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In every transport there would be some people who were dead or dying. If they had time, however, the Germans would exhibit a "typical Prussian humor" and seemed to have a good time. If several transports were due to arrive on the same day then the Germans would use more brutal methods to drive the Jews out of the train cars. The ramp was completely cleaned between each transport. He says the key to survival was to accept the reality of the situation and he continues to describe the arrival process. Vrba did not understand why people did not wonder about the fate of the people who disappeared before them. Instead the thought occurred to him that these hundreds of thousands of people were disappearing from somewhere. Vrba says he did not feel particularly moved, it was not the time to feel emotion. The name came from the fact that the country Canada had a reputation as a land of plenty.įILM ID 3227 - Camera Roll #100 - 02:00:00 to 02:09:23ĬR 100: Vrba and Lanzmann now stand on a bridge in Central Park Lanzmann asks Vrba to describe his feelings as he waited on the arrival ramp, knowing that most of the Jews on the trains would be gassed immediately. The nickname "Canada" came from the food and medicines that the prisoners could steal while they sorted. Members of the Canada Command were responsible for sorting the clothes and possessions of new arrivals. He begins to describe his work in the Canada Command (Kanada Kommando). Vrba says that prisoners in the camp called those who were gassed upon arrival "civilians." Vrba worked at the arrival ramp for about nine months. If he risked his life in order to bring the message of what was happening at Auschwitz, then his survival was justified.
Vrba says that at Auschwitz the Germans' method was to kill many prisoners in reprisal if anyone attempted to fight back. He escaped from Auschwitz in April 1944 because he hoped that his information about the impending deportations would spread panic and slow down the killing process.ĬR 99: 01:11:13 Vrba and Lanzmann discuss Vrba's use of the word "voluntary" to describe those Jews who arrived as instructed for deportation. In his opinion many Jews were too accustomed to conformity and to following those who had a high social or religious status. Vrba says that when he was first instructed by the Jewish community leaders in Slovakia to present himself for deportation it never occurred to him to actually follow such a "stupid" order.
He escaped in order to give warning about the impending deportation and destruction of the Hungarian Jews. Vrba says that he is not sure if the statistics about the number of escapes from Auschwitz are correct or not.
He smiles as he tells parts of the story it is slightly incongruous because of the nature of what he is discussing. Initially both Lanzmann and Vrba appear in the frame but then the camera zooms in to focus on Vrba's face. He and Lanzmann debate the culpability of the Jewish council members and other Jewish leaders, who Vrba describes as traitors who collaborated with the Nazis.įILM ID 3226 - Camera Rolls #98,99 - 01:00:00 to 01:22:24ĬR 98: Rudolf Vrba and Claude Lanzmann sit on a bench in Central Park. He describes working on the arrival ramp for ten months and witnessing as Jews from various countries went to the gas chambers. Rudolf Vrba was a Slovakian Jew who escaped from Auschwitz in April 1944 in hopes of warning the world about the imminent destruction of the Hungarian Jews and inciting the Jews to revolt.