Nov 1942 Treblinka Report, Ringelblum (the "Steam Chamber" report)

[pilgrimofdark]

Plumbing and lighting. With that many old light bulbs, you'd probably need a good diesel generator for the electricity.

From TECOAR (p. 872):

On 19 June 1942 (i.e. almost one month before the opening of the camp) the commandant of Treblinka, Dr. Irmfried Eberl, sent a letter to the commissar for the ghetto in Warsaw, Dr. Heinz Auerswald, in which he ordered the following “still needed” items for the “Treblinka camp”:

10 m copper pipes 1/4 inch
5-10 kg welding wire rods
2 kg brass wire for brazing
50 m iron pipes of each of the sizes: 1 inch, 3/4 inch, 1/2 inch
20 iron pipe T-fittings of each of the sizes: 1 inch, 3/4 inch, 1/2 inch
30 iron pipe elbow joints of each of the sizes: 1 inch, 3/4 inch, 1/2 inch
20 double nipples (connection pieces) of each of the sizes: 1 inch, 3/4 inch, 1/2 inch
6 waterproof light fixtures with sockets, sealable with grille
10 water-taps 3/4 inch with hose connection
10 water-taps 1/2 inch with hose connection
Electric light bulbs 120 Volt:

• 30 items 25 Watt
• 20 items 60 Watt
• 20 items 75 Watt
• 20 items 100 Watt

300 m duplex wire G.A.
1000 m for overhead lines 2.5 [mm] diameter
Clamps for overhead lines.

On 7 July Eberl wrote again to the commissar, notifying him that the camp would be ready for operation on 11 July and ordering additional items for the camp. Most of these were related to lighting, but among them were also “3 intake strainers for wells with check valves 1½ inch.” From testimonial evidence we know that a Polish construction worker named Grzegorz Wozniak worked on coordinating the piping and trenching during Treblinka’s construction phase.

The scan of that first letter in German is here. Seems to be too large to embed.

[pilgrimofdark]

I wonder what "refused to accept" actually means. To me that passage implies that there is documentation implying Van Eupen was the nominal senior officer in charge of Treblinka-II as well as Treblinka-I. What does "Stangl refused to accept" actually mean in that regard.

Is there a citation given for "Theodor van Eupen, was appointed senior officer of Małkinia, including Treblinka"?

DeepL translates it a little differently: "However, relations deteriorated when the commander of the labor camp, Theodor van Eupen, was appointed senior officer of Małkinia, including Treblinka, and demanded that Stangl report to him, which Stangl refused to do."

Here is the German original from Berger's book:

Kontakte verschlechterten sich allerdings, als der Kommandant des Arbeitslagers, Theodor van Eupen, zum Standortältesten von Małkinia, einschließlich Treblinka, ernannt wurde und im Rahmen dessen eine Unterstellung von Stangl einforderte, was sich dieser nicht bieten ließ. 1943 übernahmen die T4-Reinhardt-Männer in Treblinka zeitweise auch die Verwaltung der Kieswerke, die der Deutschen Erd- und Steinwerke GmbH Auschwitz unterstellt waren und in denen viele Häftlinge von Treblinka I arbeiteten. [footnote 241]

And footnote 241:

Blatt, Schatten, S. 193; Robert Levi, 18. 12. 1950, HHStA Wiesbaden, Abtl. 461, Nr. 35254, Bl. 262–264; Chodzko, Évadé, S. 48; Mikhail Shkapura-Polishchuk, 27. 8. 1944, SBU-Archiv Lemberg, Archivnr. 11991, Fallnr. 2871, Bl. 111–112; Mieczislaw Tobias, 1. 9. 1959, LA Düsseldorf, Rep. 388, Nr. 741, Bl. 112–114; Karl Prefi, 26. 9. 1960, ebenda, Nr. 750, Bl. 182–188; Hengst, 6. 2. 1962, ebenda, Nr. 761, Bl. 135–140; Abraham Krzepicki: 18 Tage im Totenlager, ebenda, Nr. 838; Stangl, 3. 10. 1967, ebenda, Nr. 247, Bl. 61–68; Hilberg, Vernichtung, S. 986; Sonderkommando Treblinka (Mätzig) an Karl Streibel wegen Kieslieferungen, 4. 6. 1943 u. 1. 7. 1943 sowie Trawniki an Deutsche Erdwerke GmbH Treblinka, 1. 7. 1943, Archiwum Państwowe w Lublinie, Bestand 516 (Zentralbauleitung der Waffen-SS), Bd. 268, Bl. 77, 137, 139.

Almost all of Berger's footnotes are like this, piles of references that rival the 7-story piles of clothing at T-II. But it was a dissertation published later as a book.

You can buy her book from the publisher, although the epub version is also available from "the usual suspects."

Her reference to Archiwum Państwowe w Lublinie, Bestand 516 is the "Central Construction Management of Military and Police Units in Lublin," which is somewhere in here.

[PrudentRegret]

Mattogno also posts a different letter from Eberl:

“Betrifft: Arbeitslager Treblinka.
Für den Ausbau des Arbeitslagers Treblinka werden noch folgende Gegenstände dringend benötigt:…”

...


“Subject: Labor camp Treblinka.
For the construction work at the Treblinka labor camp the following items are urgently needed: …”

Although Mattogno translated Eberl's letter as "For the construction work at the Treblinka labor camp" google gives the translation "For the expansion of the Treblinka labor camp", with ausbau implying the expansion of an already existing camp.

The distinction is meaningful because it ties Eberl's construction work to the budget documents that also refer to an "expansion" of "Arbeitslager Treblinka."

[Stubble]

So, T2 was plumbed between late June and early July 1942? And opened plumbed? Perhaps this was for the barracks and housing complex as well as administration. In the so called extermination area, if the witnesses are to be believed, they had to use a hand pump and cart water, the hand pump was also supposedly used for the kitchen.

I'd take the witness testimony with a grain of salt maybe.

The timeline for the plumbing materials fits very neatly with them being for Treblinka II, not Treblinka I.

[pilgrimofdark]

That same one from Mattogno is also in Das Dritte Reich und seine Vollstrecker: [Die Liquidation von 500000 Juden im Ghetto Warschau] ("The Third Reich and its perpetrators: The liquidation of 500,000 Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto"), which I was able to find a PDF of online.

The letter from Eberl is dated June 26, 1942. It also has a scan of the letter itself.

German:

Spoiler

„Für den Ausbau des Arbeitslagers Treblinka werden noch folgende Gegenstände drin-
gend benötigt:

120 Rollen Tapeten (vorher soll Muster gezeigt werden)
1000 Stück Sdiienen-Nägel für Feldbahngleis
200 Stück Maschinenschrauben für Feldbahn (*/s Zoll stark, 4 0 mm)
4 Paar Langbänder mit Stützhaken (Türscharnieren) 4 0 cm lang
1 Starterknopf
1 Zündkurzschalter
5 m Zündkabel
5 m Anlasserkabel
1 Batterie 12 Volt/lOO—120 Ampere
1 Feile (dreikant) zum Schärfen von Sägen
5 Zollstöcke 2 m
1 Schränkeisen
5 Zimmermannsbleistifte

Für schnellste Lieferung wäre ich dankbar, da die obengenannten Gegenstände dringend benötigt werden. Heil Hitler!"

English:

The following items are urgently needed for the expansion of the Treblinka labor camp:

120 rolls of wallpaper (samples to be shown beforehand)
1000 track nails for narrow-gauge railway
200 machine screws for narrow-gauge railway (*/s inch thick, 40 mm)
4 pairs of long hinges with support hooks (door hinges) 40 cm long
1 starter button
1 ignition switch
5 m ignition cable
5 m starter cable
1 battery 12 volts/100–120 amperes
1 file (triangular) for sharpening saws
5 folding rulers 2 m
1 crowbar
5 carpenter's pencils

I would be grateful for the fastest possible delivery, as the above-mentioned items are urgently needed. Heil Hitler!

Mattogno cites Faschismus – Getto – Massenmord, which I can't find a copy of.

The book's citation is "Archiv J.H.I." so probably the Central Jewish Library, which does have a file on the Treblinka labor camp which I'll have to relocate.

[pilgrimofdark]

The timeline for the plumbing materials fits very neatly with them being for Treblinka II, not Treblinka I.

Dr. Imfried Eberl was the first commandant of T-II, so these orders have to be for T-II.

But like everyone else outside of the Ringelblum archive circle, the commandant of T-II has no idea if he's in the labor camp or how that differs from the "death camp." The 3 authors we refer to as "Krzepicki" are the only ones who can clear up whether Eberl was using "Arbeitslagers Treblinka" as a euphemism.

Theodor van Eupen was commandant of T-I, so should have been doing his own supply orders. But Theodor van Eupen was also "appointed senior officer of Małkinia, including Treblinka," which is new information to me.

[Stubble]

Fair point Pilgrimofdark. I wonder why historians are confused about the work orders then.

This seems very simple and cut and dry. Tis the season for the work, the memos go to the right people etc, yet, no one knows, it's, a great mystery...

/shrug

You guys are absolutely relentless with research, and I hope one day to be this good. Unless I'm mistaken, you guys just slammed another dunk to go along with the last 2 revisions Pilgrimofdark stacked up in his last article for Inconvenient History.

Outstanding!

Going back to the original query of the thread, I see no break in the red thread tying the propaganda to the Warsaw Circus and Pandora's Milk Cans. That too seems to be a dunk, unless an outlier report pops up.

After going back over the Treblinka Delousing Chamber thread, it occurs to me that many of these posts should likely actually be there. In my opinion Prudent Regret has bolstered his position sufficiently about the paperwork, although, I'm not clear on exactly where that puts us. If T2 wasn't a transit camp, then, why are there so many testimonies of those transited west? I'll have to chew on this development. Hopefully Prudent Regret will revisit the Delousing Chamber thread and expand on his line.

---------------------------------------------

Bombsaway brought up something in the other thread that I thought relevant. This cost estimate, to whom was it addressed?

My thinking with this is that if we know whose desk it fell on we can check their files for final disposition.

The timeline is a few weeks off from the orthodox narrative, but, my guess is that ground was broken in September on the delousing facility and other projects outlined and that they were completed only later. In an effort to pump up the numbers, the Warsaw Circus said it was completed in Sept, not started then. To get to their 3,000,000 victims.

I'd be interested to see this one through with y'all if you are willing. If you will point, I will look.

[Wetzelrad]

The new Treblinka B camp is situated on sandy hills among thickets. The camp area is relatively small, approximately 5,000 hectares. The entire site is surrounded by a hedge, densely interwoven with barbed wire (3).

5,000 hectares is not small. It's the size of Manhattan. Treblinka II is supposed to be 17 hectares. Was this just an enormous exaggeration or was it a description of a totally different place?

[pilgrimofdark]

The new Treblinka B camp is situated on sandy hills among thickets. The camp area is relatively small, approximately 5,000 hectares. The entire site is surrounded by a hedge, densely interwoven with barbed wire (3).

5,000 hectares is not small. It's the size of Manhattan. Treblinka II is supposed to be 17 hectares. Was this just an enormous exaggeration or was it a description of a totally different place?

Good catch, I didn't notice that when looking at the map key numbers.

But yes, it's listed as 5000 hectares.

Exact page of the 1951 reprint:

"Wynosi okolo 5000 hektarow."
"It covers approximately 5000 hectares."

It's the same in the original, although the scan is of poorer quality.

The "Liquidation of Warsaw Jewry" report from which this "Treblinka" report comes from was edited by Emanuel Ringelblum, Eliahu Gutkowski, and Hersz Wasser. It was smuggled out of Poland by Jan Karski. According to the book The Warsaw Ghetto: A Guide to the Perished City.

[pilgrimofdark]

Bombsaway brought up something in the other thread that I thought relevant. This cost estimate, to whom was it addressed?

My thinking with this is that if we know whose desk it fell on we can check their files for final disposition.

The timeline is a few weeks off from the orthodox narrative, but, my guess is that ground was broken in September on the delousing facility and other projects outlined and that they were completed only later. In an effort to pump up the numbers, the Warsaw Circus said it was completed in Sept, not started then. To get to their 3,000,000 victims.

I'd be interested to see this one through with y'all if you are willing. If you will point, I will look.

We've expanded from the Black Book to the Ringelblum "Treblinka" steam chamber report to the construction/budgeting of the camp to the administrative links between T-I/T-II/Malkinia.

Maybe a Wiki page organizing the construction, budgeting, and administrative chronology/documents is a good next step? Instead of being scattered over numerous threads/posts.

I'm pretty sure the relevant fiscal year was April 1 -- March 31, so that can help date things.

Are people (PR, others?) conceiving Treblinka as more of a camp complex? Some of the material from Berger really ties the administration together more.

If someone just wants to pin a delousing chamber on the labor camp map and have the Museum confirm it, that would save us all the trouble.

Spoiler

What all this really proves about the "approximately 3.5 million corpses" (standard deviation 2.8 million), I don't have an opinion on yet.

[Stubble]

I'm sorry about this derail Pilgrimofdark.

I do reaffirm your synopsis regarding the 'red thread' of the Warsaw Circus, as it is the glue that binds the narrative together. Everything is touched throughout and nothing is independent of the contamination near as I can tell.

[pilgrimofdark]

I don't see it as a derail, but more a development of various themes.

The Ringelblum Archive is being published in English, but it doesn't seem to be available in any English-speaking countries. A bold marketing strategy. Some of it is online at least.

But at least one source confirmed that the "Treblinka" report was produced by three important members of the Ringelblum Archive. And Karski was responsible for smuggling out numerous reports to the London Polish government in exile.

Carlo Mattogno was the first one AFAIK to call out the "SS-Sonderkommando Treblinka" involvement in the administration of the gravel operation with this document:

I think this (and Mattogno's Document 17) confirm that this is the relevant set of archival documents that both Berger and Mattogno reference:

Bauleitung der Waffen SS und Polizei Trawniki - Schriftwechsel
"Construction management of the Waffen SS and police in Trawniki - correspondence"

The whole file is around 300 pages. Is the whole file worth requesting scans of? It wouldn't exactly be cheap.

[Stubble]

I put a feeler out to see if anyone 1) has this and 2) would be willing to share it. Give me a couple days to hear through the grapevine.

Great find by the way, hopefully we can get a look at this stuff and crack into it.

Person 1 didn't have a copy. Perhaps person 2 does.

[pilgrimofdark]

Something is also online for the Deutsche Erd- und Steinwerke Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, Auschwitz ("German Earth and Stone Works Limited Liability Company, Auschwitz").

84/635/0/1.1.1/1800

The description is so vague that it could be 1 page or 1,000. I'll try to get more info.

If it's accurate that Theodor van Eupen became senior officer (Standortältesten) of both Treblinka camps from Malkinia, including over Stangl, even if Stangl didn't "accept" or "tolerate" it, it seems relatively little has been written about van Eupen.

Most of what's online is just in relation to the labor camp.

[PrudentRegret]

I think this (and Mattogno's Document 17) confirm that this is the relevant set of archival documents that both Berger and Mattogno reference:

Bauleitung der Waffen SS und Polizei Trawniki - Schriftwechsel
"Construction management of the Waffen SS and police in Trawniki - correspondence"

The whole file is around 300 pages. Is the whole file worth requesting scans of? It wouldn't exactly be cheap.

I think so too, that was why I expected that Berger's assertion that the SS-Sonderkommando administration of the gravel pits was just "temporary in summer 1943" wasn't really based on anything with respect to documentary evidence for the beginning and end of that involvement. It was just an assertion meant to minimize their role in TI given the documents Mattogno did show.

SS-Sonderkommando Treblinka having involvement in the administration of the gravel pits is completely inconsistent with mainstream historiography with respect to the claimed purpose of that unit and independence of T-II camp. But there are doucments that show it, so "it was a one-time thing in summer 1943" is just a baseless assertion meant to minimize the association there, SanityCheck took the same strategy in that delousing chamber thread.