Peter Weiss’ monumental 1965 stage play, among the greatest artworks on the Holocaust, condenses the testimonies of wi | dG1fRkNlZi0zTXpibnc
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Short filmTranscript
00:00Mr. Witness, the court is in possession of your diary.
00:04It is to be read first.
00:06Today, for lunch, there was roast beef, a very thick cabbage roll with flour dumplings and red cabbage.
00:12Then it says, against 11 executions.
00:20The officer who divided us was very friendly.
00:23I asked him where the others were going.
00:27And he answered, we're just going for a swim now.
00:37Everything went smoothly.
00:39The transports arrived like hot rolls.
00:47The locomotive whistle was the signal that a new transport was arriving.
00:52That meant that in about an hour the ovens had to be ready for use.
00:59When the prisoners were brought into the chambers, the paramedics went to the hatches,
01:03put on their gas masks and emptied the buckets.
01:08At the end of the ramp, the sky was colored red.
01:11The smoke was sweet and subdued.
01:15Don't you want to tell us now what you have arranged in connection with the extermination actions?
01:21We would like to draw your attention to the fact that our inmates dispute the participation in these proceedings.
01:26It was an order. We couldn't do anything about it.
01:28I only did what I had to do.
01:30I only had to do the paperwork.
01:31I did not participate in any of the killings.
01:33What are the findings?
01:34I was against this whole affair.
01:36I don't know anymore.
01:38People don't burn.
01:40It all went very quickly.
01:48I would like to point out how close the path was to the spectators
01:53when we were driven out of our apartments and looted into the cattle carriages.