Evening star., 1945-05-15
Atrocities
Continued From First Page \

N&s - ~ wv
Continued From First Page.>
;, prisoners lying dead between the
inner and outer barbed-wire fences,
the legislators said. apparently shot
by the guards. Lying in rows
we're about 300 bodies of those who
had died and had been collected
that morning from various bar
racks"
Justice to Europe.
Concluding its recitation OF the
damning evidence. the report as
serted:
The committee feels that out of
it all justice will emerge, and that
through the sickening spectacle
which we have witnessed of the
/ degrade ton to which human beings
have been subjected. will come ulti-
men of all nations and all tongues
must resist encroachments of every
theory and every theology that de-
bases mankind. and that a more
just and enduring peace may arise
upon the ruins and from the sacri-
fees which the human race has
endured through one of the most
crucial periods of its history"
Those making the trip were Sen
ate Majority Leader Barkley, Sena-
tors George. Democrat of Georgia: :
Thomas, Democrat, of Utah; Brooks,
Republican, of Illinois: Wherry, Re-
publican, of Nebraska; Saltonstall,
Republican, of Massachusetts and
Representatives Thomasson, Demo-
crat, of Texas: Richards, Democrat,
Of South Carolina; IZac, Democrat, of
| California: Vorys, Republican, of
Ohio; Mott. Republican. of Oregon
and Short, Republican of Missouri.
Four Glasses of Prisoners.
The committee reported this gen.
eral conclusion after visiting the
three camps:
AT each of these camps we found
four general classif1cations of pris-
oners: ID political prisoners, (2D
habitual criminals. 80 conscienti-
Gus or religious objectors, a. per-
sons who were imprisoned for fall
ure to work.
Although differing in size, they
all carried into effect the same pat
tern of death by hard labor, starva-
ton. hanging, strangulation, dis
ease, brutality, gas chambers, gall
lows and filthy and insanitary con-
ditions. which meant inevitable
death eventually to every imprisoned
person.
I'VE found, in each case, that the
supervision of the camps was car
ried out by the criminal tactics of
SIS troops, who, in addition to their
own brutality, assigned some of
their punitive duties to the prison.
ers especially the habitual GRIM
inals who had charge of the bar
racks in which all types of prison.
ers were subject to their vicious and
inhuman methods.
Torture Systematic.
I'VE found that this entire pro-
gram constituted a systematic form
or torture and death administered
to intellectuals, political leaders and
all others who would not embrace
and support the Nazi philosophy
and program. We found the extent,
devices, methods and conditions of
torture almost beyond the power of
words to describe.
1--WE found. from all the evidence
available. that in these camps the
Jews and Russians and Poles were
treated with greater degree of
severity than other nationalities.
We are of the opinion that colossal
scheme of determination was
planned and put into effect against
all those in occupied countries who
refused to accept the principles of
Naziism or who opposed the sad
ding of the Nazi yoke on their coun-
tries. The Nazi leadership in the
pursuit of this policy found espe-
clally expedient the use of various
forms of terrorism calculated to re-
duce the opposition and to render
futile all efforts to throw off the
yoke
THE overall pattern of the
scheme varied but little. First, vast
numbers of nationals of overrun
countries were abducted and brought
into Germany-sometimes whole
families, sometimes just the men.
The number of these persons is
variously estimated at between II
and 20 million people. These people
were forced to labor long hours by
their Nazis masters and for slight
infractions they were placed in con-
centration camps.
Food Is Contrast.
Likewise, the intelligentsia, col
lege professors, army generals, busi-
ness leaders and professional men
of the occupied countries were tax
en- captive and placed in these
camps, unless they agreed to spread
the doctrines advocated by the
Nazis.
THE treatment accorded to these
prisoners in the concentration camps
was generally as follows: They were
herded together in some wooden
barracks not large enough for one
tenth of their number. They were
forced to sleep on wooden frames
covered with wooden boards in tiers
of two, three, and even four, some
times with no covering, sometimes
with a bundle of dirty rags serving
as pallet and coverlet.
Their food consisted generally of
about y pound of black bread per
day and bowl of watery soup for
noon and night, and not always
that. Owing to the great numbers
crowded into a. small space and to
the lack of adequate sustenance,
lice and vermin multiplied, direase