Palitzsch

SS Master Sergeant Palitzsch was also from Saxony. In 1933 he came via the “political preparedness group” in Dresden to the concentration camp Sachsenburg guard troops. In 1936 he was transfeiTed to Sachsenhausen to carry out the duties of a block leader. 1 came to know him in that position when I came to Sachsenhausen as adjutant in 1938.1 never noticed Palitzsch in the Kommandant’s staff. Camp Commander Sauer, Officer of the Day Schilti and later Eisfeld really bragged about Palitzsch and his skillful manner and his devotion to duty. After Schilti’s transfer, Palitzsch became the duty officer and held that post even when I was protective custody camp commander. Palitzsch performed his duty to ever>'one’s satisfaction. And yet, I could never rid myself of the feeling that in secret he tortured the prisoners. I often stalked him and also asked many people about him, but I could never get enough evidence to take action against him. The strange thing was that the prisoners did not like to talk about him and always tried to evade answering. The block leader and Kommando leaders who had come from Sachsenhausen were old hands, so there were very few outsiders. This clique had been educated by Eicke, Loritz, and Koch and had learned their trade well. Each one covered for the other. The prisoners also knew them from their years in the camp. The Kapos were trusted by them and obeyed them instantly.

I have no personal knowledge, nor have I ever heard, that Palitzsch was involved in any atrocities in Sachsenhausen. I do not doubt that he beat prisoners. In any case he was cunning enough never to get caught. He had received from the previously mentioned camp Kommandants an “outstanding education.”

When Auschwitz first began he was recommended to me by Loritz and transferred from Sachsenhausen with thirty professional criminals he himself had selected. In one way I was glad that 1 got Palitzsch, an experienced duty officer who at least had an idea about protective custody camps, was devoted to duty, and knew how to handle prisoners. But from the beginning I always had the feeling that Palitzsch was lying to me and that he was two-faced. My feelings did not deceive me. Soon enough he was in league with Fritzsch and the second camp commander, Meier, and became very involved in their activities. From Meier he got the final polish in perfecting all the possible foul deeds. Meier was also one of those “warmly recommended” by Glucks. Meier had been in Buchenwald, where he could not have remained a minute longer because of his loathsome behavior. He was one of the creatures of Koch, who participated in all kinds of truly disgusting things, a true gangster.

Meier was only at Auschwitz a few months when I succeeded in uncovering enough evidence to find him guilty of serious black marketeering and was able to hand him over to the SS court. Glucks was really angry with me about this, because he thought that he would have to give an accounting of this to Himmler. Meier had constantly maintained that he was a relative of Himmler, thereby preventing many of his superiors from taking steps against him.

Meier, Palitzsch, and a prisoner of the same name [different spelling] who was a tailor, made some illegal transactions with money, valuables and textiles. Meier obtained these by confiscating them from Auschwitz in my name. But I didn’t learn this until 1944, after Palitzsch had been seized by the SS court. This information came from Meyer [the tailor], after he was caught and brought back from his escape from the camp. As it turned out, Meyer had been aided in his escape by Palitzsch and two NCOs in the camp administration because they were afraid their illegal dealings would be discovered. Meyer had threatened to expose them if they didn’t let him escape. About this Meier, Palitzsch, Meyer trio one could write a fascinating gangster novel. Meier’s replacement was Seidler. Seidler, like Palitzsch, was already known from Sachsenburg and had also been at Sachsenhausen for several years. Even though Seidler wasn’t a creature in the same sense of his predecessor, he was nevertheless of the same makeup as Fritzsch and Palitzsch in the way they treated prisoners. He too was very good at hiding his mistakes from me.

No one could beat Palitzsch in his devotion to duty. He was always at his post and could be found everywhere. He was well-informed about everything, in fact, better than the camp commander. You could trust him with the most difficult jobs. Because of his shrewd spy system, which watched over the Kapos and block elders, he was the true boss with the prisoners. His strength came from playing one against the other. The most notorious officials were under his protection and when their actions became obvious they had to spend time in the punishment company and like it. Palitzsch didn’t forget about them and got them out again on time. Those who knew too much or actually didn’t want to continue playing along suffered accidents at work with deadly results or they died of spotted fever. The “immortal” camp elder, [Bruno] Brodniewitz, was the master conductor of Palitzsch’s schemes.

Palitzsch was shrewd enough never to expose himself in any way. He had learned the lessons from his vast experience. Besides that, he was always covered by Fritzsch, Seidler and Aumeier. After the Meier affair, I chased after him like the devil. He not only guessed it but he knew, and covered himself all the more. .

In the three-and-a-half years he was under my command I could not catch him, even though I took many risks and spent a lot of time trying to. It was absolutely impossible to learn anything from the prisoners themselves.

I couldn’t even get anything out of the prisoners who had been transferred to other camps. The fear of the consequences was too great. The captured Meyer blabbed only when he knew for certain that Palitzsch was under arrest.

To an outsider this seems unbelievable. And yet, whoever has been a prisoner in Auschwitz or was more acquainted with the circumstances there knew what power Palitzsch had and which roll he played.

Palitzsch was always present at executions, and he probably performed the most killings by shooting in the back of the neck. The many times that I watched him, I could never discover even the slightest emotion or desire to do that. Calmly, composed, without any haste, his face without expression, he carried out his deadly and horrible work. And it was the same when he was on duty at the gas chambers. I could not detect even a trace of sadism. His face was always expressionless and showed no movement. Psychologically he was hardened to such a degree that he could kill without stopping and without giving it a thought.

Palitzsch was also one of those who was directly involved with the exterminations who never came to me in a quiet hour and poured his heart out about these horrible events.

After his wife died of typhus in 1942 he lost even the last of his inner stability, the last of his inhibitions. He started to drink excessively and was constantly involved with women. Women constantly came and went from his quarters. Most of them were female guards. Before all this I had never heard anything about him concerning women. This is probably how he came to have an affair with a Latvian Jewess in Birkenau. This caused his arrest. I had warned Schwarzhuber long before of his escapades, and had pointed out Palitzsch’s weaknesses. Schwarzhuber also had been after him for quite some time. After Palitzsch was arrested all his filthy deeds gradually came to light. As far back as 1940 he had stolen money, valuables, material, clothing, etc. from the Jews in Auschwitz and the newly admitted Polish prisoners. Later he stole uncounted amounts during the Jewish roundups. But he had become very selective and took only the valuable items.

Even after he was arrested, no exact facts were ever learned about his activities in the camps concerning the mistreatment of the prisoners. The prisoners avoided testifying because they were afraid of the Kapos and the block elders. Whether Palitzsch killed prisoners on his own accord and by his own choice could never really be learned, but it was nevertheless believed to be so. He was careful enough never to create any troublesome accomplices. He didn’t even need to mistreat or kill the prisoners himself. He had enough compliant creatures among the prisoners who gladly did these things for him. By doing this they gained all kinds of advantages at the cost of their fellow prisoners. The life or weU-being of their fellow prisoners meant nothing to them as long as they had it good!

It is mainly Palitzsch’s fault that there were such depraved violations and inhuman mistreatment of the prisoners. As duty officer he was in a position to prevent most of it, but to the contrary, he wanted this to happen in order to feed his hunger for power. It was also his doing that allowed the Kapos to rule, which caused such a disaster in Auschwitz. All this suited him perfectly since he wanted to hold power over everything. In his alcoholic dazes he bragged often enough that he was the most powerful person in Auschwitz and that he controlled everything.

Whether Fritzsch, Seidler, and Aumeier had become dependent upon him because of all the violations, I have no knowledge, but it is very possible that he deliberately got them to play into his hands. No means was too evil to strengthen his power. He behaved in the same manner toward his SS comrades. If he didn’t like one of the subordinates, or if they hindered his plans, he managed to find a suitable occasion to let him “stumble” and thus removed him from his command.

I repeatedly tried to get rid of Palitzsch by showing Glucks the reasons for my suspicions. He paid no attention to me whatsoever. If I didn’t have clear proof in my hands, he would not transfer him. I was told to watch him more closely and that I also should be able to cope with the noncommissioned officers.

I had gotten to know many people during my long time in all the services, but Palitzsch was the most cunning and slippery creature that I have ever gotten to know and experience in the many concentration camps.

He literally walked over bodies to satisfy his hunger for power.