ND+Q3

Conditions on the Trains



(Federation Nationale des Deportes et Internes Resistants et Patriotes, Paris)

During World War Two in Nazi Germany, beginning between 1941 and 1942, it was made state policy to exterminate European Jews (Dieter Pohl 151). The Holocaust, which in Greek means "sacrifice by fire", was the program developed to eliminate the Jews. A leading member of the Nazi party, Heinrich Himmler, developed the "final solution", which was sending Jews to the gas chambers. This was known as the "final solution" because it was considered "clean" and "efficient", and could better handle a large amount of people. Prisoners were transported to concentration camps and death camps by cattle cars. The trains transported people from Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Hungary, Romania, Italy, North Africa, and Greece. The trains did not come into major use, however, until after the Germans had decided to exterminate the Jews.

The Gemans told a series of lies that first convinced the prisoners to get on the trains, then later convinced them to go to the gas chambers. They were told they would be relocated and that they would do some work and then be allocated a house. The Germans also told Jews to make sure they stayed with their families. This did two things - it reassured the prisoners that things would be fine because their family was all together, and it also reduced the temptation to escape. If people were with their families, they wouldn't dare leave them behind, because they knew their families would be punished for letting them escape: "'They know how many of us there are. When the train reaches its destination and they see you're not there, they'll kill us all.' In fact, this didn't change the outcome: all of the died anyway" (Venezia 30).

Once on the train, conditions grew rapidly worse for the prisoners. One survivor describes a train as being unfurnished except one large can used as a toilet, a smaller one containing water, and three crates of raisins and carrots. 70-80 people were packed into each room of the train, and they had to stay seated and couldn't stretch out. People could not even speak to their family members because no one could move around the train. A blanket was used to separate men and women for a little privacy, and another was used to hide the "toilet". The air in the cabin was stale and smelled of excrement and sweat. It was also extremely cold. The Red Cross attempted to provide packages of blankets and food, which were immediately confiscated. There were no other sources of food and water. Depending on the length of the journey and the weather conditions (for example, the train from Athens lasted 11 days), prisoners were often very weak and sick upon arrival at the camps - some had even died on the way (Venezia 25-33).