Page "Treblinka extermination camp" Paragraph 13

The majority of the camp work was performed on a forced basis by 700 – 800 Jewish prisoners, organised into specialised squads ( Sonderkommandos ).

The blue squad was responsible for unloading the train, carrying the luggage and cleaning the wagons.

The red squad had the task of undressing the passengers and taking their clothes to the storage areas.

The Geldjuden (" money Jews ") were in charge of handling the money, gold, stocks, and jewellery.

They were forced to search the prisoners just before they went into the gas chamber.

Another, the dentist, would open the mouths of the dead and pull out gold teeth.

Another group, dubbed the Totenjuden (" the Jews of death "), lived in Treblinka II and were forced to carry the dead from the gas chamber to the furnaces, sift through the ashes of the dead, grind up recognisable parts, and bury the ashes in pits.

Yet another group took care of the upkeep of the camp.

Lastly, the camouflage Kommando went every day into the forest and gathered branches to camouflage the camp and the " funnel " by weaving branches in the barbed wires.

The work squads prisoners were continuously whipped and beaten by the guards and were often killed.

New workers ( usually the most healthy people ) were selected from the daily arrivals and pressed into the commandos.