Kapo (concentration camp)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kapo was a term used for certain prisoners who worked inside the Nazi concentration camps during World War II in various lower administrative positions. The German word may also mean "foreman" and "non-commissioned officer", and is derived from French for "Corporal" (fr:Caporal) or the Italian word capo. Kapos received more privileges than normal prisoners, towards whom they were often brutal. They were often convicts who were offered this work in exchange for a reduced sentence or parole.
This role has been described in many books, among them Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, treating it from a psychiatrist's standpoint. It is also mentioned in Elie Wiesel's autobiography Night (book)
From Oliver Lustig's Dictionary of the Camp:
Vicenzo and Luigi Pappalettera wrote in their book The Brutes Have the Floor [1]that, every time a new transport of detainees arrived at Mauthausen, Kapo August Adam picked out the professors, lawyers, priests and magistrates and cynically asked them: "Are you a lawyer? A professor? Good! Do you see this green triangle? This means I am a killer. I have five convictions on my record: one for manslaughter and four for robbery. Well, here I am in command. The world has turned upside down, did you get that? Do you need a Dolmetscher, an interpreter? Here it is!" And he was pointing to his bat, after which he striked. When he was satisfied, he formed a Scheisskompanie with those selected and sent them to clean the latrines. [2]
[edit] Reference
- ^ The author or translator probably refers to the book: Pappalettera, Vincenzo y Luigi. " La parola agli aguzzini: le SS e i Kapò di Mauthausen svelano le leggi del lager.", Milano: Mondadori (1969), Mursia, (1979), also "Los SS tienen la palabra: las leyes del campo de Mauthausen reveladas por las Schutz-Staffeln". Barcelona: Editorial Laia, (1969).
- ^ Oliver Lustig, Dicţionar de lagăr, Bucharest, Hasefer, 2002 ISBN 973-630-011-0 (English translation online)
