Der Berg des Grauens: Streiflichter aus dem Lager Struthof - The Mountain of Horrors - Glimpses into Camp Struthof - detailed and horrifying early testimony by Francois Kozlik - a prisoner of the Struthof camp who stayed there for two and a half years, published by SEDAL Service de Diffusion, Strasbourg, 1945 - first edition. Accompanied by harsh photographs from the camp. German.
An early report by a prisoner who stayed in the Struthof death camp for a period of two and a half years beginning in the spring of 1942. He arrived at Struthof in a 1000 prisoners transport from Dachau in cattle cars on a three-day journey. Immediately upon arriving at the camp, he describes the forced labor that he and his fellow prisoners had to do. In October 1942, he witnessed for the first time the public execution of a prisoner named Christman. Francois describes the different types of punishments used by the Nazis in the camp, the cruelty of the camp commander Kramer, the terrible hunger and diseases that ran rampant in the camp, the daily beatings the prisoners suffered while working and the cruelty of the Kapo's, where he mentions some names of those who were especially cruel and describes their crimes. Francois reveals in his testimony shocking stories that took place in Struthof - he describes executions carried out by the Nazis while being drunk, executions of children in a horrific way, describing these difficult scenes he writes: "The scene described here must sound unbelievable to any normal person... But we saw it with our own eyes, and heard it with our own ears, and I swear to its truth, and with me all my friends from all the nations present at the Struthof". He describes cases of prisoners who were promised that they would be released, and before they had time to rejoice upon hearing the good news, they were executed on the same day, he describes a horrific execution of a prisoner who managed to escape from the camp and was caught hiding in the nearby forest, and more. In the book are countless harsh descriptions of what happened to the prisoners he knew, and their names. He describes executions of transports of women who arrived at the camp, and the burning of the bodies in the crematorium. He also describes in detail how the gas chamber worked in the camp, and the shock of the prisoners when they realized that the bathroom was actually a killing chamber.
Francois remained in the camp during the major deportations that took place in September 1944, during which the Nazis evacuated the majority of the prisoners. He stayed in the camp together with only about 500 other prisoners. These prisoners were employed in dismantling aircraft engines that were brought to the camp. By the end of October, only 16 men remained in the camp, which Francois lists by name, including himself. They were guarded by about two hundred people. One night, together with an inmate named Robert, they took advantage of the chaos in the camp when the Nazis were busy loading equipment for the camp's evacuation. They escaped through one of the side trails leading outside the camp. The two of them carried a large quantity of poison with them so that if they were caught, they would have enough time to swallow the poison and avoid being tortured by the Nazis. The two managed to get away from the camp only hundreds of meters until they were caught in a blizzard - something that worked in their favor as it made it difficult for the Nazis to search for them. The two fled to a farmer's yard where they found weapons left by partisans. At the farmer's house they heard on the news that by November 26 the Americans intend to liberate Alsace, it was two days earlier on November 24, and the two realized that freedom was closer than ever. After two days of hiding, they spotted the American tanks on the paths near the camp, and the two came out of their hiding place into freedom.
At the end of the book are ten pages of photographs of harsh scenes from the Struthof camp - torture facilities, the electric fence, the autopsy room, the ash urns, victims of the camp, the Nazi camp commanders Kramer and others, and more.
53 p. + [10 photo pages]. 21 cm. Tear in the inner margins of several pages without text damage. Reinforcements with paper adhesives. Condition good - moderate.
