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The
first method in camouflaging the murder of the Jews was the use of
regulated euphemisms in many of their documents, such as special
treatment for murder and evacuation for deportations. Even the term
Final Solution is a code word for the extermination policy.
Participants in the murder operation were sworn to secrecy. Jews
were told various lies when ordered to prepare for deportation.
Generally, they were told they were going to a "better
place" where they would have to work but would be able to live.
In June 1942 onward, a special operation, Aktion 1005, was begun to
destroy the physical evidence of the murder. Under SS
Standartenfuehrer Paul Blobel, a special unit called Sonderkommando
1005 supervised the burning of the victims' bodies in the
extermination camps. These operations assumed more importance with
the growing consciousness among Nazi leaders that the war might be
lost. From June 1943 onward, Sonderkommando 1005 returned to murder
sites in the occupied areas of the Soviet Union dating from as early
as June 1941, and tried to erase the traces of mass graves by
burning the remains in huge pyres. Sometimes Jewish slaved labor
performed this gruesome task. Although the Nazis did not succeed in
wiping out all traces of the murder, their attempt to do so has made
it much harder to determine the exact details and statistical
magnitude of the crimes committed. |
