I've just found this info "Originally, a special metal stamp, holding interchangeable numbers made up of needles approximately one centimeter long was used. This allowed the whole serial number to be punched at one blow onto the prisoner's left upper chest. Ink was then rubbed into the bleeding wound.
When the metal stamp method proved impractical, a single-needle device was introduced, which pierced the outlines of the serial-number digits onto the skin."
Tattooing of prisoners already incarcerated in Auschwitz did not start until mid to late 1943 which is why early released prisoners and escapees such as Witold Pilecki who escaped in the spring of 1943 were not tattooed with their inmate numbers.
I collect, therefore I am.
Nothing in science can explain how consciousness arose from matter.
A fantastic and interesting thread once again Carl , thanks for posting this detailed information and for once again keeping this tragic and murderous period of history at the fore. Leon.
A fascinating and haunting thread Carl
Nick
"In all my years as a soldier, I have never seen men fight so hard." - SS Obergruppenfuhrer Wilhelm Bittrich - Arnhem
I always find the most haunting image, is of the main tower over the railway gate - taken at Dusk as Carl has captured.
With the light on in the tower, it gives the feeling that it's still "waiting for the next ghostly train to arrive".
Gary J.
William
"Much that once was, is lost. For none now live who remember it."
Thank you William for raising a point that many visitors, despite the sheer size of the camp complex in front of them, fail to note. Basically, the Auschwitz camp system was the size of a town - with the population of a small city. No amount of book reading, documentary watching or photographic study can prepare you for - or compare with, the experience of actually visiting the site(s). Birkenau alone measures over 1.5KM x 2.5KM - and that does not include the external areas related to the camp. Beyond imagination is exactly the correct term.
Thank you for that augmentation, that is correct - it indeed was 1943 when the already incarcerated prisoners were given tattoos. New arrivals received tattoos at Auschwitz-I from autumn 1941 - as mentioned earlier, whilst prisoners at Auschwitz-II, Birkenau began to receive tattoos during the spring of 1942. The following spring, the SS began to adopt the tattoo policy to almost all previously registered prisoners, including women. The prisoner numbering system began much earlier though, with the first series being implemented in the spring of 1940.
Yes Gary, I believe that many feel a similar way to what you describe above. On Sunday, we were just leaving the site of one former sub-camp of Auschwitz when we had to stop to allow an old lengthy cargo train to pass. The slow rhythmical grinding and motion of the train cars made it an experience that instantly brought to mind the images of the transports, especially as the site was so close.
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