From Chapter II, General (concerns transports during the Cosel period).
The "arbeitsfähige”(working) men who were taken off the train in Cosel were generally in the age group of approximately 15 to 50 years, in some individual cases slightly older. Those who remained on the train to be sent to Auschwitz were, broadly speaking, the older, weak or sickly men and the women and children.
In general it can be stated that the latter groups were killed by gassing immediately upon arrival at Auschwitz. This is proven by the fact that, apart from known exceptional cases, no matriculate numbers appear for these groups in the Auschwitz administration, while on the other hand it is certain that all arrivals in Auschwitz who were not immediately gassed were matriculated.
Overview of the transport of November 16, 1942 from Westerbork
The transport of 16 November 1942 from Westerbork consisted of 761 people, of which 100 boys and men between 15-50 years old had to disembark in Cosel, of which 3 were ultimately survivors. The overall route followed, i.e. the camps in which large groups of the transport stayed successively until their arrival in Blechhammer, in the Gross Rosen resort, in the Auschwitz-Birkenau-Monowitz resort or in Gleiwitz, were to: St. Annaberg - Klein Mangersdorf - Blechhammer and a few to the Gross Rosen resort. The movements of small groups or individual persons, such as the sick, professionals, prisoners, etc. are not taken into account.
From the transport of 16 Nov 42 arrived in Blechhammer:
2 representatives in December 1942 from Klein Mangersdorf (transport strength not stated). One of them went with the evacuation transport, the other was liberated in Blechhammer.
From that transport of 16 Nov 1942, which arrived in the Gross Rosen district:
1 representative on November 22, 1942 with 70 Dutch people from St. Annaberg in Tränke. Further route: December 14, 1943 to Wisau; mid-April 1944 to Bunzlau (with the survivors, being 70 men) and 10 February 1945 on evacuation transport via Görlitz - Dora - Ellrich to Bergen Belsen, where it was liberated in April 1945.
More about the transport of 16 Nov 1942 that left Westerbork.
From this transport, from which approximately 100 men disembarked in Cosel, there are only 3 survivors. All went first to St. Annaberg. From there a group went to the Gross Rosen district (Tranke and beyond) on ± 22 November 1942. Their names and fates are known. In this regard, reference is made to the discussion of the transport of 16 October 1942. (see below).
According to the statements, several groups were deported from St. Annaberg to an unknown destination. An important part went to Klein Mangersdorf at the end of November 1942 and from there to Blechhammer at the end of December 1942.
Since the information is too limited, no other conclusion can be reached than that those who were not found in Blechhammer or elsewhere must be considered to have died no later than the end of March 1944 (time of termination of the contraction of the occupations of the "Zwangarbeitslager" " in Blechhammer). Place of death: one of the labor camps in Silesia (Poland).
Moreover, in view of the aforementioned general course of events in Blechhammer, it can therefore be safely assumed that in general those who are only mentioned as having been found in Blechhammer, but whose existence has not become apparent after 31 March 1944, must be considered to have died no later than that date.
From the discussion of the transport of 16-10-42, which arrived in the Gross Rosen resort:
1. 1 representative on 22 Nov 42 from Sakrau in Tränke with 70 Dutch people, of which 30 from St. Annaberg. Worked as an electrician in Tränke. Further route: On 14 Dec 43 to Wisau with 64 Dutch people. On 29 Feb 44 to Kittlitztreben, as an electrician, with 2 other Dutch people. Liberated there on 10 Feb 45.
2. 1 representative on 17 Jan 43 from Ottmuth in Neukirch with 100 to 120 Ned. Further route: October 1943 to Görlitz with ±8 Dutch people. On 15 Mar 44 to Kittlitztreben On 9 Feb 45 on evacuation transport to Buchenwald.
3. 1 representative at the beginning of March 1943 from Johannsdorf in Ludwigsdorf (probably a small transport; strength not stated). Further route: In July 1943 via Faulbrück to Graditz. Returned to Ludwigsdorf in May 1944. In August 1944 to Faulbrück and shortly afterwards to Sportschule Reichenbach, where it was liberated.
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Source: the archives of the Red Cross, Publication "Auschwitz III" - deportation transports in the Cosel period, August 28 to December 12, 1942, published October 1952, pages including 8, 12, 27, 33, 34 and 54.