Sonderkommando

the writer of this essay submits that the real work of the Sonderkommando consisted in burning the bodies of those who had died as a result of disease, old age, and other natural causes. Indeed, if what Nyiszli writes is true, how do we explain the survival of numerous self-described Sonderkommados, such as Bomba and Mueller? It seems that a large number of the Sonderkommandos survived the war, with the exception of those who were killed during the Auschwitz revolt, a subject which will be addressed in detail later.
....It is true that their tasks were loathsome, for it appears that they were responsible for loading the diseased corpses of unfortunate inmates onto the lifts and dragging them to the crematoriums or to the autopsy rooms or morgues. It seems clear that they were also responsible for maintaining these areas, and perhaps part of their unenviable duties consisted of removing gold fillings from the mouths of the deceased, a practice which was recently reported and exposed in a crematorium facility in Pasadena, California. Nysizli's reference to the Sonderkommandos as heroes does not seem to be particularly apt, especially if one were to accept the story that they assisted in the mass gassing of millions of fellow Jews, including their own family members, all for a few months of sleeping on beds with silk sheets and pillows, eating the food of the condemned, reading their books, smoking and selling their cigarettes for profit, and cheating their fellow inmates. Such antics can hardly qualify as heroic behavior. Because they are so far removed from normal human behavior, the author of this essay reiterates his belief that the duties of the Sonderkommandos never involved participation in the mass murder of millions or the disposal of their alleged remains. The Amazing Claims of Miklos Nyiszli