Contacts between the SS garrison of KL Auschwitz and the locals

Transcription of the podcast

How the demographic structure of the area around the camp changed and what contacts existed between the SS camp garrison members and the local civilian population is discussed by dr. Agnieszka Kita, deputy head of the Auschwitz Museum archives.

What was life like in Oświęcim as a city during the war?

During the war, Oświęcim was incorporated into the Third Reich. On September 1st, 1939, at the very beginning of the war, the Luftwaffe bombed some areas of the city, including the barracks and several buildings on Kościelna Street. The civilian population fled the city, even though the Polish army resisted the German forces. A skirmish with German troops took place near Rajsko, close to Oświęcim, but the Polish soldiers were defeated. Just a few days later, on September 4th, the Wehrmacht entered Oświęcim. The main square was renamed Adolf-Hitler-Platz, and after the end of hostilities, Oświęcim was incorporated into the Third Reich. The civilian population had initially fled, but after the Soviet Union attacked Poland on September 17th, many of them returned from the east. They preferred to return to their familiar surroundings. As a result, many people returned to Oświęcim. Since it was a part of the Reich, Oświęcim was designated for Germanization. However, it was not easy. Here, I'll briefly recall some earlier history. It is well known that after the partitions, Polish lands were resistant to Germanize, and it was something that Bismarck himself was already aware of. In case of Oświecim, due to the large number of Poles and Jews, the city was considered particularly difficult to Germanize, as the German element in the population was very weak. It is also worth emphasizing that there were no official German institutions in the city. That is why, it is not incorrect to hypothesize that the Germans were aware of the difficulties of Germanizing this town. Nevertheless, they undertook the task, and the German authorities approached it very ambitiously, as Ms. Sibille Steinbacher also mentions in her book on Auschwitz. The goal was to turn Oświęcim into a model German town. To achieve this, it was necessary to eliminate everything that stood in the way of Germanization, such as the Polish and Jewish populations. Consequently, the Polish population was partially expelled, while the Jews were later systematically relocated to nearby ghettos. The deportations gained further momentum when it was decided to establish a concentration camp in the barracks where we are standing today. Officially, from May 4, 1940 Rudolf Höss became the camp commandant. At that time, the city of Oświęcim became a garrison town – a sui generis garrison town. I allow myself to use this term because a garrison was indeed stationed in the town, which in German was called Auschwitz. This garrison was very specific, as it consisted of SS guards who at the same time were the camp’s staff, also their duties differed significantly from the traditional duties of soldiers stationed in any city.

Moreover, if we consider what I'll be discussing in a moment – the regulations and rules of life and functioning of these SS guards here in Oświęcim – we will notice that they were subject to typically military regulations. Therefore, it seems to me that the use of the word "garrison," or "garrison town," in reference to Oświęcim is perfectly justified. However, it should be emphasized that it was a sui generis garrison, because, as we'll soon see, its functions were entirely different from those of soldiers stationed in other garrison towns. In the case of the Jews who lived here alongside Poles, they were to nearby ghettos. Later, they returned to Oświęcim, of course not as residents, but as victims of the camp, since most of them were murdered in the gas chambers of Auschwitz. Regarding the Germanization plans – which began simultaneously with the deportations of the Polish and Jewish populations from the city and surrounding areas – Germans from various conquered territories were invited and resettled in the place of Poles and Jews, under various agreements. Obviously, these people were ethnic Germans, the so-called Volksdeutsche. They often occupied the farms of the displaced Poles and were intended to strengthen the German element and facilitate Germanization. Some of them held certain positions. Even in the city of Oświęcim, the principal of one of the German schools was a Volksdeutsch. The interesting thing is, he wasn’t very devoted to the job, as he generally cared much more about tending his garden. Nevertheless, as a Volksdeutsch, he still held an official role here. Many of those resettled – including people from the Balkans and from former Soviet territories – frequently took over the farms that had belonged to Poles.

We're talking about a change in the population structure in the city of Oświęcim. Can we expand on this by explaining which civilians in the surrounding area the SS guards from the camp might have had contact with?

They were mostly, broadly speaking, Germans, as well as Poles and, initially, Jews. As for the Germans, they were certainly civilian employees of companies established here in Oświęcim, such as IG Farben. They were: engineers, architects, specialists, foremen, supervisors. They also included the family members of those people, who often moved here together with their fathers, that is, the workers themselves. There were also Poles living in the area who had not been deported, for example civilian laborers employed in the construction of the camp. Jews who had not yet been deported also remained here, although there were very strict regulations regarding contact with them. There were also SS families, since SS guards were allowed to bring their relatives here. Many Polish houses – those belonging to deported Poles – were handed over to SS families. These were usually the families of so-called professional SS guards, meaning those who had signed a twelve-year contract with the SS and were obliged to fulfill it here. Meanwhile, family members of reservists, who usually lived in the barracks, could visit them in camp for a limited time, but only with the commandant's permission. Orders issued by the commandant's office – which I will discuss in more detail shortly – contained lists of SS guards who were permitted to receive visits from their families, where and when these visits could take place, as well as information about where these families would be housed during their stay. Thus, social life here in Auschwitz could, in a sense, be said to have flourished. Among the civilians with whom the SS had contact with were also young Polish women, who were not prisoners. Girls were sent by the Arbeitsamt – the Reich Labor Office – to SS homes as domestic helpers, "handmaids," or "maids." The point was that Poles, from a certain age, were obligated to work for the Third Reich. That is why these girls were sent to perform such work. Their accounts have been preserved and are available in our archives. They are very interesting for many reasons. First, they show us what life inside an SS family, a German family, looked like. These girls, as servants and domestic helpers, not only cleaned and took care of the children, but very often listened to what these people had to say and could observe who they associated with and how they behaved. On the other hand, we also have former prisoners’ accounts about these same SS guards. It often happens that when we talk about one person, we can see two sides: on the one hand, the father of the family and a loving husband; on the other, the SS man who instilled fear in the entire camp. Therefore, this is very interesting information, from which we can learn a great deal on many levels. Of course, the SS guards were very determined to bring their families here to Auschwitz, especially when the Allies began intensive and systematic air raids on German cities like Hamburg, Berlin, and Munich. Oświęcim – and therefore Auschwitz – was generally safe. Here, the SS guards and their families were not threatened by the danger associated with bombing raids. As a result, many of them submitted applications to the commandant requesting permission to relocate their families here – either for reasons of safety, or in some cases, after their apartments in, for example, Cologne or Hamburg were bombed and their families had nowhere to live. And indeed, Commandant Höss and his successors often agreed to that. In summary, we can essentially distinguish the groups of civilians with whom the SS guards could have had contact here: Reichsdeutsche – newcomers from the Reich who settled here for various purposes, usually professional; Volksdeutsche resettled here and their families, as I mentioned, to strengthen the German element; Poles who had not been resettled; families of SS guards with whom they lived on daily basis; and, to a much lesser extent, Jews.

So now we know who the civilians living around Auschwitz camp were. But what can we say about the SS guards working in the camp? Who were they?

It was certainly not a homogeneous group. These were people from various social groups, with different social backgrounds. Professor Lasik wrote a very interesting book on this subject, analyzing the SS staff from a sociological perspective. So, in terms of a sociological study, we have an interesting monograph. And you can clearly see a full social cross-section of who these people were – something crucial not only for the functioning of the camp, but also for their interactions with civilians. Of course, the number of SS guards in Auschwitz varied. At the beginning in 1940, in May 1940, it was around 200-300. However, after the camp's expansion and the establishment of various sub-camps, this number of SS guards naturally increased. In January 1945, the SS staff numbered over 4,400. Our SS database contains approximately 8,000 names of people who served here at various times between 1940 and 1945. Although we currently say that there are over 8,000 records, the database is continuously growing as research is still ongoing. As you can see, there were quite a few of them. Of course, being transferred to Auschwitz did not mean that someone remained here permanently. Transfers between camps, between camps and the front, or between camps and various SS institutions were quite frequent. It often happened that if someone was wounded, at the front and was no longer fit for frontline military service, that person was reassigned to a concentration camp. In turn, many young SS guards were transferred from the camp to the front, and their places were taken either by older reservists or by men considered fit for military service, but only for garrison duty, not for combat at the front. Naturally, as I mentioned, the personnel here kept changing. In terms of national and ethnic origin, the SS guards included both Reichsdeutsche and Volksdeutsche. Contacts between them varied, as these Volksdeutsche sometimes didn't even speak German very well. There are accounts from prisoners telling us that even some educated Polish prisoners – for example, students, high school graduates – spoke German better than the SS guards. Commandant's orders also frequently forbade the use of Polish, Czech, etc., when interacting with prisoners, while German was mandatory. Given the diverse group of SS guards here at Auschwitz, their attitudes toward prisoners and civilians naturally varied. It's known that they treated German civilians differently from Poles, and, of course, they treated Jewish civilians differently. Jews, as the lowest social group, so to speak, in the Reich – people who weren't treated as human beings – were treated the worst by the SS. They weren't even allowed to be in the same room and couldn't greet them. Even if a Jew greeted an SS officer, the SS officer couldn't return the greeting, as a Jew was unworthy of any contact. Poles were treated differently depending on whether they were laborers or ordinary residents who hadn't been resettled. Of course, the best relationships were between the SS and people from the Reich, including those resettled here from the Reich or the Volksdeutsche. Both SS guards and civilians were subject to certain military regulations, because these military regulations applied in the so-called Interessengebiet – not only the camp itself but also the areas under the authority of the camp commandant. Therefore, movement within this zone was strictly regulated. There were certain areas, such as the camp itself, where civilians were not permitted entry without a special pass. Not all SS guards were even permitted access to the camp. Therefore, we also see a certain gradation here. The movement of both civilians and SS officers within the camp zone was very strictly regulated. Nevertheless, contact with civilians here was quite intense, especially after duty hours, when SS guards were sometimes allowed to visit the city of Auschwitz and the surrounding towns and villages. This was more or less what relations between the SS and civilians looked like, who these SS guards were, and how they might relate to civilians.

Let's start with the sources. Where do we get our information about the SS's contacts with the civilian population?

There are quite a number of such documents in our archives. Above all, these are orders issued by the camp commandant, the garrison commander, as well as special orders that regulated not only the SS guards’ service but also their everyday lives. This information is very detailed, so if someone, for example, wanted to study perpetrators, the commandant’s orders are certainly a must-read. Moreover, these documents allow us to accurately reconstruct the daily life and service of SS guards in the camp. They provide information not only on how prisoners were to be treated, how duties were to be performed, and what was permitted or prohibited while on duty, but also they give us some details about what SS guards could do in their free time. We have information on the entertainment available to the SS guards and information on how to regulate even family life. This tells us a great deal not only about the SS guards themselves but also about the people who issued these orders, such as the commandants. In addition, we also have the SS guards' personal files and collections of documents relating to individual SS guards. These documents are incredibly diverse. They contain a lot of interesting information regarding behavior not only on duty but also off duty, including information about punishments the SS guards received and about their interactions with civilians. This is particularly interesting because it also includes regulations concerning everyday life and domestic life. For example, to own a dog, one had to submit an application to the commandant stating that he was able to properly secure the dog, ensuring it didn't run around the area or pose a threat, and whether it could be owned at all. Such regulations are found in commandant's orders, and we have copies of such applications in the SS guards' personal documents. Of course, we also have post-war information, including testimonies, memoirs and statements from former prisoners and people who lived near Auschwitz and had some contact with prisoners and SS guards. Trial materials also tell us a great deal about this. These include witnesses who were prisoners, but also SS guards themselves, and sometimes even their families. Whether in the Frankfurt Trial or the trial of the Auschwitz staff immediately after the war, we can find such information. And as I mentioned earlier, I think a particularly interesting set of documents worth attention are the statements of these young girls who worked as domestic help in SS households. As I emphasize again, these were not prisoners, but girls, young women sent by the Arbeitsamt to work for the Third Reich. Interestingly, they were often treated well by the SS guards and their families, but more on that in a moment. So, it seems to me that this is quite a large number of documents, a considerable collection of sources, that provide insight into the daily lives of these people and also into their contacts with the civilian population. Thanks to these documents, we can learn not only historical facts about the camp's functioning and the rules that prevailed there, but also, in a sense, gain some insight into the psyche of the SS guards and see what kind of people they were. Every action provokes a reaction – if something happened, it was often followed by an order from the commandant, which in some way sought to regulate certain behaviors and prevent them in the future. In certain situations, it also gives us considerable insight into the purely human – one might say sociological and anthropological – foundations and behaviors of these individuals.

Were there any official regulations from the Auschwitz commandant regarding contacts between the camp staff and civilians?

There were many such regulations, just like in any garrison. The commander of such a garrison had to keep his men in line, because we must remember that these SS guards were quartered here. They were all men, and their service – no matter how you look at it – was quite stressful and boring. Because if we're talking about guards, for example, guard duty is boring, let's not deny it. So they came up with different ideas. When a person is bored, he became very creative. That is why there were indeed many such regulations. First of all, there were prohibitions on visiting certain places in Auschwitz. At the beginning, this stemmed from an intention to protect – inverted commas, of course – the SS guards from contact with Jews. Until April 1941, Oświęcim still had a Jewish population. Later, after April 18, 1941, it was declared “Judenrein,” meaning cleansed of Jews. On that day, Command Order No. 5 from 1941 was issued, stating that since there were no more Jews in Oświęcim, SS men were allowed to visit the town. The order was, of course, issued by the camp commandant Rudolf Höss. From then on, only so-called Aryans lived there. As a result, things changed somewhat, and more places in the city itself were accessible. Nevertheless, the commandants still had to regulate these contacts with civilians.
The commandant’s orders contain a great deal of such information. For example, they include detailed instructions concerning the SS guards’ uniforms, whether smoking was permitted under certain circumstances, the visiting of certain establishments, contact with civilians, and so on. Why do I mention the SS guard's uniform here? It's a significant issue, at least from the perspective of people familiar with the military, who know that a soldier must set an example in terms of his uniform, behavior, and so on. However, in the case of the SS guard, it carried an additional ideological connotation, because the SS guard was a kind of vanguard of Germanness, a vanguard of the new Germany. He was meant to serve as an example not only for the conquered population, but above all for the Volksgemeinschaft, that is, the national community. The SS guard, as the new man, was supposed to embody and personify virtually all the values that were important in the Third Reich, not only in terms of character but also visually. Therefore, the emphasis on an elegant appearance, a uniform that complied with regulations, even regulation-compliant haircuts, was extremely important, not only for strictly military reasons, but also as a symbol of National Socialist ideology. That is why every SS man was expected to look like the figure from a propaganda poster. This impeccable appearance was required of them, but as the commandant’s orders show, it was not always easy to maintain. As I mentioned, these men also succumbed to certain fashions, for example, they liked to distinguish themselves from their comrades – for instance, by wearing a crooked service cap or a scarf that was intended to give them the appearance of front-line soldiers, from whom these fashion probably originated. Each of them wanted to stand out in some way, which was obviously not in the commandant's interest. Thus, SS guards carried not only the responsibility of being soldiers and carrying out their duties, like any soldier in the camp, but also of serving as examples, both for the prisoners and for the civilian population, non-Germans, as well as for the citizens of the Reich or Volksdeutsche themselves. This was, as we can see, heavily ideologically charged. As for contact with civilians, as I mentioned, SS guards were prohibited from visiting certain establishments. Interestingly, for example, they couldn't eat at the same tables as Polish workers. This was strictly punished. Certain canteens were not accessible to the SS guards and the civilian population, meaning that only civilians could eat in one canteen and only SS guards in another. The idea was to prevent them from mixing in any way. This didn’t concern only Polish population, as there were also orders, for example, that SS guards couldn't eat in the canteens designated for civilian workers from the Reich, and that these workers couldn't eat with SS guards. There were special places where they could socialize, such as the café in Haus Sieben, a café-cum-shop for SS guards and their families, which I will mention shortly. Such regulations were also applied to social contacts. As I mentioned, SS guards were not allowed to associate with certain people and to form friendships with them. Here, of course, I'm mean the Polish population. Civilian movement within the camp and within the Interessengebiet was also strictly regulated. These involved special passes that allowed access to a specific zone, and the closer that zone was to the camp, the fewer civilians were granted access. Of course, as in any place where people live, the SS also had contact with children. The presence of children within the camp was, of course, absolutely forbidden. Nevertheless, there were occasions when children did appear – usually the children of SS guards. Whenever this happened, the children had to be removed immediately. For example, one SS officer, Stefan Baretzki, a Volksdeutsch, who was quite well-known in Birkenau, recalled in the Frankfurt trial – in which he was a defendant – that the child of one of the commandants used to wander around the camp. Baretzki considered this highly irresponsible, as something could happen to the child – even that he might be taken to the gas chamber. Consequently, the boy later carried a sign stating that he was the commandant's son and that he should be left alone. However, Baretzki himself strongly opposed to allowing a child to move around the camp. Interestingly, when it comes to subsequent regulations, much of it concerns the behavior of SS guards, specifically in their interactions with civilians. This also allows us to form a certain opinion about these people, because many of these orders, not only issued by the commandant but even by Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler himself, concern being friendly and polite towards others. In a sense, this shows us how power can go to their heads, because these SS guards were instilled from the very beginning that they were some kind of superhumans, that they were role models for others. Consequently, they understood this in their own way, and very often they behaved in a very inelegant, provocative, and downright vulgar manner towards others. Primarily towards civilians, women, children, girls, and even Wehrmacht soldiers. However, thanks to orders from the commandant's office and various letters from Berlin, we can learn a lot about this topic, which I'd like to discuss later. Of course, it wasn't like the SS were completely barred from contact with civilians, because that would be absurd. Of course, there were designated areas, as I mentioned earlier, like Haus Sieben, where you could meet other people, even the families of other SS guards, because there was a café, and a shop for SS families. Young German women also worked in Haus Sieben, often the families of German civilian workers who came here, or they were German women sent to the so-called Osteinsatz, work in the east. They also provided support for the Germanization of certain areas, and therefore they also stayed there. Interestingly, there's a document in our archives – the memoirs of a girl who, as a young woman, was sent here as a teacher to one of the schools in Auschwitz, in Oświęcim. She describes her contacts with both civilians and SS guards . It's truly a fascinating piece. However, as I said, there were specific places where civilians could meet with SS guards, and SS guards with civilians, and there were also many regulations that defined the terms under which such contacts could take place.

Can you name any specific situations in which SS guards may have encountered civilians?

Let's start with the everyday, most obvious ones: the house where they lived, meetings with their family. And here, delving into the statements of the women who worked for them is very valuable. I must say that virtually everyone in the audience can familiarize themselves with these statements, because several years ago, Dr. Piotr Setkiewicz selected several of them and compiled them into a book, "The Everyday Life of the SS guards in Auschwitz," and you can read what these women said, how they recalled their work in SS families. So, it's quite interesting, and I highly recommend it. If someone doesn't have the time or the opportunity to visit our archives and see these statements in their original form, they can, of course, consult the book. However, the first civilian an SS guard met was his family. Very often, based on statements from both prisoners and the girls, they were very pleasant in their homes, loving fathers, good husbands, caring for their families, trying to provide them with the best possible standard of living. They played with their children, invited guests, and hosted parties. So we see that they tried to lead a completely normal family life. Very often, the girls who worked for them were also treated decently. Certainly not as family members, but as, how should I put it, an appendage to the family that should be respected. The SS guards often allowed them to eat at the same table with them, which was against the orders of the commandant and the politicians of the Third Reich in general. They sometimes took them on trips and gave them gifts. Of course, the SS guards's wives usually did this, as they spent the most time with the girls, but we cannot rule out the possibility that they did so with their consent. Because of this, some form of friendship, some bond certainly developed between these people. And this connection with the SS guard's family also gave these girls a certain security. Because while they were useful to these families, they, and very often their families, were not threatened with deportation to a camp or repression. Therefore, even though their work was truly difficult, and they were sometimes very young, as young as 14, they were nevertheless somehow protected from displacement, deportation, or even deportation to a camp. And they were able to observe the family life of the SS guards, which actually allows us to gain a lot of information on this subject. Of course, not every SS family was picture-perfect. There were situations when SS guards beat their wives and children. For example, the wife of Karl Fritsch, the first Lagerführer of Auschwitz, was afraid of him, his children were afraid of him, and the girl who worked for them was afraid of him. We have information that some of the SS guards's wives who appeared at Haus Sieben had bruises on their faces, which clearly indicates domestic violence. We also have information that the SS guards didn't necessarily love their children as much. So we have a cross-section of society here, from people who led exemplary family lives to the so-called pathologies that were also present. Therefore, it seems nothing extraordinary. It's also worth noting that many SS guards were able to create a barrier between their work in the camp, their service in the camp, and their family life. They tried, colloquially speaking, not to bring their work home, and many of them succeeded, as evidenced by the comparison of what these women said with the statements of prisoners. I think a classic example of this is the SS-Hauptscharführer Gerhard Palitzsch, who went down in camp history as one of the bloodiest and most vicious SS guards. At home, however, he was a loving father and husband who strove to provide his family with the highest standard of living possible. In the camp, however, he was a terror to the prisoners, not only because he was cruel to them but also because he executed them at the Death Wall in the courtyard between blocks 10 and 11. Many statements by prisoners, and even Rudolf Höss himself, reveal surprise, even astonishment, at his attitude at this moment, as one gets the impression that killing these people made no impression on him, that he did it calmly, without emotion. Some prisoners said that, in a sense, he even enjoyed it. Moreover, Palitzsch himself, when under the influence of alcohol, often boasted about how many people he had killed and that it was a source of pride for him. Therefore, we have an extreme example of a person with sociopathic traits who somehow derives pleasure from killing, which is nothing unusual, as such people exist in every community, so it's simply a matter of statistics. On the other hand, we have a loving father and husband who would do everything for his family. So we see a certain type of personality here, one might say quite complex. On the other hand, however, this is not the time and place to consider the psychological issues related to the SS personnel at Auschwitz. As I mentioned, the first people civilians could have encountered with the SS were their own families. Then, for example, we have civilian workers, both Polish and German, who were here. As I mentioned, these contacts were strictly regulated. Of course, these contacts were not as limited as, for example, earlier contacts with the Jewish population. Therefore, Polish workers were certainly viewed somewhat more favorably than Jews. Nevertheless, these weren't people with whom the SS would have or could have formed any friendships. We also have the civilian population of Oświęcim and the surrounding area, meaning Auschwitz and the surrounding area, who also had some contact with these people. Because the Auschwitz staff weren't confined to their homes, they could travel, take vacations, and go to various places. This contact with civilians also extended somewhat beyond Oświęcim. Moreover, the commandant himself facilitated this, for example, in consultation with the theater in Katowice, organizing trips for them to the theater. They could travel to various nearby towns, such as Będzin, Bieruń , and Sosnowiec. Every town in the area was truly open to them. Some of them even went to Krakow. So, this contact with civilians, of course, extended far beyond Oświęcim. However, there were, of course, many people in the area with whom they interacted. I would like to return to their attitude toward these people, the civilians with whom they had contact. Because, as I mentioned earlier, there were many orders that somehow suggested that the SS guards weren't necessarily fulfilling the task they were given, which was to be role models for the population. This stemmed from, in my opinion, overinterpreting their authority. Very often, they took the power they had over the prisoners in the camp and, in a way, thought they were some chosen few, better than others. Besides, as I mentioned, they were accused of being the elite of the nation. However, this elite simply wasn't up to the task, and it wasn't manifested in a way that led by example, quite the opposite. We have an order from Himmler, printed in the commandant's orders. It's called "Mehr Höflichkeit," meaning more politeness, more sympathy. And this order addressed certain issues concerning contact with civilians. Like traveling by train, or greeting women and other people. Because these SS guards boarded trains they weren't allowed to ride on as soldiers. Because the documents, the SS guards' passes, very precisely specified which trains they could ride on, which compartments, what class, and so on. However, as the chosen few, they thought they could travel wherever they wanted. And their very behavior on the train was off-putting to many people. A lack of respect for older people, for women, for girls. We have an order that states that you should return the greetings of Hitler Youth boys, because the SS guards clearly didn't. We have a wealth of information about how SS guards should behave and how they should look. And as I said, besides the strictly military elements, there's a very strong ideological underpinning. This can be seen by reading any book about the SS and the ideology of National Socialism. Therefore, in addition to appearance, which I mentioned earlier, certain character traits and behavior were also very important. It's worth noting that SS guards also exploited their position in contacts with women, with young girls, a fact also highlighted by Heinrich Himmler himself, and, of course, on his advice and orders, by the commandants of individual camps. Of course, this also applied to Auschwitz. Generally, it was simply about exploiting young girls. Himmler, as someone deeply involved in every aspect of his SS guards's lives, was also concerned with building an SS family, according to a certain example, a certain model. Therefore, for him, every young girl was a future German mother destined to bear children. And Himmler was very keen to ensure that the dignity and honor of these girls, whatever that meant, was protected. Consequently, extramarital relationships that could lead to pregnancy and the birth of a child out of wedlock were, on the one hand, highly stigmatized. Here, too, we have Himmler's hypocrisy, but that's a topic for another podcast, another meeting. On the one hand, it was a drive to increase the population, but on the other, these illegitimate children and disgraced German girls—well, that was terrifying to him. Consequently, there were also orders about protecting the honor of German girls, that they weren't toyed with, as Himmler put it, but must be treated seriously, with respect, because they were future German mothers. Therefore, we also see SS guards who exploited their position for things that were, well, actually very human things—I don't want to say soldierly things, because, well, those are human things. They simply exploited their supposed elitism, their SS status, for very private, even intimate contacts, which was also highlighted. It's also interesting that generally, such extramarital affairs—if we're not talking about infidelity, but rather about using the services of prostitutes—were not stigmatized. If they weren't Jewish, an SS guard could go to a brothel and use such a place. It's interesting that even such intimate contacts, such, one might say, private matters within a marriage, like infidelity, were controlled by the state, because every SS guard signed a declaration stating that if he had any sexual contact outside of marriage—presumably, this meant prostitutes, of course—he would have to undergo treatment if he contracted any infection. What was the point? That venereal diseases could not only be transmitted to the wife but also reduce fertility, and then, of course, the Reich would collapse, no children, no Reich. To put it ironically. However, we see that contacts with civilians here, in this case women, were controlled to such an extent that they had to sign a declaration committing to taking care of their reproductive health. So we even see such a situation here. Of course, contacts with civilians were not limited to women, but they certainly played a very important role in the lives of the SS guards. As I mentioned earlier, most of them were men who were either separated from their families or simply didn't have any, so they couldn't even bring their wives or fiancées here to Auschwitz for even a short time. Of course, it wasn't like the SS guards were completely barred from contact with women. There were certain situations where it was even welcomed. From time to time, various cultural events were organized, one might say. Sometimes theater groups were invited, operettas were organized, and concerts were held with the prisoner orchestra. And back then, SS guards could come here with their wives, girlfriends, and fiancées. There were also so-called "Kameradschaftsabend," that is social gatherings. It was also common for them to announce that they could come with their partners. So, in a sense, social life here was quite thriving. Of course, what happened after duty was an off-duty matter. However, here we have official information, originating from the commandant himself, who allowed SS guards to de facto bring civilians in the vicinity of the camp. Of course, this was often overused, as the SS guards invited civilians—mainly women, of course, but not exclusively—to the SS canteens in the vicinity of the camp. Access on the camp grounds, was strictly forbidden. And this also appears frequently in commandant's orders. There were even, let's call it, extreme cases where a drunk SS guard was caught with an equally drunk woman on the grounds in the vicinity of the camp. And then that's grounds for punishing such a person. It's worth noting that, when it comes to contact with civilians, regardless of whether we're talking about families, women, or any other civilians, discussing what was happening in the camp was strictly prohibited. This was punishable, especially when the so-called Final Solution began, when the Jewish transports began arriving and the extermination of the Jews began. At that time, it was forbidden to discuss it at all. SS guards signed various declarations stating that they would not discuss what was happening in the camp with the outside world, with civilians, and so on. However, we have information that some of them were even punished for this, such as Ludwik Damm, for speaking to party members or Wehrmacht soldiers during their leave about what was happening in Auschwitz. Someone well-meaning reported to the commandant that such a situation had occurred, and Ludwik Damm was punished, though not very severely, merely with a reprimand. Nevertheless, there is a whole document, a whole set of documents, that actually speaks about his punishment. He provides explanations, the commandant makes decisions, and so on. However, we have evidence here that they were punished in some way, even though we might have expected significantly higher penalties. I'd like to share some interesting examples, specifically one that has survived in the documents. The aforementioned Stefan Baretzki and his companions went to Sosnowiec and, near the hotel restaurant, while under the influence of alcohol, they started a fight, not only with civilians but also with Wehrmacht soldiers. The gendarmerie arrived, apprehended the perpetrators, and took notes. And later, of course, an investigation was conducted in the camp regarding this incident. The SS guards involved had to explain themselves. Of course, we have entire letters from the commandant, explanations from the SS guards, information about punishment, and so on. So, as we can see, these contacts with civilians were sometimes quite brutal. Here, too, I have a bit of confirmation that Wehrmacht soldiers didn't like SS guards and vice versa. Of course, this is, one might say, a bit anecdotal. However, SS guards did provoke all sorts of situations, not only in Sosnowiec but also everywhere else. For example, in the surrounding towns around Oświęcim, in Bieruń. There was a time when Bieruń was sort of excluded, closed off to the SS from vis iting, because they also started fights there. And that's how it looked, more or less, that these contacts with civilians were sometimes, as I said, quite brutal. However, I'd like to return here for a moment to the women. Because in the area around Auschwitz, around the camp, and the town of Oświęcim itself, many women of German descent lived, either Volksdeutsch or German. It wasn't unusual for SS guards to fall in love with them and marry them. We have statements that even prisoners sew wedding dresses for these women. And there are many examples of SS guards marrying local women. Of course, they were women of German descent, because an SS guard couldn't possibly marry a Polish woman. So, they were more likely women of German blood, let's call them that, with whom they entered into marriages. And I'd like to conclude this point by talking about a specific group of civilians, including women, with whom the SS guards had contact practically daily. These were the female SS overseers, the so-called SS-Aufseherinnen. I'd like to emphasize right from the start that they weren't soldiers; they were civilian officials, who signed contracts with the SS for service. This was called the SS-Gefolge in German. And of course, they wore uniforms and weapons, but they didn't have the status of soldiers, so we treat them here as civilians. And the SS guards also had contact with them. Because they were here, events like mutual visits to each other's quarters often occurred, which was, of course, strictly forbidden. And of course, this is mentioned in various commandant's orders. Nevertheless, we even have examples of marriages between an SS guard and a female overseer, who met in Auschwitz, fell in love, and married. However, I don't want to dwell on the issue of the female overseers here, because Dr. Sylwia Wysińska recorded a podcast about it, so if you're referring to the female overseers, I'll refer you to that section. However, I'd just like to mention that the last group of civilians, the actual ones, with whom the SS guards had contact here were these women. It's worth noting that Auschwitz wasn't some isolated island completely separated from the world, where these SS guards lived in their own world of violence and murder. The truth is that Auschwitz was, of course, isolated, but not so isolated that the SS guards couldn't have contact with the civilian population. As we can see, there were plenty of civilians with whom they could have interacted. Moreover, we must also note that, as cruel as it may sound, in a sense Auschwitz provided employment. I'm not talking about the Polish population, as they simply lived here. People from the Reich simply came here to work, such as specialists, foremen, and supervisors who lived nearby. These Volksdeutsche were resettled here. Therefore, that's how it was. The SS guards, of course, had to have contact with the civilian population, because otherwise the camp couldn't truly function without these contacts. Therefore, it is also worth realizing that the influence of this National Socialist ideology certainly had a bearing on their behavior, certainly had a bearing on their contacts with civilians, but on the other hand, it is worth noting that when analyzing documents or statements. We come to the conclusion that these SS guards were, for the most part, ordinary people, perhaps it would be better to say, who were thrown into such a terrible moment in history and had to somehow adapt to it. What we must remember is that ordinary people, thrust into certain historical realities, can change in one way or another. On the one hand, they can be a good father and husband, as in this case, and on the other, they can be a person who inspires fear in prisoners and goes down in history as one of the cruelest, for example, of the SS guards. Therefore, I think it's something we should remember that these ordinary people—this truism, this thesis of Browning, who also wrote this very book, "Ordinary People," about police officers in occupied Poland—applies here as well. And what conclusion can we draw from this? A very important one for us as a society and in general is that, unfortunately, under certain circumstances, most of us could become just such an SS guard. Of course, there are various ideological, sociological, and so on issues here, and I don't want to get into that now, but we must remember that the perpetrators didn't just emerge from nowhere. Referring to Marian Turski, they didn't emerge from nowhere either; they somehow arose from humankind, were trained and exploited in some way. And it seems to me that talking about them in the context not only of their crimes but also their everyday lives, interests, their psychology, sociology, etc., is quite important to help us understand why this happened.

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Article published in the post-conference publication, "Face of War", Vol. 6, "City and the War".