NEW EXHIBITS IN THE COLLECTION OF THE STUTTHOF MUSEUM IN SZTUTOWO
Stutthof Memorial
Crematorium discs were used in many concentration camps. Made of chamotte, they were characterized by high fire resistance. Cremated along with the deceased’s body, they were supposed to confirm the authenticity of the ashes. The numbers stamped on the discs probably meant the number of the crematorium list.
The custom of marking ashes with chamotte discs used in the Third Reich probably dates back to the period before the outbreak of World War II. The regulations describing the procedures accompanying cremation are described in the Act of May 15, 1934. It discusses, among others, the storing of the ashes in a separate room, in officially closed urns. Then, the importance of special marking of ashes was emphasized, so that it would be possible to identify the deceased at any time.
In the case of cremation of bodies in German concentration camps, the Ordinance of Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler issued on February 28, 1940 for KL Sachsenhausen was applicable, but it was also applied in other concentration camps. The instructions list in detail what procedures must be followed in the cremation process. Each incineration had to be preceded by the issuance of a medical certificate confirming death. The bodies of those who died as a result of accidents, long illness, suicide, or were shot while escaping from the camp were previously subjected to autopsies. The bodies of the deceased were not released to their families, but cremated no later than within 24 hours of the written consent of the camp commandant. The crematorium manager was obliged to keep a crematorium list, which could be verified in light of the above-mentioned Ordinance. The inspection included compliance of the list of the deceased with the register of cremations, the aim of which was to detect possible cremations that were contrary to the regulations.
Further on in the Ordinance there are more detailed instructions regarding the cremation process itself. The bodies should be burned individually, placed in a wooden coffin. Coffins could not be equipped with non-flammable metal elements, handles, etc., and their size and properties should be adjusted so as not to constitute an obstacle to combustion. A special mark with the number of the list of the deceased had to be placed at the head of the coffin. The history of chamotte discs tied to corpses or placed in the mouths of the dead probably originated from this procedure. After incineration, the furnace chamber had to be cooled and metal parts had to be removed with a special magnet (e.g. dental details that had not been previously removed) and then the ashes had to be collected and placed together with a chamotte disc (so-called Aschenkapseln) in a metal urn. According to the above-mentioned Regulation, urns with parameters meeting the requirements of DIN 3198 were delivered by the “Topf & Söhne”, the same company that was responsible for the construction of crematoria in the Buchenwald and Auschwitz-Birkenau camps.
The procedure for notifying the families of those who died in concentration camps is described in the next Ordinance of Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler issued on May 21, 1942. We can read in it that the urns were sent only at the request of the families and only in the case of families living in the Third Reich, Germans or Poles belonging to the third DVL category. However, urns with ashes could only be sent if a certificate issued by the cemetery management assigned to the place of residence was provided confirming that an "appropriate" burial had been carried out. In letters sent by the camp command to the families, it can be read that the cremation process itself was carried out at the expense of the Third Reich, but the family had to pay an appropriate fee for the delivery of the urn with the ashes.
Although it cannot be completely ruled out that cremations were carried out reliably (primarily of the deceased of German nationality) in the initial period of the crematorium’s operation, the entire procedure of sending urns to families raises many doubts. Taking into account the larger number of dead in one day, especially with typhus epidemics frequently occurring in the camp, the functioning of only two crematorium furnaces and the sparse staff, the cremations had to be carried out on a mass scale. As a result, the families who paid the appropriate fee to the command’s office had no certainty that the remains they received belonged to their loved ones. Especially since, according to the testimonies of survivors, the lids of the urns were marked with the deceased’s details only when the family announced their intention to receive them.
The Stutthof Museum in Sztutowo came into possession of an extraordinary find. These are eleven chamotte discs discovered during cleaning and conservation works carried out in the former camp area. So far, the museum’s collection has included only one such item, so the discovery of an entire collection of discs in one place, in addition in such good condition, is extremely important for the museum.
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