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Details of KZ Camp Mottos
“Arbeit macht frei“ and “Jedem das
Seine“ etc.
and of
Decorations on Gas Chamber
Buildings in
“Einsatz Reinhard(t)”
Extermination Camps
Last update 24th February 2007
See photos of mottos etc. at http://www.death-camps.org/websites/jphotoen.htm
KL Dachau: Arbeit macht frei*)
1965 reconstruction of a
1937?/1938? gate motto. Photo of original motto. For detailed information on
the gatehouse and the gate, see http://www.scrapbookpages.com/DachauScrapbook/KZDachau/Gatehouse.html.
Today the small pedestrian door with the motto inserted swings away from the
gatehouse. A 1945 liberation day photo shows the pedestrian door swinging into
the gatehouse, but this might have been caused by the forced entry of the
American Army. Original gate crafted by KZ prisoner blacksmith Karl Röder.
KL Sachsenhausen: Arbeit macht frei*)
Incorrect 1961 reconstruction of a 1938?/1939?
gate motto. The typographical distribution of the words into two lines
(originally: Arbeit macht // frei) and the type of letters used are changed. Photo of original motto. Not certain if the gate with the small pedestrian
door itself is entirely original and functioning as it originally did. Without
naming its source or showing a photo the above-mentioned Scrapbookpages claims
that the gate of the early predecessor camp KL Oranienburg (1933-34) was
also decorated with the Arbeit macht frei motto. This information
is contradicted by Sachsenhausen Memorial Museum as caretaker of KL Oranienburg
Memorial. A 1933 photo shows no
motto.
KL Buchenwald: Jedem
das Seine / Recht oder Unrecht - Mein Vaterland**)
Jedem das Seine: Original 1938 gate motto preserved. This
gate was crafted by a group of KZ prisoners including blacksmith Fritz
Weißgerber (his unpublished Report of 1968). Recht oder Unrecht – Mein
Vaterland: Original 1938 motto-inscribed wooden board above the gateway on
the outside of the gatehouse removed and not reconstructed.
KL Flossenbürg: Arbeit macht frei*)
Original 1938?/1939? motto
inscription on a granite plate on the gate´s left pillar seen from the outside.
A similar granite plate on the gate´s right pillar said Schutzhaftlager
(~protective custody camp). Both granite plates removed and not
reconstructed, but the gate´s pillars themselves latest 1949 moved to another
location inside the memorial. Photos of both original motto and inscription
exist.
Frauen-KL Ravensbrück
No motto (Ravensbrück
Memorial Museum and Professor Brückner*) confirm)
Very doubtful claims by Anja
Lundholm (1988) and Sister “Theodolinde” (=Katharina) Katzenmaier (1996) of a
1939?/1940? scrolled motto-inscribed band similar to Auschwitz (I) over the
gate. A 1941 photo of a Himmler inspection shows no motto over or inserted in
the gate. In 1943 a new gate was erected, a few meters outside the old gate.
Not clear whether the claims refer to this new gate.
KL Auschwitz (I): Arbeit macht frei*)
Original 1940
scrolled motto-inscribed band over the gate preserved. This inscription band
was crafted by a group of KZ prisoners including arts smith Jan Liwacs
(1898-1980) (his unpublished Report of 1969).
KL Groß-Rosen: (Arbeit macht frei?)*)
Probably inexact 1979 reconstruction of a 1940?/1941? motto inscription on the gatehouse over the gateway. No photo of original motto. Gross-Rosen Memorial Museum states that in its opinion, based on former prisoners´ evidence, it is almost certain that there was once an Arbeit macht frei inscription over the gateway, but it was removed before 1948, when the Soviet Army “returned” the camp area to the “new” Polish State. A 1946 photo shows no motto. Professor Brückner*) seems to doubt the authenticity of this motto.
Gestapo Prison Small Fortress Theresienstadt: Arbeit
macht frei*)
No later than 1945 renewal
with partly changed type of letters of original motto painted over an arched
doorway preserved in the inner administration courtyard. 1941 photo of original
motto. Origin of this only Arbeit macht frei motto decoration outside a
KZ-camp unknown.
Decorations on Gas Chamber
Buildings in
“Einsatz
Reinhard(t)” Extermination Camps
Sonderkommando Bełżec: Star of David,
Hackenholt-Stiftung and Bade- und Inhalationsräume***)
1942 Star of David sign
and names signwrited on front façade of
new gas chamber building. Gas chamber building destroyed by the SS 1943. No
photo of original decorations.
Sonderkommando
Sobibór: Star of David and Badehaus and / or Seuchen-
Bekämpfungsstelle***)
1942 Star of David sign
and names signwrited on front façade of
gas chamber building. Gas chamber building destroyed by the SS 1943. No photo
of original decorations.
Sonderkommando
Treblinka (II): Star of David and
זה השער לה' צדיקים יבואו בו***)
1942 Star of David sign and Hebrew script either 1. embroidered upon ritual curtain
covering the entrance door or 2. signwrited
on front façade of new gas chamber building. Gas chamber
building destroyed by the SS 1943. No photo of original decorations.
*)
Arbeit macht frei (literally=Work makes free ~Work
brings freedom). Origin? Earliest mention (as title of a book):
Lorenz Diefenbach: (in serial form) Wien 1872 / (printed as book)
Bremen 1873. Known to be a contributor’s sticker/stamp of so called “völkische”
(later Nazi-friendly) Deutscher Schulverein (~German School
Association), Wien latest 1924 (probably 1922). Exact origin of use as
KZ-camp motto unknown. Without naming its source, the above mentioned
Scrapbookpages attributes the use of Arbeit macht frei as KZ-motto to
Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels (1897-1945).
Harold Marcuse in: "Legacies
of Dachau. The Uses and Abuses of a Concentration Camp 1933–2001",
Cambridge 2001, referring to Johannes Tuchel:
"Die Inspektion der Konzentrationslager 1938-1945. Das
System des Terrors. Eine Dokumentation", Berlin 1994, attributes the use of Arbeit macht frei as KZ-motto to first SS Kommandant of KL
Dachau and later head of the SS KL inspection (IKL) Theodor Eicke (1892-1943). See also Eric
Joseph Epstein and Philip Rosen: “Dictionary of the Holocaust. Biography,
Geography, and Terminology”,
Westport 1997, referring to Tom Segev: ”Soldiers of Evil:
The Commandants of the Nazi Concentration Camps”,
New York 1987. First SS Kommandant of KL Auschwitz Rudolf Höss
(1900-1947) in his autobiography written in prison while awaiting trial “Kommandant
in Auschwitz”, first published Warszawa 1951, gives his personal
interpretation of the use of Arbeit macht frei as KZ-camp motto.
An important element for understanding the Arbeit
macht frei motto as a harsh expression of the original alleged
“re-educational” purpose of the KZ-camps - is shown by what are known as Himmler´s
Milestones: ”Es gibt einen Weg zur Freiheit. Seine Meilensteine heißen: Gehorsam, Fleiß,
Ehrlichkeit, Ordnung, Sauberkeit, Nüchternheit, Wahrhaftigkeit, Opfersinn und
Liebe zum Vaterland! ” (~“There is one way
to freedom. Its milestones are named: Obedience, Diligence, Honesty, Tidiness,
Cleanliness, Sobriety, Truthfulness, Spirit of Self-Sacrifice and Patriotism!”),
which were painted in huge letters in KL Dachau (words painted on
roof of kitchen/laundry/storage building), KL Sachsenhausen
(words first painted on gable of one barrack, later distributed
on gables of several barracks), KL Neuengamme (words painted on
roof of kitchen barracks) and possibly KL Buchenwald (words
painted on ?, source?), KL Mauthausen (words distributed on
gables of several barracks, source: Hans Marsalek:
"Die Geschichte des Konzentrationslagers Mauthausen", Wien
1980, p 74) and KL
Auschwitz (I) (words 1. painted on roof
of kitchen barracks, source: painting by former prisoner Wladyslaw Siwek 1907-1983 "A Penal Company Returning from Work"
1950?, exhibited at State Museum of Auschwitz-Birkenau, and 2. written upon a small glass framed
board mounted at ?, source: Jerzy Debski: “Schilder und Tafeln im
Lager”, Hefte von Auschwitz nr. 21, Oświęcim 2000, p.175 = Inventar-Nr.PMO-II-4-256, measurements: 480 x 635 x 15 mm
(card board, indian ink, wood, glass), preserved item at present not exhibited
at State Museum of Auschwitz-Birkenau). Apart from this small motto board from
KL Auschwitz (I) none of these
Milestone decorations have survived until now, but photos exist except for KL
Buchenwald, KL Mauthausen and KL Auschwitz (I).
Main sources: Wolfgang
Brückner: "Arbeit macht frei. Herkunft und Hintergrund der
KZ-Devise", Opladen 1998, with additions and corrections in “Gedenkstättenkultur
als wissenschaftliches Problem. KZ-Embleme in der Museumsdidaktik“ =
pp.525-565 in “Kulturen – Sprachen – Übergänge. Festschrift für H. L. Cox
zum 65. Geburtstag“, Köln, Weimar, Wien 2000, and Dirk Riedel: "Arbeit
macht frei“. Leitsprüche und Metaphern aus der Welt des
Konzentrationslagers" = pp.11-29 in: Wolfgang Benz/Barbara Distel
(ed.): "Dachauer Hefte 22", Dachau 2006.
**)
Jedem das Seine (~To each his own). The famous KL Buchenwald motto reads from the inside, unlike the Arbeit
macht frei mottos.
Origin of use as KZ-camp motto unknown. German translation of the famous Suum cuique principle
of basic justice from Roman civil law. Judicial origin: Platon (=Plato)
427-347 BC (Politeia 332), Aristoteles (=Aristotle) 384-322 BC
(Rhetoric 1366 b), Marcus Porcius Cato (the Elder) 234-149 BC (in
?: “Suum cuique per me uti atque frui licet” (~”As far as I am concerned, every man should be
permitted to use and enjoy what is his”), Marcus Tullius Cicero
106-43 BC (De legibus I,19: “Justitia suum cuique distribuit."
(~"Justice renders to every one his due."), Lucius Annaeus Seneca 3 BC-55 AD
(Epistulae morales 81,7) and Domitius Ulpianus =Ulpian 170-228
(Excerpt in Emperor Justinian’s Corpus Iuris Civilis 533, Digesta 1.1.10: “pr.
Iustitia est
constans et perpetua voluntas ius suum cuique tribuendi. 1. Iuris praecepta sunt
haec: honeste vivere, alterum non laedere, suum cuique tribuere. 2. Iuris prudentia est divinarum atque humanarum rerum notitia,
iusti atque iniusti scientia.” (~”pr. Justice is the constant
and perpetual desire to give to every one that to which he is entitled. 1. The precepts of the law are the following: to live
honorably, to injure no one, to give to every one his due. 2. The science of the law is the acquaintance with Divine and
human affairs, the knowledge of what is just and what is unjust.”). See also religious and philosophical
interpretations: Paulus (=St Paul) ?-approx. 64 AD (Galatians
VI,5), Aurelius Augustinus (=St Augustin) 354-430 (De civitate
dei XIX,21), Thomas Aquinas (=St Thomas Aquinas) 1225-1274 (Summa theologica II-II,57,4), William Shakespeare 1564-1616 (Titus Andronicus I,2: “Suum cuique is our Roman justice”), Thomas Hobbes 1588-1679 (Leviathan I,15),
Baruch Spinoza 1632-1677 (Tractatus politicus II,23),
Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz 1646-1716 (De Jure et Justitia, Tria Praecepta), Immanuel Kant 1724-1804 (Einteilung
der Rechtslehre A) and eventually Friedrich Nietzsche 1844-1900
(Menschliches, Allzumenschliches I,92). Suum cuique
was used as the motto of the highest Prussian decoration Schwarzer Adler
(Black Eagle) established 1701 (from 1918 the Hohenzollern
decoration).
Apart
from the famous Jedem das Seine motto, the gatehouse of KL Buchenwald
seen from the outside displayed another motto with gilded letters carved in a
wooden board mounted above the gateway: “Recht
oder Unrecht - Mein Vaterland“. German translation of the famous
American motto by naval commandor Stephen Decatur 1779-1820,
spoken as a toast at a banquet in 1816: “Our
country! In her intercourse with foreign nations, may she always be in the
right; but our country, right or wrong”. Former prisoner Egon Rentzsch in his Report of September 3rd 1968 attributes
the use as KZ-motto to head of the site-office of KL Buchenwald
SS-Obersturmbannführer Robert Riedl (1912-?) by commission of
later head of SS-WVHA, (then) SS-Gruppenführer Oswald Pohl
(1892-1951). Actually Riedl chose Recht oder Unrecht – Mein Vaterland as
the gate-inscription, but subsequently, presumably on central instructions, the
inscription Jedem das Seine was prefered for the gate, crafted
February/March 1938. However, no later than December
1938 according to former prisoner Walter Poller:
“Arztschreiber in Buchenwald. Bericht des Häftlings 996 aus Block 39",
Hamburg 1946, the Recht oder Unrecht – Mein Vaterland motto was added on
the outside of the gatehouse. This motto board
“disappeared” after the camp´s liberation in 1945, but a photo exist.
Main
sources: Information from Buchenwald Memorial Museum and Hermann
Klenner (a radical point of view): http://www.sopos.org/aufsaetze/3c7d45aeb2e57/1.phtml "Jedem das Seine. Geschichte
eines Schlagworts".
***)
“Einsatz Reinhard(t)”extermination camps: Star of David sign and inscriptions on front gable of gas chamber buildings:
Whilst the five gas chamber
buildings in the three “Einsatz Reinhard(t)”
extermination camps were constructed along similar lines, their outside appearance differed
slightly, according to
historian Robin O´Neil: “Belzec: Prototype for the Final
Solution: Hitler´s Answer to the Jewish Question”, published as e-book 2004
at http://www.jewishgen.org/Yizkor/belzec1/belzec1.html#TOC. They probably
all were disguised with a large Star of David decoration and a bathhouse
inscription to possibly resemble a “mikva” ~a ritual Jewish
bathhouse, source: ? Pavel
Vladimirovich Leleko 1922-????:
Soviet interrogation 1945. This attempt at deception reached its final most
sophisticated stage with the new gas chamber building in Treblinka (II), which “architecturally” was designed to resemble an old-fashioned synagogue, source: escaped prisoner Yankel (a.k.a. Jankiel or Jacob)
Wiernik 1889-1972: a. Pamphlet “Rok w
Treblince” (“A Year in Treblinka”), published Warsaw / New
York 1944, b. Witness at Polish criminal investigations, Warsaw 1946, c.
1:50 scale model, completed 1959, exhibited at Ghetto Fighters´ House, Beit Loghameit,
Israel and d. Witness at Eichmann trial, Jerusalem, Israel 1961 and Alexander Donat (ed.): “The Death Camp Treblinka: A Documentary”. New York 1979, p.161.
SK
Bełżec (new gas chambers):
Large Star of David,
source: camp visitor SS-Obersturmführer Kurt Gerstein 1905-1945:
so-called “Gerstein Report”, statement written in French prison before
suicide 1945 and escaped
prisoner Rudolf Reder 1881-19??: “Bełżec”. Cracow 1946, Hackenholt-Stiftung (=Hackenholt Foundation),
source: above mentioned Gerstein, later confirmed by fellow camp
visitor SS-Standartenführer,
Dr. Wilhelm Pfannenstiel 1890-1982: written statement produced for court,
Darmstadt, West Germany 1950, and Bade- und
Inhalationsräume (=Bathing and
Inhalation Rooms), source: above mentioned Reder. The above mentioned (promoted in 1943 to) SS-Hauptscharführer Lorenz Hackenholt 1914-[1945]-???? helped to build and operate the
gas chambers at Bełżec and assisted in building the
gas chambers at Sobibór.
The plans for the new gas chamber at Treblinka (II) were drawn up by Hackenholt
who was at that time stationed at Bełżec, but he also assisted in
laying the gas pipes for the Treblinka gas chambers, according to historian Michael
Tregenza: “Belzec Death Camp”, London 19?? ?, p.5)
SK Sobibór: Large
Star of David and Badehaus (=Bath
House), source: escaped prisoner Thomas (a.k.a.
Toivi) Blatt 1927-: “Sobibor – The Forgotten Revolt”.
Issaquah, Washington 1997, p.16 and / or Seuchen-Bekämpfungsstelle
(=Epidemics Control Facility),
source: escaped prisoner Eda Lichtman 19??-???? (claiming text
written above the entrance): “Świadectwo. Z Mieleca do Sobiboru” 1957?, quoted in historian Jacob Presser: "Ondergang".
The Hague 1965, vol.II, p.425, produced as evidence for Sobibor trial, Hagen,
West Germany 1965/1966 and in excerpts published by historian Miriam Novitch:
"Sobibor - Camp of Death and Revolt", Tel Aviv 1979 ~ "Sobibor
- Martyrdom and Revolt", New York 1980.
SK
Treblinka (II) (new gas chambers):
Large Star of David, source: above
mentioned Wiernik and historian Yitzhak Arad: “Belzec,
Sobibor, Treblinka. The Operation Reinhard Death Camps”. Bloomington,
Indiana 1987, p.119 and זה השער לה' צדיקים יבואו בו, pronounced Zair-Hasha'ar L'Adonai Tzadeekim Yov'ow Bow =This [is the] gate
of the LORD, through which the righteous shall enter =The Bible:
Book of Psalms 118:20), either as 1. embrodery
upon ritual curtain covering entrance to gas chamber building, source: above mentioned Wiernik, confirmed by escaped prisoner Avraham Zigmund
Lindwasser ????-????: Witness at Eichmann trial, Jerusalem, Israel
1961, claiming heavy rug instead of door at entrance, and above mentioned Donat, p.301
or as 2. painted inscription on front gable of gas chamber
building, probably above entrance door, source: escaped prisoner Eliahu (a.k.a.
Eli) Rosenberg (19??-): telephone interview 2006 by Michal Chocholatý on behalf of ARC and historian Witold Chrostowski “Extermination
Camp Treblinka”. London? 2004, p. 61 (quoting ?). See details on
both old and new Treblinka (II) gas chamber buildings at:
http://www.death-camps.org/gas_chambers/gas_chambers_treblinka.html
and a CAD reconstruction of new gas chamber building at: http://www.death-camps.org/gas_chambers/gas_chambers_trebcad.html.
Main
source: Information provided by members of ARC.
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