Himmler (Peter Padfield's Second World War)

by Peter Padfield

At all events his attitude towards the Jews did not seem to change; only his policy altered with the changing circumstances: on the one hand Auschwitz and other remaining extermination camps were vulnerable to the next Russian advance; on the other hand he needed all the labourers he could muster, chiefly for a line of anti-tank ditches and fortifications known as the East Wall to hold the Red Army before the Reich. These two factors dictated that the gassing should end, but precisely when he gave the order to stop is uncertain. The Jewish Sonderkommando at Auschwitz–Birkenau got wind of the coming change in early October and, knowing that it meant the end for them, revolted at rollcall on 7 October, throwing themselves on the guard. All were mown down with machine-gun fire. However, extermination at Birkenau continued alongside selection for the labour gangs until the end of October. It was then run down and the demolition of the gas chambers and crematoria and the destruction of camp records began.[52] This probably started earlier at other camps in former Poland.