From this large transport of more than 1700 people, 4 men have returned. The statements they made once again essentially confirm the correctness of what was stated in paragraph 2 of this chapter regarding the fate of the direct Auschwitz transports in general.
However, the report by one of the repatriates, that a group of young women had been "selected", seems to contradict what was concluded there about the women. The witness allegedly saw that this group disappeared while walking in the direction of the Auschwitz I camp. However, he also states that "the group of women and children and elderly men were loaded onto three large semi-trailer trucks and were also taken away in the direction of Auschwitz I. The latter cannot be correct, because the gas chambers were not in Auschwitz I, but in Auschwitz II, (Birkenau).
Since the group of so-called selected women in question and the women with children and old people intended for gassing apparently went to the same camp, this could only have been Birkenau, and the obvious assumption is that the selection in question was not selection for employment, but simply the splitting off of a group that was expected to be able to walk to the gas chambers.
This assumption is strongly confirmed by the fact that no woman from this transport was ever heard from again. It must therefore also be assumed that all women, with possible individual exceptions, were immediately gassed in this transport.
At least 335 of the men have matriculated. The well-known matricule-series runs from 67367(A) to 67701 (Z), from which it also follows that this series could not have been much larger than 335 men. On the other hand, the number of men in the age group 15-50 years is 461, which could indicate that a lower selection limit may have been applied. However, it also appears that a fairly large number of men between the ages of 40 and 50 were among those employed, because 7 of this age group have already been found among the 33 known matriculated persons. Adopting a lower age limit would therefore be contrary to known facts.
The large difference between the mentioned figures of 461 and 335 can only be explained by assuming that, as with the transport of 12 October 1942 (see there), another group of men was matriculated in a second series; of which coincidentally no name has become known. The latter is very possible, because, for example, as the above figures show, only 10% of the number of men who were matriculated in the series found are known by name. There is room for a second series among the well-known number series of foreign transports.
Based on this, the selection limit has also been set at 15-50 years for the transport discussed here. The dates of death are known for a total of 148 matriculates. Of these, there are in October 1942: 20 - November 1942: 84 - December 1942: 32 - January 1943: 10 - February 1943: 2 From this mortality trend it can be concluded that the employed group must have been virtually extinct by the end of January 1943.
It must therefore be assumed that the employees, of whom nothing is known individually, died no later than 31 January 1943.
Letters were received from 26 men, all but 2 from Birkenau, and most recently on 1 December 1942 from 7 men; on 14 December 1942of 6 men; on 18 January 1943 from 1 man; from February to May 1943 of 4 men; on 15 June 1943 from 1 man; on 7 September 1943 from 3 men; on 8 November 1943 from 2 men and on 7 April 1944 from 2 men.
From Annex IV: Summary of the conclusion of the "Direct Auschwitz Transport" of 9 October 1942
Of the transport mentioned here departure date from Westerbork), all women, as well as men, born before 12 October 1891 and boys born after 12 October 1927, are considered to have died on the day of arrival in Auschwitz (3 days after departure from Westerbork). Men born on or between the dates stated here are deemed to have died no earlier than 3 days after departure from Westerbork, but no later than 31 January 1943.
Source: the archives of the Dutch Red Cross, Publication Auschwitz III, edited October 1952, “the Deportation transports during the so-called Cosel-period” (28 August 1942 - 12 December 1942) and the Direct Auschwitz-transports, pages 72-73 and 74 and Appendix IV, conclusions.