Introduction
The publication Auschwitz V is about the transports from 1944. There were relatively slightly fewer transports in this period, “only 8”, and relatively slightly more detainees were employed. The first transport to Auschwitz left Westerbork on 25 January 1944 and the last transport left for Auschwitz on 3 September 1944. In addition, a transport left from Vught on 3 June 1944 to Auschwitz with the Philips group. During this period, direct transports also went to Bergen-Belsen, Ravensbrück, Buchenwald and Theresienstadt.
From Chapter II – sub 2 / Transport of 8 February 1944 pages 16 to 20
The composition of the transport of 8 February 1944 was as follows: 221 children up to 15 years old; 222 men aged 15 to 50; 117 women aged 15 to 40; 118 men over 50 years old and 337 women over 40 years old. There were 30 survivors, 15 men and 15 women.
A): Sick (men and women)
This transport of a total of 1015 deportees included 268 sick people, who were transported in separate wagons and, with some known exceptions, were immediately gassed upon arrival. Their names are listed separately on the transport list.
B): Men
From notes in the Auschwitz Number Book about the destination of the deportees as well as from the reconstructed series matricule numbers from 173.502 (A) to 173.648 (W), it can be concluded that approximately 150 men survived the selection upon arrival. The number of men aged 15-50 is 222, including 40 sick people; which fall under the sub. A category referred to above. There were therefore 182 healthy men in this age group, 32 more than the number of matriculated (150).
This is an indication that a lower age limit applied during the selection, which would be confirmed by the statements of two survivors, who even talk about limits or age limits. from 18-35 and 18-40 years. Another survivor mentions that the limit was 50 years old. The truth must have been somewhere in the middle. Up to ±150 matriculates are approximated if the selection limit is set at 16-45 years, in which age group the number of healthy men is 157.
At the other hand, no man older than 45 years was found among matriculates, which does not say much, because only very few names have been found; the youngest matriculated was 24 years old. Based on all considerations, adopting the age limits for employees at 16-45 years must be considered the only acceptable starting point.
Because only a very few men from this transport were deported to Monowitz, and the administration of this camp is the only one of which important parts have been preserved, which are useful for the treatment of transports from the period discussed here, while there are also no "Fragebogen" (questionaires) have been found, very little is known about the fate of most deportees.
A number of names and dates of death have emerged from witness statements, so that after deducting the number of 15 survivors, approximately 100 missing persons remain, about whose ultimate fate a further conclusion must be drawn. Furthermore, it is established that all selected men were kept in “quarantine” for approximately four weeks, during which time only 2 men died.
According to the Number Book, most of the men remained in Auschwitz and Birkenau. Small groups were deported to sub-camps of Auschwitz near Jaworzno and Hubertushütte, and one man to Brobek. Finally, a number of “überstellt”, which should mean that those involved were deported to a camp outside the Auschwitz complex (although this is just above the transport of 25 January 1944 has been noted, does not always come true). It is not known where these “überstellten” were brought.
A few doctors and some nurses accompanied a transport of Hungarians to Wüstegiersdorf (Gross-Rosen district) in May 1944, while according to a witness statement some men were taken to Oranienburg in August 1944 (but probably the transport of 3 July 1944 to Schwarzheide). .
The names and dates of death of those deported can be determined on the basis of the conclusions in Part VI of these publications. With regard to the fate of the missing, taking into account that the living conditions of the deportees had practically not changed, no other conclusion can be drawn than that the estimated lifespan of 4 to 5 months after arrival in Auschwitz also applies to them.
Taking into account the above-mentioned quarantine period of four weeks, it could therefore be concluded that, unless otherwise known, the men who had reached the age of 16 on 11 February 1944, but were not yet 46 years old, died after 10 March 1944, but no later than 30 June 1944, and that the remainder were gassed immediately upon arrival.
C): Women
The selection limit for the women of this transport was higher than for the women of the transport of 25 January 1944. The well-known matricule series runs from 75.215(B) to 75.281(W), so that more than 67 women must have been selected, survived. There were a total of 117 women aged 15 to 40, including 37 sick people who fall under category A.
In the mentioned age group, ± 80 healthy women could therefore have been spared. If we take into account that there are still a few numbers before the B and after the W, then this number is quite consistent with the number of matriculated women. The selection limit will therefore have been approximately 15-40 years, which is confirmed by witness statements.
However, just as with the transport of 25 January 1944, there is no reason in this transport to compile the (presumed) list of employed women on the basis of an age limit. Not only can this list be drawn up largely nominatively on the basis of witness statements, but the time of death of most of those involved can also be determined individually on the basis of those statements or other documentation material.
A maximum of 20 to 25 women can be regarded as “missing”. In the absence of further information, the latest date of death for these women could be assumed to be the same as for the "missing" men of this transport, i.e. 30 June 1944.
It should be taken into account that, as appears from witness statements, the spared remaining women are kept in "quarantine" for a number of (some say 6) weeks due to the outbreak of a typhoid epidemic, during which time 3 women have died. (Typhoid is not prevalent in the quarantine block).
According to one of the survivors, this “quarantine” lasted until after the Jewish Easter (which began on 8 April 1944), while according to another the exact end date was 13 April 1944. In connection with this, this date could be assumed to be the start date of the period in which death can occur.
It is also noted that among the women, whose fate could be determined individually, there were some, who were taken to Gross-Rosen as a nurse around May 1944 and some others to Bergen Belsen in November and December 1944. To the extent necessary, they are covered by the conclusions in Part VI of these publications.
Source website “war in Nijmegen”/Publication Auschwitz part V by the Red Cross of December 1953, Chapter 2 – pages 16 to 20, Transport from Westerbork 8 February 1944.