Chełmno - The First Death Camp

Chełmno: The First Death Camp

The Chełmno (Kulmhof) death camp began its orgy of murder on 8 December 1941. The camp itself was situated some forty miles north-west of the Polish city of Łódź, which was located within the newly annexed area known as the ‘Reichsgau Wartheland’. It was the first camp specifically designed to be a sort of abattoir; but instead of slaughtering cattle, it slaughtered human beings en masse. Men, women, and children of all ages were its fodder.

Its first victims—some 700 Jews from the nearby Polish town of Koło—were loaded in batches of 80 into small gas chambers, which were simply the backs of sealed vans (the camp had three such vehicles). Once loaded, the vans would travel a short distance to a small wooded area where mass graves had been prepared. Those locked inside the back of the van would be gassed en route using the exhaust fumes from the vehicle itself. Later, the vans would remain static as the gassing took place. The area surrounding Chełmno was combed for Jews, and all would suffer the same fate as the population of Koło. Some 88 children from Lidice, a Czech village subjected to a massacre, would also end their lives within the death camp.

The camp's first commandant was SS-Sturmbannführer (Major) Herbert Lange, who was later killed in action on 20 April 1945 in Bernau bei Berlin, a small town some 6 miles north-east of the German capital. The camp's last commandant was SS-Hauptsturmführer (Captain) Hans Bothmann, who took over command in 1942.

In March 1943, the camp ceased operations and the SS began to dismantle the site. However, when the decision was made to completely liquidate the Łódź Ghetto, the camp was reopened in April 1944. The killings began all over again in June of that year as transports commenced. By this stage, the camp had established a crematorium to ensure that all its victims were cremated

In September 1944, as part of Sonderaktion 1005—an operation designed to hide Nazi atrocities—the camp authorities began a systematic attempt to cover up their crimes. The SS employed a special prisoner Kommando, known as the Leichenkommando (corpse unit), to exhume all buried victims and ensure their cremation. To further conceal the crime of genocide, the camp authorities purchased a bone-crushing machine (Knochenmühle) to ensure that no trace of the cremated remains could be found. When the process was complete, the small group of Jewish prisoners who formed the corpse unit realised that their own execution was imminent. Instead of allowing themselves to be massacred, they staged a revolt. Out of the 48 prisoners who made up the Kommando, only three managed to escape.

It is difficult to ascertain the exact number of people murdered within the camp; however, estimates range between 170,000 and 360,000 (Sources: Encyclopedia Britannica and Martin Gilbert's Second World War, 2000, pp. 274–275). Throughout the short lifespan of the camp, only a handful of prisoners managed to escape. By the time the Red Army arrived on 17 January 1945, the Nazis had already destroyed the site in an attempt to hide evidence of their crimes and had murdered the remaining prisoners

Herbert Lange - Chelmo Commandant.

Lange was the commandant of Chełmno extermination camp.

Born in Menzlin, Pomerania, Lange studied law but failed to obtain a degree.

He joined the Nazi Party (NSDAP) on 1 May 1932.He enlisted in the Sturmabteilung (SA) in August of the same year, and he joined the SS the following year.

Subsequently, he joined the police force, becoming a deputy commissioner in 1935.On 9 November 1939, he was promoted to the rank of SS-Untersturmführer (Second Lieutenant) and posted to Poland.

Following his promotion to SS-Obersturmführer (First Lieutenant) on 20 April 1940, he became the first commandant of the Chełmno extermination camp, where he was implicated in thousands of gassings.

In 1942, he was transferred to the Reich Main Security Office because his services were needed there.

He served under Arthur Nebe as a Kriminalrat (Detective Chief Superintendent).

In 1944, he aided in catching the conspirators of the July 20 plot against Hitler's life, which led to his promotion to SS-Sturmbannführer.

Lange was killed in action during the Battle of Berlin.