[1] The spelling of Aktion Reinhardt is fraught—the Germans involved in the mass murder programme spelt it with a “t” and without a “t”. In this book Reinhardt is favored, as the recruitment pledge is spelt that way.
[2] For details on the T-4 Operation and its relevance to the development of the Holocaust, see Friedlander, Henry, The Origins of Nazi Genocide: From Euthanasia to the Final Solution. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1995.
[3] For more on Reich Security Main Office role in the Holocaust see Wildt, Michael, An Uncompromising Generation: The Nazi Leadership of the Reich Security Main Office, University of Wisconsin Press, London, 2009.
[4] R. Breitman, The Architect of Genocide: Himmler and the Final Solution, Pimlico, London, 2004; David Cesarani, Eichmann: His Life and Crimes, Vintage, London, 2005; Berndt Rieger, Creator of Nazi Death Camps: The Life of Odilo Globocnik, Vallentine Mitchell, London, 2007.
[5] R. Reder, Belzec, translated by M. M. Rubel, in Polin, Studies in Polish Jewry, vol. 13, 2000, pp. 276, 287.
[6] Höfle Telegram, National Archives Kew, HW 16/32.
[7] Three articles debating these figures have been published by the academic journal East European Jewish Affairs: Robin O’Neil’s Belzec: A Reassessment of the Number of Victims, 29/1 1999, pp. 85–118; a response by Dieter Pohl and Peter Witte entitled The Number of Victims of Belzec Extermination Camp: A Faulty Reassessment; and O’Neil rejoinder Belzec: Toward a Constructive Debate 31/1 2001, pp. 15–25.
[8] C. Browning, The Origins of the Final Solution: The Evolution of Nazi Jewish Policy 1939–1942, Arrow Books, London, 2005; Friedlander, Saul, The Years of Extermination: Nazi Germany and the Jews 1939–1945, Weidenfeld and Nicolson London, 2007; Longerich, Peter, Holocaust: The Nazi Persecution and Murder of the Jews, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2010.
[9] Y. Arad, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka: The Operation Reinhard Death Camps, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 1987, pp. 27, 227.
[10] Y. Arad, The Holocaust in the Soviet Union, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, 2009, ch. 20.
[11] D. Pohl, War, Occupation and the Holocaust in Poland in Dan Stone, The Historiography of the Holocaust, Palgrave, Basingstoke, 2004, p. 99.
[12] J. Schelvis, Sobibor: A History of a Nazi Death Camp, Berg, Oxford 2007; Chrostowski, Withold, The Extermination Camp Treblinka, Vallentine Mitchell, London, 2004.
[13] R. Cowdery, & P. Vodenka, Reinhard Heydrich Assassination, USM, Inc., Lakeville, 1994, pp. 49, 63.
[14] G. Reitlinger, The Final Solution. Vallentine, Mitchell, London, 1953, pp. 105–106.
[15] P. Longerich, The Unwritten Order—Hiter’s Role in the Final Solution. Tempus, Stroud, 2001, p. 85.
[16] Reitlinger, The Final Solution, op. cit., p. 101.
[17] J. Poprzeczny, Hitler’s Man in the East—Odilo Globocnik. McFarland, Jefferson, 2004, p. 10.
[18] Reitlinger, The Final Solution, op. cit., p. 262.
[19] Poprzeczny, Hitler’s Man, op. cit., p. 76.
[20] Poprzeczny, Hitler’s Man, op. cit., p. 95
[21] Reitlinger, The Final Solution, op. cit., p. 314.
[22] The village of Treblinka was in fact situated further from the camp than village of Poniatowo which was the closest village to the extermination camp.
[23] Y. Arad, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka—The Aktion Reinhard Death Camps, Indiana University Press, Bloomington and Indianapolis, 1987, p. 17.
[24] S. Berger: Experten der Vernichtung: das T4 Reinhardt- Netzwerk in das Lagern Belzec , Sobibor und Treblinka, Hamburger Institut fur Sozialforschung, Hamburg, 2013, pp. 401-415.
[25] M. Tregenza, Prvate Report Altoting 1972, Michael Tregenza Lublin Collection.
[26] Arad, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, p. 22.
[27] Ibid.,op. cit., p. 375.
[28] Ibid., op. cit., p. 399.
[29] It should be noted that many of the key members in the death camps’ garrison were of Austrian nationality! Eberl was Austrian as well as Reichleitner and Stangl.
[30] R. Kuwalek, From Lublin to Belzec, Ad Rem, 2006, p. 29.
[31] Ibid., op. cit, p. 29.
[32] M. Tregenza, Belzec—The Unknown Death Camp of the Holocaust (rev. 2006). Originally published Fritz Bauer Institut Jahrbuch, 2000, p. 3.
[33] Ibid., op. cit, p. 3.
[34] Report Judenlager an der Grenze—dated September 24, 1940—YVA Jerusalem.
[35] National Archives Kew HW16/32.
[36] Helge Grabitz & Wolfgang Scheffler, Letzte Spuren, Hentrich Edition 1993, p. 211.
[37] Oskar Dirlewanger—Personal File—Letter from Globocnik dated August 5, 1941—Yad Vashem Archive, File 0.68 569.
[38] Adam Czerniakow: The Warsaw Diary of Adam Czerniakow—Editors Raul Hilberg, Stanislaw Staron and Josef Kermisz, Ivan R Dee, Chicago, 1999, p. 191.
[39] Ibid., op. cit, p. 193
[40] Martha W., Interview with Karin Guth, 2005, www.deathcamps.org.
[41] Edward Ferens Testimony, March 20, 1946. Copy, Holocaust Historical Society UK.
[42] Stanislaw Kozak Testimony, October 14, 1945. Copy, Holocaust Historical Society UK.
[43] Authors Note: “Blacks” refer to the Ukrainian Trawnikimänner who were captured Red Army volunteers working for the SS, who wore black coloured uniforms and were trained at the Trawniki camp in the Lublin district.
[44] Arad, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, pp. 27, 28.
[45] Tregenza, Belzec, p. 3.
[46] Interview at Belzec in July 2002 with two local villagers who lived through the occupation.
[47] Stephen Tyas, British Intelligence Service, Decoded Radio Messages from the General Gouvernement, 2004.
[48] National Archives Kew HW16/32.
[49] Raul Hilberg, The Destruction of the European Jews, Holmes & Meier, New York, London, 1985, p. 226.
[50] Kurt Franz Interrogation Statement 30, December 1959, NARA, Washington DC.
[51] Kurt Franz admitted in other interrogations that he left Belzec for Treblinka in mid-summer or early autumn 1942. As above, there are many eyewitness testimonies from survivors and former camp personnel that state Franz was in Treblinka in August 1942. Why he should state this later date is unknown.
[52] Nikolai Malagon Interrogation, October 2, 1979, Vinnitsa. Copy, Holocaust Historical Society UK.
[53] Arad, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, p. 17.
[54] Ibid., p. 24.
[55] J. Schelvis, Sobibor, A History of a Nazi Death Camp, Berg, Oxford, New York, 2007, p. 99.
[56] Arad, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, p. 26.
[57] Information supplied by Tomasz Hanejko, Belzec Museum Director, March 2014.
[58] Michal Kusmierczak Testimony, October 16, 1945. Copy, Holocaust Historical Society UK.
[59] Arad, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, pp. 44–45.
[60] Kuwalek, From Lublin to Belzec, Ad Rem, 2006, p. 4.
[61] Alojzy Berezowski Testimony, November 5, 1945 in Belzec. Copy, Holocaust Historical Society UK.
[62] Viktor Skowronek Testimony, October 16, 1945, in Belzec. Copy, Holocaust Historical Society UK.
[63] Arad, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, p. 70.
[64] Ibid., op. cit, p. 70.
[65] Arad, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, pp. 70–71.
[66] Ibid., op. cit, pp. 71–72.
[67] Ibid., op. cit, p. 264.
[68] Gitta Sereny, Into That Darkness, Pimlico London 1974, p. 111.
[69] Ibid., op. cit, p. 112.
[70] E. Klee, W. Dressen, V. Riess, Those Were the Days—The Holocaust As Seen By The Perpetrators and Bystanders, Hamish Hamilton, London, 1991, pp. 228–230.
[71] Robin O’Neil, Oskar Schindler, Stepping Stone to Life, susaneking.com, 2010, p. 84.
[72] Arad, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, p. 73.
[73] Grabitz & Scheffler, Letzte Spuren, p. 11.
[74] Rudolf Reder, Belzec, Judaica Foundation, Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, Krakow, 1999, pp. 122–124.
[75] Arad, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, p. 74.
[76] Schelvis, Sobibor, p. 105.
[77] Tregenza, Belzec, pp. 7–8.
[78] Arad, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, p. 51.
[79] M. Tregenza, Christian Wirth: Inspekteur des SS Sonderkommandos Aktion Reinhard, Zeszyty Majdanka Vol XV, Panstwowe Muzeum na Majdanka Lublinm, 1993, pp. 2, 14–15.
[80] Many historical accounts assume this to be Oberhauser not Obermeyer. But Josef Obermeyer was in charge of the sorting operation and disinfection of clothing at the Old Airfield Camp in Lublin, which had a direct connection with Gerstein and Pfannenstiel. Oberhauser was not from Pirmasens—he was born in Munich—and was a SS-Hauptscharführer in rank. Wheras Obermeyer was a SS- Hauptsturmführer.
[81] G. Schoenberner, The Yellow Star, Corgi Books, London, 1978, pp. 134–135.
[82] Josef Oberhauser testified that Wirth, Globocnik, and himself were in Treblinka on August 19, 1942, which indicate that this date is incorrect. See below.
[83] Klee, Dressen, Riess, Those Were the Days, pp. 239–244.
[84] HW 16/32, National Archives Kew.
[85] Reder, Belzec, p. 117.
[86] Rudolf Gockel, Reichsbahn Official.
[87] Reder, Belzec, pp. 118–119.
[88] Interview with Teo Pansera in Belzec, Michael Tregenza, Chris Webb, July 12, 2000 (Unpublished Journal).
[89] Reder, Belzec, p. 119.
[90] Reder said his name was Irrmann, this is incorrect, it is Fritz Jirmann.
[91] Reder, Belzec, p. 119.
[92] Ibid., op. cit, p. 120.
[93] Ibid., op. cit, pp. 121–122.
[94] Ibid.,op. cit, p. 137–138n.
[95] Reder, Belzec, p. 124.
[96] M. Gilbert, The Holocaust—The Jewish Tragedy, William Collins, London, 1987, p. 304.
[97] Reder, Belzec, p. 129.
[98] Ibid.,op. cit, p. 129.
[99] Gilbert, The Holocaust, pp. 305–306.
[100] Reder, Belzec, pp. 130–131.
[101] Ibid., p. 131.
[102] Ibid., op. cit, pp. 131–132.
[103] Ibid., op. cit, p. 132.
[104] Ibid., op. cit, pp. 133–134.
[105] Arad, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, p. 69.
[106] Mieczyslaw Kudyba Testimony, October 14, 1945. Copy, Holocaust Historical Society UK.
[107] Georg Hölzel Interrogation 10 January 1962. Zentralle Stelle Ludwigsburg 208/ AR-Z 268/59.
[108] Klee, Dressen, Riess, Those Were the Days, p. 234.
[109] Reder, Belzec, p. 91.
[110] Maria Daniel, October 16, 1945. Copy, Holocaust Historical Society UK.
[111] M. Gilbert, The Final Journey, George Allen & Unwin Ltd, London, 1979, pp. 92–95.
[112] Klee, Dressen, Riess, Those Were the Days, pp. 232–235.
[113] Thomas Toivi Blatt, From the Ashes of Sobibor, Northwestern University Press, Evanston, Illinois, 1997, pp. 46–47.
[114] Janett Margolies, Escapes from Belzec Transports, www.deathcamps.org.
[115] This deportation took place on November 2, 1942, the Zamosc Judenrat were first taken to Izbica during October 16–18, 1942, and from there to Belzec death camp.
[116] He was vice president of the Zamosc Jewish Council.
[117] His name was Azriel Szeps.
[118] Reder, Belzec, pp. 134–135.
[119] Ibid., op. cit, pp. 141–142.
[120] Mieczyslaw Nieduzak Testimony, October 17, 1945. Copy, Holocaust Historical Society UK.
[121] Arad, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka , pp. 172–173.
[122] Ibid., op. cit, p. 173.
[123] Statement by Heinrich Gley, February 6, 1962, in Münster. File Number 208 AR-Z 268/59.
[124] Interview with Gisela Gdula, Mike Tregenza, and Chris Webb, July 20, 2002, in Belzec.
[125] Robin O’Neil, Belzec—Stepping Stone to Genocide, JewishGen, Inc, 2008, p. 180.
[126] Reder, Belzec, pp. 134–135.
Ibid., op. cit, pp. 142–143.
[127] Tregenza, Christian Wirth: Inspekteur des SS Sonderkommandos Aktion Reinhard, p. 48.
[128] Michael Tregenza private correspondence with the author 2002.
[129] Arad, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka , p. 370.
[130] Schelvis, Sobibor, p. 145.
[131] This is incorrect Chaim Hirszmann also escaped from this transport.
[132] Edward Luczynski Testimony, October 15, 1945. Copy, Holocaust Historical Society UK.
[133] Tregenza, Belzec, p. 9.
[134] Arad, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka , p. 371.
[135] Tregenza, Belzec, p. 9.
[136] Moshe Bahir Testimony. M. Novitch, Sobibor Matrydom and Revolt, Holocaust Library, New York, 1980, p. 159.
[137] Arad, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, p. 371.
[138] Tregenza, Belzec, p. 9.
[139] Reder, Belzec, pp. 132–133.
[140] C. Lanzmann, Shoah, Pantheon Books, New York, 1985, pp. 62–63.
[141] Authors Note: Suchomel is not correct here, the SS barracks were outside the camp area in one of the stone houses belonging to the Ostbahn.
[142] Sereny, Into That Darkness, op. cit., p. 54.
[143] A number of the SS garrison were also hospitalised at Tomaszow Lubelski, including Gottfried Schwarz and Heinrich Unverhau as well as Kamm, and a number of Trawnikimänner.
[144] Delegatura Report, April 1942 YVA 0-25/140-8.
[145] The Black Book of Polish Jewry.
[146] National Archives Kew FO 371/ 31097, p. 2.
[147] National Archives Kew FO 371/ 31097, p. 4.
[148] Arad, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, p. 257.
[149] National Archives Kew FO 371/ 30924
[150] National Archives Kew FO 371/50971, p. 4.
[151] O’Neil, Belzec, p. 206.
[152] Ernst Klee, Das Kulturlexikon Zum Dritten Reich, S. Fischer Verlag GmbH, Frankurt am Main, 2007, p. 184.
[153] Correct name Barbl. Served in Belzec and Sobibor death camps.
[154] Correct name Paul Groth. Served in Belzec and Sobibor death camps.
[155] Willi Hausler served with Christian Wirth as part of the Inspector of SS Sonderkommandos Abteilung Reinhard in Lublin.
[156] Franz Hodl served in the Sobibor death camp.
[157] Correct name was Karl Gringers.
[158] Gustav Munzberger served at the Treblinka death camp.
[159] Ernst Zierke served at the Belzec and Sobibor death camps.
[160] Robert Lorent Interrogation, May 4, 1961. Zentralle Stelle Ludwigsburg 208 AR-Z 252/59 .
[161] O’Neil, Belzec, p. 208.
[162] Topping—Suspected Nazi Death Camp Guard Samuel Kunz dies before trial—www.guardian.co.uk, 22 November, 2010.
[163] National Archives Kew, HW16/32.
[164] Tomasz Kranz, Extermination of Jews at the Majdanek Concentration Camp, Panstwowe Muzeum na Majdanku, Lublin 2007, p. 64.