Wirths

SS Major Dr. Edward Wirths was the garrison doctor of Auschwitz from 1942 up to the evacuation. Before the war Wirths had a sizable country practice as a general practitioner in the countryside of Baden. In the beginning of the war he was drafted into the Waffen SS and was posted to the front lines with various units. He developed a heart problem when he overworked himself in Finland and could no longer be used at the front. This is how he ended up in Auschwitz. Wirths was an excellent doctor with a very strong sense of duty. He was also conscientious and very careful. He had an extensive knowledge in all fields of medicine and was always studying to increase his knowledge and abilities. And yet he was very soft and good-hearted; he needed a strong person to lean on. He followed each order and directive to the letter. When he was in doubt, he always checked to verify the order. Because of this, he always had me confirm the directives of Grabner’s political section about executions before he carried them out. This constantly aggravated Grabner, who took great offense at this. Wirths very often complained to me that he couldn't reconcile the ordered killings [by injection of phenol into the heart] with his medical conscience and was suffering terribly from this. He constantly requested a change of duty assignments from Dr. Lolling and even the surgeon general. But all requests went for nothing. 1 often had to bolster his fortitude by pointing out the hard necessity of the orders issued by Himmler. The entire program of exterminating the Jews bothered his conscience; he had a lot of scruples about it. He often came to me and we discussed this confidentially as he poured out his heart to me.

Because he was so conscientious and careful, he conducted experiments with the Cyclon B gas and the phenol used for injections in order to make it easier on the victims. These experiments often caused him such mental anguish that I forbade him to continue them. Except for a few doctors, he really didn’t get any help from his subordinates. First of all there were too few doctors in Auschwitz; secondly most of these were nearly useless, that is, often unbearable because of their behavior or because of their deficiencies. As in all departments, the lack of personnel was chronic. Almost all the medical care given to the prisoners was done by prisoner doctors who practiced under the supervision of SS doctors. Their work was outstanding in part, and valuable, but often fatal. The hospital was the crowning glory for the Kapos and block leaders. Because of the confusion that exists in a large medical facility, it was impossible to surprise them with inspections.

It was almost impossible to keep the “V” people [those used for medical experiments] in the hospital. The prisoners who were informed preferred to keep silent! Wirths often reported to me about his attempts to alleviate

The terrible conditions and how he failed miserably. It was impossible to prove any of the outrageous actions the prisoner doctors committed, especially during the mass dying, when the epidemics raged through the camps. Wirths also took great care to get information from those who had been severely beaten about who had done it, but without results. The fear of the all-powerful and all-knowing real power in the camp was just too great.

Wirths considered it his first duty to watch over the sanitary installations, to improve them, and to use all his power to rid the camp of the terrible conditions in them. Wirths was always warring with the building director because he constantly pushed for improvements and the building of new facilities. When he learned of mistakes, he was relentless and did not rest until bad conditions were cleared away.

In his monthly medical reports to D III Medical Headquarters and to the surgeon general, Wirths described down to the smallest detail the exact state of health, the situation of the hygienic and sanitary facilities, and the terrible conditions that had appeared. He did this in a clear style and with unsparing openness.

In every one of these reports Wirths begged for help to alleviate this catastrophe, which later would be labeled a horrible general health condition of the camp. Everyone who read these reports could form a realistic picture of these conditions. He did the same in verbal reports to D III and to the surgeon general. When an epidemic broke out, there had to be special reports. The high numbers of dead caused him to think about this situation; he would fire off reports and quote the reasons which led to the disaster. He was so explicit about what had happened that even I felt that these reports seemed to be exaggerated. But I allowed him to do as he liked. No noticeable help ever came to Auschwitz because of these reports. But no superior in headquarters who was involved in this section remained ignorant about the catastrophic conditions in Auschwitz, and no one at headquarters could ever maintain that he didn’t know about the conditions at Auschwitz.

Wirths often despaired over this “hear no evil” attitude of his superiors. Despite this he believed that someday they would finally take drastic action. I let him believe this, but we lost all hope after Himmler’s visit in the summer of 1942. Wirths did everything he could to correct the worst conditions. He had some good ideas which were valuable. But by the time they could be carried out, they were obsolete and without value because of the increasing overcrowding.

I believe Wirths was a good and loyal helper, a good advisor in all aspects in his sphere of duty.

Even Lolling admitted, which was something he didn’t like to do, that

Wirths was the best doctor in all the concentration camps.

In all my ten years of service in the concentration camps, 1 have never found a better doctor.

He was always proper in his dealings with the prisoners and tried to be fair and just to them.

Wirths was often too good-hearted and most of all too gullible. He was often taken advantage of because of his good heart, especially by the female prisoners, often to his disadvantage. He showed real partiality to the prisoners who were doctors; in fact, I often had the impression he treated them as colleagues. As I remarked, this caused quite a few problems in the camp.

As far as 1 know, the cancer research he conducted along with his brother and the few surgical operations in this area did not harm the prisoners. The results of this research were for the whole medical profession and of great unique significance.

After the evacuation of Auschwitz, Wirths first came to Mittelbau, then to Bergen-Belsen, and finally to Neuengammen. His heart condition became so bad because of working at Auschwitz that he almost became unfit for duty. His hearing also deteriorated rapidly. He had a happy marriage and had four children.

Wirths was a good comrade and was very much liked by his fellow man. He helped everyone who came to him, even the SS families. Everyone had the greatest confidence in him.