Hair into garments

Dan · Post by **Dan** » 01 Jun 2003 02:47

Bush and his wife, Laura, spent nearly two hours touring the Auschwitz and Birkenau extermination camps, the president calling them ''a monument to the darkest impulses of man.''
The Bushes saw long-abandoned baby shoes, Jewish prayer shawls, battered suitcases, artificial limbs and other items that belonged to those who passed through Auschwitz's gate not to earn their freedom but to die.
They saw masses of hair shorn from victims for shipment to German textile makers, who would weave it into clothing.

I thought the hair was made into stuffing.

http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/ap ... reg=EUROPE

Any comments?

michael mills · Post by **michael mills** » 01 Jun 2003 04:19

During the war, it was quite common for human hair to be spun into thread that was then used to weave textiles for verious uses, including clothing.

I remember once seeing on television (in a series documenting the history of the 20th century on the basis of pathe newsreels) a French newsreel made during the war, which showed women having their hair cut at a fashionable Parisian hair salon (not shaved bald, simply a normal coiffure), the hair being collected from the floor, bagged, transported to a factory, and the process of spinning and weaving it into textiles.

The collection of human hair for processing into txtiles was therefore by no means limited to concentration camp prisoners, although such prisoners would have ben a major source. The use of human hair, which after all is constantly being cut and thrown away in the course of normal life, for the production of cloth, whether for clothing or other uses, or simply for insulation material, was a totally rational response to shortages of raw material for textile production in the war situation, particularly on the Europan continent, which was severely affected by the British blockade.

There is nothing sinister about the use of human hair as raw material in itself. Nor is there necessarily anything sinister about pils of cut human hair found at concentration camps. All persons entering such camps had their hair cut upon arrival, and continued to have it cut and collected throughout their incarceration (and some prisoners were incarcerated for many years). The collection of human hair from concentration camps was merely part of a wider operation of utilising human hair, for example the collection of hair from women's hair salons; it was initiated by an order from Himmler issued in 1942, which ordered the collection of hair from prisoners and its despatch to textile factories after fumigation to kill lice (the fumigation was by Zyklon-B, hence the cyanide residues detected in the hair found at Auschwitz).

The bottom line is that a quantity of human hair found stored at a concentration camp does not automatically translate into X number of persons killed. Some of it came from persons who survived their incarceration (and may have had their hair cut many times), some from persons who died from various causes, and only an unknown proportion from persons who wre actively killed.

Roberto · Post by **Roberto** » 02 Jun 2003 17:00

michael mills wrote:There is nothing sinister about the use of human hair as raw material in itself. Nor is there necessarily anything sinister about pils of cut human hair found at concentration camps. All persons entering such camps had their hair cut upon arrival, and continued to have it cut and collected throughout their incarceration (and some prisoners were incarcerated for many years). The collection of human hair from concentration camps was merely part of a wider operation of utilising human hair, for example the collection of hair from women's hair salons; it was initiated by an order from Himmler issued in 1942, which ordered the collection of hair from prisoners and its despatch to textile factories after fumigation to kill lice (the fumigation was by Zyklon-B, hence the cyanide residues detected in the hair found at Auschwitz).

The bottom line is that a quantity of human hair found stored at a concentration camp does not automatically translate into X number of persons killed. Some of it came from persons who survived their incarceration (and may have had their hair cut many times), some from persons who died from various causes, and only an unknown proportion from persons who were actively killed.

In 1945, an examination by the Institute of Judicial Expertise in Krakow of a sample of hair found in Auschwitz revealed the presence of compounds of prussic acid, the basic component of Zyklon B gas used in the gas chambers of Auschwitz. Traces of the acid were also found in metal objects found in the hair, such as pins, clasps, and gold-plated spectacle holders.[my emphasis]

Andrzej Strzelecki, "The Plunder of the Victims and Their Corpses", in The Anatomy of the Auschwitz Death Camp, Bloomington: Indiana University Press and Washington DC: The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 1994, page 261, quoted under

http://www.holocaust-history.org/auschwitz/chemistry/

I reckon that hair free of pins, clasps, gold-plated spectacle holders and similar articles might just as well have come from prisoners shorn upon arrival or thereafter who survived the camp or died from other causes than homicidal gassing.

But what about bales of hair containing such articles? Doesn’t the presence of Zyklon B on the hair and such articles suggest that the hair came from new arrivals whose personal articles had not yet been plundered and who had it cut off after being gassed, as was described by several witnesses from the Sonderkommando?

Tarpon27 · Post by **Tarpon27** » 02 Jun 2003 19:28

The bottom line is that a quantity of human hair found stored at a concentration camp does not automatically translate into X number of persons killed. Some of it came from persons who survived their incarceration (and may have had their hair cut many times), some from persons who died from various causes, and only an unknown proportion from persons who were actively killed.

How much human hair was found at any of the non-exterminationist camps in Germany when they were overrun?

Mark

michael mills · Post by **michael mills** » 03 Jun 2003 07:17

Tarpon27 wrote:

How much human hair was found at any of the non-exterminationist camps in Germany when they were overrun?

I have no idea. However, the order to collect hair from concentration camps for processing into thread was sent to all concentration camps, not only Auschwitz.

Anyone who wishes to persist in the belief that human hair collected at concentration camps was taken exclusively from persons who had been actively killed is free to do so.

Scott Smith · Post by **Scott Smith** » 03 Jun 2003 09:30

Tarpon27 wrote:
The bottom line is that a quantity of human hair found stored at a concentration camp does not automatically translate into X number of persons killed. Some of it came from persons who survived their incarceration (and may have had their hair cut many times), some from persons who died from various causes, and only an unknown proportion from persons who were actively killed.
How much human hair was found at any of the non-exterminationist camps in Germany when they were overrun?

Dead hair would be found at any barbershop, salon, or anywhere delousing was done, including all of the concentration camps.

Peter H · Post by **Peter H** » 03 Jun 2003 09:46

Pohl's directive on human hair contained within:

http://www.nizkor.org/hweb/imt/tgmwc/tg ... 5-08.shtml

"Secret. SS-General Economical and Administrative Department, Department D., Concentration Camp, Oranienburg, 6th August, 1942. Copy Number 13. Re: Utilization of cut hair. To: Concentration Camp Kommandants." And then thirteen concentration camps are mentioned. I omit their names.
"The Chief of the Central Economical and Administrative Department of the SS, on the basis of a report submitted to him, orders that all human hair cut in concentration camps be appropriately utilised. Human hair is to be spun into industrial felt and yarn. Out of combed and cut hair of women, hair-yarn stockings for U-boat crews are to be made, as well as hair-felt stockings for employees of the Reich railways.

Therefore, I order that the hair of women prisoners after due disinfection be collected. Cut hair of male prisoners can only be utilised of at least twenty millimetres in length."

SS-Obergruppenfuehrer Pohl, therefore, gave his consent that by way of experiment the hair of male prisoners should be cut only when it reached a length of twenty millimetres.

In order to avoid facilitating escape through the increase in length of hair, in all cases where the Kommandant finds it necessary to earmark the prisoners, a strip of hair should be clipped by means of a narrow clipper right over the middle of the head.

The hair gathered in all the camps will be utilised by creating a special production unit in one of the concentration camps.

More detailed instructions as to the delivery of stores of hair will be given separately.

Reports on amount of hair gathered each month, male and female recorded separately, must be submitted on the 5th of each month, beginning with 5th September, 1942.

Signed: Gluecks, SS-Brigadefuehrer and General Major of the Waffen SS."

michael mills · Post by **michael mills** » 03 Jun 2003 10:14

The text of Pohl's order to collect hair at concentration camps, to which I had referred, and has now been kindly posted by Moulded, demonstrates that the hair was not taken only from dead prisoners.

The reference to allowing the hair of male prisoners to grow, but cutting a strip to enable identification in case of escape, demonstrates that the hair was taken from living prisoners. I doubt that there is any danger of dead prisoners escaping.

There is also the reference to hair being collected after disinfection. The process of disinfection (to kill lice) involved exposure to HCN, hence one possible source for the cyanide residues detected in the hair found at Auschwitz.

RACPISA · Post by **RACPISA** » 03 Jun 2003 17:12

What kind of clothing was made from the hair? Civilian clothes? Army uniforms? Or both?

Tarpon27 · Post by **Tarpon27** » 03 Jun 2003 21:51

Tarpon27 wrote:

How much human hair was found at any of the non-exterminationist camps in Germany when they were overrun?

Michael Mills replied:

I have no idea. However, the order to collect hair from concentration camps for processing into thread was sent to all concentration camps, not only Auschwitz.

Anyone who wishes to persist in the belief that human hair collected at concentration camps was taken exclusively from persons who had been actively killed is free to do so.

Bowing to your far more extensive historical knowledge, if I recall correctly, that at the time the Russian Army overran Auschwitz, much of it had been destroyed by the retreating German forces. Again, IIRC, even the crematorium were removed, as well as "warehouses" dynamited.

Wasn't there like four surviving warehouses?

At Auschwitz, in one of those surviving warehouses, about 7,000 kilos of hair were found, or about 7.5 tons.

Lot of hair.

Since as you state, all camps gathered hair, I was curious as to see if what are considered concentration camps, especially in Germany proper, ever had such huge inventories of human hair when they were captured.

Obviously, you don't know from your reply. Thanks for your reply, and while I will bear in mind that 7.5 tons of human hair just means busy barbers and apparently not much of an interest in shipping this valuable resource back to the Reich, I will also consider other alternatives.

Scott Smith wrote:

Dead hair would be found at any barbershop, salon, or anywhere delousing was done, including all of the concentration camps.

Gee, thanks.

Any with 15,000 lbs of it lying around?

Mark

Scott Smith · Post by **Scott Smith** » 06 Jun 2003 00:49

Tarpon27 wrote:Tarpon27 wrote:

How much human hair was found at any of the non-exterminationist camps in Germany when they were overrun?
Michael Mills replied:

I have no idea. However, the order to collect hair from concentration camps for processing into thread was sent to all concentration camps, not only Auschwitz.

Anyone who wishes to persist in the belief that human hair collected at concentration camps was taken exclusively from persons who had been actively killed is free to do so.

Bowing to your far more extensive historical knowledge, if I recall correctly, that at the time the Russian Army overran Auschwitz, much of it had been destroyed by the retreating German forces. Again, IIRC, even the crematorium were removed, as well as "warehouses" dynamited.

Wasn't there like four surviving warehouses?

At Auschwitz, in one of those surviving warehouses, about 7,000 kilos of hair were found, or about 7.5 tons.

Lot of hair.

Since as you state, all camps gathered hair, I was curious as to see if what are considered concentration camps, especially in Germany proper, ever had such huge inventories of human hair when they were captured.

Obviously, you don't know from your reply. Thanks for your reply, and while I will bear in mind that 7.5 tons of human hair just means busy barbers and apparently not much of an interest in shipping this valuable resource back to the Reich, I will also consider other alternatives.

Scott Smith wrote:

Dead hair would be found at any barbershop, salon, or anywhere delousing was done, including all of the concentration camps.
Gee, thanks.

Any with 15,000 lbs of it lying around?

Can the one-time haircuts from a million people killed at Auschwitz add up to 7 metric tons of hair? Auschwitz was a central shipping point for recycling materials of all kinds using the prisoner labor--leather goods, hair, etc. Not all hair was from prisoners nor all those dead shoes. In addition, Polish camps had more worry about typhus and louse-born disease so it stands to reason that more emphasis would be made on haircuts, and not just for KL prisoners but anybody needing deloused. Anybody travelling by train had to shower and have their clothing gassed, for example. And if infested they had to have all their hair shorn. According to German records, about 25 million were deloused using Zyklon by 1944. Furthermore, I'm not aware of any demolition other than the destruction of the Kremas, probably the largest capital investment at Birkenau. Elie Wiesel says that they even scrubbed their barracks when they evacuated.

Tarpon27 · Post by **Tarpon27** » 06 Jun 2003 04:48

Scott Smith wrote:

Can the one-time haircuts from a million people killed at Auschwitz add up to 7 metric tons of hair?

Oh, I am sure it can.

I have often considered the mass of hair at Auschiwtz after first reading about it. Obviously hair, dependent on the individual it comes from, will vary immensely...I have very fine, thin hair, while my brother has thicker coarser hair. Women who have long tresses, or even men, although I don't think the social, cultural era of WWII necessarily lent itself to men with long hair, obviously would produce more hair.

Fairly large in volume, while light in mass. IOW, a big pile of
human hair, will undoubtably have a small mass. Even fairly thick hair; we are not sheep.

But if 7 metric tons of hair at Auschwitz were found upon liberation and were from the one million you just posted, then apparently none of this valuable resource was ever shipped out of Auschwitz.

So using your own argument and figures, Mr. Mills's contention that human hair, due to the British blockade, was such a needed item in war torn Germany, they never shipped it out.

Ahhh...but...no...because you have another argument...

Auschwitz was a central shipping point for recycling materials of all kinds using the prisoner labor--leather goods, hair, etc. Not all hair was from prisoners nor all those dead shoes.

So now, some of this hair (as well as "leather goods") comes from other, what, GeneralGovernment camps? I didn't realize Auschwitz was a central shipping point for the other Polish camps, but my historical knowledge seldom matches many here.

Apparently they missed shipping from Maidanek to Auschwitz, at least of "leather goods" which would, I imagine, be sorely needed during war years.

The material proof which the Commission discovered in the camp: the store of boots and shoes which had belonged to those who were shot or who died, the store of miscellaneous belongings of the prisoners, and also the Gestapo store in Chopin Street in Lublin, indicates that all the clothing and other belongings of thc prisoners were carefully sorted and shipped to Germany.

The huge shoe store discovered in field No. 6 at the camp contains
boots and shoes bearing the labels of shops in Paris, Vienna, Brussels,
Warsaw, Triest, Prague, Riga, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Kiev, Cracow, Lublin,
Lvov, and many other towns, shoes of different shapes and sizes, men's
women's, juveniles' and infants', army boots, civilian town shoes and
peasants' topboots. In addition to boots and shoes a large quantity of
ripped footwear (separate soles, uppers and heels) were fouud, sorted and piled in stacks ready to be shipped to Germany.

The Commission established that in the "Extermination Camp" alone
the footwear of children, men and women who were tortured to death and
killed in the camp runs into over eight hundred and twenty thousand pairs.

http://www1.us.nizkor.org/ftp.cgi/camps ... idanek.005

For pictures of Maidenek shoes:

http://www.phdn.org/histgen/schmitz/maidan01.html

http://www.nizkor.org/ftp.cgi/camps/mai ... /shoes.jpg

Scott Smith wrote:

In addition, Polish camps had more worry about typhus and louse-born disease so it stands to reason that more emphasis would be made on haircuts, and not just for KL prisoners but anybody needing deloused. Anybody travelling by train had to shower and have their clothing gassed, for example.

Oh, yes, I agree that the Polish camps had to worry about typhus with the conditions that prisoner populations were subjected to. I have no doubt that those who entered the camps had their heads shorn, and their hair collected.

Although I do have a question for you, on this train travelling issue...did Jews being transported, say, from Hungary to Aushwitz have to "shower" and have their "clothing gassed"? And how do you gas clothing with Zyklon when it is still be worn, say, insuring the eradication of pests (lice) while not killing the human wearing it?

Neat trick.

The contention is that shaving the hair off humans is, apparently, a common necessity of wartime expediency in all camps, including the non-extermination concentration camps in Germany proper, and my question is, was there ever discovered massive quantities of human hair at those camps compared to what was found at Auschwitz? Or shoes at Maidenek? Or children's clothing?

As Mr. Mills stated, he had no idea, per the hair issue in concentration camps and if there ever was an individual with a penchant for minutia per statistical data, it is he. Please note: I do not expect Mr. Mills nor Mr. Smith to be able to possibly answer any and all of my probably silly questions about the history of the Third Reich, because that would be completely unreasonable.

However, it also seems, a rather vague rationalization to on one hand explain that all that hair was first, collected and deemed as useful, per hygenic reasons (preventing disease), while also having to confront the still existing disease, death, malnutrition, work conditions, lack of sanitation, etc. Considering all the conditions in the camps (of all types), it seems to me a fairly limp argument.

Especially when I have yet to find any reference to such collections of "useful" items as hair, shoes, underwear, top coats, spectacles, toothbrushes, combs, etc. that do not originate from an inventory of an extermination camp.

Why were there not inventories of such goods found at the concentration camps, and at the end of the European conflict, the full extent of the differences between concentration camps and the General Government camps were not yet appreciated?

Michael Mills wrote:

Anyone who wishes to persist in the belief that human hair collected at concentration camps was taken exclusively from persons who had been actively killed is free to do so.

It is a point worth considering. At the same time, why did not other camps produce these inventories? Upon capture, that is?

Regards,

Mark

Tarpon27 · Post by **Tarpon27** » 06 Jun 2003 05:55

Michael Mills wrote:

There is also the reference to hair being collected after disinfection. The process of disinfection (to kill lice) involved exposure to HCN, hence one possible source for the cyanide residues detected in the hair found at Auschwitz.

Well, just as a thought, if the hair was shorn, infected with lice, what is their food source?

In other words, let me try to explain: lice do not live in hair cut from a non-living host.

They will die, fairly rapidly, without a living, warm, human body with hair attached that they have infected.

Piles of dead hair will not support the growth and survival of lice.

So why would would you have to disinfect piles of human hair? Bale it on pallets and stick it in an uninsulated warehouse in Kanada, and within hours to days, no typhus bearing lice would survive.

With no warm, moist, living host.

[...]

Use of a Temperature Gradient

This technique is most effective when the ambient temperature is low or during the hosts mating system. It is also a very effective way of collecting lice from very recently dead hosts. Lice are usually found within a few millimeters of the hosts skin and in part maintain that position by detecting the temperature gradient between the skin and the exterior pelage. If the exterior pelage is warmed such as by placing a heated blanket covered by surgical lint (or in some cases even the collectors hand) over the exterior pelage, lice will venture away from the skin towards and on to the heated area. It is then a simple matter of removing the lice from the lint and host pelage close to the heated pad. Suitable heated pads can include hot water bottles and electric heat pads of the type used in vivaria by herpetologists. Even more effective and convenient are sodium acetate heat pads. These are plastic pouches containing a clear liquid that heats up for about two hours once a metal disk inside the pad is clicked. These are very convenient for fieldwork since they are easy to obtain, relatively cheap, don't require electricity and are almost infinitely reusable.

Dust-ruffling
Dusting live mammals with an insecticidal powder, then ruffling their fur over a collecting surface such as a large sheet often removes reasonable numbers of lice. With small mammals it is possible to place them in a plastic bag containing insecticide and rub the insecticide through the fur. Depending on the effectiveness of the insecticide most of the lice will be found in the bottom of the bag after 10 - 20 minutes. Regular ruffling of the fur during this period greatly increases the number collected. For larger mammals the insecticide can be applied either with fingers or using a plastic squeeze bottle to 'puff' the insecticide under the pelage. Suitable insecticides include pyrethrins and pyrethroids (the synthetic form of pyrethrin) as well as carbamates such as carbaryl (Sevin®). These are all very effective and are safe to use with mammals. They are also readily available in DIY and gardening stores as insecticides for use on home grown vegetables and fruit.

Dead Mammals
Mammal that have recently been killed (less than 24 hours) will often have a few lice present. If the animal is undisturbed and has died very recently (less than 2 hours), many of the lice will be visible on the guard hairs especially around the head, neck and eyes. These can be easily removed with forceps. Placing small recently deceased mammals in a sealed envelope or breathable plastic bag is a reliable (although slightly smelly) method of collecting specimens. ONLY ONE SPECIMEN PER ENVELOPE / BAG. They should be left undisturbed at room temperature for 2-3 days. During this time most lice will leave the hosts body and will be clearly visible at the bottom of the envelope. For larger dead mammals making use of a temperature gradient (see above) with a sodium acetate heat pad is the best method of collecting specimens. The heat pad may need to be applied to the hosts fur (usually close to or around the neck) for at least 30 minutes. During this time it is advisable to regularly inspect the lint around the pad. If no specimens are collected, the pad can be tried on other locations of the hosts body.

http://darwin.zoology.gla.ac.uk/~vsmith ... print.html

You don't need to disinfect human hair after being shorn if it is infected with lice.

The lice leave.

So why the measurements of chemical residue of HCN, or Zyklon in dead hair?

With no living host?

Mark

Scott Smith · Post by **Scott Smith** » 06 Jun 2003 06:36

Although I do have a question for you, on this train travelling issue...did Jews being transported, say, from Hungary to Aushwitz have to "shower" and have their "clothing gassed"?

Yes, Wiesel tells about it in his novel but in his case he was issued prison duds.

And how do you gas clothing with Zyklon when it is still be worn, say, insuring the eradication of pests (lice) while not killing the human wearing it?

You don't. The procedure is to have a haircut, get doused in petroleum, then shower, and the clothes go through a gaschamber in little baskets. After the cars are fumigated you are on your way. The railway cars are gassed in barns like this one in Budapest. Of course if you intended to kill the travellers you could do the gassing in the cars with the passengers inside. Any discussion with German refugees from eastern territories will relate to this delousing procedure. Even if the passengers are not infested they shower and their clothes are gassed.

Especially when I have yet to find any reference to such collections of "useful" items as hair, shoes, underwear, top coats, spectacles, toothbrushes, combs, etc. that do not originate from an inventory of an extermination camp.

That's because most of the history is seen through the Holo-Sphincter and the rest is flushed down the Memory Hole. The Germans recycled everything. For one thing you assume that all this stuff necessarily came from Jews and was not just junk salvaged in the Generalgouvernement, and secondly you assume that it was not used by Germans, recycled, or melted down for the war-effort. I just sat there like a cathedral crying to heaven. I guess the Germans were storing all this useless stuff so that Holo-Hate museums could make exhibits.

Why were there not inventories of such goods found at the concentration camps, and at the end of the European conflict, the full extent of the differences between concentration camps and the General Government camps were not yet appreciated?

Each camp had different tasks. Ravenbrück made garments. Sachsenhausen made bricks. Mauthausen quarried stone. Auschwitz did a lot of things and was a central point for the SS-WVHA. I suppose it is a lie that there was actually agricultural research going on at Auschwitz too.

Basically your smoking-gun is just a pile of dead shoes and a bunch of dead hair.

Well, just as a thought, if the hair was shorn, infected with lice, what is their food source?

In other words, let me try to explain: lice do not live in hair cut from a non-living host.

They will die, fairly rapidly, without a living, warm, human body with hair attached that they have infected.

Piles of dead hair will not support the growth and survival of lice.

So why would would you have to disinfect piles of human hair? Bale it on pallets and stick it in an uninsulated warehouse in Kanada, and within hours to days, no typhus bearing lice would survive.

With no warm, moist, living host.

I suggest you do some reading on the epidemiology of louse-borne illnesses. The lice live for some time in the clothes and bedding. Their nits live longer. If you bag the hair into paper bundles and store it, the nits will eventually die. If you intend to transport the hair or clothes sooner you will have to fumigate it. You don't want to be handling it so long as it's infested. And the building itself becomes infested too so you gas it as well. Either way it is not unusual at all that there would be cyanide traces on bundles of hair. Furthermore, if the hair came from dead Jews you would give them the haircut FIRST while it's easy--and so your theory that the HCN traces comes from homicidal gassing followed by hair removal doesn't wash. This is what Bomba the Barber did, for example. BB said in Shoah that he cut their hair and then they were gassed.

David Thompson · Post by **David Thompson** » 06 Jun 2003 07:03

Scott -- You said: "That's because most of the history is seen through the Holo-Sphincter and the rest is flushed down the Memory Hole."

(1) Please do not use that sort of expression ("Holo-Sphincter") here.

(2) You might want to consider re-reading the section of George Orwell's classic essay "Politics and the English Language" on the implications of mixed metaphors ("history is seen through the Holo-Sphincter").