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»Die Waggons sind zum ersten Mal geöffnet worden in Auschwitz«

Rosa Keck | »Die Waggons sind zum ersten Mal geöffnet worden in Auschwitz« | self-evidence | Federal Republic of Germany | Oct. 30, 1951 | voi_00011

Rights held by: Rosa Keck | Provided by: Directorate-General for War Victims (Brussels/Belgium) | Archived under: Dossier Rosa Keck / d130365 / R.451 Tr. 85206-19-1 and R.451 Tr. 85206-19-2

Düren, 30.10.51
Questionnaire
Surname: Keck
First name: Rosa
Born in Krebeck, Duderstadt district (Thüringen),
on 19 December 1910, nationality: German


1.) In which transport were you?
No. of transport unknown. Departure on 15.1.1944
[supplemented in handwriting by ‘No. 58’]
2.) Further details about the transport.
The transport took place in cattle wagons. There was no lavatory to do your business. During the transport we were guarded by the German SS. There were 55 of us in a wagon, women, men and children all together. The transport was made up of 350 Sinti and Roma, but the largest number were Jews. After we had been locked up in Mechelen, the wagons were first opened in Auschwitz. We arrived in Auschwitz on 18.1.1944. There was no physical abuse during the transport because no one was assigned to mind us.
You were interned in Mechelen?
After we had been arrested by four military policemen in Hasselt on 23.11.1943, I was sent to St Gilles prison before arriving in the military barracks [Dossin] in Mechelen on 26.11.1943. In Mechelen I was abused several times by uniformed members of the Wehrmacht.
6.) Were you in Auschwitz?
Yes, I arrived in Auschwitz on 18.1.1944 and stayed there until August 1944. At around this time, I was transferred to Ravensbrück concentration camp. In Auschwitz I was deployed in the boiler detail. My serial number was Z-9786.
I cannot remember my number in Ravensbrück. In February 1945 I was put on the transport that went to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
We Sinti and Roma entered the Auschwitz camp on foot, the Jews were transported away in shut wagons. I believe they were gassed straight away.
Jews and Sinti and Roma were kept separate, that’s why I cannot tell you any of the names of the Jews.
Among the Sinti and Roma, I remember the family Steinbach and Weiss from Holland, I cannot give an exact address because they are constantly moving around. A sister of mine, who was also at this camp, is living in Darmstadt. But she was sent directly from Darmstadt to Auschwitz and therefore was not part of the transport from Mechelen.

[signature and stamp]
L.H. De Maen
Chef de la Mission Belge de Recherches
Oberkassel/Bonn

Signature of the delegate from the
Ministry for Reconstruction:
Signature of the witness:
Attestation by staff member:

Düren, den 30.10.51
Fragebogen
Familienname: Keck.
Vorname: Rosa.
Geboren zu Krebeck Krs. Duderstadt (Thüringen),
Am 19. Dezember 1910, Nat[ionalität] Deutsche.


1.) [In welchem] Transport waren Sie?
Nr. vom Transport unbekannt, Abfahrt am 15.1.1944
[handschriftlich ergänzt bei Nr.: 58]
2.) Nähere Angaben über den Transport.
Der Transport geschah in Viehwagen. Zum Austreten waren keine besonderen Vorrichtungen eingerichtet. Während des Transportes wurden wir von [d]eutscher SS bewacht. Wir waren mit 55 Personen in einem Waggon, Frauen, Männer und Kinder alles durcheinander. Der Transport bestand aus 350 Zigeuner[n,] aber die größte Anzahl Juden. Nachdem wir eingeschlossen waren in Mecheln sind die Waggons zum ersten [M]al geöffnet worden in Auschwitz. Wir kamen am 18.1.1944 in Auschwitz an. Während des Transportes haben keine Misshandlungen stattgefunden, da sie sich um uns ja nicht gekümmert haben.
Sind Sie in Mecheln interniert worden?
Nachdem wir am 23.11.1943 in Hasselt durch vier Feldgendarmen festgenommen worden sind[,] kam ich in die Kaserne [Dossin] in Mecheln am 26.11.1943 über das Gefängnis St. Gilles. Ich wurde in Mecheln verschiedene [Male] misshandelt durch uniformierte Wehrmachtsangehörige.
6.) Sind Sie [in] Auschwitz gewesen?
Ja[,] ich bin am 18.1.1944 in Auschwitz angekommen und blieb da bis August 1944. Um diese Zeit bin ich transferiert worden nach K.L. [= Konzentrationslager] Ravensbrück. Ich wurde in Auschwitz in [dem] Kommando Kesselkolonne eingesetzt. Meine Stammnummer war Z-9786.
Ich erinnere mich nicht mehr an meine Nummer in Ravensbrück. Im Februar 1945 kam ich zu dem Transport[,] der nach dem K.L. Bergen-Belsen ging.
Wir Zigeuner sind zu Fuß ins Lager Auschwitz hineingekommen, die Juden wurden in geschlossenen Wagen abtransportiert. Meiner Meinung nach sind [s]ie sofort vergast worden.
Juden und Zigeuner wurden getrennt gehalten[,] deshalb kann ich keine Namen von Juden angeben.
Von den Zigeuner[n] erinnere ich mich an die Familie Steinbach und Weiss aus Holland, ich kann keine genaue Adresse angeben[,] da [s]ie dauernd wandern. Eine Schwester von mir[,] welche auch zu diesem Lager gehörte[,] ist in Darmstadt wohnhaft. Sie kam allerdings [direkt] von Darmstadt in [das] K.L. [= Konzentrationslager] Auschwitz und gehört deshalb nicht zu dem Transport von Mecheln.

[Unterschrift und Stempel]
L.H. De Maen
Chef de la Mission Belge de Recherches
Oberkassel/Bonn

Unterschrift des Delegierten vom
Wiederaufbau-Ministerium:
Unterschrift der Aussagenden:
Die Angestellte als Zeuge:

Düren, 30. 10. 51
Phučimasko lil
Familijako anav: Keck
Anav: Rosa
Bijandi Krebeck, Duderstadt than (Thüringen),
po 19. Decembro 1910 berš, nacionaliteto Njamcisko


1.) Ko savo transporto senas?
Bipindžardo transportesko numero, crdipe ko 15.1.1944
2.) Buteder informacije vaš o transporto.

O transporto sas ande dživinenge vagonora kerdo. Naj sas šajipe avri te džalpe. Soro vrama arakhle samas kotar e Nemcikane SS-Manuša. Samas 55 amare manuša ko jekh vagono, rromnja, murša thaj čavorra savore ki xrpa. Ko transporto sas 350 Sintora thaj Rroma, ba buteder olendar sas Bibolde. Kana phangle amen ko Mechelen, e vagonura angluno drom putarde ando Auschwitz. Ko Auschwitz reslam ko 18. 1. 1944 berš. Pe amende naj sas kerdo dukavibe, kaj khonik na lelas sama pe amende.
Senas li ko Mechelen phangle?
Kana samas phangle katar e štar armijake policajcora ko Hasselt po 23. 11. 1943 berš, me semas bičaldi ando phanglipe St. Gilles, angleder te resav ke armijake barake [Dossin] ko Mechelen po 26. 11 .1943 berš. Ko Mechelen semas butvar phuknjali kotar e uniformirime armijake manuša.
6.) Senas li ko Auschwitz?
Semas, me avilem ko Auschwitz po 18. 1. 1944 berš thaj odori ačhilem dži ko Avgusto 1944 berš. Maškar adaja vrama semas bičhaldi ko Koncentracijako Lager Ravensbrück. Ko Auschwitz semas lindi ando Komando pe kolonija so kerelas buti po tato pani. Miro serijako numero sas Z-9786.
Našti te dav ma godi pe mo numero ko Ravensbrück. Ko Februari 1945 berš čhuti semas po transporto so džalas ko Bergen-Belsen.
Amen e Sintora thaj e Rroma dijamas andre ko Auschwitz Lager phirindos, e Bibolde sas kote ingarde phangle vagonenca. Me gindiv kaj sas sigo mudarde gasosa.
E Bibolde thaj e Sintora vi e Rroma sas arakhle ulavdes, kodoleske me našti te phenav tumenge nijekh Biboldengo anav.
Kotar e Sintora thaj e Rroma, dav man godi pe familija Steinbach thaj Weiss kotar e Holandija. Me našti te dav tumen olengi adresa soske von sakana phirenas pe droma. Muri phen, so katar kodo kampo sas, trail ko Darmstadt. Numa, voj sas bičhaldi direktno kotar o Darmstadt ko Auschwitz thaj kodoleske voj naj sas ko Mechelen transporto.

[signatura thaj štampilo]
L.H. De Maen
Chef de la Mission Belge de Recherches
Oberkassel/Bonn

signature delegatondar katar o
Ministeriumo vaš e Rekonstrukcija:
Mujalnesko hramosaripe:
Bućarnengi Verifikacija:

Credits

Rights held by: Rosa Keck | Provided by: Directorate-General for War Victims (Brussels/Belgium) | Archived under: Dossier Rosa Keck / d130365 / R.451 Tr. 85206-19-1 and R.451 Tr. 85206-19-2

Contextualisation

Mechelen  Auschwitz-Birkenau  Ravensbrück  Bergen-Belsen
Rosa Keck, born on 19 October 1910 in Krebeck (Thuringia, German Reich), was one of the few survivors of the deportation from Belgium. She was part of the Keck-Elster family who had fled the German Reich around 1938 and settled in Hasselt (Limburg). In November 1943, 21 persons from the family were arrested in Hasselt, interned for almost two months in the transit camp Mechelen (Malines) and then deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Almost all of Rosa Keck’s relatives were murdered there, including her two sons.
As early as 1946 Rosa Keck gave evidence in Hasselt during a trial against war criminals. Extremely detailed and throwing into sharp relief the horrific conditions in the camp and the suffering of the inmates, the statement was translated from Flemish into German and published by Rosa Keck’s daughter Melanie Spitta (b. 1946), a filmmaker and pioneer of the Romani women’s movement (Melanie Spitta: ‘In Sachen Kriegsverbrechen – Pro Justitiaʼ, in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Historische Hefte über Verfolgung und Genozid an Roma und Sinti, Vol. 1, March 1998, pp. 19–24).
The present document records an interview conducted in Düren by Lieutenant L. De Maen, head of the Belgian missing persons tracing service in Germany. The questions reflect the interests of the interviewer and thus the answers hardly indicate the suffering experienced by Rosa Keck, which continued to affect her until her death in 1958.

Details

übersetzer Titel
‘The wagons were first opened again in Auschwitz’
übersetzer Titel
»E vagonija sas angluno drom vi jekhvar putarde ando Auschwitz«
Production
Oct. 30, 1951
Credits
Production Credits
  • Rosa Keck (Author) (Düren, Federal Republic of Germany)
Object Category
Material
Technique
Object Number
voi_00011

Archive Section

Associated Terms & People

people Melanie Spitta, subjects escape, process, testimony, period 1933 - 1945