From Dachau concentration camp an eyewitness who was imprisoned there for 21 days reports the following:
The notorious “Baumhängen” was imposed as “punishment” for such who were unable to join in the “sport”, e.g. knee-bends twice slowly ten times; the offender had to climb onto a stool, then his hands were chained behind him to a tree and the stool was taken away. Then a little monkey was put on the tree, which played tricks on the defenceless shackled man, bit him in the face, searched him for lice etc., to the amusement of the SS men standing around. Duration: at least one hour as minimum punishment.
Old and sick Jews who complained of stomach problems etc. were taken to the “Revier” and there a quarter to a half a litre of castor oil was forcibly poured into them. Then ordered to “stand to attention” in the open air and this even extended to a full twelve hours during rain storms, every movement punished with blows from rifle butts and kicks, until the unfortunate men collapsed unconscious in the evening in their own filth. Subsequently then as punishment for “flagging” three to five days arrest in darkness or “bunker”.
On the 30th November Dachau contained about 16,000 prisoners of whom 13,000 were Jews, 3,000 non-Jews – amongst the latter were 5-600 Sudeten German opponents of the Nazis. The reporter was himself not beaten, firstly because as a proficient sportsman he had proved equal to all “sporting” harassments, secondly because, as one said to him, both his brothers were killed in action as war volunteers.
Exemplary Prussian order prevailed on arrival, release, in the files, depot for surrendered property etc. Comment of an SS officer on release, "Anyone who tells fairy stories in Germany about cruelty will be brought back immediately and then will never again get out for the rest of his life. Abroad, as far as I am concerned, you can say what you want because we sh... on foreign opinion."
Corporal punishment in the usual form, tied to the Bock, was seldom over with 25 [lashes], there were always “extras” because, "you needn’t scrimp, with that we can be generous, only no false economy in relation to the foreign currency situation..."
An elderly Jew, apparently a doctor, was turned away from the "Revier" as a malingerer, carried back into the barracks by his son on his back and then died three hours later in the presence of his son, who immediately afterwards was ordered away to stand to attention for five hours. Another inmate, an elderly Justizrat, neighbour of the reporter, shouted during a fit of nerves when he saw the mistreatment of others, "They are indeed murderers!" and in the same second was shot dead by an SS man.
Reporter: Max Heimann, Antwerp, Helenalei 20s
