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PHOTO ALBUM DOCUMENTING THE FIRST MASS TRANSPORT TO AUSCHWITZ

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Militaria Start Price:1,500.00 USD Estimated At:3,000.00 - 5,000.00 USD
PHOTO ALBUM DOCUMENTING THE FIRST MASS TRANSPORT TO AUSCHWITZ
Hundreds of Poles, Jews, and Catholic clergymen are transported by rail to Auschwitz, June 14, 1940

On June 14, 1940, German occupying authorities in Poland organized the first mass transport of prisoners to the recently opened Auschwitz concentration camp. The transport, originating in Tarnow, consisted of 728 Poles, a number of whom were Jews. They were political prisoners, usually affiliated with resistance movements and in most cases, they were Catholics. All were sent to Auschwitz by the Sicherheitspolizei - German Security Police. A day before the transport, the prisoners were ordered to shower in a public bath. The procedure lasted all night and into early morning, the group, escorted by the SS and security police, marched along the deserted Tarnów streets to the railway station. There, all were pushed into the waiting rail cars. Upon arrival, the Poles lined up in five rows and were met by Hauptsturmführer Karl Fritzsch, who announced: "This is Auschwitz concentration camp... Any resistance or disobedience will be ruthlessly punished. Anyone disobeying superiors, or trying to escape, will be sentenced to death. Young and healthy people don't live longer than three months here. Priests one month, Jews two weeks. There is only one way out — through the crematorium chimneys". We offer an incredible photograph album documenting the march of the 728 Poles through the streets of Tarnow to the railroad station, including photos of the prisoners and a Capuchin brother among them, loading of the cars, guards, Capt. Fritzsch, and soldiers standing beneath the station sign at Auschwitz. The album opens with about 75 photographs, most 5 1/2" x 3 1/2", showing what we believe to be the formal installation of HANS FRANK as Governor-General of Poland. Images include soldiers under review, an SS cavalry honoir guard, parades, flags, motorcades, and several images of General ERICH VON DEM BACH-ZELKEWSKI, who conceived of Auschwitz, headed einsatzgruppen which killed Jews in Minsk and Riga, and led German forces in the crushing of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. There follow several strange photos of a doctor and several policemen playing with a skeleton. The remainder of the album consists of 72 5 1/2" x 3 1/2" photos. They depict long lines of disoriented prisoners, some carrying small bags, a few with a single suitcase, marching about eight abreast in a single long line under heavy guard through empty streets. All are men, and a few Catholic clerics can be seen in some images. Many views show the prisoners alongside train cars, other photos show their captors supervising loading and unloading, and while in transit. Five photos actually depict German soldiers awaiting orders outside the Auschwitz train station, and five photos show them parading or standing on the grounds of what presumably would become Nazi Germany's most efficient killing machine. At war's end, 200 of the original 728 Polish prisoners were still alive, despite Capt. Fritzsch's incredible brutality and impossible living conditions.

Estimate: $3,000 - 5,000.

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Part I: Lots 1-979 - September 27th, 2012

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