Pertaining to PV [procès-verbal] 204 of 22 June 1945 and PV 208 of 23 June 1945 – both authored by Hinkens.
Regarding: unknown persons (from Germany).
Subject: guilty of mistreating prisoners.
Testimony: Helena Tenenbaum, Polish national, born on 15 September 1912 in Warsaw, residing at rue du Progrès 221 in Schaerbeek.
PRO JUSTITIA
On 23 June 1945 at 6.00 p.m., I, Martin Hinkens, Main Commissioner for State Security, officer of the judiciary police, assisting the Auditor General, heard our inspector Adelin Verbans, who stated in French:
On 23 June 1945 at 3.00 p.m., I heard Helena Tenenbaum, Polish national, born on 15 September 1912 in Warsaw, residing at rue du Progrès 221 in Schaerbeek, who stated as follows in French:
At the beginning of 1943 I was arrested by the Gestapo agents on avenue Louise in Brussels and sent to the concentration camp in Malines [Mechelen], from where I was transported to Germany several days later. I arrived at the camp in Birkenau and then went through the same ordeal as my companion in misery Ms. Chana Kupferminc. I stayed in block 10 in Auschwitz camp and I confirm all the points made in her testimony, which you have presented to me.
In block 10 I was subjected to the same treatment conducted by Prof. Clauberg as Ms. Tola Neyman. I suffered through the same torture as her and I’m suffering to this day. I declare that her testimony, which you have presented to me, is accurate and I confirm it on all the points.
After five or six weeks of illness which I contracted as a result of injections I had been given, I had to carry out lighter work in my kommando. We received 250 grams of bread and a liter of soup a day.
In 1944 I was transported to the camp in Ravensbrück, where we experienced the worst suffering. There was no hygiene, medicine, or medical assistance. We sometimes didn’t get any food for a whole day. There were no beds and we slept on boards, with no cover. We were given a piece of bread, sometimes soup or warm water, but not every day.
SS men and SS women beat us. The living and the dead stayed side by side; what is more, there were no toilets and we had to relieve ourselves in front of other women, SS men and male prisoners. When a severely ill person came to the hospital which was functioning ( theoretically), they were given an injection and a few minutes later they usually died; their suffering was over.
On 18 January 1945 I left Ravensbrück and was transported with other prisoners in cattle wagons to Malchow camp. The discipline there was very strict. SS men and SS women beat us constantly.
One Danzka [Luise Danz], a rather tall and skinny woman, was particularly evil. There was no order in the way we were fed: 100 to 125 grams of bread daily, and warm water, but not every day.
I stayed there until 25 April 1945 – the day we were liberated by the Americans. I came to Brussels on 16 May.
The report was read and signed.
Let us clarify that testimonies of Chana Kupferminc and Tola Neyman were the subject of our PV 204 and 208 of 22 and 23 June 1945.
Done on the same day, Hinkens