The complete deployment of the labor service of the prisoners in a concentration camp is placed under the work Kommando leader. He in turn is responsible to Bureau D II of the Economic Headquarters for the proper deployment of all prisoners according to their professional background and their ability to produce.
All prisoners of a camp are to be in a so-called job, file which is kept and worked on only by the work Kommando leader.
Every month, D II must be notified how many prisoners of each profession are available.
Prisoners who had an important and rare professional background must be reported by name, such as diamond cutter, optical lens grinder, precision tool maker, watchmaker, tool maker, etc. These prisoners are like a historic treasure, protected at all times. Their deployment is determined strictly by D II only.
Every work project, that means every prisoner work deployment, must have the approval of D II.
They also have to approve new work sites, as well as the existing work projects if they want to enlarge them. Outside firms such as arms factories, mining companies and other strategic firms that want concentration camp labor must apply through the proper channels, namely the armaments commander of D II. They then determine through the War Ministry the urgency of the proposal. In the meantime, the camp Kom-mandant and the work Kommando leader instantly determine the logistics of guarding and feeding these prisoners. Based on this, recommendations are then made to D II. Large work projects are checked over personally by the chief of D II. After D II presents its case, the chief of headquarters, Pohl, following established, prioritized lists, checks all aspects, and then makes contingents of prisoners available. Requests for prisoners are then received after applying to the camp Kommandant and work Kommando leaders or D II respectively, who either approve or refuse.
But it happened repeatedly that Himmler ordered the deployment of prisoners over the rejection of the camp Kommandant, the work Kommando leader and even D II because of its importance to the war effort or because it would lead to victory. This was done even though the housing and food were totally inadequate or the work was totally unsuitable to prisoners. Himmler got his way even over the objections of Pohl and paid no attention whatsoever to anyone. The work Kommando leader had a few noncommissioned officers at his disposal for carrying out his task. The overwhelming part of the “work,” however, was carried out by prisoners, while the noncommissioned officers had their hands full just to take care of the guard duty. For example, the work Kommando leader had to reinforce the existing Kommandos daily or change them around according to the situational requirements. Since it was impossible to know among the thousands of prisoners who was suited for a particular Kommando, he had to rely upon the prisoners, who recommended suitable workers and, often on their own, brought the Kommandos up to strength or altered them. The same principle was followed in forming new Kommandos. It was only natural that the worst violations and the worst switches occurred during this process. It happened that there were countless good opportunities to escape, especially in the Kommandos outside the camp. It was also possible for prisoners who had friends in a desired Kommando to “change his profession,” and so get into a more suitable or easy Kommando. In the same manner, the Kapos played their games to get the prisoners they wanted for their Kommandos. Of course, if there were prisoners they didn't like or want, the Kapos arranged for them to suffer punishment by being railroaded to a tough Kommando.
Originally every Kommando had to be supervised by an SS soldier and the work Kommando leader, who was supposed to be with them until the work detail was finished.
But long before the war, as the camp enlarged so did the number of work projects, thereby also increasing the need to guard the prisoners. The effect of all this led to an increase in the use of Kapos and foremen in the guarding and supervision of the labor details.
According to Hinunler’s order, all juvenile prisoners were to receive vocational training in a suitable trade. Special emphasis was to be placed on the training of stone cutters and construction workers.
The work Kommando leader had the job of guarding these apprentice training sites, and he was required also to have suitable teachers at his disposal.
These apprentices were also to receive better room and board. It was possible to do this in the older camps, but it was impossible at Auschwitz, because in that camp there was always a shortage of housing and increasing numbers all the time.
However, even in Auschwitz the apprentices received extra food rations.
It was possible for the leader of the guard troop to supervise both the Kapos and prisoners depending on size and clear visibility of a work Kommando. If this was impossible, then the work Kommando within the chain of guards was strictly left to the Kapos and his foremen. As for the control of these Kommandos, only a few totally inadequate SS soldiers were available. The supervisory personnel furnished by the firms for whom the prisoners worked were undependable. These people also liked to leave everything to the Kapos and foremen to handle. This is how they became dependent on them. This dependence increased steadily, since they were no match for the shrewd and often mentally superior Kapos. This in turn led to a mutual coverup of rampant negligence and abuse. Of course, the prisoners paid for all this to the detriment of the camp or to the firms deploying the prisoners. The camp commander constantly lectured the Kapos and foremen about not mistreating prisoners.
All violations were to be reported when the prisoners marched in after work. This was done by only a few Kapos, as most of them inflicted the punishment themselves according to the way they felt. If a Kapo was actually caught beating a prisoner, he himself was then subject to corporal punishment. But this did not deter the others from continuing the beatings. All that happened was that they became more cautious. Their abuses were
Naturally supported by men like Fritzsch, Seidler, Aumeier, and Palitzsch. Even among those SS noncommissioned officers and SS soldiers who controlled things, there were those who saw nothing when the Kapos beat the prisoners, or, in fact, even asked them to beat the prisoners.
The SS soldiers of the Kommandant’s staff, the troops, as well as all bureaus who employed prisoners were constantly given lectures on how to treat prisoners, especially about the proliibition on mistreating the prisoners.
I seem also to remember that some SS soldiers of the guard troop were brought before the SS court and received severe punishment for mistreating prisoners. Even though the SS guards had the authority to put prisoners on report who lagged in their work, they had no right to punish them for violations. If a prisoner committed an offense such as willful laziness, negligence, actual maliciousness in his work, or similar offenses, he was to be reported to the camp commander during the evening march into the camp.
In the same manner all the guard personnel at the arms factories and at other work sites were constantly reminded about the treatment of prisoners through printed pamphlets or in class lectures. Particular emphasis was placed on the fact that no one had the right to punish a prisoner or indeed abuse him.
If it was reported that in one plant, a prisoner was beaten, then an immediate investigation was ordered by either the Kommandant or the labor project leader. These investigations always were without results because the prisoners never remembered who had beaten them. To be sure, the director of the fum was notified in no uncertain terms that the prisoners would be withdrawn if any further mistreatment occurred; the result was that nothing happened there anymore. But it was not possible to eliminate these things altogether because of the constantly deteriorating situation. The replacement personnel in the factories became increasingly worse; the factory directors had lost control.
During his constant rounds the labor project leader had to pay particular attention to the treatment of prisoners by the factory personnel. However, this was an almost impossible task because there were so many factories and they were spread far and wide!
Listed below are the offenses which were punishable while the prisoners were at work:
Obvious laziness, shirking work, intentional negligence, or intentional sabotage, slovenly use of tools or machines, neglectful misplacement or loss of tools.
If a punishment report was made, it had to be from an authorized guard; an SS officer on control rounds; a Kapo; foreman; or the supervisory personnel of a firm, a factory, or a construction firm. After the concerned prisoner had a hearing from the camp commander, he was punished
Accordingly by the camp Kommandant.
It was the decision of the camp commander to prepare the proper punishment on the form sent on to the camp Kommandant.
The camp Kommandant had the authority to pronounce the following penalties:
1) Arrest up to forty-two days with intensifications, such as food deprivations, deprivation of the camp, darkened cell, and chains for the real troublemakers.
2) Penalty standing up to six hours with deprivation of one meal.
3) Transfer to the punishment company for a designated time.
4) Punishment by lashes with a cane could only be requested by the camp Kommandant and then only after certain criteria had been met and it is recommended by the camp doctor.
5) Permission to carry out corporal punishment for women was given exclusively by Himmler himself and for the men by the inspector of concentration camps.
6) Penalties 2 and 3 in the 1936 Camp Regulations were not in force until later, by Himmler’s order, and were abolished again in the last years of the war.
The camp commander was fully authorized to hand out punishments during the absence of the Kommandant, providing the camp had been signed over to him in writing.
The camp commander could, at his own discretion, order a maximum of up to two hours of punishment drilling if a work Kommando did poor work.
In larger camps, the Kommandant could delegate the camp commander to administer penalty 2 to the prisoners.
World History
