and 31 rather than 27 and 29 [Auschwitz Lullaby]. The author of the latter book was also mistaken in determining the number of blocks in the so-called Zigeunerlager (the Roma camp, at the BIIe section of Birkenau), even though the annexe to the book contained the correct camp plan with numbers of the barracks.
The second problem area, presented entirely at variance with reality, is the service of SS men in Auschwitz and their privileges. The camp officers enjoy complete impunity and considerably broader capabilities than in reality. Contrary to what the novel says, the crew members were not allowed to leave their place of duty at any time, or leave a prisoner unescorted outside the grounds of the camp or lead a prisoner out of the camp gate with a self-written pass (or even without a permit). Furthermore, it was not permitted to get drunk while on duty, and personal and sexual contact between SS personnel and inmates was particularly prohibited. These books build up an image of the service, during which bored, uncontrolled SS men walk around the camp in disarray, give vent to their animal instincts with sophisticated murders, constantly drinking and shooting at randomly passing prisoners, and raping female prisoners whenever and wherever they so desire. The military hierarchy with an extensive system of superiority and discipline and obedience to superiors - these indispensable attributes of all uniformed formations, so crucial in managing such a large and organisationally complicated institution as the Auschwitz concentration camp - are not reflected in the quasi-camp books.
The authors also do not understand the formal rules of functioning of the camp, so ambiguities and improbable events appear in almost every scene where the course and explanation of events require knowledge of camp regulations. As an example: prisoners leave the camp without an escort, escape in absurd circumstances (e.g., just before the roll call, as in the Kommando puff, or "by chance," as in the Tattooist of Auschwitz), change the work command in unclear circumstances, and SS men visit sick female prisoners in the camp infirmary. Irregularities are also evident in the application of basic concepts. The authors do not distinguish between the nomenclature, role and scope of privileges and duties of functionary prisoners at different levels. Thus, the only representatives of prisoner power are the ubiquitous and all-powerful brutal kapos. The novels hardly ever mention the block leaders (responsible for maintaining order in the blocks), and there are no middle or lower-level functionaries at all: vorarbeiters, room leaders, night guards, guarding the entrance to the blocks, as well as functionary prisoners employed in the prison infirmary, and others. The complex social structure within the prisoner community is described in an overly simplified way, and its real internal diversity, which in practice translated into almost all aspects of the camp experience, is not reflected in the narrative. In terms of the characterisation of particular SS functionaries, the authors often confuse their ranks with those held in the camp and thus create non-existent posts, such as Obersturmführer of Canada (in the Angel of Auschwitz). Meanwhile, the Obersturmführer is the SS rank corresponding to that of lieutenant, and the correct name of the post is Kommandoführer Effektenlager (head of warehouses).
Multiple falsehoods appear in fragments describing the appearance of the gas chambers and the extermination process in Auschwitz.