Since 1941, the German administration deployed a set of measures in the occupied territory aimed at eliminating entire populations considered dispensable by the SS leadership. Within that framework, a network of places was planned, operated from Lublin, where German teams and auxiliary groups trained in Troniki began to execute orders related to the deportation and elimination of Jewish communities from the general government.

Starting in the spring of M Novientos quarent, the movement of trains increased on all routes connecting ghettos and cities with facilities created to process the arrival of thousands of people every day. Between milentos quarent dos and mil Novesentos tres more than 1 million deportes entered the circuit whose main centers were belinka following directives transmitted by the police and administrative structure responsible for the region.

 The reports prepared during those months recorded the flow of transports and the speed with which these orders were executed, providing evidence of the goal of emptying entire districts. With that scenario consolidated, what role did Trebinka occupy within this operation conceived to make entire populations disappear? The birth of the penal camp in the heart of the forest.

Trebinka. I began in a secluded location northeast of Warsaw in an area of sand and forest where there were almost no villages. Sources describe a terrain with dunes, swamps, and narrow paths that complicated the passage of vehicles. Near the small Trebinka station next to the secondary line toward Cidelchure, there was a spur that led to an old quarry where light sand was extracted for industrial work.

 In the months prior to the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the Reich authorities appropriated that quarry and the extracted material was intended for defensive works and other constructions linked to the army. When the troops left the place, the Christman of Sooof Podlaski, Ernst Grahams, promoted the creation of a company dedicated to producing construction materials, which immediately generated the need to have workers subjected to strict discipline and low cost.

 Thus arose the idea of establishing a forced labor camp with the endorsement of Ludvig Fischer, the civilian head of the Warsaw district. In its first stage, this facility was conceived to detain people considered problematic by the German authorities from farmers who did not deliver the mandatory quotas to individuals accused of actions contrary to the regime.

 The number of internees was small at the beginning and they lived in the old buildings of the quarry. The camp depended on the district administration, but at the end of ML Novisentos Quarentauno, an official notice was published indicating that it was transferred to be under the authority of the leader of the SS and police of Warsaw.

 The command fell to the SS HDum Fura Teodor Van Openen, originally from Disseldorf, who had previously served in military supply offices. The permanent staff of the camp consisted of about 20 SS members and a group of Ukrainian guards trained in Trroniki. One of those guards, Alexi Kolgushkin, left a testimony in which he detailed the structure of the enclosure.

 He described an entrance guarded by a barrier and a watchtower, as well as an internal area where the inmate population was located, isolated by two wire fences with an intermediate corridor of plowed earth that allowed the detection of any attempt to cross. He stated that the entire compound was also surrounded by an external fence and that inside warehouses, stables and various barracks were distributed, some assigned to the German personnel and others used as guards lodgings.

The section destined for the inmates was divided into three distinct parts, one for Jewish artisans, another for workers sent to heavy tasks, and a third for Polish intere used in auxiliary functions. Kolgushkin added that the guards were organized into companies and took turns guarding both the camp and the movements to the workplaces which included the forest and the Malchinia station.

 The evolution of the penal camp was closely linked to the birth of the nearby extermination complex. The workforce from Trebinka participated in the construction of the future center of death as pointed out by Jan Sukovski a Polish brick layer sent there in May of Mil Novesientos quarent for avoiding mandatory service. He remained in the place for several months and claimed to have witnessed acts of extreme violence committed by the guards against the Jews who were beginning to arrive.

 He recounted that during tree uprooting tasks, the guards forced several prisoners to stand under falling logs, causing the death of several of them, and related that the attacks also occurred inside the barracks where the SS burst in and shot without warning. An isolated visit to the camp carried out by the prisoner Richard Glazar allowed for the registration of an additional impression of the environment.

 He was temporarily transferred there from the extermination complex to collect sand and stones and described the enclosure as a conventional concentration camp with an organized appearance and ostensible labor functions. He pointed out that its existence indirectly served to cover up the character of the other nearby camp given that the presence of a labor camp provided an appearance of administrative normality in the area.

The account of Israel Simlick, a Polish Jew deported in August of Mil Novesentos Quarenta, adds more details about the arrival of new groups. His transport advanced slowly, and upon passing near the Trebinka station, the deportiz could see enormous piles of clothes, groups of naked people forced to run around, and intense smoke coming out of deep trenches.

 When his wagon was separated from the rest, he was led toward the penal camp. There he observed a sign with the name of the facility, a double fence, and towers in the corners. The newcomers had to hand over money and personal belongings under threat, received minimal rations, and were housed in barracks with two levels of wooden bunks.

 Simlick recalled that most of the occupants in the section where he slept were German and Czech Jews, and that the tiredness from the journey was added to the impact of having seen scenes of extreme violence a few kilometers away. Another testimony comes from Saul Kooperand, who described the narrow bunks and the absence of any basic comfort.

 According to him, overcrowding was common, and the prisoners slept on wooden structures without mattresses or straw. The camp maintained a population of between 1, and 1,200 internees forced to work in profoundly harsh conditions. Between 800 and 900 inmates were sent every day at dawn to the quarry, where they dug, loaded sand, or filled wagons.

 Others were displaced to the Malcinia station for similar work. A separate group made up of women performed agricultural work on a farm associated with the camp while about 250 Jewish artisans worked in internal workshops. During all these tasks, the guards exercised constant violence that included beatings, torture, and executions for trivial reasons.

 The only respit arrived at noon when a brief break was taken before resuming the work until night. The daily rations consisted of a small amount of watery soup or substitute drink in the morning, one liter of the same soup at noon, and more unsweetened drink at the end of the day, accompanied only by a reduced portion of black bread.

 With such poor nutrition, diseases multiplied and epidemic outbreaks arose that caused numerous deaths. The inmates described that physical weakness was widespread and that many did not survive the weeks of forced labor. The base text also preserves an accurate account of the personnel who held command. Simlick mentioned that the superior commander was a halumfurer whose office was in Ostro Masuetski, although he rarely dealt directly with the inmates.

 The operational chief in the camp was an unashmurer characterized by his tendency to shoot without warning and to order mass killings with automatic weapons. Another commander, also of low rank, supervised the labor force and was known for his memory and for surrounding himself with Jewish informers. The person in charge of the guards carried a whip with which he beat both inmates and subordinates, and he was remembered for his constant shouts to speed up the pace of work.

 Other staff members included workshop supervisors, stable managers, and a Malinia guard noted for his extreme brutality, to whom numerous deaths were attributed every day. Trebinka 2, the secret project of the deadly complex. The site intended to erect Trebinka 2 was located in the northeastern sector of the general government near the railway junction of Malinia Gorna where trains coming from Warsaw and Bowisto converged.

 The chosen terrain was situated about 4 km northwest of the small hamlet of Trebinka and a short distance from its halt. It was an open landscape dominated by loose sand and irregular patches of trees with a forested stretch that separated the future complex from the village of Woka Okunglick located more than 1 kilometer from the area where the gas chambers and pits intended for the bodies would be installed.

 During the months prior to construction, the Polish station master in Trebinka, Francesci, a member of the Army Cryova resistance, kept a continuous record of military train movements. He recalled that in May of Mil Novesentos Quarenta, Several SS members appeared accompanied by a man identified as Ernst Grouse, known among German railway workers as the main surveyor serving the German headquarters.

 That same day, they inspected the area, and at the following dawn, groups of working age Jewish men began to arrive. About 100 were forced to clear the land while the first Ukrainian guards were incorporated. Among the polls, multiple versions circulated about what was intended to be built there. A labor camp, a center for military projects, a control zone, or even a secret laboratory.

 Some railway workers commented that the real objective was an extermination center. But almost no one gave credit to that possibility at the time, except for Zbecki. The construction of the new camp began at the beginning of April of 1942 and represented the third and last complex created within Action Reinhardt. Its design followed similar standards to those used in Beljek and Soibbor but on a larger scale.

 Several German firms obtained the main contracts. The Robert Shernbrun company based in Warsaw and the firms Hans Schmidt and Hinrich Müsterman also established in the capital. These same companies had participated in the construction of the Warsaw Ghetto Wall in works within the Trebinka Wonder Penal Camp and in the construction of barracks for the Ponatoa Jewish labor camp.

 The labor force came from the Warsaw ghetto from nearby villages and from Trebinko itself. Israel Simlick stated that those who were sent to work there were completely unaware of the purpose of the work and that the group was known as the TA group. The prisoner Lutian Puchawa sent from the penal camp recounted that one of the initial tasks consisted of building a secondary track that connected to the main line.

 It took 2 weeks and on the 15th of June of Mil Novitentos quarenti the branch was ready. Meanwhile deep excavations and the erection of barracks were progressing under the supervision of an SS helped to fura. The first workers were poles from the penal camp and every day they were mobilized to dig trenches and erect structures.

 Puchawa recounted that the SS and the Ukrainian guards killed tens of them daily and that from his position he could see the camp covered with bodies. He also indicated that one of the buildings constructed with brick and concrete contained compartments that would later be recognized as gas chambers. Another worker, Yan Sukowski, was also present in this phase and was able to observe a structure with an airtight metal door covered with rubber secured with a system of screws.

 The SS said that this building was a bath, but Sukowsk’s testimony indicated that it was a gas chamber. He mentioned that in one of the compartments a motor was installed from which three iron tubes emerged passing through the roof to distribute the gas. A specialist sent from Berlin placed the interior tiles and commented that he had already worked in facilities of this type in other places which confirmed the function of the building.

 Schmool Goldberg also from Stose confirmed that upon arrival the inmates were forced into various tasks from thatching with straw to washing clothes. He said that those who refused to collaborate were executed instantly as happened with two of his companions on the first day. The work was directed by SS HDMA Richard Tamala belonging to the construction office of the Waffan SS and the police in Zamosch under the command of Adilo Globoknik.

 Tamala had already supervised construction stages in Soibbor and had also participated in the work of the auto line. He remained in Trebinka between 4 and 8 weeks, coordinating each phase of construction until he was replaced by Dr. Mfrieded Eel, who assumed control of the complex when the facilities were ready for their final function.

 The camp plan formed an irregular rectangle of about 400 m wide by 600 m long, surrounded by a barbed wire fence of 3 to 4 m high, camouflaged with branches. In Mil Novesentos Corenti Tress, an outer ring of anti-tank obstacles of the Czech hedgehog type was added, delivered by the army after the defeat of Stalingrad.

 At each corner, there was a watchtowwer of about 8 m, equipped in some cases with flood lights and always attended by Ukrainian guards trained in Trroniki. An additional tower was installed on the south edge and was later moved toward the center of the extermination area. The enclosure was divided into three almost equal sectors.

The first corresponded to the residential area for the SS and the Ukrainian guards. The second served as the train reception area and the third constituted the extermination corps. The first two formed the so-called lower camp or camp 1 while the third was the upper camp or camp 2. The main entrance was on the northwest end and was built in the spring of Milvesentos Quarente Tres by the prisoner Jankeiel Vernick.

It consisted of two wooden pillars with metallic ornaments in the shape of a flower and a small roof supported on them illuminated by spotlights during the night. Above it, an iron emblem with a globe and SS runes was installed made by the blacksmith Hershel Yabalcowski. At the entrance, there was a sign that read Sonda Commando Trebinka along with the guard house and a parking lot for an armored vehicle used to transport valuables toward Lublin.

 Along the western perimeter, the SS personnel barracks, an infirmary, a dental office, a barber shop, and dependencies for the Polish and Ukrainian domestic staff were lined up. Behind the service area, there was a barracks for the gold Judan responsible for sorting gold and valuable objects. In the spring of M Novesentos Quarent, an armory was built between two barracks, described by Samuel Villenberg as a small structure with a sloping roof and a heavy metal door.

Further south on the internal route of the camp, there was a gasoline depot and a garage for vehicle repair adorned with flower beds in a paved area with a painted sign that simulated a freight dispatch zone. On the northern edge of the enclosure were the barracks for the Ukrainian guards composed of several buildings with dormitories, a kitchen, a barber shop, a day room, and a medical consultation room.

 Near there, a small hexagonal zoo fenced with mesh was installed, also built by Vier, where foxes and deer were kept. Next was the Vunlaga, a fenced area that contained the barracks of the so-called ghetto, a latrine, a well, and the roll call yard with three U-shaped barracks where the Jewish prisoners worked and lived. Punishments were carried out right there, and a gallows was erected.

 In this sector, the carpentry, blacksmith, shoemaking, tailoring workshops, warehouses, kitchen for prisoners, laundry for the SS, the inmates infirmary, the women’s barracks, and other installations necessary to maintain the workforce were also located. The reception zone occupied the southwestern part and included the railway track of about 300 m, and a platform of 200 m known as the ramp.

A wooden gate covered with branches marked the railway entrance, closed by a sand embankment. After the ramp, a wide square opened through which the newcomers passed to the undressing area which included separate barracks for women and men in addition to a warehouse. Toward the southern boundary, the sorting yard extended where clothing and luggage were organized.

 Behind it were trenches used in the first phases of the camp to incinerate bodies of people who died during the journey and transport residues. The building known as Ferdto functioned as a general goods depot while near the southern boundary the lazarette was located surrounded by a camouflaged fence. This space contained a pit, a small shelter for the personnel and a red cross flag placed on the guard house.

 Three prisoners assigned to this area wore armbands with a sanitary symbol and the capo wore a white coat to simulate a medical post. The path toward camp 2 was a trail called Himlfart Strasa or the pipe about 350 m long, fenced with wire covered with branches and marked with a sign that read to the baths. The path turned at a right angle and ended in front of the steps that led to the central corridor of the gas chamber building.

 The first three chambers were inside a brick block with concrete foundations, each of 4 mx 4 and with an approximate height of 2.6 6 m. They had airtight iron doors from the interior corridor and reinforced wooden exits to the exterior with concrete ramps of 70 to 80 cm in height. Above there was a small sealed window, and the machinery was in a back compartment that housed the Russian engine responsible for sending the gases inside through pipes connected to shower-like heads.

 A generator supplied electricity to both camp 1 and camp 2. Jankeiel Wernick detailed that the building was flanked by a raised wooden walkway and a platform through which the bodies were removed. The testimony of Abraham Krypiki confirmed that the walls were covered with tiles and that the ceiling supported a metal mesh with visible pipes from above.

 Elauru Rosenberg, gravedigger in camp 2, described the interior as a space lined with red tiles and with pipes through which the gases were introduced with capacity for hundreds of people per room pushed to the physical limit of the available space. The master builder Irwin Lambert sent from the T4 program recounted that he was assigned to the construction work under the command of Tomala and that during that period no murders were yet being carried out.

 It was later with the arrival of Eberl when the installation was ready to begin its final lethal operations. The ineffective mandate of evil and the overflow of the first months. When the work in Trebinka was practically finished, the Austrian officer Erbel arrived at the site assuming leadership of the compound. Before occupying this post, he had worked as a doctor in the T4 operation centers in Brandenburgg and Bernberg, where according to an operation nurse Pauline Kisler, he learned in the Graphneck facility in the Verberg region

the use of carbon monoxide to kill groups of people. After his time in those places, in April of 1942, he spent a short period in Soibbor and then several weeks in Warsaw dealing with procedures related to the new camp, including the request for necessary materials to conclude the work. From Warsaw, he sent a communication to Hines Ariswald, commissioner of the Jewish district, informing him that the place would be ready to begin its activities on July 11th, 1942.

In the following days, while advancing with the procedures in the capital, he maintained continuous correspondence with his wife, Dr. Ruth Ebel. In one of those letters, he commented that the activity surrounding the camp was frenetic, that the July 1st date could not be met due to mechanical problems, accidents, and delays with documentation, and that he hoped to be transferred to his new address in very little time.

 He also explained that he had to officially register with his rank and as the person in charge of the new camp. Upon finally arriving at the compound, he told his wife that the speed with which work was being done there left him with no rest, reducing his sleep to barely 3 or 4 hours, affected by the presence of lice and fleas, and that sometimes he thought of his home in Berlin.

 However, it was difficult to conceive that operative chambers existed at such an early date since the place continued to be under construction. A prisoner, Oscar Strochinsky recounted that his fellow craftsman, Hershel Yabukowski, had arrived on June 18th, 1942, participating in the excavation of the first common grave.

 He explained that before the first mass transport, the area was divided into two sectors, and that he himself, being a craftsman, was sent to the first sector. He also indicated that by that time the essential facilities of the complex were already enabled without detailing their assembly and that the place was rapidly advancing toward the function it would fulfill shortly after.

On July 22nd, 1942, Zbecki received a telegram ordering the launch of a shuttle system between Warsaw and Trebinka. Each train was supposed to be composed of 60 sealed wagons towed back to Warsaw after being unloaded. The next day, the convoy arrived, which according to him, officially inaugurated the mass deportation phase.

 That transport advanced with frequent shots from the guards posted on the side platforms and roofs. The slits were secured with barbed wire, and the occupants could barely breathe. He calculated between 8,000 and 10,000 people on that train. In this stage, the people in charge of the transfer from the Warsaw ghetto were Herman Hurler, representative of Action Reinhardt in Lublin, and two collaborators, Gayorg Mikkelson and Herman Vorto, who remained in the city to organize the departure of the convoys. Up to September 21, 1942,

about 254,000 people had been sent to Trabinka from Warsaw and around 112,000 from other points in the district. At the beginning of August, Zbecki witnessed an incident that occurred at the station. A Polish partisan named Tchinsky handed a grenade to a young Jewish man inside one of the wagons, instructing him to throw it toward the guards.

 The explosive seriously injured a trronikim man. The German response was immediate and several Jews were murdered on the spot. Days later, upon the arrival of deportes from Kilchshire, Oscar Burger witnessed piles of bodies in the unloading area. He remembered German and Ukrainian guards shooting from roofs and platforms, trapping the newcomer amid screams and confusion.

Also, survivors like Jankil Wi assured that Kurt France, one of the most feared officers of the complex, participated in raids inside Warsaw before the victims were sent to the camp. The testimony of Abraham Kapiki, recorded shortly after his escape, proved key to understanding those first days.

 He described the train’s entry through a separate gate guarded by a Ukrainian and the immediate closing after its passage. He detailed signs that read in large letters, “Jews of Warsaw, attention,” accompanied by instructions claiming that it was a labor camp, that they had to hand over their clothes for disinfection, and that their belongings would be returned.

 He also recounted the immediate selection of young men and the sight of an area covered by thousands of corpses that according to him had died of asphixxiation in the wagons. He explained how groups of inmates transported the bodies to enormous pits where they were thrown in rows while others poured chemical substances.

Japiki indicated that at night new trains arrived filled only with dead people especially from Minsurk. In parallel, the internal organization attempted to establish routines, daily roll calls, meal shifts obtained from the bundles abandoned by the newcomers and provisions regarding the assigned tasks.

 Over time, when the mechanical shovel stopped working, the burning of corpses began in open trenches using materials collected from luggage to fuel the fire. By the end of August, the chaos in the camp increased. The testimonies of several SS men such as Ysef Oberhauser, Willie Menz, and France Sushamel agree that Abel’s leadership had caused a total collapse.

 They mentioned trains waiting for days without being unloaded, piles of corpses throughout the compound, extreme temperatures that accelerated decomposition, and gassings incapable of keeping pace with the arrivals. There was talk of excessive orders for convoys, and a situation that overwhelmed the capacity of the entire complex.

 In the midst of this breakdown, high-ranking officers of Action Reinhardt, including Odilo Globoknik and Christian Verth, visited the camp. After observing the situation, they decided to remove Abel and temporarily stop the transports. The management would be restructured shortly thereafter. Stangle’s control and the reconstruction of the system.

When the situation in Trebinka reached an untenable point, high-ranking officers of Action Reinhardt decided to make an urgent change. Following the inspection of the compound and the confirmation of the organizational collapse generated under the previous leadership, France Stangle, an officer with experience in other centers of the program, was sent to assume command and launch a complete reorganization of the complex.

 His arrival represented a clear transition toward a phase marked by stricter control, operational adjustments, and an evident intention to impose a structure that would allow the resumption of the functions for which the place had been created. Based on that initial diagnosis, Stangle began to implement the necessary changes to restore the camp’s functioning.

 Upon taking office, Stangle started by touring every sector accompanied by responsible officials he trusted. His objective was to detect failures, redistribute functions, and set priorities. Statements such as those made by Sukumel himself indicate that Stangle immediately focused on reestablishing the internal movement of the camp to process what had accumulated during the previous period.

 The Jewish crews that were still active were relocated to begin cleaning specific areas, and the officer used this action to evaluate the capacity of each group and reorganize it according to the needs identified. One of Stangle’s first decisions consisted of establishing a system of direct supervision over the Ukrainian personnel.

 Collected statements indicated that he dedicated time to observing their behavior, correcting inefficient actions, and sanctioning anything that interrupted the camp’s rhythm. In that initial phase, situations were also recorded in which he applied severe disciplinary measures against members of the guard when they acted outside the instructions he wanted to impose, which sought to reduce improvised actions that generated delays or incidents.

 When reviewing the entrance area, Stangle ordered the removal of accumulated objects and abandoned materials on the platforms. This cleaning responded not only to the need to clear the area, but also to the intention of creating a space that would allow for continuous transit without interruptions or pileups. It is repeatedly mentioned in the statements of the camp personnel that Stangle wanted to eliminate any element that would hinder circulation or that could worsen with the arrival of new transports. During this stage, Stangle

carried out physical adjustments in different parts of the compound. Certain interior corridors were widened, fences were reinforced, and secondary access points were modified. Testimonies included in the file show that he ordered improvements in the separation of areas to clearly differentiate the work zones, the surveillance points, and the parts of the compound destined for concrete processes.

 These changes sought to reduce confusion among the different groups of guards and homogenize their tasks. The condition of the main buildings was also reviewed. The structure called the entrance barracks received minor repairs and was cleared of accumulated goods. In the upper area of the compound, spaces used by the work units were reorganized, and Stangle instructed those responsible to establish a permanent order that would avoid the lack of control observed weeks before.

 Subsequent reports indicate that the officer insisted on keeping these places free of objects that could obstruct the daily flow. Another aspect that Stangle focused on was the distribution of the units responsible for handling the bodies that remained in the camp from the previous phase. These groups were reorganized according to each one’s capacity and they were given more precise instructions for moving the remains toward the designated areas.

Operations were carried out continuously and according to later statements, rules were applied to reduce the risks of interruptions or incidents that could delay the work. A highlighted point in this phase was the modification of the area where the movement of the new arrivals was centralized. Stangle arranged for that part of the camp to be organized more strictly with the intention of avoiding pileups that had caused collapses in previous days.

 He ordered the guards to maintain specific distances between groups and that passage be restricted to people without a defined function, thus suppressing unnecessary circulation. In parallel, Stangle adjusted the reception and classification procedures. He integrated new instructions for those supervising the main movements and revised the way the work groups behaved so that each unit fulfilled its role without interference.

 These adjustments included the instruction to reduce dead time and ensure that movements were fast, completed, and constant. Statements from former guards indicate that these rules were strictly enforced and that Stangle personally monitored their compliance. During the first weeks, Stangle also reorganized the assignment of the SS officers under his command.

 Some were transferred to other areas within the same compound, while others were removed due to their perceived performance during the inspections. Records of subsequent interrogations indicate that he sought to create a smaller but more functional team capable of sustaining the rhythm he intended to impose. Various testimonies affirm that Stangle sought to establish an environment that conveyed discipline among the guards and among the work groups.

 He imposed precise rules on daily conduct, schedules, and the manner in which procedures should be carried out. Situations were mentioned where he worked to prevent arbitrary actions by certain escort members, thus reducing random incidents that could disrupt the operational flow. Another modification attributed to Stangle was the reorganization of staff leave and rest periods.

 He adjusted the shifts so that there was permanent surveillance at every critical point, avoiding moments without supervision that could affect internal continuity. Similarly, he reviewed the functions of the Ukrainian supervisors, limiting their scope of action, and imposing a more rigid reporting system. In the area where the heaviest work was concentrated, Stangle insisted on improving communication between the teams to avoid delays.

Witnesses mentioned that he made constant rounds to verify the speed of the operations. If he found slowness or confusion, he stopped the procedure, reordered the units, and gave direct instructions to the foreman. Toward the end of that reorganization period, the gathered reports indicate that the camp’s rhythm had stabilized.

 The scenes of accumulation that characterized the previous phase had been cleared, and the different sectors of the compound were operating following a continuous pattern. Stangle had managed to establish a more rigid internal structure with clear objectives for each group and a surveillance system that sought to prevent a repeat of the events of the initial period.

 With all this, Trebinka entered a phase where internal discipline and regularity in procedures became central elements. Stangle’s reorganization marked the transition to a stage where the compound would operate with greater control and under a more defined structure, thus establishing a new starting point for the subsequent development of the camp.

The phase of thousands of daily corpses. When the proceeding reorganization ended, the camp entered a period where daily activity was marked by a constant and calculated rhythm. The trains arriving from different zones of the general government carried thousands of people in each transport and the camp personnel maintained specific instructions to process these groups without interruption.

 Official documents and later statements indicated that the influx was continuous and that on certain days the convoys followed one after another, generating a dynamic that demanded maintaining the flow without pauses. In those months, the place functioned with an intensity that reflected the intention of completing each transport with the maximum possible speed.

 Records indicate that the system employed followed an already established sequence. The guards located in the railway zone supervised the descent while members of the Ukrainian police directed the newcomers toward the platforms. Statements from former members of the escort indicate that the day began early and that the sound of the trains marked the beginning of each operation.

In parallel, the personnel in charge of reception had to keep the flow of newcomers under constant control. The collected testimonies indicate that the explanations given by the guards followed a common line. They claimed that the procedure was temporary and that the group would be relocated later. This type of message was repeated with the objective of avoiding confusion, protests, or any behavior that would interfere with internal transit.

Statements from former workers indicate that these instructions were not improvised, but part of a strategy designed to accelerate movement and avoid incidents. The officers who supervised the arrival zone had the task of directing the newcomers toward points where groups were divided according to the command’s instructions.

 Subsequent judicial reports note that surveillance was increased to prevent disorder. In that context, the Ukrainian supervisors played an essential role as they accompanied the groups along the internal paths and ensured that the movement remained continuous. The team responsible for removing personal belongings worked simultaneously.

When people were directed toward the designated areas, other units had to collect abandoned luggage, classify it, and transfer it to the camp’s warehouses. Testimonies presented in trials described that these tasks had to be completed without delay as the accumulation of objects hindered circulation.

 The supervisors recorded the volume of recovered goods to maintain a stable record of the stored material. In the midst of this intense rhythm, highranking SS officers carried out inspections to evaluate the functioning of the compound. The most significant visit was that of Hinrich Himmler, who came to examine the status of the camp and its capacity during the phase of highest activity.

 Subsequent documents indicate that Himmler arrived accompanied by other officers and conducted a thorough tour of the main zones. During this visit, he reviewed the personnel’s performance, the distribution of spaces, and the way daily procedures were executed. Official annotations and statements from former guards mentioned that Himmler issued instructions related to the elimination of visible traces and the reorganization of parts of the compound to prevent accumulations.

 He ordered that the areas where the main operations took place be modified to facilitate the movement of the assigned personnel. He also indicated the need to reinforce the separation between different sections to improve internal circulation. Among the most notable measures ordered by Himmler was the instruction to manage accumulated bodies using methods that would prevent any remains from being visible on the surface.

 This order was part of what later documents call the policy of erasing evidence of the camp’s functioning. The units responsible for these tasks had to follow a stricter system for handling remains and transporting them to defined zones, thus preventing the accumulation from being exposed. Himmler’s instructions also included modifications to the way work teams were controlled.

 He indicated that supervisors must maintain constant vigilance, record incidents, and ensure that no remains were left unprocessed. Testimonies from members of the Ukrainian escort affirmed that after this visit, internal discipline increased and personnel became more rigorous in executing orders. During this period, the deceptions aimed at maintaining calm among the newcomers were also reinforced.

 Judicial reports indicate that certain areas were enlarged to simulate waiting rooms and fictitious services. The objective was to reduce any sign of alarm among the groups entering the compound. The strategy consisted of maintaining appearances of order, cleanliness, and normality, although its real purpose never coincided with what was being shown.

 The influx of trains continued without interruption during these months. Statements from former workers indicate that several convoys could arrive per day depending on the moment and the orders received from other localities in the general government. The programming was strict and any delay could affect the transport chain. Therefore, camp supervisors had to coordinate with external officials to adjust schedules, avoid overlaps, and maintain the constant rhythm that characterized this phase.

 In parallel, the camp personnel had to process large quantities of personal property. The warehouses intended for clothing, documents, and valuables received continuous loads. Testimonies presented in judicial proceedings affirm that this part of the camp worked under pressure similar to that of the arrival zones since the accumulation of material could block spaces and cause interruptions.

 In the months of highest activity, officers indicated that each day followed a similar pattern. arrival of transports, organization of groups, classification of goods, internal movements, and continuous operations in the areas where the main tasks were carried out. This repetition was part of the system designed to maintain the camp’s efficiency during that period.

The silence commandos and work among the dead. As the daily operation within the complex advanced, about 1,000 Jewish prisoners were assigned to mandatory tasks that guaranteed the functioning of the place. They lived in wooden barracks located in the lower and upper parts of the compound where they slept in basic conditions.

 During the first months until September of 1942, many rested on the sandy floor or on scattered carpets in a pavilion near the area where people had to undress. Over time, this group was transferred to a section of the right wing of a U-shaped barracks where three tier wooden bunks were installed. From the beginning, the treatment varied according to the assigned category since those who belong to the so-called court Jews had accommodation considered better within the limitations of the place.

 At night, everyone remained locked inside the barracks with buckets placed as improvised latrines. The day began shortly after dawn when they were woken up to receive a minimal ration of food before the morning count. The workday lasted from that moment until dusk with a short pause for lunch. Upon returning, they formed lines again for the evening count, at which point some received punishments by beatings, and others were sent to the area called Lazaret if they were considered too weak, where they were executed. Each of the prisoners was

integrated into work brigades distributed between the lower and upper zones according to the functions necessary to maintain the activity of the place. Each team operated in concrete sectors and carried out specific tasks within the complex. In the lower zone, where approximately twice as many prisoners worked as in the upper zone, the treatment was slightly less severe.

 In that sector, the inmates had occasional access to some of the materials and food that circulated from the transports without this implying a repetition of the deception system applied to the newcomers. Within this group, there were internal differences with the court Jews located in the highest position. This group also called Hoffjuden brought together workers with specialized trades.

 Carpenters, painters, blacksmiths and personnel in charge of different domestic tasks. They were identified by yellow armbands and also included subgroups such as the gold Jews, the street construction brigade, the Masons, or those participating in construction activities. One of the prisoners, Ysef Charnie, recounted that he was sent to the German zone after arriving in a transport from Warsaw.

There he was ordered to remove the boots of Kurt France, who was sitting in an armchair and according to his account, in a state of intoxication. After doing so, France informed him that he would become part of the court Jews. From that moment on, he was assigned to the chicken coupe responsible for providing fresh eggs to the German staff.

 Another survivor, Calman Tigman, described his arrival at that same area where the court Jews moved with more freedom and managed their own kitchen. At first, they avoided approaching the rest of the newly incorporated prisoners until the commander announced that this status would no longer have special distinctions.

 In the case of the Gold Jews, a brigade composed of about 20 people with experience in jewelry, watchmaking or banking, the work consisted of receiving, reviewing, and classifying the money, valuables, and jewelry brought by the newcomers. Part of the group participated in the undressing area, collecting goods handed over under pressure by those arriving on the transports, while others were responsible for examining and preparing those materials for their transfer out of the camp.

 Abraham Kapisky recounted that some members of this brigade collected curious objects and found watches or rings among the registered belongings in addition to accumulating large quantities of money. Another numerous group, the Rag Brigade, with between 80 and 100 men was dedicated to classifying clothing, personal items, and utensils.

 They operated outdoors and separated garments, shoes, beds, and all kinds of belongings. Samuel Villenberg recounted that his supervisor, a Czech prisoner, repeated that the main instruction consisted of to classify. The work required emptying pockets, removing any element that identified the owner, and checking each garment to locate hidden objects.

 The brigade leaders constantly shouted orders, demanding greater speed. The piles of clothes extended along large rows of fabrics on the ground, where each category was organized according to type and quality. A brigade with red armbands made up of about 40 people received the women in the area where they were forced to undress and subsequently guided to the place where their hair was cut.

 One of its members, Joe Sidleki, explained that upon arrival, he was separated from his wife with the promise that she would work in a laundry, something that did not happen. He was assigned to supervise the undressing process and then transferred to the room where the cut hair was disinfected before being packaged.

 The barber teams were specifically in charge of cutting the women’s hair before they were led to the corridor that led to the next sector. According to several testimonies, this task was initially executed in some chambers that were not in immediate use before being moved to a barracks located near the access to the corridor.

 Abram Bomba recounted how he was designated along with other barbers and transferred to that section where the cutting was performed on benches aligned inside a room guarded by armed guards. Furthermore, there was a group in charge of wood supply known as the forest brigade which did cutting for cooking and heating and subsequently to feed the structures used for the elimination of bodies.

 Another brigade camouflaged fences with fresh branches, especially those surrounding the upper zone to prevent the interior from being seen. There were also smaller groups that performed specific tasks such as ordering bottles or supervising the latrines where a prisoner nicknamed the toilet master controlled the time each person could use them.

 In the upper zone where the brigades related to the handling of bodies after the deaths operated, there was a team of about 100 men who transported the corpses from the chambers to the pits or later to the cremation grates. Eliahu Rosenberg recounted that he worked in that brigade, first removing bodies from the old chambers and then from the 10 new chambers.

 He explained that the guards verified what was happening inside from a platform and gave the signal when the people had stopped moving. Afterward, the prisoners opened the doors, waited a few minutes for the gases to dissipate and removed the bodies. He also recounted that some children who had been left under the bodies were still alive and were executed as soon as the guards saw them.

 Other testimonies mentioned situations where apparently dead women regained consciousness while being loaded onto the stretchers and were killed at that moment by the guards. Prisoners also narrated sexual assaults and post-mortem mutilations carried out by German personnel. Rosenberg described how those in charge of transporting the bodies received constant blows if they did not correctly place the dead on the stretchers or if they did not maintain the required rhythm.

 Another brigade called the dentists worked in a shed next to the small chambers. There they extracted dental crowns, bridges and pieces containing precious metals. These elements were kept in a trunk that was emptied weekly by the German personnel. Those who performed this work had to separate white gold, yellow gold, platinum, and other metals.

 They also checked the bodies to locate jewelry hidden under bandages or concealed in body cavities. Finally, there was a small musical ensemble organized by order of the German personnel. In the first months, it was a trio. But over time, with the arrival of recognized musicians, a larger ensemble was formed that played at roll calls and at gatherings in the areas where the guards were housed.

 The prisoners who were part of this group had to perform marches, popular songs, and pieces requested by the Germans and the Ukrainians. The revolt of August 2 and the total dismantling. As the calendar advanced toward the summer of 1943, discreet conversations began to circulate within the Trebinka compound among the prisoners assigned to internal jobs.

 They knew that the place operated with a rigid structure and that the German supervisors were increasingly tense, but they also sensed that the camp’s activity no longer maintained the same rhythm as in previous months. In that atmosphere, several inmates began to raise the possibility of a joint action, something that did not arise spontaneously, but after several silent exchanges between men who had already spent time observing the guard’s routines.

 Among those who began to move with greater determination, was a group that knew each other from having performed tasks related to transport and classification within the same complex. They analyzed the number of lookouts, the daily movements of personnel, and the zones with less surveillance. And they did so without attracting attention because any strange movement could cost them their lives.

 One of the first steps they took was to locate a space where they could meet without arousing suspicion. The talks were held during hours when the supervisors were focused on other tasks, and so as not to raise doubts, the prisoners continued with their usual work. Progressively, the conversations moved from intention to planning.

 Some inmates had identified areas where keys, uniforms, and tools that could be used during an escape were stored. Others knew the roots and timing of the Ukrainian guards who monitored the perimeter, which allowed them to draw a mental map of the less exposed sections. Several weeks before the outbreak, the same prisoners began to study how to obtain weapons.

 This was not simple because access to armament was reserved for the German supervisors and the Ukrainians. However, inside the camp’s workshops, pieces were repaired that sometimes included short firearms or broken rifles. The inmates who were assigned to these areas detected opportunities to hide small parts, magazines, or ammunition that had gone unnoticed by the guards.

 Over time, they managed to gather some useful elements, although they knew it would not be enough to face them on equal terms. Their plan was based on taking advantage of the initial disorder to escape, not on maintaining open combat. The date of the uprising was adjusted several times. The prisoners depended on the camp’s own routines, the weather, visibility, and the position of the supervisors.

 They also knew that any premature sign could provoke an immediate massacre. The decisive occasion arose when one of the inmates observed that during certain shift changes, the presence of supervisors at key points decreased. From then on, the responsible group understood that they had to act on a day with favorable conditions and with the greatest possible coordination because the opportunity might not be repeated.

On August 2nd, 1943, the inmates took advantage of the fact that several supervisors had moved to another area of the compound. At that time, some prisoners managed to access the area where the keys to deposits and interior doors were located. The group in charge of obtaining armorament managed to seize some pistols and rifles under the pretext of handling tools.

 Others set fire to several constructions to generate confusion and obstruct the guard’s visibility. Smoke began to spread among the buildings and within a matter of minutes, the alarm spread among the Ukrainians and the Germans. Despite the small number of weapons, the prisoners acted quickly. They headed toward the perimeter fences, some of which had been previously weakened from the inside without the guards noticing.

 With the flames increasing and the noise of the detonations inside the complex, dozens of men ran toward the camp limits. The supervisors responded by opening fire, but the disorder caused by the fires hindered their immediate reaction. Some prisoners managed to cross the first fence. Others ended up shot down in the attempt, falling a few meters from the escape point.

 Once outside the compound, the situation offered no guarantees. The surrounding terrain was composed of forests, uneven ground, and roads patrolled by German units. The prisoners who managed to get away from the camp dispersed to avoid being captured in large groups. Several of them took refuge in wooded areas, always moving at dawn and hiding during the day.

 Others were pursued by patrols sent from Trebinka and by additional units that had received news of the uprising. Some fell in these clashes or were located in the following hours while a few managed to stay hidden for longer. Inside the camp, the revolt left the supervisors on alert.

 The damaged constructions, the fires, and the escape forced those responsible for the compound to take immediate measures. The higher authorities had been warned of the incident, and the response consisted of temporarily reinforcing surveillance and repressing the prisoners who had not taken part in the escape but remained in the compound.

 By then, the camp’s activity was already pointing to a significant reduction compared to previous months, and this episode accelerated certain decisions that were planned by those responsible for the operation. As August advanced, the process of systematic dismantling began. The main structures were disassembled piece by piece.

 The pits were removed, the traces of internal activity were erased, and the buildings that were still standing were destroyed. The remnants of wood, tools, barbed wire, and barracks were removed or burned. Part of the terrain was covered with layers of earth and vegetation to disguise what had existed there. Once the process was finished, there were barely any visible signs left of what the camp had been.

 The supervisors left the facilities, and the German authorities officially closed the operation in the following months. The area was once again given a rural appearance. Over time, the zone was used in an ordinary manner, and the structure that had functioned as an extermination center disappeared almost completely, leaving only dispersed traces that could only be identified with later studies.

The revolt of August 2 and the systematic elimination of the complex marked the final phase of the site. What had begun as a space controlled by a small group of supervisors ended with the escape attempt of hundreds of prisoners and the deliberate reconstruction of the terrain to erase the traces. The few who survived by escaping to the forest carried with them the details of what happened while the installation was methodically eliminated by those who had administered it.

 The survivors and the documents that spoke for the dead. The accounts that emerged from those who managed to escape Trebinka shaped the initial understanding of the place. Through their words, scenes, routes, orders, and routines were reconstructed that for months remained isolated behind covered fences and controlled access points.

 One of the first to describe the events was a survivor who had worked in the upper zone of the camp from the early days. He explained how as soon as he arrived, he smelled the odor of the newly opened pits and heard the noises coming from the enclosures designated for the elimination of the prisoners. He remembered metal doors, wet floors, and a narrow corridor where those who had been separated from the main group were lined up.

 He mentioned that some guards watched the entrance, that others were in charge of closing, and that the motor that activated the process was in a different compartment attended to by a man identified by previous prisoners. He said that many times he did not distinguish the sounds clearly, but he did know when the mechanism was starting because the personnel changed position and prepared to open.

Another witness remembered the transport that took him there. He recounted that his train arrived in the middle of summer and that upon getting off he saw piles of clothes heaped up on one side. He explained that the ground was covered with sand, that the beatings accelerated the exit from the wagons, and that those who seemed stronger were taken aside for immediate work.

 He was assigned to a group that had to clean the area after each arrival and assured that in a matter of days he understood that he could not communicate with anyone from the upper sector. According to him, he only heard orders in German and in Ukrainian, while a small group of more experienced prisoners tried to organize the newcomers.

 A young man who managed to escape in the first months recounted that he was wounded on the second day and remained hidden behind a deteriorated wall. He said he heard the guards searching for people and that taking advantage of a moment of confusion, he joined a small group assigned to remove goods outside the perimeter.

 He remembered that the route toward the station was watched by supervisors, but that during a transfer, they managed to run toward a ditch and then to a nearby forest. He was hidden for several days without food, advancing along little traveled rural roads before arriving at his hometown. The local people were surprised to see him arrive because according to him, nobody knew exactly what was happening in that camp erected near Malcinia.

Other testimonies detailed the work within the sector where they had to open pits, remove accumulated layers, and transfer remains toward PS built under the supervision of a specialist sent to reorganize the process. According to one of the prisoners who was there, that man gave precise instructions on how to move the remains, how to stack the wood, and how to maintain the flames so that the procedure would be continuous.

 He recounted that during those months the original pits were emptied one by one and that after completing them they were covered with earth to hide the altered surface. He said that he sometimes found personal objects among the sand and that he could not keep anything because the supervisors checked every worker before returning to the barracks.

 While these accounts were being collected, contemporary documents appeared that confirmed what the witnesses had said. The first reports that circulated outside came from contacts who managed to transmit messages about the fate of the deportes. These reports described trains that left full and returned empty, wagons with doors closed from the outside, and odor detected by residents of nearby villages.

 Some of those documents reached clandestine organizations that tried to warn larger communities about what was happening at that point on the railway. The messages included dates, places of origin, and estimates of the number of people arriving in each convoy. The precision varied, but they agreed that the place did not function as a transit camp.

 The most solid data on transports appeared later when survivors handed over wagon occupancy sheets and itinerary notes hidden in pockets or seams. Added to this was information from railway archives where departure dates, convoy composition, and number of wagons were recorded. These documents made it possible to elaborate estimates of the total volume of deportes and confirm that the greater part arrived during the summer of 1942.

Each record indicated a constant flow from various cities and the final calculations exceeded figures that very few had imagined until then. The combination of this data with the first reports from fugitives made it possible to reconstruct the real magnitude of what happened. Years later, the investigation commisss mandated by the Polish authorities began a systematic work in the area.

 They collected scattered fragments, remnants of metal objects, textile residues, and any element that might have come from the transports. The former train engineer, who knew every movement of the trains, handed over notebooks, schedules, and numbers that he had kept throughout the war. With that information, the arrival dates were cross-referenced with the German administrative documents and a clear sequence was established.

 The conclusions were sent to prosecutors who were preparing cases against the living perpetrators. The trials were held during several periods and were based on witness statements, railway documents, intercepted letters, and files found in military archives. During these judicial proceedings, the prosecutors presented detailed descriptions of the camp’s functioning, relying on testimonies from those who had worked in different sectors.

 The judges heard accounts of perimeter surveillance, internal organization of brigades, elimination of bodies, and the disappearance of the structures before the front advanced. Elements were also presented that confirmed the presence of specific guards, the role of SS members, and the participation of auxiliaries trained in other centers.

 Several convictions were issued based on this data and the files were archived as official postwar documents. The collected testimonies, the war reports, the transport records and the trial minutes allowed for the reconstruction of a complete image of Trebinka and documented every stage from the arrival of the deportiz to the concealment of the terrain.

 The voices of those who were there, together with the documents that survived, broke the silence that had surrounded the place for so long. Thanks to that combination of direct evidence and contemporary records, the history was preserved with sufficient clarity so that it could not be broken or lost with the passage of the years.

The guards of horror and what came after. As Trebinka neared its end, the history of those who made it function appeared fragmented in statements, memories, and descriptions emerging from the involved parties themselves. The extermination had left behind not only mountains of objects, but also a human network composed of guards, supervisors, and collaborators trained far from there in an environment created to transform them into cogs of the system.

 The majority came from Trroniki, a training center built on the remains of an old factory where thousands of Soviet prisoners, hungry and weakened, were selected to become guards. There they learned basic orders, received armament, and assumed a new identity under German command. From that place emerged the men who would later guard Belek, Soibbor, and Trebinka, transported in groups as they were required, regardless of their physical or moral state, always under the authority of officers assigned to control every movement. Among the

recipients of that training appeared a considerable number of recruits who ended up distributed among the different sectors of Trebinka. Some knew the camp from its beginnings. Others arrived when the process was already underway, and many rotated between different functions. Several of them described later how upon arrival they found an area fenced by high barriers covered with branches, internal structures divided by rows of wires, and a routine marked by the constant flow of deportes.

Their task consisted of ensuring that the groups followed the imposed route. Others guarded the accesses, moved between the barracks, or remained in elevated towers that allowed them to observe without anyone being able to observe them. In that environment, figures proliferated who over time would become synonymous with brutality.

The most notorious case was that of the Ukrainian known among the prisoners as Ivan the Terrible. His identity had been the subject of confusion for decades, but the testimonies finally converged on a man named Ivan Marenko. According to the coinciding accounts, he was tall, corpulant, had energetic movements, and was almost always under the influence of alcohol.

 He had been captured as a Soviet soldier, transferred to Traniki, and from there sent to Trebinka before the summer of 1942. His incorporation coincided with the moments when the camp began its period of most intense activity, and he quickly earned a place among the most feared guards, not because of his rank, but because of the ferocity he showed in executing the assigned tasks.

 The descriptions placed him in the zone where people were forced to move forward without stopping. Marenko wore a dark uniform, a short firearm, and almost always a metal bar, which he used to strike without warning. Several survivors remembered episodes in which a single blow from him was enough to kill a man.

 At his side, another Ukrainian guard named Shallay acted, assisting him in technical duties. Both were linked to the building where the final procedure was carried out, operating the engines that powered the internal system. They themselves explained in later interrogations that they alternated 12-hour shifts and that they rarely lived with the rest of the guards, preferring to spend free time with German non-commissioned officers with whom they maintained close contact.

 With the passing of the months, the behavior of some notably worsened. Several of Marenko’s colleagues assured that he spent a good part of the time drunk, that he provoked fights even with his own colleagues, and that outside the camp he sought alcohol in nearby villages. His weakness for drink meant that he occasionally revealed details of his work to Ukrainian women who had been temporarily transferred to serve as domestic staff in the complex reserved for the Germans.

 These women remembered that they could see a constant glow coming from the upper part of the camp from afar, accompanied by a persistent odor that was unlike anything they had known before. One of the guards explained to them without too much clarity that he worked there in a process aimed at eliminating bodies without leaving a trace.

 When Trebba began to be dismantled after the revolt and the orders to erase the evidence, many of these guardians were transferred to other destinations. A group was sent toward the Triest region where they participated in surveillance tasks, raids, and the custody of prisons. Marenko and Shalv traveled among them.

 Several accounts place Marenko dressed in a German uniform in that final stage, performing duties in port warehouses and participating in actions against Italian civilians. After the German withdrawal, it is believed that he fled with another Ukrainian toward Yugoslavia, where some claim to have seen him join partisan groups.

 His trail then disappears, enveloped in contradictory rumors about a possible change of identity, an anonymous death, or an escape to regions where no one could recognize him. The memory of the camp, however, does not rest solely on the executioners. Part of the historical reconstruction also arose from those who survived Trebinka and were able to identify more clearly than anyone the guards who appeared in each scene.

 Dozens of testimonies described their voices, footsteps, the way they walked, or held a weapon. Many survivors later recognized specific individuals, recalling phrases, movements, or gestures that marked them. Some Ukrainian guards interrogated years later tried to minimize their role or deny their presence, while others accepted having participated, but insisted that they acted under threats, trying to place themselves on a lower rung within the chain of responsibility.

Even so, the accounts agree that a large part of them acted without showing signs of internal conflict, adapting to the systematic violence that surrounded them.