Peter Weiss’ monumental 1965 stage play, among the greatest artworks on the Holocaust, condenses the testimonies of wi | dG1fcC1BVVNRYTZhUVE
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00Mr. Zeuger, the court is in possession of your diary.
00:04It is to be read first.
00:06This afternoon there was roast beef, a very thick cabbage roll with flour dumplings and red cabbage.
00:12Then it says,
00:14against 11 executions.
00:20The officer who divided us was very friendly.
00:23I asked him,
00:25where did the others go?
00:29And he answered,
00:31they're just going for a swim now.
00:37Everything went smoothly.
00:39The transports arrived like hot rolls.
00:47The locomotive whistle was the signal that a new transport was arriving.
00:52That meant that in about an hour the ovens had to be ready for use.
00:59When the prisoners were brought into the chambers,
01:01the paramedics went to the hatches,
01:03put on their gas masks and emptied the buckets.
01:08At the end of the ramp, the sky was red,
01:11the smoke rose sweetly and sank.
01:15Don't you want to tell us
01:17what you have arranged in connection with the extermination actions?
01:21We would like to draw your attention to the fact
01:23that our clients are disputing the participation in these proceedings.
01:26It was an order, we couldn't do anything about it.
01:28I only did what I had to do.
01:30I only had to do the paperwork.
01:31I did not participate in any of the executions.
01:33What are the findings?
01:34I was against this whole affair.
01:36I don't know anymore.
01:38People don't burn.
01:39He will give me my honor.
01:40Everything went very quickly.
01:41We didn't do anything.
01:43Our friendliness was done.
01:48I ask you to point out
01:50how close the path was with spectators
01:53when they drove us out of our apartments
01:55and lured us into the cattle car.