambers as “unfit for work,” which is why births and registered infants should not have occurred at all in that camp.

What would a responsible SS man have done if Auschwitz really had been as cruel as the legend has it? Would he have allowed his children to get anywhere near the camp? Apparently, some SS members thought nothing of that, because in May 1943 the commandant felt impelled to issue the following order:

“4. Children of SS members entering the protective custody camps I prohibit children of SS members from being allowed access to individual protective custody camps. The block leaders must be instructed accordingly.” (KB 20/43, p. 281)

And once more in July 1943:

“Children in the camp area. . .

I have noticed that children stay here inside the camp during the day and even hang around the individual workplaces. As I moved in and out, I could see these children walking alongside closed formations of marching inmates. I hereby prohibit this and point out the danger that may result for the children during possible escape attempts requiring the use of firearms by escorting guards.

In addition, this interaction of the children with inmates brings with it such a moral disadvantage that this is irresponsible on the part of the parents. SS members have to instruct their wives and children in this regard, and have to ensure that their children stay away from the inmates and are not constantly present inside the camp itself or at the workplaces.” (SB 25/43, p. 306)

Hence, there were children of the SS members hanging around inside the camp and among the prisoners, while at the same time gruesome scenes are said to have taken place in the camp area. Whoever wants to believe this may well do so. And those who don’t believe it? For them, a prison is waiting in Germany and many other countries!

This wraps up our overview of relevant headquarters orders.

Epilogue

In order to make a resurrection of German self-confidence and thus of German geopolitical power forever impossible after the Second World War, it was the intention of Germany’s domestic and foreign enemies from the outset to never allow any historical exoneration from the atrocity accusations made during and immediately after the war. This “mistake” had been made after the First World War. This would not happen again…

Even if facts such as the Auschwitz garrison and headquarters orders shake the historical narrative imposed on the world to its very foundations, the Holocaust orthodoxy will continue to fight with all means at their disposal against freedom of scientific inquiry, freedom of expression and the objective assessment of new research findings, just so that their dogma is preserved. Not even blatantly obvious fairy tales can deter them from that path.

As Dr. Robert Faurisson once suggested, just imagine what would happen if Germany’s infamous Section 130 of its Penal Code didn’t exist, or the many other similar laws in some 18 European countries and israel, all of which unlawfully declare historical revisionism to be illegal. Imagine that defense lawyers could ask questions about gas chambers and the Holocaust in the courts of these countries without fear of ending up in prison themselves. What would happen then? Yes, they know very well what would happen then: It would be the end of the dictatorial practice of ordaining that the veracity of the orthodox narrative is “self-evident,” and subsequently this chapter of contemporary history would be rewritten.

Found at https://www.renegadetribune.com/garrison-and-headquarters-orders-of-the-auschwitz-concentration-camp-a-critically-commented-selection/?doing_wp_cron=1750867786.0327219963073730468750