Prisoners with purple triangles

The transcript of the podcast

Activities by the Jehovah’s Witnesses were banned in Nazi Germany in 1933, because of the Witness’s religious principles and pacifistic views, as well as their organisation’s international connections. As a result, many of them were incarcerated in concentration camps. Teresa Wontor-Cichy from the Memorial Research Center talks about the history and fate of some four hundred Jehovah’s Witnesses in Auschwitz.

After the Nazi’s seizure of power from 1933, concentration camps were created, and among the people incarcerated were prisoners marked with a purple triangle. Who were they and what were the reasons of their arrest?

When the concentration camps were established in Nazi Germany after 1933, we know from the historians, the first who were sent for isolation were the political opponents. So, as they were planning to segregate, to make kind of clear situation with the political situation, of course from the Nazi perspective. And gradually the society started to be also affected by the ideas of the Nazis, so, different groups were being sent. Different groups of people, and some of them, because of the acts or consequences of their beliefs, sometimes religious beliefs.

Jehovah’s Witnesses, or as we know them from the concentration camp literature, the prisoners marked as “IBV”, it’s the abbreviation of the term Internationale Bibelforscher Vereinigung. The German term of the International Bible Students Association. An organisation known well in Germany. And in the mid 1930’s it went through kind of changes, which led to division into several smaller groups. And one of the biggest, one of the most active was Jehovah’s Witnesses. So, that’s the new term which was known to people who were in this group, not necessarily to politicians, to police, Gestapo or any other institution. According to their religion, they were strongly against any type of violence, any type of dealings with something that would lead to a weapon, to a rifle, to the army. They were very loyal workers as long as the work was correct with their beliefs. And in Germany the society started to again be focused into the preparation for war. So, the industry was transformed into producing for the army efforts.

The everyday life changed. It started with the school system, saluting the teachers. Or starting the day at school with the “Hail Hitler” salute. So, that was against their believes. Then any type of actions like some exercise, some activates for different age groups which were having so much to do with the military system, such as the parades and some other events. So, this is why during the arrest, when they were asked about the explanation, the element of religion was usually brought to the table. So, this is why they were sent to the concentration camps and the reason for the arrest was marked as the fact that they were members of this religious group, known in Germany in those days as Internationale Bibelforscher Vereinigung, they were marked with this symbol. And as different triangles started being used in the concentration camps, also a separate triangle was brought for this group and it was the purple triangle. So, the purple triangle with the abbreviation “IBV”, this is how this group was marked in the concentration camps.

Where did the prisoners, Jehovah’s Witnesses who were deported to Auschwitz, incarcerated in Auschwitz, come from?

The first prisoners with purple triangles were sent within the very first groups of men sent to Auschwitz. They were mainly from the Silesia region. Unfortunately, we can’t say who was the first and we can’t say what was his name, because of the fact that documentation was destroyed in such a large percentage. But even in the documentation related to the first transports from June 1940, we may see some prisoners who were given this mark “IBV”. This we consider as those who were the first. And then, until actually the last days, the last transports sent to Auschwitz, they were among the prisoners.

So, the first transports were from the territories which were incorporated into Nazi Germany, but very shortly after, also from the part of Poland which was under German occupation, like the Krakow region, and then Warsaw, and then also later on from Warthegau, so again part which was part of Germany. And also, in some transports from concentration camps in Germany like Sachsenhausen and Neuengamme, Mauthausen, there were some individuals or sometimes groups, not really big groups, let’s say like two-three prisoners were also sent here to Auschwitz.

What was their situation in the camp, where did they work, was there any specificity linked with this particular group of prisoners?

Prisoners with a purple triangle were sent for the same work as the other prisoners, and as Auschwitz was a huge building area where new buildings were constructed, the territory around was being reorganised so, transporting building material, then some work with the ground, this is where they were sent, worked really hard, badly organised, without proper tools, regardless of the weather conditions. So, all that caused, was they were actually affecting the same results as the other prisoners, they became weaker within a few weeks of staying here.

There were also women deported to Auschwitz and distinguished with the same category. And as we were talking about the transports, where they were from, women were actually in the very first transport of women deported to Auschwitz. We know their faces as the photographs have survived. We know most of their names and we also know most important, that they were brought here from Ravensbrück concentration camp. This group, as most of them were German, were being sent for slightly different professions. There was a need for German administration to provide some help for the SS families, especially some officers who were here with children, so some work, some help was needed for the household. So, this is why most of them were actually sent for cooking, cleaning, taking care of the children, also shopping for the SS families.

They were chosen, first of all because they were Germans, so the problem of communication was non existant. And another thing, they were known as very loyal in terms of the work they were to do. Any works which was not to deal with violence, with the army, with rifles, with any elements of the military like uniforms. So, this is why they were known as very, very good workers, and this is how the women were remembered. They were also trusted by the SS camp administration, for example they were to do shopping, which meant they were to go to the town, or some places where they were to pass the so-called “Grosse Postenkette,” so the chain of towers isolating the whole territory of the camp from the town. To pass this area they needed a document, “Ausweiss,” so a special paper was provided for them with a photograph, and the photograph was in the civilian clothing, so not the well-known prisoner type with the striped uniforms. They were dressed like for a photograph for any type of documentation. And in the document, it is also said where they are working exactly and the name of the SS officer, or just the place. Again, the places were for the SS guards. So, they were having the chance to move around, and again, there was no fear for the Germans that they would try to escape because of the collective responsibility. The prisoners knew that they may bring some revenge to the other inmates with this triangle or another category, so this is why they were not escaping.

Then when some of them were having a particular job, they were being sent for this profession and from the Stanisław Zając testimony, we know that after this short period of being in the building area, he was chosen to be the barber, and he was a barber professionally. His place was block number 6a, and he was to look after all the prisoners, that they are shaved. And he had a small closet with all the tools he needed for his job, and he was to check if all the prisoners are shaved regularly. So, as he was saying, this job brought him a better situation in the camp.

There is also a known case of a prisoner with this category, the purple triangle, brought here from Neuengamme, Henrik Haak. He was Dutch and he was arrested in Holland. He was having some training connected with being a nurse, a male nurse. So here in the camp he was sent to the hospital. That was the period when the camp administration started to pay more attention to the health and the conditions of the prisoners being used in different working areas. Basically, they needed desperately more hands for work, so this is why the prisoners who could recover in the hospitals were to be provided some form of help, and this is why a group of male nurses were brought here to the camp.

How other prisoners remember Jehovah’s Witnesses in their testimonies?

When I started my work on this project, that was around 1998, Kazimierz Smoleń the survivor of Auschwitz and former director of the Museum was visiting our department very often, he even had an office on the same floor. So, one day I approached him and as I was in the process of collecting the testimonies and going through the volumes in the archive, I decided also to ask him. We were just walking down the corridor, so when I told him about the project he stopped and he said, “They were the most reliable people in the camp, the most honest people in the camp”. Then he mentioned one man he remembered, he was from the same area as he was from, so this is why they knew each other in the camp.

And then going through the different testimonies of the different prisoners, I realised that there are many opinions of this type. There were not many descriptions of relations of some events in the camps, some situations, because in fact it was a very small group in the camp. Just occasionally could they meet. So, first of all they were very good workers, they were really trying their best with any type of work they were to do, which was again not related to violence or to the army. So, the work in building and construction like transporting building materials, they were always ready to work, they were not cheating, not pretending to be sick, tired or whatever. Just within the time given for work, they worked with a positive attitude.

And this of course was commented on differently by the prisoners. Some of them were admiring or being surprised in positive way with their behaviors. But some of them were saying that, actually, they were putting at risk or in a bad light the other prisoners who were just trying to save their strength, save their energy to work longer, to have the chance to work another day, another week. So, just these two types of comments. Then what also differentiated the prisoners from the others was the fact that they were trying to stay clean. Clean in a physical way, I mean clean uniforms, they were trying to follow the hygienic sanitary rules. The access to the wash room was limited, but even with this crowd of people entering they were trying to have the moment of washing, if the uniform was dirty, to clean it, if it was ruined, to fix it, and to have a proper look.

Jan Otrębski, deported here and registered as a political prisoner, knew that there were some Jehovah’s Witnesses in the camp, and he was trying to find them. He was sent at the beginning for some building work, and his physical condition was so bad. Also, he didn’t have a chance to look after his uniform, so one day when he finally found a small group of prisoners with a purple triangle, he was so happy he started talking to them and they looked at him in very surprised way because of the way he looked, dirty, the uniform was just ripped in many places. Only his knowledge of the literature, of the bible convinced them that he really was part of this religious group. And at first, they were telling him, “Well you say you are a Jehovah’s Witness, but why do you look so bad, why do you look so poorly?” He was injured at that time, so this is why he was in such a poor condition, and the group helped him to recover.

In terms of woman, especially those who are working in the household of the SS families, they were having more chances to stay the way they wanted. They could wash their uniforms, they had regular access to sanitation. But, for example, the food they were receiving was the same as the prisoners, so they were cooking for the SS families but the rations for them were brought by the prisoners from the camp. So, again they were always treated within the camp regulations. Some prisoners were maybe a little bit jealous about this situation, that the female prisoners were staying aside, but also it was a risky situation, if there was any little suspicion that something disappeared from the house or they were not doing the work correctly to the camp regulations, they could be responsible for that in the first place. So, it was in a way a good place to be, but also with great responsibility.

Just going back to stories that they tried to keep themselves clean and they tried to look normal, what is the reason for this in their community?

During my work I asked the survivors several times about this aspect, and their explanation was very short, very brief actually. They were saying that part of the general attitude to life was just to have everything around them in a very clean and very modest way. So, having just simple clothes like the camp uniform was enough for them, but it has to be kept in a proper way, in a clean way. It has got do to again, very much with the attitude towards their duties, like you mentioned work, their attitude to work, it has to be done in a way considered the right way. So, if they were to transport ten bricks, the ten bricks are to be moved from place to place, as that was their task, so no cheating, no pretending anything. Taking care of themselves, and also that’s another thing they were stressing during the conversation, taking care of others was also very important. They were taking care, most of the time, of members of their community, members of their religious group. As there were some other prisoners around, maybe this kind of help, or this kind of solidarity become too difficult to spread, there were just far too many people in need. Not only just this material help was important, also emotional and moral, which was again based on their religion.

During the meetings, the very small meetings of ten or fifteen men on the corner in front of block number 15, they were based mainly on some discussions, very short discussion, analysis of a piece of the bible and a prayer, that was the unity for them, their beliefs. And they said this brought them a kind of calm, a kind of strength and a positive attitude. They were all in a poor condition in terms of being in the concentration camp, but this religious aspect for them was having a really important factor, clearing many of their doubts or eliminating many of the doubts they had.

From what are you saying, it seems that they maybe not exactly managed, but they tried to manage their own communal religious lives. So, to keep their beliefs in the camp, and when they could meet, even in these very small numbers, this could give them some strength that they were together, and certainly the fact they were marked with a separate triangle helped, because among thousands and thousands of red triangle political prisoners, finding people who share your World view would be much more difficult. Here they were so rare and therefore much easier to find and then to meet and then try to stay together and live the way they wanted to live.

There is a document from the camp administration which illustrates what you mentioned. The tendency for getting together and supporting each other. It turned out that prisoners with a purple triangle were organizing some meetings and also they were sharing religious views with other prisoners marked with different triangles, red, green, black. And that was recognized by the camp administration as actions against the camp, against even the state, so a crime in fact. But still their work is so good there is not really ground to punish them by execution or some other punishment. So, the decision was made to spread them in the working unit, so there were not to be more than two in one block or one working unit. Sharing their religion was for some of them very natural, as they were trained. As they were, before being arrested they were very engaged in talking about religion, teaching others, sharing literature. For some it was not, some of them were saying that they were very convinced in their religious beliefs, but they were not that active in terms of talking to others.

With women the situation was different. One of them was working in the hotel for the SS guards, which was in the town very close to railway station, and one day she was cleaning the windows and suddenly two women were passing this building and they noticed her triangle, the purple triangle and they approached the window and told her that they are Jehovah’s Witnesses. And she said, “So you can get into the building for the toilet,” and they organized a secret meeting in the toilet. And the next day they came again and they brought this prisoner the brochures, the literature, secretly of course. And she managed to carry these brochures to the camp and to share them with the other female inmates. And as they say, that was for them a great joy, not only because of the literature, but also because of the fact that there were people outside who knew that they were in the camp and they were trying to help to stay in touch, to support them in any way they could. So, that was another form of staying together as a religious group.

Jehovah’s Witnesses were persecuted by the Nazi regime, but also the Nazi regime in a way gave them a way out. The only request was that they reject their faith, and then they would be for example, released from prison or a concentration camp. Do we know of any cases of using this possibility of a way out?

During my conversations with the survivors, this topic appeared several times. The first time they said, after they were arrested by the German police, this idea was brought. Andrzej Szalbot was to join the German army, he was 18, so the age he could be called for the army and his mother signed the Volksliste. The brother was already in the army, but he was a Jehovah’s Witnesses and he didn’t want. He saw his brother coming back from the army, how devastated he was after seeing the war. The police, during the interrogation were offering him: “well you can sing a document and we would let you go, you don’t even have to join the army” and he refused. Then when he was sent to the camp, from time to time, the Politische Abteilung, the political division was calling the prisoners and the same document was on the table, that they are to sign, that they were to consider their religion as wrong, and they promised not to be in touch with any people of this group, and that was the pass to be freed from the camp.

All the survivors I interviewed were saying that they never met anybody in the camp who signed this document. Going through the documentation, I found a case that a female prisoner in this category was released from the camp. But most probably it was just a routine situation in the camp that a group of prisoners was released, it happened from time to time in Auschwitz, as there was no evidence of any documents she had to sign and also in her interview she never mentioned this type of paper and she stayed all her life a member of this religious group. This situation was absolutely exceptional in the camp. That was the only group which was offered this possibility to be freed. From literature, I know that in Mauthausen there were cases that some prisoners decided to do so, but here in Auschwitz, the evidence I managed to gather was not proving this situation.

Could you summarise, on one hand the fate of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the camp, what numbers are we talking about? What do we know about how many perished in the camp? And what was their faith after the war?

To say an exact number of prisoners with this triangle in the camp is impossible, due to the documentation destroyed in such a number. So, in my research, I gave the number of one hundred and fifty two people who were distinguished with the category of Internationale Bibelforscher Vereinigung, International Bible Students Association. But there were so many who were given a red triangle, I already mentioned Jan Otrębski, Stanisław Zając. When they were brought to the camp, they were not having this orientation, this information about the whole system, the whole procedure. Jan Otrębski was saying that after he met his friends from the religious group, he also was brave enough to approach the political department and asked to change the triangle, but he was of course sent back to the camp without any changes.

So, some groups were given different colours and also about some people, we know that they were here and they were Jehovah’s Witnesses, but we don’t know the number, or we don’t know the category. Altogether in my research, I gave the names of three hundred and eighty two people. As I said, one hundred and fifty two were with this category and with the purple triangle.

What happened to them? Mortality rate, especially among men was the same as the other inmates here in the camp. Those who survived until the evacuation were either transported to Germany in the Autumn of 1944, or were in the evacuation. Some of them were also in the sub camps of Auschwitz, so the evacuation was from other places. In terms of women, a large group was included in the evacuation of the so-called death marches. So, they were marching from here to Wodzisław Śląski, Loslau at that time, and then they were transported to Germany. Looking at the individual cases, I established that over thirty five percent of this number perished here in Auschwitz or in some other camps that they were sent to.