The final horror for those who toured the extermination camp was the sight of tattooed human flesh used as souvenirs or lamp shades. The official U.S. Army report confirmed an account in Stars and Stripes on April 20, 1945:
This story is true in every respect. The wife of one of the SS officers started the fad: that any prisoner who happened to have extensive tattooing of any sort on his body was brought to her; that, if she found the tattooing satisfactory, the prisoner was killed and skinned; that the skin with the tattooing was then tanned and made into souvenirs such as lamp shades, wall pictures, book ends, etc.; that about forty examples of this artistry were found in SS offices and quarters in the camp.
Source:
The Black Book of Polish Jewry, 1946 (English-language edition), page 257.