History Courses For Dr. Christopher C. Lovett
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History Courses For Dr. Christopher C. Lovett |
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Updated as of 2 October 05 Today in History: On October 2, 1780, Major John Andrι, a British spy associated with Benedict Arnold, was executed on this day in history. Quote of the Day: "In my view we are much worse off now than when we went into Iraq. This is not a partisan position. I voted for these guys." A senior figure at a military-sponsored think tank as told to James Fallows in "Bush's Lost Year" in The Atlantic Monthly (Oct. 2004) Take the Ann Coulter Quiz Where are you politically? Take the Neocon Quiz and find out. "History is Far too Important to be left to History Professors" Teaching isn't such a novel idea
Bibliography:
History of Disease Contemporary Terrorist Organizations Map of Islamic Terrorist Cells in the U.S.A.
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The Camps, 1933-45: Anatomy of TerrorHolocaustFall 2008The Basis of the Concentration Camp Camps were based upon the use of power. Not only to defeat the enemies of the regime, but to destroy them. The camps caused universal and total uncertainty among prisoners. The systematic use of terror destroyed any link between transgression and punishment.What is Absolute Power? Organized Power Power to Label Graduated Gives legitimacy to ideological considerations It is an end in itself Defines human labor as an oppressive act Power is total Power is violent Engenders powerlessness Blurs the line between life and death Draws strength from the destruction processDachau Model Classification of Prisoners Labor as an instrument of Terror Graduated System of Penalities Use of Military LawCamp Administration Camp Commandant Political Department Administration DepartmentOrganization A concentration camp was more than a series of wooden barracks. The camp included within workshops, factory, agricultural enterprises, heating plant, brothel, mess hall, infirmary, detention facility, and crematorium. When finished, it had streets and a railroad siding. In many ways it was like a town. However, it was surrounded by barbed-wire, watchtowers, and a killing zone.The Center of Power Was the administrative zone. This was located just outside of the barbed- wire. An attractive leafy wooden area was set aside for the SS officers. In Buchenwald it was located on Eicke Strasse.The Lay Out The SS opted for a rectangle not a triangle layout. Initially they were to house 5,000 prisoners, but by 1945 that number was always exceeded. Later, the camps in Poland were camps inside a camp.Sealing off the Camps Prisoners were not incarcerated in cells, but confined in a set space. Security became a problem. The barriers had to prevent escape and illegal trade. Demonstrated to the prisoners could not leave. The prisoner was now at the mercy of the SS. Far from the publics preying eyes.Antagonisms Between Guards and Prisoners Guards had orders to punish anyone who neared the boundary. The death penalty was administered for anyone who attempted to smuggle messages into the camp. No one could stray into the neutral zone except for purposes of work. To fiddle with the barbed-wire fence was considered sabotage and punishable by death. No warning shots only lethal force was expected from the guards.Escapes from the Camps Very few escaped from the camps. In Sachsenhausen had its first escape in 1942 (3), in 1944, 96 escaped, and in 1945, 339, but only 31 from the secure camp. Dachau had 338 escape from 1943 to Jan. 18, 1945. Mauthausen 30 escaped from 1938-42, the number increased until the end of the war.Escapes from Auschwitz 1940-41 eight escaped. 1942, 120 escaped but the Gestapo recaptured 65. 1943, 310 reported escapes and 156 were recaptured. 1944, 209 escaped and 42 were recaptured. Escapes increased as the war continued.Nazi System of Racial and National CharacteristicsAdmissions and Deaths in Selected Concentration Camps, 1933-1945Admissions and Deaths in Selected Extermination Camps, 1941-1945Totals of Deaths in Extermination and Concentration CampsThe Prisoners Day The day started at 0400 - 0430 In winter it started an hour later Prisoners who did not move fast enough were beaten At best, prisoners had to get ready for the Appellplatz After formation, they rushed to their Kommandos and were recounted. This whole thing could take two hoursThe Prisoners Initiation into Camp Life Separation procedures removed people from their comfortable surroundings. This was followed by delousing and head shaving. Prisoners were then marginalized Women prisoners had to run naked before the SS Guards Women had their heads shaved too. Prisoners were assigned numbers, sleeping quarters, clothes, etc.Early Organization of the SS Staff At first the prisoners were guarded by the local SA, SS, or even the police. Theodore Eicke revolutionized the whole concentration camp system. In time, all guards became members of the SS.The Guard Formations In order to reduce the power of the regional SS leaders, the guard formations were removed from the General SS. By 1936, the units were officially termed Deaths Head Formations [SS-Totenkopfverbande]. The name came from their distinctive lapel insignia. Then in 1937, the SS-Totenkopfverbande Battalions were organized into regiments Oberbayern, Brandenburg, and Thuringen. They were assigned to each of the three main camps Dachau, Sachsenhausen, and Buchenwald. This carried over to the other camps as well.Distinctive Features of the SS in the Camps The Deaths Heads Units followed military order and discipline. But there was considerable level of camaraderie involved. Eicke encouraged his subordinates to address their men with the familiar form of you du in their discourse. Another feature was the absolute allegiance and delegation of authority. Every SS superior was to serve as a mentor for his subordinates.The Power of Life and Death While it was forbidden for a Blockfuhrer to punish a prisoner. But de facto mistreatment was the order to the day. Since the the SS had considerable on-the-spot authority to administer punishment. In reality, the SS were far from a disciplined and organized military body.Power Corrupts Absolute obedience did not equal mechanical subservience. The SS man often proved he belonged by doing more than was expected. He often anticipated his orders and acted upon those instincts. He wanted to show his willingness to belong which only compounded his desire to demonstrate his brutality. Arbitrary action became the proof of obedience.The Case of Franz Stangl Before the Anschluss he was a police official that arrested Austrian Nazis. He feared that he would be arrested. He was first used in the Euthanasia, T-4 program. Then transferred to Treblinka. After the war he fled to Brazil and was captured and died in a West German prison.The Muselmann They were victims somewhere between life and death. The were the ultimate destination of all most all of the prisoners of the camps. The demonstrate beyond a shadow of a doubt the complete dehumanization of the camp structure. They would eat anything in their presence. Often feces and urine would trickle down their legs In many ways, they were the living deadMuselmannThe Road to Become a Muselmann Every prisoner experienced hunger. Prisons had to make do on the camp rations. Deterioration would start in weeks. The body became acclimatized by consuming itself. Some ones mental facilities were lost. Older prisoners could tell if the new arrivals were going to survive or not. Hunger created food fantasies. Often they did not respond to the beatings they endured.Other Forms of Punishment that could led to Death Starvation. Epidemics Beatings. Humiliation. Psychological Murder. Almost all violations of the camp codes could be lethal. Leniency was a dream/fantasy.Death Camps in PolandThe Objective of the Death Camps To kill the victims quickly and dispose of the bodies. Deceive the victims so that resistance would not happen. Victims were told that they would be deloused before resettlement. It became a machine with gas replacing the bullets that were used by the einsatzgruppen. The ultimate purpose was to clear the whole General Government of Jews.Deceive the VictimsDisposing of the BodiesFaith Before the Shadow of DeathOperation Reinhard Camps Belzec Sobibor TreblinkaThen Came Auschwitz Designed for Polish POWs. First a concentration camp. Then a death camp. A combination of both with industrial plant used by the SS Industrial concern run by Himmler.Aerial View of AuschwitzThe Problem of the Codes During the war, the British managed to break some, but not all, of the Enigma codes used by the SS in reference to the Holocaust. This started in 1940, and had its fits and starts throughout the rest of the war. But the SS Economic-Administrative Main Office (WVHA) oversaw the activities of all of the camps, required that Top Secret information be relayed to Berlin via courier, and not by radio. Still, the British managed to piece together a good portion of what was happening there.Myths and Uncertainties of Allied Air Power First of all we look at pinpoint bombing today, and believe that this could have happened in 1944. Allied bombers didnt have that capability during World War II. More important, did they know what to hit. The evidence was scant for Allied planners. But in 1978, the situation changed.The Role of Aerial Interpreters The intelligence analysts were not some much interested in 1944 on Poland. Even though Poland was bombed. The Primary mission was prepping the battlefield for D-Day. As well as potential V-1 and V-2 sites. Plus the training of interpreters would not help them with this tasking. They would not have the signature for such a place as Auschwitz in their folios as guides.The Case for Bombing Auschwitz The Jews had suffered greatly already particularly since 1942. Nearly 400,000 Hungarian Jews were about to be sent to Auschwitz by Eichmann. Two escapees, one of whom was Rudolph Vrba, explained what was happening there. The goal should be to save those not yet deported. Appeals were made by the War Refugee Board (WRB) but the War Department disagreed. Six proposals were made ranging from reprisals against Germans to the Bombing of Auschwitz.Could The U.S.A.A.F. Pulled It Off? Perhaps. But not with precision. To commanders it was a waste of resources. The goal should be to win the war as quickly as possible. Did the commanders and political leadership fully grasp the crisis? Maybe not.As a Consequence McCloy Concluded:The Vrba Maps
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