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Professor Wilhelm Pfannenstiel, 
Waffen-SS hygienist, 
on a gassing at Belzec.
Quoted in 'The Good Old Days' - 
E. Klee, W. Dressen, V. Riess, 
The Free Press, NY, 1988., p. 238-244: 
 
When I am asked 
about executions of Jews 
I must confirm 
that on 19 August 1942 
I witnessed an execution of Jews 
at Belzec extermination camp. 
 
I would like to describe 
how I came to be there. 
 
During my conversations 
with SS-Brigadefuehrer Globocnik, 
he told me about 
the large spinning-mills 
that he had set up in Belzec. 
He also mentioned 
that work at this camp 
would considerably outstrip 
German production. 
When I asked him 
where the spinning materials 
came from, 
he told me proudly that they 
had come from the Jews. 
At this point he also mentioned 
the extermination actions 
against the Jews, 
who for the most part were killed 
at the the camp at Belzec... 
 
During this first visit 
I was taken around 
by a certain Polizieihauptmann 
named Wirth, 
who also showed and explained to me 
the extermination installations 
at the camp. 
He told me that the following morning 
a new transport 
of about 500 Jews 
would be arriving at the camp 
who would be channeled through 
these extermination chambers. 
 
He asked me whether 
I would like to watch 
one of these extermination actions, 
to which, 
after a great deal of reflection, 
I consented. 
 
I planned to submit a report 
to the Reichsarzt-SS 
about the extermination actions. 
In order to write a report 
I had, however, first 
to observe an action with 
my own eyes. 
 
I remained in the camp, 
spent the night there and 
was witness to the following events 
the next morning. 
 
A goods train traveled directly 
into the camp of Belzec, 
the freight cars were opened 
and Jews who I believe 
were from the area of Romania 
or Hungary 
were unloaded. 
 
The cars were crammed 
fairly full. 
There were men, 
women 
and children of every age. 
They were ordered  
to get into line 
and then had to proceed 
to an assembly area 
and take off their shoes... 
 
After the Jews 
had removed their shoes 
they were separated 
by sex. 
The women went together 
with the children 
into a hut. 
There their hair was shorn 
and they had to get undressed... 
 
The men went into another hut, 
where they received the same treatment. 
 
I saw what happened 
in the women's hut 
with my own eyes. 
 
After they had undressed, 
the whole procedure went
fairly quickly. 
They ran naked from the hut 
through a hedge into the 
actual 
extermination centre. 
 
The whole extermination centre 
looked just like 
a normal 
delousing institution. 
In front of the building 
there were pots of geraniums 
and a sign saying 
"Hackenholt Foundation", 
above which 
there was a star 
of David. 
 
The building was brightly 
and pleasantly painted 
so as not to suggest 
people would be killed here... 
Inside, the Jews 
had to enter chambers 
into which was channeled the exhaust 
of a [100(?)]-HP engine, 
located in the same building. 
 
In it there were six such 
extermination chambers. 
 
They were windowless, 
had electric lights 
and two doors. 
One door led outside 
so that the bodies could be 
removed. 
 
People were 
led from a corridor 
into the chambers 
through an ordinary 
air-tight door with bolts. 
There was a glass peep-hole, 
as I recall, 
next to the door in the wall. 
 
Through this window 
one could watch 
what was happening 
inside the room 
but only 
when it was not 
too full of people. 
 
After a short time 
the glass became steamed up. 
 
When the people had been 
locked in the room 
the motor was switched on 
and then I suppose 
the stop-valves or 
vents to the chambers opened. 
 
Whether they 
were stop-valves 
or vents 
I would not like 
to say. 
 
It is possible 
that the pipe 
led directly to the chambers. 
 
Once the engine was running, 
the light in the chambers 
was switched off. 
 
This was followed 
by 
palpable disquiet 
in the chamber. 
 
In my view 
it was only then 
that the people sensed 
something else 
was in store for them. 
 
It seemed to me 
that behind the thick 
walls and door 
they were praying 
and shouting 
 
for help.