When I think of Auschwitz, I think "Hey that's the place where Hitler Murdered millions of Jews in the Gas chambers. When I think of Hitler's Germany, I think oh the jews were horribly persecuted right from the beginning and even before. They couldn't do anything. Everyone was desperately trying to escape but Hitler was rounding them up for extermination and most were captured and sent to extermination camps where they died in the Gas Chamber. OK, now check out my cliff notes or if you have the time watch the entire 4 hour hour interview.
As promised I have been watching holocaust survivor video's as posted in full on the official USC Shoah Foundation Youtube Channel (a Pro Holocaust Jewish Organisation). I have also been taking notes. This is the first i'll be sharing of many. It is the testimony of Auschwitz Survivor Ernest Lobet (Born Ernst Lobethal) who was there until it was shut down by the Germans and he survived the 38 mile death march to another camp. I started noting time codes with his arrival to Auschwitz so you can easily verify and see in context the notes I have taken. It's a 4 hour Interview I had to watch several times so it really took some work to put this together. I am not presenting it as proof of anything, I am simply presenting it for your review. I got a lot out of it personally and in my opinion at this time it supports much of what I've recently learned about Historical Revision. This is a perfect example of every testimony I have viewed so far especially when it comes to Testimony concerning the Gas Chambers specifically. Everytime he talks about it make a thorough note of it and include the time code where you can see and hear for yourself. I keep watching hoping to find one which fits the narrative I was raised to believe in school and by hollywood movies but I can not.....so far. I'm still looking.
Ernest Lobet Born 1925, Breslau, Germany (now Wroclaw Poland) Pop. 600,000 - 5% Jewish, around 35,000 (according to him)
February 13th Through May 6th 1945 Besieged by Soviets
Forced to go to Synagogue every Saturday
2 Synagogues - 1 Orthodox 1 Reform
Prominent family in town till his Father left at age 4 - 1929
Father was the CEO of his company and it was a big scandal when he left the family, so much so that it made the local papers.
Father - Rudolph Lobethal
Large Family Owned Factory Producing "Ship Cord"
Employed 600 people
He liquidated the company and moved to South Africa with his new young girlfriend.
Died in 1936
Mother had servants most of her life. it was a big adjustment when his father left and they had to provide for themselves.
Eventually his mother put him and his sister in an orphanage as she was not able to provide for them.
Complains about orphanage where he was forced to eat more then he wanted because he was skinny
all Jewish holidays were celebrated at the orphanage
his mother bought him a bicycle for his bah mitzvah
Thrown out of the orphanage at age 13 1938 because he was to much of a trouble maker
sent to foster parents. foster parents were paid to care for him. he could do whatever he wanted as long as he was home in the evening. he loved it after all the restrictions in the orphanage
he says the foster parents just cared about getting paid, had several other children under there care. this was a common and accepted way of making a living at the time.
he attended a Jewish school attached to the synagogue
as Hitler came to power all he recognized was that being Jewish was somehow unacceptable
Nuremberg laws had no effect on his life at age 11
no lawyers, no professors, no intermarriage
Jewish schools were excellent as a result since Jewish University Professors could only find work teaching Jewish children
real change in 1938 with Kristallnacht, the night of broken glass.
he noticed some Jewish stores had windows broken
didn't really have an impact on him
more important was many classmates not showing up
word spread, Nazi's rounding up all male Jews for the labor camps (concentration camps)
Ernest believes somewhere around 40000 Jews arrested at this time and sent to labor camps
his daily life was not impacted by this at all. no freedoms taken away.
his life really changed as a jew in Germany much later.
he was sent to Jewish community to prepare for life in Palestine per orders by Zionists (somewhere between Breslau and Berlin)
they were taught how to farm and they were taught Hebrew, they were also taught that Germans hated them because they were intellectuals and doctors and lawyers
Germans allowed it because it was a preparation for expelling Jews from Germany. (the transfer agreement)
1940 around age15 he returned to Breslau and he was informed he would be integrated into the German war effort
the war made it impossible to continue all deportation programs
he went to factory to recycle tires as journeyman, at first he was the only jew there but more came later
he was treated just like any other German, he was paid had all the same benefits as all other Germans
he had returned to living with his grandmother
he was with this company all of 1941 and 1942 at which point he was arrested and deported however other Jews remained and worked
he was among the last to be sent out
he had to wear the Jewish Yellow star starting around the late 30's
all Jews had to add Israel to their name
no entertainment was allowed
no other restrictions
food was rationed but store owners would give them more then they had coupons for
electricity was rationed
merchant provided them with kerosene to compensate for lack of electricity
like this till 1943
great number of German Jews new at least one German they could count on due to relationships built before the war, former employers and employees
they got reports of harsh treatment of polish Jews by the Germans
rumors swept through the community
jews being arrested and forced into ghetto's
no one wanted to believe it
Jewish community was expected to prepare deportation arrangements, so it wasn't forced on them, they were left in charge of their own deportation to places like Palestine or the united states
lists drawn up by the Jewish community
Ernest was deported in early 1943 (winter time) many were deported at this time from Breslau
his grandmother was spared but here sisters had been deported
almost anyone else not participating in the war effort were deported
Timecode 1:02:00
Hitler had no objection to letting the Jews go but so few countries were willing to accept them
sent east to work, not sure where they were being sent
breaks down crying while talking about his grandmother asking the SS to let him stay because she needed him to care for her but he was to be sent east to work
took him to closed truck with 20 others to be transported, made some 10 stops after that
all ready to be transported for work in the east. all given time to pack whatever they liked and prepare for transport
he knew others waiting for transport in Breslau
almost everybody had food, cots were also provided
2500 -3000 people, there were toilets and it was bearable
this went on for 2 or 3 days
steady stream of non Jews coming by with packages
then loaded on train, 50 or so where put in each car. taken to Auschwitz
everyone brought there own food and water
bucket was passed around to be used as toilet, then dumped through hole in the floor
Timecode 1:43:10
it is now we get first "rumors" that those who were separated are already through the chimney
what do you mean through the chimney?
these people that were women and children, they were sent to the gas chamber immediately
that whole transport has already been gassed
no one he knew from home was there, didn't make any friends
no recollection of how anyone felt
recalls people throwing themselves on the electric fence, depressed from losing loved ones to the gas chamber
Big factory IG Farben chemical company
building factory to make synthetic rubber using coal
factory enclosed by non electric fence, soldiers every 150 feet
inside compound itself they were not guarded
his work site outside main enclosure, no fence, they had guard and were responsible for digging foundation
40 Jews from breslau who had never seen A spade before were digging up mud.
gosh was i miserable and so was everybody else
the soldiers standing around pit were very bored, kept going into a hut to warm themselves
soldier orders him to clean out hut and keep oven going, was his break number 2. (lucky)
told him to keep watch while they would "goof off"
much better then having to dig
4 weeks he did this....bitterly cold, clothing let the cold through but he had a stove not far away which he had to keep going so he stayed warm
hut also used during lunch time........watery soup, cabbage and turnips swimming water
each got a liter of that, drank it since they had no spoons.
had to acquire everything independently
they were always hungry so everything tasted really good but really it was lousy, would have been revolting under normal circumstances
still had his 100 marks he hid from home went to block commander and told him he had this money and asked him if he would like it.
Commander asked where he got it and told him he was very smart, said “let me have it”
brought out a new loaf of bread and asked if he would like to become his runner, all camp communications done by runners
he said he would be delighted that was lucky stroke 4 or 5
meant he could now eat at a table and he would the extra soup that was always left over after every meal
20 or 30 liters of extra soup probably even more, this was given to friends and people who did extra chores like sweeping the barracks or being night watchmen
this allowed him to live better, less hunger, didn't have to work as hard.
a lot of the work was outdoors transporting things from one place to another, but others had work inside but they were not getting enough to eat so people were starting to look thin
moral was low so people stopped washing themselves but everyone was shaved each week
Timecode 2:06:45
He recalls looking around and seeing those that would die soon from starvation or disease, this was the fate of the vast majority, he saw hundreds die
when some one died soldiers were quick to order someone to remove the body
theft was rampant and if you got caught stealing from fellow inmates you got beat by the block elders or other inmates by order of the inmates
everything was done by inmates, including job assignments, all camp administration was totally and completely in the hands of the prisoners. power lay in the hands of the poles
there was a complex pecking order and the Jews ranked at the absolute bottom and even the Jews had a pecking order among themselves depending on the number you had tattooed
the number told everyone where you were from, your ethnicity, when you arrived, the lower your number the greater chances of your survival
it was impossibly to survive the camp if you didn't find someway to get extra food over what you were normally served
you needed to keep your shoes but many traded them for extra food and fell victim to all sorts of terrible soars
if you sold your shoes you were sure to die
he kept his shoes
the first thing the block elder would tell everyone is to be sure you keep your shoes, do not sell them for extra food
middle of 1943 he was asked if he can do German math. schooling ended when he was 15 but he said oh yes
they said they need someone up in the bureau.
he kept his close neat always so he didn't need to be shaved ever and so he looked like a smart guy
Timecode 2:14:12
He wound up in a German office with German civilians all who came from huge chemical plant of IG Farben
his job was to calculate the output of the civilians working in order to calculate the norm in order for civilians to be paid extra if they did extra work
he did not mistreat me but he let me know all the Jews were shit.
Timecode 2:16:30
He says everyone seemed to be oblivious to 1000s of people being gassed nearby
he was able to get a gallon to 2 gallons of soup for Germans who did not want to eat it so he would dispense the soup to other inmates who were his friends, a professional criminal who everyone wanted to be in the good graces of. he gave to his friend Macky the rest he traded for things that could later on be useful because Auschwitz was a tremendous trading post
he had two friends who were Czechs from Prague who had girlfriends on the outside who they would write to and they would bring them food, all sorts of parcels sent by regular parcel and everything was passed along by the German soldiers. receiving packages was allowed
Timecode 2:22:00
He was always looking out for English POW's because he knew his sister was in England. eventually he met one as he was waiting for the soldier to throw away his cigarette, the butts were a delicacy. the soldier gave him the unfinished half. the soldier wrote to his sister in England for him and she wrote back as well as sending him a big parcel with 10 packs of cigarettes and chocolate all of which the German soldiers allowed in, most of it he traded for favors, many complex things
for two packs he had new heavy soles put on his shoes
his sister said she was so glad they were well, i'm sending you these hings and i hope you are well
he says you couldn't tell anything from the letter
this was in 1944
he says compared to others he was enormously lucky
Timecode 2:28:00
In December 1944 as Russians approached it became obvious Auschwitz was going to be evacuated, and he was glad to be in better shape than most
January 18 1945 the camp was evacuated before Russians arrived 9 days later but he heard they were close enough on the 18th to liberate it then and he feels thousands could have been saved if they would have come sooner before the evacuation
Timecode 2:30:00
No one was told what was going on, only that they were going to be marched out but everyone knew it was because the Russians were coming, they could here fighting as the front got closer and closer
he was working in an office with German newspapers so they were quite well informed what was going on, even through German accounts they still got that the Russians were advancing. there had also been a number of air raids by the allies on the camp.
even though he had built a life in this camp and he had a chance of survival, he new he would not starve, there was hope of seeing the end of the war he didn't care that he might die in these bombing raids
it was wonderful feeling it was your friends up there bombing you. there were many raids
the office he was working in got bombed and heavily damaged so for 3 weeks he was looking for the wallet of the office chief but he never found it
they moved to another office not quite as nice but like Eden for him anyhow and he was able to hold onto his job.
there were casualties but at any event they knew the Russians were coming
so on the 18th they were assembled and told to start marching
arm numbers got up to 200,000 A and B so maybe 400000
he figured it was best to be at the head of the column marching out since he knew there would be limited space wherever they went and those on the end wouldn't get a sleeping space so he made sure he was up front
he had some food, some bread he saved in preparation for the evacuation
he had some cigarettes and shoes designed to last a long while
distance from Auschwitz to Gleiwitz with another camp was 65 kilometers away, about 38 miles
it was bitterly cold and snowing, the snow was fairly deep
this march 10000 from Auschwitz-Berkenau
30000 from Auschwitz Main
and some side camps in Berkenau
all congregated on foot
for vast majority of inmates at that time of year with the clothing and there health emaciation, it was not doable, they fell like flies
anybody who dropped was shot
he was still with his friend Macky
seemed like an eternity but of course marched without stopping
estimates it took 24 hours with no rest and no food and no water
you kept marching or you dropped dead and got killed
he saw people dropping by the hundreds
he focused on survival and only thought about trying to escape
the guards were packed down heavy and were also not in very good shape so he felt it would have been easy to run off into the nearby woods but he didn't because did not know where he would go afterwards and feared he would just get turned in right away. he knew the war would be over soon and he would be liberated either by the Russians or the Americans
they arrived at another work camp but it too had been evacuated and was not equipped to handle all the inmates that arrived. he has no idea how many survived the march he heard later on there were between 40000 and 60000 people who left auschwitz and they figured maybe 25000 arrived alive at Gleiwitz
he was in the front so he got a bunk and so did the next few thousand the rest slept on the floor. everyone slept in there clothes
stayed there for 3 days. some soup and bread was handed out
they knew they weren't going to stay since the soviets were still close, only 38 miles away
rumors flying wild about where they were going to go, maybe Sweden would except, anything they would believe because they wanted to believe.
they were told a transport was ready everyone was put into open cattle cars with no roof, must have been 80 people in his car the snow coming down
the train finally took off, he was standing but a lot started to die, they threw them out and eventually he was able to sit.
doesn't now how many days they were in there one, he had some bread left, another guy had a canteen, there was string and they would scoop up snow for water
maybe it 4 days to reach Mauthausen, miserable camps in Austria near Vienna
some bread was thrown in but he didn't get any and no one would share
the rumor came the camp was full and they left for another destination
lost his eye sight, he could see and then it was all black, he feared it was gone for good. this went on for 3 days maybe, he lost track
it was so terrible
the train rolled on it stopped it rolled on, didn't make any difference the snow was falling, no one was cold as they were pressed close together, body heat kept them warm
Macky said names of places they passed so they knew when they had left Austria headed for Czechoslovakia
his eyes open but he couldn't see. as they passed overpasses the train location was known and people came to watch the train go under, cars full of zebra clad skeletons huddled together listless like cows heading for the slaughter house. but some of the people came with bread and threw it from the overpass into the cars.
through whole trip through Germany afterwards they would get nothing, but he only knew what Macky told him and he didn't really care overwhelmed by the loss of his eye site
eventually came to Mittelbau-Dora another camp where the V1 and V2 were manufactured
doesn't know how many inmates were in Dora
his eye site returned once he got something to eat
again went through same routine as in the beginning at Auschwitz got a new number but it was not tattooed on them this time. it was cold but not as bad as poland, they were given new clothing but his established life was gone and you started again at the bottom of the pecking order with no access to any sources of extra food
he was assigned to a barracks, two to a bunk
he never saw any rockets and he never saw any sabotage but he knew that they were building rockets there. he couldn't care less, now it was February, the Americans had arrived and Russians had surrounded his home town
he new he would be liberated alive or dead
the work was brutal even if it was carrying bricks, they only got one liter of soup per day and no one could survive on that
constant transports were being sent in all directions, he and his friends decided anywhere was better then Dora so they joined a group for transport to go wherever it was going, they got in line they knew it was always good to be a specialist wherever it was going even if you knew nothing at all, you always said you were a specialist. he said he was a locksmith though he knew nothing about it. he was accepted, but his friend Macky behind him said he was an electrician, he doesn't want to say locksmith since Ernest just said it but the SS man said NO we need you here and he was hear broken Macky couldn't come. he cries he never saw him again, and he died all because he said electrician.
new camps they were also building rockets food was bad but it was not as crowded, it is march now days melt into each other. you lose time and dates, you just know the war is ending you just know you're probably not going to make it your weight going down very much but its the fate of everyone around you, people dying very quickly.
every day ferried into tunnel by train to move stones but the work is very very slow no one has much strength, you can tell noe cares really anymore whether you work or not. everybody knows the end is near. people dying at such quick rate by end of march they announce no more work in the tunnels, it was no longer feasible logistically, they started with 6000 when he arrived and now there were only 1500, not enough man power so they are kept at the camp getting a litre of soup in the evening and s lice of bread in the morning and they just waited wondering " where are the Americans"
beginning of April, not sure of date you hear airplanes everyday not sure if it was English or British and they had other targets but you knew they were friendly planes till one day maybe first week of April sirens again but the sirens were all the time and no one reacted to them anymore, there was nowhere to hide accept under bunks
bombs fell into the camp onto the barracks quite a few, incendiary bombs lighting everything on fire, there's a lot of screaming, inmates dying in the fire from allied firebombs
barbed wire torn in many places.
SS had ducked underground in bomb shelters still quite a few of them were killed too but mostly prisoners
they stayed in the barracks that weren't hit, everybody huddles together, there's no more soup.
nothing comes that night
Timecode 3:14:00
next morning sirens start again, everyone panics, running in all directions, barbed wire is breached, he sees no guard post, only SS men running away, some inmates climbing over barbed wire and also running away. he followed them and he keeps running. other inmates running in same direction
the bombs start falling, he's running in an open field, he keeps running as the camp is bombed, some running along side got hit by bombs, he kept running till he dropped into a sort of furrow, there, not far, is a dead civilian must of been Italian, wasn't a prisoner, wore old dilapidated Italian army jacket and trousers. he changed into these clothes to disguise himself, it's difficult as the body has already stiffened
they're to big for him but all of a sudden he's a civilian, he looks around and sees people in the distance but no one seems to notice him.
about 100 feet away he sees a pile of American propaganda fliers telling the Germans there fuehrer has deserted them and to lay down there weapons
he continues west, he gets stopped by a German soldier in the woods. they tell him they are from a local town and the soldier tells them they cant go through there the Americans are coming but what are you doing with this clothing, they tell him they were bombed and this was all they had, soldier says ok ill take you to the lieutenant and asks them if they know how to shoot, they say of course. they are thinking we've got to kill him but he's marching behind them so they don't
Timecode 3:34:00
then the Americans show up in tanks, whistle blows all tanks in column stop. they see a black soldier with the tank door open peering out. he had never seen a black person before, he knew they existed in Africa but he never saw one. asked them if they have any Cognac?
they were liberated the whistle blows the column takes off and they were left there standing, that was their great liberation they had been dreaming about, it was just that, but things very quickly changed.
after tanks nothing for a while then jeeps came and they had signs that said "military government"
they stood at side of road wondering what to do or say. they are approached by US army officer he speaks to them in German asks them what they're doing there
they tell him their story and they look at him very strange, asks why they were in a camp. they tell him they're Jewish, he doesn't believe them so they prove it by saying some Jewish prayers
officer tells them he passed through half of Germany and they are the first German Jews he has seen alive. tells them to go to town where they are establishing a military government, tells them to go there and tell them their story. so they go. they find an officer who speaks Yiddish. they get c-rations and a hotel room
they are eventually informed they are in an area being given to the Russians and if they don't want to be there when the Russians arrive they need to make other plans, somewhere around April 25 1945
officer asks them where they want to go. they ask where they should go. they are advised to go to Paris but how will we get there
officer tells them about transport being put together to take other french people back to France, why don't you join them.
he says that sounds very good to him but we have no papers
officer says no problem, here's a typewriter and a secretary, tells him what to type, officer signs it, asks them there names. document says they can go to Paris order of US Army.
they thought this is the passport to heaven.
they are taken to a German tailor and given new suits for free
off to Paris they go