[Sharon]

WWII Europe: Buchenwald, Germany: Concentration Camps; "Oven where prisoners were burnt, dead and alive"

And alive??? Heard a rumour on a documentary. It was not common practice, maybe by a sadistic guard when someone was dying.



Added today 16/01/13, clearer image

The remains of an incinerated prisoner inside a Buchenwald cremation oven, April 1945

[Rusty666]

[jbloom]

ANd to think there are people who argue it never happened

[Spiffyfable]

I do better

[Mdcastle]

Miklos Nyiszlic (Dr. Mengele's prisoner assistant) claimed burning alive happened at least once, as punishment when one of the Sonderkommando told the arrivals what was going to happen to them. Also, some SS were shoved alive into the ovens during the uprising.

Not in a crematory, but the Reinhard camps were shut down "too soon" and at times the regular Auschwitz infrastructure didn't have enough capacity, so they reverted to "shoot and burn" for the excess, and a single small caliber pistol shot didn't necessarily finish everyone off before they were dumped into the burn pit.

[Sharon]

Thanks for the info Mdcastle, much appreciated

[Sharon]

Originally Posted by jbloom ↗

ANd to think there are people who argue it never happened

Oh don''t get me started!!!

[LadyCPlum]

I remember Patton actually had to go behind a shack and vomit when Buchenwald and Orhdruf (subcamp of Buchenwald) were liberated. And I love how they rounded up the townspeople to force them to tour the camp, to see what was done in their names, and to prove that there's no way they could have said they didn't know anything, because I've heard plenty of soldiers saying you could smell it for a long time before you actually hit the camp.

[NEVERBACKZ]

[Sharon]

Originally Posted by daveizgod ↗

I remember Patton actually had to go behind a shack and vomit when Buchenwald and Orhdruf (subcamp of Buchenwald) were liberated. And I love how they rounded up the townspeople to force them to tour the camp, to see what was done in their names, and to prove that there's no way they could have said they didn't know anything, because I've heard plenty of soldiers saying you could smell it for a long time before you actually hit the camp.

A very sobering sight and the thought of being able to smell it beforehand is truly dreadful