Wilhelm Cornides
Encyclopedia
Wilhelm Cornides was a Wehrmacht
sergeant in World War II known as the author of the Cornides Report, a report concerning his first hand experience of the extermination of Jews
at the Belzec
concentration camp. He was the founder of Europa-Archiv (renamed Internationale Politik
in 1995), the first post-war publication in Occupied Germany in Dec. 1946. In 1955 he was instrumental along with Theodor Steltzer
, Minister-President
of Schleswig Holstein and former member of the Kreisau Circle
with founding the German Council on Foreign Relations, known by the acronym DGAP, for its German spelling (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik). Cornides was a member of the Oldenbourg family, owners of R. Oldenbourg Verlag (publishers). A German publishing house started in 1858 by Rudolf Oldenbourg.
On August 30, 1942 Cornides, was in the Rzeszów
rail station, on his way to Chełm by train. In his journal he wrote that a railway policeman had told him that ‘a marble plaque with golden letters will be erected on 1 September, because then the city will be "Judenfrei" (free of Jews). The policeman also told him that trains filled with Jews "pass almost daily through the shunting yards, are dispatched immediately on their way, and return swept clean, most often the same evening." Some 6,000 Jews from Jarosław, were recently killed in one day."
Cornides took a regular passenger train from Rzeszów to Chełm, he arrived in Rawa Ruska on August 31, and made further entries in his journal;
"At ten minutes past noon I saw a transport train run into the station. On the roof and running boards sat guards with rifles. One could see from a distance that the cars were jammed full of people. I turned and walked along the whole train: it consisted of 35 cattle cars and one passenger car.
In each of the cars there were at least 60 Jews (in the case of the enlisted men's or prisoner transports these wagons would hold 40 men; however, the benches had been removed and one could see that those who were locked in here had to stand pressed together). Some of the doors were opened a crack, the windows criss-crossed with barbed wire. Among the locked-in people there were a few men and most of those were old; everything else was women, girls and children. Many children crowded at the windows and the narrow door openings. The youngest were surely not more than two years old.
As soon as the train halted, the Jews attempted to pass out bottles in order to get water. The train, however, was surrounded by SS guards, so that no one could come near. At that moment a train arrived from the direction of Jarosław; the travellers streamed toward the exit without bothering about the transport. A few Jews who were busy loading a car for the armed forces waved their caps to the locked-in people.
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I talked to a policeman on duty at the railway station. Upon my question as to where the Jews actually came from, he answered:
"Those are probably the last ones from Lwów. That has been going on now for three weeks uninterruptedly. In Jarosław they only let eight remain, no one knows why."
I asked: "How far are they going?" Then he said: "To Belzec." "And then?"
"Poison." I asked: "Gas?" He shrugged his shoulders. Then he said only:
"At the beginning they always shot them, I believe."
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
sergeant in World War II known as the author of the Cornides Report, a report concerning his first hand experience of the extermination of Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
at the Belzec
Belzec extermination camp
Belzec, Polish spelling Bełżec , was the first of the Nazi German extermination camps created for implementing Operation Reinhard during the Holocaust...
concentration camp. He was the founder of Europa-Archiv (renamed Internationale Politik
Internationale Politik
Internationale Politik is the journal of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für auswärtige Politik . It provides authoritative publications on contemporary topics under current editor Sylke Tempel....
in 1995), the first post-war publication in Occupied Germany in Dec. 1946. In 1955 he was instrumental along with Theodor Steltzer
Theodor Steltzer
Theodor Steltzer was a German politician , former Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein and was a member of the Kreisau Circle during World War II, becoming involved while stationed in Occupied Norway as a transportation officer in the Wehrmacht...
, Minister-President
Minister-President
A minister-president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments, in which a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government prevails, who presides over the council of ministers...
of Schleswig Holstein and former member of the Kreisau Circle
Kreisau Circle
The Kreisau Circle was the name the Nazi Gestapo gave to a group of German dissidents centered on the Kreisau estate of Helmuth James Graf von Moltke. The Kreisauer Kreis is celebrated as one of the instances of German opposition to the Nazi regime...
with founding the German Council on Foreign Relations, known by the acronym DGAP, for its German spelling (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik). Cornides was a member of the Oldenbourg family, owners of R. Oldenbourg Verlag (publishers). A German publishing house started in 1858 by Rudolf Oldenbourg.
On August 30, 1942 Cornides, was in the Rzeszów
Rzeszów
Rzeszów is a city in southeastern Poland with a population of 179,455 in 2010. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River, in the heartland of the Sandomierska Valley...
rail station, on his way to Chełm by train. In his journal he wrote that a railway policeman had told him that ‘a marble plaque with golden letters will be erected on 1 September, because then the city will be "Judenfrei" (free of Jews). The policeman also told him that trains filled with Jews "pass almost daily through the shunting yards, are dispatched immediately on their way, and return swept clean, most often the same evening." Some 6,000 Jews from Jarosław, were recently killed in one day."
Cornides took a regular passenger train from Rzeszów to Chełm, he arrived in Rawa Ruska on August 31, and made further entries in his journal;
"At ten minutes past noon I saw a transport train run into the station. On the roof and running boards sat guards with rifles. One could see from a distance that the cars were jammed full of people. I turned and walked along the whole train: it consisted of 35 cattle cars and one passenger car.
In each of the cars there were at least 60 Jews (in the case of the enlisted men's or prisoner transports these wagons would hold 40 men; however, the benches had been removed and one could see that those who were locked in here had to stand pressed together). Some of the doors were opened a crack, the windows criss-crossed with barbed wire. Among the locked-in people there were a few men and most of those were old; everything else was women, girls and children. Many children crowded at the windows and the narrow door openings. The youngest were surely not more than two years old.
As soon as the train halted, the Jews attempted to pass out bottles in order to get water. The train, however, was surrounded by SS guards, so that no one could come near. At that moment a train arrived from the direction of Jarosław; the travellers streamed toward the exit without bothering about the transport. A few Jews who were busy loading a car for the armed forces waved their caps to the locked-in people.
"Those are probably the last ones from Lwów. That has been going on now for three weeks uninterruptedly. In Jarosław they only let eight remain, no one knows why."
I asked: "How far are they going?" Then he said: "To Belzec." "And then?"
"Poison." I asked: "Gas?" He shrugged his shoulders. Then he said only:
"At the beginning they always shot them, I believe."