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Reichsautobahnlager Geppersdorf (Rzędziwojowice k. Niemodlina), 1940-1942

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F Weiss H.

Śląski Kwartalnik Historyczny Sobótka

2012

vol. 67

issue 1

49–66

Very few of the numerous forced labor camps for Jews in Silesia, which were not part of the concentration camp system, have been investigated in detail. This article is the first to focus completely on one of the thirteen Reichsautobahnlager (RAB camps) for Jews in western Upper Silesia, a group of camps under the jurisdiction of Oberste Bauleitungen Reichsautobahnen Breslau, the RAB regional construction management office. Starting in late 1940, this agency rented Jews from Organisation Schmelt, which was headed by SS-Oberführer Albrecht Schmelt (1899-1945). He forced the Zentrale Ältestenrat (Central Council of Jewish Elders) in Sosnowiec, which was led by Moniek Merin (1904-1943), to supply the required number of workers from eastern Upper Silesia, which was annexed by Germany in 1939. Because very few Nazi documents concerning the Geppersdorf camp exist, this paper had to rely largely on post-war evidence, including records from the International Tracing Service (Arolsen) and a considerable number of videotaped survivor testimonials. Ann Kirschner’s book, Sala’s Gift (2006) contains both her mother’s memories of Geppersdorf from its opening on October 28, 1940, to its closure in June, 1942, and documents written during her stay there, such as letters and postcards sent to her. While researchers on the Holocaust in Silesia have almost never contacted Germans expelled after 1945, recent interviews with many former inhabitants of the small village of Geppersdorf have been integrated into this paper. The increasingly harsh living conditions at Geppersdorf are described in detail, including the physically exhausting work at the RAB construction site, the constant malnourishment, the attitude of the German camp personnel, and acts of kindness by some of the villagers. The Jewish sub-hierarchy and the experiences of a small number of Jewish women, most of whom worked in the kitchen, are also discussed. While many acts of brutality occurred, mortality at Geppersdorf was relatively low. Only one of the SA guards was apprehended after the war and was sentenced to death before a Polish court because of atrocities he had committed at Geppersdorf and Auschwitz. As opposed to Gross Sarne and some other RAB camps, Geppersdorf was closed in June, 1945, instead of being transformed into a Schmelt camp. The inmates were dispersed to several Schmelt camps, including Blechhammer (Blachownia Śląska) and Gross Sarne (Sarny Wielkie).

Męczeński finał wojny. Losy sióstr z górnośląskich domów Zgromadzenia sióstr z górnośląskich domów Zgromadzenia Sióstr św. Elżbiety w 1945 r.

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Maziarz A.

Śląski Kwartalnik Historyczny Sobótka

2012

vol. 67

issue 3

57–75

In 1945 the Red Army was supposed to liberate Upper Silesia from Nazi oppression, instead it brought destruction, suffering and death. Among the victims were Sisters of Saint Elizabeth. The nuns stayed in the area mainly due to their principles, driving them to help children, elderly and ill people under their care. They met the same fate as thousands of other women „liberated” by the Red Army. The followers of blessed Maria Merkert paid for devotion to fellow humans with their lives. Dozens of nuns were murdered with malice (ten of these martyrs are undergoing a beatification process); dozens died in the ruins of bombed buildings; many were also brutally raped. It is difficult to establish the number of nuns who died from diseases and weakness caused by wartime conditions. The author shows both the lives of individual nuns and the history of monasteries and convents in that terrible time. The greatest harm came to the ‘grey sisters’ of Saint Elizabeth from the Nysa convent, the home of this religious institute. These old and ailing women were treated despicably by degenerate Red Army soldiers. There were instances of kindly treatment of the nuns by soviet soldiers, however those were rare. After post-war chaos was tamed the nuns were subjected to further oppression by the communist regime. Under the new organisational structure (adjusted for the change in country’s boarders) they continued their work of Christian charity.

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2 Śląski Kwartalnik Historyczny Sobótka

1 F Weiss H.

1 Maziarz A.

2 2012

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Reichsautobahnlager Geppersdorf (Rzędziwojowice k. Niemodlina), 1940-1942

Męczeński finał wojny. Losy sióstr z górnośląskich domów Zgromadzenia sióstr z górnośląskich domów Zgromadzenia Sióstr św. Elżbiety w 1945 r.