Mówią świadkowie Chełmna

by Łucja Pawlicka-Nowak

Kim są świadkowie tragedii w Chełmnie? It's those few who managed to survive the destruction and to give evidence after the war. To ci nieliczni, którym udało się przetrwać zagładę i złożyć zeznania po wojnie. It is also those who were murdered in a bestial way, but before his death, they managed to record some of their observations in the hope that these pages saved escapes out of the camp and "tell" the cruelty of the Nazis. To również ci, którzy zostali zamordowani w bestialski sposób, ale przed śmiercią udało im się zanotować część swoich obserwacji w nadziei, że te zapisane strony wydostaną się poza obóz i "opowiedzą" o okrucieństwie hitlerowców. It is also the next generation who tirelessly seek to uncover and reconstruct the history contained in the mass graves, ruined buildings, the nearby forests and fragmentary documents from the period of occupation. To także następne pokolenia, które niestrudzenie starają się odsłonić i zrekonstruować historię zawartą w zbiorowych mogiłach, zrujnowanych budynkach, pobliskich lasach i szczątkowych dokumentach z okresu okupacji. Item "They say witnesses Chelmno" combines all of these relationships and objectively as possible the nature of the structure and operation of one of the centers of the Holocaust. Pozycja "Mówią świadkowie Chełmna" łączy w sobie wszystkie te relacje iw możliwie obiektywny sposób przedstawia charakter oraz struktury funkcjonowania jednego z ośrodków zagłady Żydów.

Genres: Holocaust

202 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Steve Bookman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The authoritative source for information on perhaps the most obscure of the infamous extermination camps run by the NSDAP regime in its occupied territories 1939-1945.

[Meaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a clumsily translated but fascinating hodgepodge of information about the Chelmno Extermination Camp. A lot of the things included are, as the introduction notes, "practically unavailable for the average reader who does not study history professionally." Included are the results of an archaeological dig on the site, testimonies from the only three survivors of the camp, testimonies of civilians living in the village nearby, and more.

Between 150,000 and 300,000 people died at Chelmno, but hardly anyone has ever heard of the place, probably because there were so few survivors. This book, though short, packs a lot of info in its pages, and I think it's essential reading if you want to know about Chelmno. The English translation is so hard to find, however, that I think a person would be unlikely to read the book unless they had an intense and/or professional interest in the Holocaust.