The History of a Forgotten German Camp: Nazi Ideology and Genocide at Szmalcówka

244 Pages·2020·5.771 MB·English

by  Tomasz Ceran

TomaszCeranisaPolishhistorianwhoworksfortheeducationand
research branch of the Institute of National Remembrance, Poland.
He holds a PhD from Nicholas Copernicus University, Torun´.

THE HISTORY OF
A FORGOTTEN
GERMAN CAMP
Nazi Ideology and Genocide at Szmalco´wka
T C
OMASZ ERAN
BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC
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First published in Great Britain by I.B. Tauris 2015
Paperback edition published by Bloomsbury Academic 2020
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Anyviolencewhichdoes notcomefrom astrongspiritualbase,will
be wavering and uncertain. It lacksthe stability which can only rest
in a fanatical outlook.
Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf
And here we found ourselves in hell.
Janina Filipek, whose daughters died in the camp – nine-month-old
Władysławaandthree-year-oldWiesława – aswellashermother-in-law,
seventy-one-year-old Anna
Bloody hell! Why so few? Damn Polish pigs! More of them should
drop dead ...
Dohbert, a guard at the Torun´ camp, on discovering that three prisoners
had died during the night
You’re a good mother. I must have told you this before but, if you
weren’t a Pole, I would make you an example to German mothers.
But you are a Pole, and therein lies your entire problem.
Willy Ehlert, commander of Szmalco´wka to Wanda Klimek, prisoner

CONTENTS
List of Tables and Figures viii
Acknowledgements x
Introduction 1
1. An Ideological Crusade 11
2. Entpolonisierung: The Depolonization of German Prussia 34
3. Behind the Gates of Szmalco´wka 50
4. ‘Lessons in Work, Cleanliness and Discipline ...’ 91
5. A Closed Story? 127
Epilogue 162
Appendix 1 167
Appendix 2 189
Notes 190
Bibliography 216
Index 225
LIST OF TABLES ANDFIGURES
Tables
Table 3.1 The number of prisoners in the camp 72
Table 3.2 Percentage of people unable to be sent to work 74
Table 3.3 The number of people sent from the camp in
Torun´ to the Germanization camp in Ło´dz´ in the years
1941–2 87
Table 4.1 Statistics of diseases suffered by prisoners 108
Table 5.1 The list of names of Polish people who died in
the camp 134
Figures
Figure 1.1 Components of the Nazi worldview 15
Figure 1.2 The Greater Germanic Reich according to
Karl Haushofer 17
Figure 2.1 Joseph Goebbels visits Bydgoszcz (Bromberg),
November 1939 37
Figure 3.1 The location of Szmalco´wka 52
Figure 3.2 Map of the camp 54