Killing with sand

Soon after my arrival at Belzec, one very young boy was selected from each transport. (I don’t know where he was from as we didn’t know the origin of the transports.) He was a fine example of health, strength and youth. We were surprised by his cheerful manner. He looked around and said quite happily, “Has anyone ever escaped from here?”

It was enough. One of the guards overheard him and the boy was tortured to death. He was stripped naked and hung upside down from the gallows — he hung there for three hours. He was strong and still very much alive. They took him down and lay him on the ground and pushed sand down his throat with sticks until he died.

Source:

Rudolf Reder, “Belzec,” page 16.
Found in Martin Gilbert, “The Holocaust”
New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1985. Page 419.