Thomsen

SS Major Thomsen was the director of the Polish section of IV, D II of SS Headquarters.

In 1940-41 Thomsen was with the director of security in Cracow, then in 1942 he was with the inspector of the Security Police and Secret Service in Breslau. From there he came to SS Headquarters and was appointed director of the Polish section.

While he was in Cracow and Breslau, he came to Auschwitz many times.

When 1 was director of inspections, 1 often had to negotiate with him about escapes, captures, executions, inductions, transfers, and transporting pregnant Polish women from the police jails and concentration camps to Ravensbriick and from there to the abortion clinic. Furthermore, there were releases, death cases, shipping the personal effects of prisoners who had died, and other things to be handled.

Muller, who was director of Department IV at SS Headquarters, and Eichmann liked to give their reports verbally about the things I just listed. He nevertheless referred all matters which pertained to the Polish section to Thomsen. 1 had the impression that Muller was not well-informed about the General Gouvemment since his attention was on other areas of his duties. 1 remember further that all execution orders sent to Poland with a few exceptions were signed by Thomsen. The execution orders for other sections were always signed: Muller.

1 cannot explain the exceptional treatment of the Polish section, especially because Thomsen was not outstanding in any way.

I want to add to this, that the general opinion at SS Headquarters was that the total annihilation of the Polish intelligentsia would also destroy the resistance movement. Thomsen was an ardent defender of this theory.