Justice Behind the Iron Curtain by Finder Gabriel N. Prusin Alexander V. & Alexander V. Prusin

Author:Finder, Gabriel , N.,Prusin, Alexander , V. & Alexander V. Prusin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ADD SUBJECT
Publisher: University of Toronto Press

In the Fields of Treblinka

A high level of cooperation characterized relations between the two Jewish historical institutions and the state-sponsored GKBZN. As mentioned already, the appointed task of the GKBZN, established in March 1945 by the presidium of the KRN, and vested in November of the same year with statutory authority, was, in cooperation with the Polish justice and foreign affairs ministries in their pursuit of Nazi war criminals, to document details of German crimes committed on Polish soil. Established in Lublin, it moved to Warsaw, and like the CŻKH it had branch offices in various Polish cities. Its remit and the briefs of the two Jewish historical bodies were in total agreement, and the GKBZN welcomed their assistance. In this spirit, Friedman was appointed to the GKBZN’s Łódź branch; and, with the participation of a representative of the Jewish historical commission, the Warsaw branch created a special section for the investigation of Nazi crimes against Jews.18

In May 1945 the CŻKH and the GKBZN dispatched to Chełmno (Kulmhof) the first of several joint delegations to investigate the sites of former death camps. Subsequent joint expeditions travelled to Auschwitz, Majdanek, and Treblinka.19 The first volume of the GKBZN’s annual journal, Biuletyn Głównej Komisji Badania Zbrodni Niemieckich w Polsce, published in 1946, included articles on Chełmno and Treblinka that were written as a result of the official visits to those former camps. An English-language translation of the first volume was given to prosecutors at Nuremberg.

The visit to Treblinka on 5–7 November 1945 exemplified these joint investigations. The leader of the delegation to Treblinka was Zdzisław Łukaszkiewicz, a judge from the provincial court in Siedlce, a town southeast of the camp. Other participants in the delegation from the Polish state commission included J. Maciejewski, a district attorney in Siedlce, and M. Tratsald, a licensed surveyor. The judge and the district attorney had been conducting their investigation since August of the same year, inspecting the former grounds of the camp and interviewing witnesses. Representing the CŻKH were Rachel Auerbach and Yosef Kermish. Accompanying them were five Treblinka survivors, including Samuel Rajzman (the same Samuel Rajzman who testified at Nuremberg), several local officials, and a press photographer. When it arrived, the delegation toured the site of the former death camp and interviewed local residents. After the site visit, the delegation wrote a report for the judicial authorities.

The official report was signed by Łukaszkiewicz and Maciejewski and dated 22 November 1945. It was a professional and compact overview of the origins, physical layout, and operations of Treblinka based on the inspection of its former grounds and interviews with twelve of its survivors and twenty-three local residents, including railway employees who had a hand in transporting Jews to the camp. The Germans had made efforts to conceal their crimes by ploughing over the camp before leaving the area. The report, however, was able to make note of the large number of bones and other human remains on or just below the surface, in addition to personal valuables and an unusual amount of ashes covering the pits in which the corpses of the victims had been burnt.

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