Life and Sex in Nazi Concentration Camps - Essay Example

Life and Sex in Nazi Concentration Camps Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Dachau and many other Nazi concentration camps conjure visions of emancipated Jewish stick figures, living and dead, in liberation photos. However, these photos are only the end of a journey that lasted years for the prisoners and the captors. These photos tell of the Jewish journey, because they were a majority in the camps. History The Nazis also imprisoned Gypsies, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Homosexuals, Habitual Criminals, Political Prisoners, Asocial, and Emigrants. Some camps were for Jews only, but others like Auschwitz held a motley variety of inmates. With the massive number of inmates in Nazi concentration camps a main social structure developed, but many individual splinter social groups formed as well. This paper will investigate the main social group, while taking a look at some of the splinter social groups. The different treatment of men and women in Nazi concentration camps will also be examined. Temporary prisons, that later became concentration camps, in Germany originated around 1933.1 Concentration camps were used at first to hold political prisoners. German citizens were arrested and defined as political prisoners after being caught in riots initiated by Nazi supporters.2 The Nazis came into power creating a dictatorship. With this shift of power, more and more perceived enemies of the Nazis were sent to the concentration camps. In the beginning, the gas chambers were not utilized. Mass shootings and burials were preformed by special Einsatzgruppen units.3 The need for change came after the German Einsatzgruppen soldiers started showing negative psychological symptoms. Ernest Klee uncovered an affidavit from Gustave Fix, a member of Sonderkommando i6, which said “there were numerous men who were no longer capable of conducting executions and who thus had to be replaced by other men.”4 Yet, with the mental breakdown of Nazi soldiers, the Nazis formed another plan to rid themselves of their enemies; concentration camps with a high death rate. Nazi Concentration Camps Routine Germans were very efficient. The routine could vary slightly, but concentration camp life as ordered by the Germans followed a faithful path. Survivor after survivor retold several key elements of arriving and surviving in a concentration camp. Jewish arrivals came from prisons, whereas criminals and other inmates came from local jails. Whether packed into overcrowded trains or trucks, the transportation to the camps were treacherous, many died along the way. Upon arriving in a concentration camp, men and women were separated; children went with the women. A selection took place, depending on what workers the Nazis needed, all of the healthy men and women were selected for hard labor. The ones not selected went straight to the gas chambers. The inmates chosen to live were stripped of all their worldly possessions. They were then shaved and forced into a blue disinfectant that burned.5 Then the inmates were given bullet ridden, ill fitting clothing with stripes.6 While going through the initial induction inmates learned of the true nature of the concentration camp by the inmates processing them. Some inmates, like the ones at Auschwitz, received tattooed numbers at this time. Different classifications were used for prisoners in Nazi concentration camps. For example, the following chart shows the different identifying badges: The Different Identifying badges used Yellow Jew A chart of prisoner markings. — KZ Gedenkstaette Dachau Brown Gypsy Violet Jehovahs Witness Pink Homosexual Green Habitual criminal Red Political prisoner Black Asocial Blue Emigrant 7 The Nazis used different letters to classify as well: e.g., "F" for franzosisch (French), "P" for polnisch (Polish), "T" for tschechisch (Czech), etc., but it could also denote special sub-categories of prisoners. For example, the white letter "A" on a black triangle signified a labor disciplinary prisoner (Arbeitserziehungshaftling), while a black "S" on a green triangle identified a strafthaft, or penal prisoner. In addition, the word Blod on a black triangle marked mentally retarded inmates, and a red and white target symbol set apart those who had tried to escape.8 This was Dachau’s classifications. Auschwitz classified prisoners: Depending on what crime the prisoners had committed, they received a triangle in the appropriate color, which was worn on the left breast next to the number. Political criminals had red; professional criminals, green; saboteurs, black; homosexuals, ink; and students of the holy word, violet. National origin was identified by a black letter on the triangle: P-Polish, F-French, and so on. The Germans did not wear any letter.9 By classifying the prisoners, the Nazis could turn one inmate against another. It was common practice to put criminals or Germans in charge of Blocks, housing sections. The more brutal an inmate, the more likely the Germans would put them in charge. In Elie Wiesel related in his book Night that the Pole in charge of his group when he first arrived was dismissed for being too soft.10 Another routine in Nazi concentration camps was hard labor and beatings with insufficient food or water. Klee uncovered an affidavit from Rudolf Hess which read: I commanded Auschwitz up until 1 December 1943 and estimate that at least 2 ½ million victims were executed or eliminated there by gassing and burning. At least a further half a million died as a result of hunger and illness, which makes a total of about 3 million. This figure represents about 70 or 80 per cent of all people who were sent as prisoner sin Auschwitz. The rest were selected for slave labour in the factories and workshops in the concentration camp.11 These are only estimates from Auschwitz’s commandant. Other camps used starvation rations as well. Also in Nazi concentration camps, guards could kill prisoners at random or on a whim. Social Structure in Nazi Concentration Camps The routine implemented in the concentration camps by the Germans formed the social structure of the inmates. Camps made inmates act differently than they normally would in the free world. Some people became ruthless to survive. One survivor said “We stepped on people who had fallen from hunger.”12 Another survivor related “People stripped rags from corpses, but if the guards saw you do that they would kill you on the spot"13 The social structure in the camps became an inmate would do what it took to survive, even if it was not ethical. But who is to decide what is ethical in the insane world of the concentration camps? Not everyone stole, killed or collaborated with the Nazis, but the honourable people did not survive as often as the ruthless people did. Generally the social structures of the prisoners of Nazi concentration camps were cut up into groups, mainly by their work detail. Work details could range from construction workers to the Sondercommando, the commando that burnt dead bodies. The block elders were in charge of a whole block, or building housing a brigade of workers. The block elder distributed food, counted their prisoners during appel (when the prisoners would be counted in rows of five by ten) and dealt with other daily problems. A Kapo was responsible for being in the field with the work detail, beating them to achieve quotas or mete out any other punishment the Nazis chose to give inmates. Workers formed another class. These inmates were expected to perform their tasks, while staying out of the Block elder or Kapo’s way. The last group were the sick and children. The sick were crammed together and left to die, unless a SS officer decided to clear out the infirmary by killing all. Children were normally sent directly to the gas chambers, but there were some exceptions, such as Dr. Mengle’s twins and triplets. Simon Wiesenthal told Elie Wiesel “Not all the victims of the Holocaust were Jews, but all the Jews were victims."14 Using one of the primary resources backs this statement up, The Jäger Report shows that others were murdered, but the Jews were targeted more than others: 22.8.41 Aglona Mentally sick: 269 men, 227 women, 48 children 23.8.41 Panevezys 1,312 Jews, 4,602 Jewesses, 1,609 Jewish children15 The Jews were singled out more than the Gypsies, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Homosexuals, Habitual Criminals, Political Prisoners, Asocial, and Emigrants. This difference in treatment created separate social structure for each group. Jews Generally in the camps friendships between barrack mates and relatives occurred. In fact, one source suggests “maintain some family ties or who had a sister or brother, father or mother, or even a friend and substitute sister or brother in the camps had a better chance to survive.”16 However, for emotional survival, the Jewish prisoners usually paired of in groups of twos and threes. If the groups were any larger, inmates could be come depressed when a friend died. For example, Elie Wiesel and his father stuck together until Shlomo Wiesel’s death in Buchenwald on January 29 1945.17 Most relationships were between fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, brothers, and sisters. Since the camps were separated by gender, friends and relationships were normally between prisoners of the same sex. These bonds were very important. Friends and family looked after each other, giving them a reason to live. Poles Poles, who were not Jews, could form a bigger social circle. One example is the friendship between Polish partisans Janusze Nel Siedlecki, Krystyn Olsezewski and Tadeusz Borowski.18 Because these men were Poles, they had more freedom than a Jew to organize necessities. The starvation rations had to be supplemented, or death would claim a prisoner. Since the Poles organized more food, their social life became more important due to their full bellies. Poles had more energy from the excess of food stolen, ere go the Poles had more vigour to socialize. The difference between the Poles and Jews in Auschwitz can be explained by the following: In the fall of 1942—at the time of the breakthrough battle of Stalingrad—came the first distinction between the “Aryans” and the Jews; the Aryans were allowed to receive packages. The summer of 1942 was a period in which the work area of Birkenau knew absolutely no hunger, while twenty meters to the right, and two hundred diagonally across, forty thousand Hungarian-Jewish women died of hunger.19 The Poles higher level of socialization was made possible because of the received packages from home. The food not only nourished the Poles’ bodies, but the letters from home raised their hopes, allowing them to live one more day. Gypsies In Auschwitz, Gypsies had their own encampment. This was a unique camp inside Auschwitz, because families remained intact. Children played behind the fence separating the Gypsies from other prisoners. The adults did join work details. On survivor remembers “From the Gypsy who acquired a broom and brought it from the field to the camp.”20 The Gypsy camp was envied by the other prisoners. Jews, Poles and other prisoners wished they could have stayed together with their families like in the Gypsy camp. The envy was extinguished, along with the whole Gypsy camp, when Dr. Mengele ordered all of the Gypsies to the gas chamber.21 Prisoner Sex in Nazi Concentration Camps Homosexuals Homosexuals were sent to concentration camps. The Nazis were very homophobic. Many camp commandants, like Hoess, believed that homosexuality was a contagious illness. In Auschwitz and a few other camps, whore houses were set up to “fix” the homosexuals.22 Most homosexuals were segregated to remove the temptation of coming onto straight men. The Nazis felt that the homosexuals were abominations for several reasons. The first and foremost was the gall of a pure Aryan choosing not procreate. For all pure German Aryans, the Nazis believed procreations were a must. The propaganda minister, Joseph Gobbels, had six natural children and a stepson. Himmler had multiple children. It was a German’s duty to provide children to become mothers and soldiers for the fatherland. The second reason homosexuals were an abomination was the theory homosexuals thought and acted only on sex. Homosexuals’ genitals became the sum of what they were in the Nazis’ eyes.23 Actual sex between homosexuals in Nazi concentration camps was rarely reported by other inmates, due to the pariah status of homosexuals. After the war, homosexuals rarely came out and spoke about their experience, much less any sexual experience, in the Nazi concentration camps. Heterosexuals Heterosexual sex was more common that homosexual sex. In many camps, bordellos and prostitution were the norm. Unless the camp commandant was a prude, sex between guards and prisoners happened frequently. There was an exception to the rule. Nazis did not sleep with Jewesses. Nazis did not want to taint their pure Aryan manhood by bedding a Jewess. Political prisoners, criminals, and any other prisoners, not Jewish, were fair game. There were exceptions when Nazi SS had sex with Jewesses, although rare. When superior officers found out about the lapse, the Jewesses were sent directly to the gas chamber and the SS officer sent to the front. Women had no choice but to prostitute themselves for food, or even for their life. Not only SS officers held life and death over these women, so did Kapos. Life was so cheap, that no one would miss a dead woman who would not have sex with a Kapo. The privileged ones were the ones in the bordello. There they at least had adequate food, until their time came to go to the gas chambers. Sometimes in ghettos, like Theresienstadt, two lovers would steal away to a closet or corner to consummate their love. While the sex between the lovers helped them forget their hardships, the sex could bring complications. Pregnancy could mean a deportation slip to a concentration camp. A visibly pregnant woman would be sent to the gas chamber upon arrival if they were lucky. If unlucky, she would capture the attention of Dr. Mengele. One survivor, who gave birth in Auschwitz, caught Dr. Mengele’s eye. Dr. Mengele bandaged the survivor’s breast, so nourishment would be withheld from the infant. He wanted to see how long it took for the baby to starve.24 Looking back from a free country, it would be easy to judge the captors and prisoners. Yet, one must remember that the Nazis and the prisoners did not know what is known now. Would have the prisoners acted differently if they would have known when their camp would be liberated? Would the Nazis have acted differently? It is clear that thrown into this situation, both subjugator and detainee reacted to the best of their abilities. Some survived the war, others did not. However, they did the best they could to survive. The social structure of each group in Nazi concentration camps, even the Nazis, existed because of extraordinary circumstances. Each individual formed bonds to survive. Whether it was the Nazi killing Jews to fit in, or prisoners stealing bread from someone weaker for a parent, these humans reacted like humans. Humans need social contact. No man can survive by themselves in the midst of others. The huge social structure the Nazis created for their concentration camps was meticulous. From the transportation to the camp, processing of the prisoner, classifications, starvation, hard labor and death, the Nazis tried to isolate their prisoners. The Nazis tried to get their prisoners to turn on one another, thus smashing any social structure between the prisoners. What the Nazis did not take into account was the human need for companionship. Albeit the social structure formed by the prisoners was warped, the prisoners formed bonds with others. In conclusion, the social structure in the Nazi concentration camps existed. No matter how hard the Nazis tried to dehumanize their prisoners, they only had limited success. Life went on behind the barb wire; sex, birth, life and death were all part of concentration camp life. The social structure was strained, but it was there.. Endnotes Christopher Ailsby. The Third Reich Day by Day (London: MBI Publishing, 2001), 42. 2 Ibid. 3 Ernest Klee, W. Dressen, and V. Riess, eds. “The Good Old Days” The Holocaust as Seen by Its Perpetrators and Bystanders (New York: The Free Press, 1991), 1. 4 Ibid 60. 5 Elie Wiesel. Night (New York: Hill and Wang, 2006), 35-36. 6 Ibid. 7 Abraham J. Edelheit, and Hershel Edelheit, History of the Holocaust: A Handbook and Dictionary (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1994), pp. 218. 8 Ibid. 9 Janusz Siedlecki and others. We Were in Auschwitz. (New York, NY: Welcome Rain Publishers, 2000), 9. 10 Elie Wiesel. Night (New York: Hill and Wang, 2006), 41,44. 11 Ernest Klee, W. Dressen, and V. Riess, eds. “The Good Old Days” The Holocaust as Seen by Its Perpetrators and Bystanders (New York: The Free Press, 1991), 254. 12 Janusz Siedlecki and others. We Were in Auschwitz. (New York, NY: Welcome Rain Publishers, 2000), 3. 13 Lebor, Adam. Seduced by Hitler: The Choices of a Nation and the Ethics of Survival. (Illinois: Sourcesbooks, 2000) 150. 14 Elie Wiesel. And the Sea is Never Full. (USA: Schocken, 2000) 129. 15Ernest Klee, W. Dressen, and V. Riess, eds. “The Good Old Days” The Holocaust as Seen by Its Perpetrators and Bystanders (New York: The Free Press, 1991), 49. 16 Harry Cargas Problems Unique to the Holocaust. (Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky, 1999) 57. 17 Elie Wiesel. Night (New York: Hill and Wang, 2006), 111-112. 18Janusz Siedlecki and others. We Were in Auschwitz. (New York, NY: Welcome Rain Publishers, 2000) 19 Ibid 11. 20 Ibid. 21 Benno Muller-Hill. Murderous Science: Elimination by Scientific Selection of Jews, Gypsies, and Others in Germany, 1933-1945. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), 149. 22 Richard Plant. The Pink Triangle: The Nazi War Against Homosexuals. (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1986), 165. 23 Ibid 166. 24 Elias, Ruth. Triumph of Hope: From Theresienstadt and Auschwitz to Israel. (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1998), 147. Bibliography Primary Resources Klee, Ernst, W. Dressen, and V. Riess, eds. “The Good Old Days” The Holocaust as Seen by Its Perpetrators and Bystanders. New York: The Free Press, 1991. Siedlecki, Janusz N., K. Olszewski, T. Borowski, and A. Girs. We Were in Auschwitz. New York, NY: Welcome Rain Publishers, 2000. Secondary Resources Ailsby, Christopher. The Third Reich Day by Day. London: MBI Publishing, 2001. Cargas, Harry J. Problems Unique to the Holocaust. Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky, 1999. Edelheit, Abraham J. and Hershel Edelheit, History of the Holocaust: A Handbook and Dictionary. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1994. Elias, Ruth. Triumph of Hope: From Theresienstadt and Auschwitz to Israel. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1998. Lebor, Adam. Seduced by Hitler: The Choices of a Nation and the Ethics of Survival. Illinois: Sourcesbooks, 2000. Muller-Hill, Benno. Murderous Science: Elimination by Scientific Selection of Jews, Gypsies, and Others in Germany, 1933-1945. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. Pike, David W. Spaniards in the Holocaust: Mauthausen, Horror on the Danube. New York: Routledge, 2000. Plant, Richard. The Pink Triangle: The Nazi War Against Homosexuals. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1986. Wiesel, Elie. Night. New York: Hill and Wang, 2006. ---. And the Sea is Never Full. USA: Schocken, 2000. Read More