Registration documents of Auschwitz prisoners

Transcript of the podcast

Upon admission to the camp each prisoner – man or a woman – went through a registration process. During this process numerous documents related to the given person were filled out in a very thorough manner. Dr. Wojciech Płosa Head of the Museum' Archive talks about the details of this process.

In previous podcasts, we've already discussed the Archives of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, as well as some documents related to correspondence—like letters or secret messages. We also spoke about registration photographs. In today's podcast, I'd like us to return to the topic of prisoner registration in the camp. When a prisoner was brought to Auschwitz, they had to be registered, underwent the entire admission procedure, and a series of documents were filled out. What were these documents?

The registration procedure for newly arrived prisoners was carried out very meticulously. In fact, the entire process began when a particular unit—whether it was the criminal police, the Gestapo, or another agency responsible for deporting people to Auschwitz concentration camp—prepared a transport. We have to use this term, although it's very dehumanizing. In any case, a group of people was prepared to be brought to Auschwitz.

Already at the place—in the transit camp or prison—lists were prepared with brief information: names and basic personal data of the people who were to be transported to the concentration camp. Upon arrival, the SS officer responsible for receiving such a group of prisoners confirmed that the transport had arrived. And then the registration procedure began. The fundamental aspect—and this is where it all started—was what we should call the dehumanization of the person who was to be imprisoned in Auschwitz. At this first, very initial stage, the person—whether a woman or a man—not only had their belongings taken away, not only the clothes they were wearing, and of course, all hair on their bodies was shaved off, but their identity was also taken away. Because in this first step, at the moment of registration, the newly arrived were already assigned camp numbers. They initially received pieces of pre-prepared material with camp numbers. An effort was made—although initially this was not strictly observed, but later it became a strictly enforced procedure—to arrange these prisoners in alphabetical order.
After going through all these initial procedures—shaved, bathed, and dressed in striped camp uniforms—they stood at the tables of the schreibers, that is, the scribes, prisoners employed by the camp Gestapo, the Political Department. Here, in special forms called Häftlingspersonalkarte – prisoner personal cards, they provided all their personal data. This is how the registration procedure began. The schreibers were required to fill out a whole series of fields on the prepared forms. It began, of course, with entering the camp number, because this was the most important matter for the camp authorities. In this procedure, the prisoner's name and surname were replaced with the camp number. Even if a prisoner did not know the German language, they had to at least be able to recite their camp number correctly in German. If they were asked by any SS man or kapo how it sounded, they had to be able to recite it correctly.

In these personal forms, besides the camp number, all personal data were recorded: surname, first name, date of birth, place of birth, information about the spouse, last place of residence, even information about which languages the prisoner might speak. There was, of course, information about appearance, such as height, weight, shape of the ears, or eye color. Any distinguishing features were noted—for example, missing teeth. The prisoner had to sign at the bottom of this form. If they were illiterate—we have several such examples—they would put, say, three crosses or one cross as their signature.
These forms were the basis for creating the next document, which informs us about the registration of prisoners in the camp—the list of newly arrived prisoners, or Zugangsliste. These were documents that illustrated how, day by day, prisoners were brought to the camp. Here, we have a header with the date, often also information about where the given group of prisoners was deported from, and then, written in chronological order—from the lowest to the highest—the numbers issued to the prisoners under which they were registered. Next to the number are basic pieces of information: prisoner category, surname, first name, date of birth, place of birth, and information about occupation.

It's important to mention that the schreibers created these documents based on information given by the prisoners. So if someone, like Witold Pilecki, arrived at the camp under a false name, or one used for clandestine activities—for example, in the underground—he provided that underground name. That's why in the camp documents we have no mention of Witold Pilecki; he appears everywhere as Tomasz Serafiński, because that was the name under which he was registered in the camp. The Zugangsliste were created in as many as twelve copies, because two copies of such lists of newly arrived prisoners were sent to each of the six departments of camp administration. However, as we've mentioned many times, many documents were destroyed to erase traces of crimes, so they have survived only fragmentarily. We have the main portion of the Zugangsliste from January 7, 1941, to the end of December 1941. And we have several examples of lists of newly arrived prisoners from 1942, roughly from April to October of that year. In this second case, these Zugangsliste from 1942 concern only Jewish prisoners, only men. This is also very significant—for example, we do not have any such examples of newly arrived female prisoners registered in the camp. And that's how the admission procedure looked. It was then supplemented, of course, and gradually expanded, with the taking of camp photographs—we've already discussed this—and, of course, with the tattooing of camp numbers.

The registration documents concerned people who were admitted to the camp as prisoners. What about the Jews who were deported to the camp and immediately after the selection murdered in gas chambers? Were any documents filled out concerning them?

No, this is a very characteristic issue: these people were no longer registered anywhere from the moment they were brought and underwent selection, right? We have that moment when there is selection on the ramp, and those who were sentenced to extermination went straight to the gas chambers without being registered in any documents. That's why various copies of documents that we obtained through cooperation with different institutions and archives in Europe and around the world are so important—documents concerning the lists with the names of Jews who were deported from various places, such as the Theresienstadt Ghetto – that is Terezin - or transit camps in different parts of occupied Europe, like Drancy in France, Westerbork in the Netherlands, or Mechelen in Belgium, or, for example, lists with the names of people deported to Auschwitz by the Berlin Gestapo or the Gestapo from Vienna. However, in these documents, on these camp lists, there are only the basic personal data: surname, first name, place of birth, date of birth, and possibly information about occupation or last place of residence. There's no other information about what happened to these people afterward. We know they were deported to Auschwitz. Now, based on these only fragmentarily preserved documents, by comparing the data from these preserved documents, we can possibly determine whether we have any other information about these people. But of course, if on these lists there are people who were advanced in age—for example, we see they were born at the end of the nineteenth century—or they were children, we can expect that, unfortunately, they did not pass selection and were murdered. Nevertheless, the people sentenced to death were no longer registered anywhere after being brought to Auschwitz.

As you mentioned, the registration documents, the personal cards, contained a lot of detailed data. What were they needed for? Were they used after the escape of a prisoner from the camp?

Yes, because this brief description of the prisoner's appearance was extremely important. Indeed, these brief pieces of information about whether the person was tall or short, their hair color and eye color, were provided—in addition to personal data—in telegrams concerning escapes, informing about the escape of prisoners from Auschwitz. In general, it's worth noting that this personal sheet—the Häftlingspersonalbogen—was the basis for creating a whole personal file for a given prisoner. All other documents related to the prisoner's stay in the camp or their transfer to the camp, if there were any, were placed in one file together with this Häftlingspersonalbogen and were kept by the main office, the camp administration, which was run by prisoners who, trained by the SS men, managed this office and collected these documents.

As we know from post-war accounts, such as those of Kazimierz Smoleń or Erwin Olszówka, or other prisoners who worked in the main office, these files had colors corresponding to the prisoner category. For example, political prisoners had red files, criminals had green ones, and so on. Indeed, all materials were attached to each of these files, including, of course, the camp photograph, which was also an important component of these records.
When a prisoner perished, the file was set aside in another cabinet or compartment, where documents concerning deceased prisoners were kept. However, if the prisoner was transferred to another camp, the file was sent there along with them, and in Auschwitz's main office, there remained what we might call a copy—an abbreviated extract from these records. Similarly, for example, in the case of card indexes kept by the Prisoner Employment Department, these were two-sided documents. Unlike the Häftlingspersonalbogen, which are A4 format, the cards used by the Prisoner Employment Department are half the size—that is, they are A5 format. But they are double-sided, and on the front side, we have all the personal data of the prisoner again, including, of course, the description of appearance. On the reverse side, there is information about which labor units, or Kommandos, they worked in.

Such cards were filled out in two copies so that one copy could be left in Auschwitz, while in the case of the prisoner's transfer to another camp, the second copy was sent along with them. This card index was used in all other camps through which the prisoner passed. So there are situations where, on one card, there are entries from Auschwitz, and then the prisoner went to Buchenwald, for example—so the camp number from Auschwitz is crossed out, and the number from Buchenwald is entered. If they later went to the Mauthausen camp, further entries are from Mauthausen. Such cards of prisoners liberated in the Buchenwald or Mauthausen camps were found. In the case of these cards from Mauthausen, we have the originals in our archives; in the case of the cards from Buchenwald, we have copies in our archives.

Did all prisoners registered in the camp have these personal cards filled out during registration, regardless of their prisoner category or nationality?

Yes, all prisoners registered in Auschwitz had personal cards created for them, regardless of their category or nationality. The only exception was those referred to as "police prisoners." They were entered into separate documents and were not registered using personal cards because it wasn't yet clear what would happen to them. Only if, after a verdict given by the Summary Gestapo Court, some of them were imprisoned in the camp and then the standard personal cards were created. Until it was known what their fate would be—for example, they might be executed as a result of the verdict or returned to the prison from which they had been brought for further investigation—no documents were issued to them. However, they were registered by the camp Gestapo through the Political Department, one of its tasks was to maintain records of prisoners of all categories. Prisoners of all other categories were issued personal cards.

You mentioned that these documents were kept in a special office. Where was this writing office located, and who were the prisoners who worked there?

They were usually prisoners who knew the German language quite well, although that wasn't always the case. For example, when Kazimierz Smoleń began working there, he didn't know German well but gradually learned it during his work. Part of this office was located in the admissions department, in the building where prisoners were registered, right at the entrance to the camp. The other part, which housed the card indexes, where they were stored, was on the ground floor of Block 24—where today our Archives keep documents related to the fate of prisoners - so it's quite close to the camp entrance. That's where these documents were collected.

Of course, it was better to employ prisoners who knew German because a lot of specialized vocabulary was used there, particularly related to office work. It was quite important to communicate properly and to correctly organize these documents. After all, there were a lot of them. There was also the crucial issue that especially the SS men from the Political Department sometimes needed the files of a specific prisoner—for example, if an investigation against a person was reopened or if something needed to be clarified in the case. Then it was necessary to retrieve these documents from the office as quickly as possible. So, the German-specific emphasis on order in documents was also important.

Could the resistance movement in the camp have had access to these documents, for example, through the prisoners working in the office?

Yes, that was certainly possible. The schreibers were a rather specific group of prisoners who were responsible for the detailed and proper—that is, error-free—completion of forms, these personal card forms. Initially, personal cards were brought from Oranienburg, but then a printing house was established near the camp, and personal cards with the characteristic imprint "Konzentrationslager Auschwitz" were printed on-site.
The schreibers had to be quite a large group because transports, especially during the period of 1942–1943, were arriving in large numbers, particularly the deportations of Jews from various parts of German-occupied Europe. They worked in two shifts, including the night, so they had to process a large group of people, ask them about their personal data, and enter it appropriately.

It's interesting to note that, unlike in death certificates where mistakes sometimes occur and are noted—with a special field on the form indicating, for example, in which line there's a correction—in these Häftlingspersonalbogen (prisoner personal sheets), we don't see cross-outs. It appears that if a schreiber made a mistake, he would likely destroy the entire document and start over, provided he had enough time, which might not have been easy with a large number of people being registered. Therefore, I believe they had the skill of writing quickly and clearly because most of these Häftlingspersonalbogen are filled out by hand, although some are typewritten. Through this work, they had access to a wide range of information. Of course, they couldn't possibly remember detailed information about the individuals they registered, but they could—and did—remember how many numbers were issued.
Based on this, the resistance movement sent reports—sometimes general, sometimes more detailed—about the numbers of people registered in the camp day by day. We have such detailed information that was smuggled to Krakow for underground purposes. This information was then used by, among others, the Polish Government-in-Exile in London because it allowed the Allies to be informed about the scale of the camp's operations in Auschwitz—how many prisoners were brought to the camp each day. Additional information could also be added, for example, concerning mortality rates.

This is interesting because, thanks to the schreibers—prisoners who had access to these documents—we know about the transports of prisoners from the Warsaw Uprising, starting from August 12, or actually August 13, 1944. Based on the documents they filled out, they also created copies with information about these people. Some of them stayed in Auschwitz for a relatively short time because, quite early—in September or October 1944—they were transferred to other camps, mainly to Mauthausen. This can also be seen in the resistance materials. So, the role of the schreibers, as prisoners who had insight into the functioning of the camp administration, was very important.

We know that about 400,000 people were registered in the camp as prisoners, but very few registration documents have survived to this day...

Yes, only about four or maybe five thousand Häftlingspersonalbogen have survived, partly in copies and partly in originals. Most of these documents concern male Jewish prisoners, and a small portion pertains to female Jewish prisoners. We also have examples of personal cards of political prisoners of other nationalities, mainly Polish prisoners but not exclusively. There are also, for example, cards of Roma and Sinti prisoners. There's also a small, but existent, portion of personal cards issued for Soviet prisoners of war.

The documents were systematically destroyed by the SS men. Do you think there was any system in this destruction of documents that might explain why registration documents containing prisoners' data had to be destroyed first?

It seems possible, although we don't know the exact method. Sometimes the destruction of these documents appears to have been rather chaotic, although very few documents have survived from the early phase of the camp's existence and from the latest phase—that is, the second half of 1944. Perhaps we could say that they began destroying the earliest and the most recently created documents. Of course, it also depends on which departments' documents we're talking about.

Nevertheless, the scale of destruction was significant. We know from Survivors' accounts—post-war testimonies—that under the supervision of SS men, prisoners had to massively remove documents from camp offices, create piles, pour gasoline or other flammable materials on them, and burn them. We must also realize that, as we mentioned, many documents were produced by various camp offices, so the scope of these destructive actions had to be large. Because time was pressing, they didn't manage to destroy all the documents. Some were hidden; others fell into the hands of the Red Army after the liberation of the camp, and for some time, they were not known at all. They returned, sometimes only partially or only in originals, to our archives, mainly as copies. The Soviets were interested in a specific group of documents and, from the Political Department, took the preserved volumes of death certificates.