Marie-Claude Vaillant-Couturier, who witnessed the genocide of the Jews and Roma in Auschwitz
http://www.everyoneweb.es/WA/DataFilesholocaust/VaillantCouturier.pdf
(English).
STATEMENT EXCERPT Mme. VAILLANT-COUTURIER
Vaillant-Couturier
:
In general, a transport of 1,000 to 1,500 people, 250 came to the field, and this was the maximum, others sent directly to the gas chambers.
In the selection, chose healthy women between 20 and 30 years of age, and sent them to "block experimentation." Sent to the field for girls and women a little older or who had not been chosen for this purpose, and like us, they shaved his head and numbered with tattoo.
In the spring of 1944, there was also a block to twins. It was at the time of the huge transports of Hungarian Jews amounting to some 700,000 people. Dr. Mengele, who performed the experiments, intercepted children of all transport twins and the twins of any age, provided that both twins were found together. In this block, both children and adults slept on the floor. In addition to blood tests and measurements, I do not know what were the experiments that were made.
M. Dubost:
you attended the selection you when transports arrived?
Vaillant-Couturier: Yes .. Then we saw how they opened the cars and how the soldiers dragged outside trucks to women, men and children. When separated the elderly couples most terrible scenes we witnessed. The mothers must leave their daughters because they were taken to camps, while mothers and children went to the gas chambers. Among all these people, there was no one knew what was the fate that awaited him. Just seemed upset because they had been separated from each other, but did not know they were heading toward death.
For your reception was nice, at that moment in June and July 1944, that is, there was an orchestra composed of prisoners, girls dressed in white blouses and navy blue skirts, all pretty and young, upbeat tunes played when trains arrive. (...) They were told that it was a labor camp, and as it fell outside the field, saw nothing apart from the small terrace decorated with green plants, where the orchestra played. They could not know what to expect.
At that led to the gas chambers, ie the elderly, children and others were taken to a red brick building. (...) The
wore a red brick building with a sign stating "Baths." There, he ordered them to undress and were given a towel before putting them into the so-called shower room. More Later, at the time of the great transport of Hungary, did not leave any time for them to undress. Tore his clothes with brutality. I know these details for a Jewish girl in France. (...)
called her "little Marie" and was the only survivor of a family of 9 persons. When they arrived, his mother and seven brothers and sisters were taken to the gas chambers. When I met her, took care in young children to undress before being sent to the gas chamber.
After people undress, took them to a room that looked like a shower room, and a hole in the ceiling, threw gas capsules into the room. An SS guard the effects observed through a peephole. After about 5 to 7 minutes, when the gas had already had its effect, was a signal to open the doors.
Men with gas masks, who were also prisoners, entered and removed the bodies. We said that before dying prisoners had probably suffered because they were clinging together in groups, forming clusters, so that it is difficult to separate. (...)