History of Sorts

I found it difficult to select a suitable title for this blog but, I think Mundane Evil probably describes it best. The photograph above is of a list of belongings of an inmate of Auschwitz.

Unfortunately, I can’t decipher the first name, but the last name is Ludwig. However, it also could be the first name. In Germany and other European countries, a person’s last name is often put first on official documents.

What makes this document so chilling is its mundane nature—the title is “Directory of Belongings of the Estate.” Above the title, it gives the date of birth, 23 July 1912 and the date of death, 2 February 1941.

It is not clear who this person was but we do know the items he had when he went in to Auschwitz.

1 Suitcase

1 Hat

1 Coat

1 Jacket

I Pair of trousers

1 Vest

2 Shirts

2 Underpants

1 Tie

I pair of Shoes

1 Pair of socks

1 Handkerchief

1 Towel

2 Wallets

1 Briefcase

It’s a directory of items that captured 29-½ years of life for the deceased. Nazis murdered him at Auschwitz on 2 February 1941—before the mass killings started.

There is another date on the document. It is the date this document was issued—7 March 1941, six days after the visit of Heinrich Himmler and his inspection of the camp ordering its expansion.

The meticulousness of the data is just mind-boggling! How can anyone be so evil and yet so mundane to tick off a list of possessions with the knowledge that the person mentioned—was murdered at the camp? Yet this kind of recording inventory is so valuable as evidence.

Source

http://auschwitz.org/en/museum/archives/collection/