Sonderbehandlung (German: [ˈzɔndɐbəˌhandlʊŋ]), along with its abbreviation S.B., although literally meaning "special treatment" is best known as one of a number of euphemisms for mass murder and genocide used by Nazi functionaries and the SS. The euphemism first came to prominence during Aktion T4, and was used during Action 14f13 and the Holocaust. The term was also used to imprecisely refer to the equipment used in these crimes, such as gas chambers and Zyklon B. The true meaning of Sonderbehandlung was widely known in the SS, and in April 1943, Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler was so concerned that it was a known euphemism that he ordered it replaced with the even vaguer durchgeschleust ("guided through" as in "guided through the camps"). Berel Lang states that disguised language was used "...not only in communications issued to the Jewish public when the intention of those issuing the communications was to deceive the Jews in order to minimize the likelihood of resistance, but also in addresses to the outside world and, perhaps more significantly, in internal communications as well, among officials who unquestionably knew (who were themselves sometimes responsible for) the linguistic substitutions stipulated by the language rules."
Background
By the summer of 1941, Action T4 became widespread public knowledge in Germany (and also in neutral countries and to Germany's enemies), and on August 24, 1941, Hitler ordered the joint chief of the operation Dr. Karl Brandt to halt it due to public protest; however, the operation continued, not only out of the public eye, but also in greater intensity. Hitler did not want to run the risk of an order publicly embarrassing him again and, as a result, the explicit order to carry out the Holocaust was given by him orally. Even if there had been any written instances of this order, they would have almost certainly been destroyed by the Nazis when they realised their defeat was inevitable. Where the Nazis had to document murder, Sonderbehandlung was one of a number of euphemisms used. The Action T4 doctors used 'desinfiziert' ("disinfected") to document the gassing of mentally ill and handicapped individuals. The actual plan to exterminate the Jews of Europe was called 'Die Endlösung der Judenfrage' ("Final Solution to the Jewish Question"). Other words to describe extermination operations included:
'Evakuierung' ("evacuation") 'Aussiedlung' ("expulsion") 'Umsiedlung' ("resettlement") 'Auflockerung' ("thinning out" – as in the removal of inhabitants from a ghetto) 'Befriedungsaktion' ("pacification") 'Ausserordentliche Befriedungsaktion' or 'A.B. Aktion' ("special pacification") 'Abwanderung' ("having-been-migrated") 'Säuberung' ("cleansing") 'Sicherheitspolizeilich durchgearbeitet' ("directed" or worked through in a manner in accordance with the Sicherheitsdienst) The Posen speeches made by Heinrich Himmler in October 1943 are the first known documents in which a high-ranking member of the Nazi government spoke explicitly about the perpetration of the Holocaust during the war. Himmler mentions the "Judenevakuierung" or 'evacuation of the Jews', which he uses synonymously with their extermination. At one point in the speech, Himmler says: "elimination of the Jews, extermination, we're doing it", briefly pausing in the middle of "elimination" ('Ausschaltung') before going on to say "extermination" ('Ausrottung'). His hesitation in the middle of saying "elimination" can be considered as a quick mental check to see whether or not it would have been acceptable to use such words in front of his given audience; however, as the speech was given to the seniority of the SS in private, such language would have been acceptable to use. This has been compared to another incident of self-verification in the opposite way, where Josef Goebbels, in his Total War speech on February 18, 1943, begins to say "Ausrottung des Judentums" ('extermination of Jewry') but switches to saying "Ausschaltung", bearing in mind that he is speaking very publicly. His resulting phrasing is "Ausrott... schaltung des Judentums", which can be likened to "exterm... elimination" in English.
Usage
The term first appeared on September 20, 1939 in a decree by the Gestapo and Sicherheitsdienst chief SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich to all state police departments:
To avoid any misunderstandings, please take note of the following: ...a distinction must be made between those who may be dealt with in the usual way and those who must be given special treatment. The latter case covers subjects who, due to their most objectionable nature, their dangerousness, or their ability to serve as tools of propaganda for the enemy, are suitable for elimination, without respect for persons, by merciless treatment (namely, by execution). However, the usage is directed against Germans rather than Jews (it relates to "the principles of internal state security in the war"). Nevertheless, the law allowed for the killing of any person the regime wished. A memo dated six days later from a meeting at the SS-Reichssicherheitshauptamt defines Sonderbehandlung with "execution" following it in brackets. A report from the Eastern Front dated October 25, 1941, reads that "due to the grave danger of epidemic, the complete liquidation of Jews from the ghetto in Vitebsk was begun on October 8, 1941. The number of Jews to whom special treatment is to be applied is around 3,000." An excerpt of a decree dated February 20, 1942, from the RSHA and written by Himmler regarding the treatment of "foreign civilian workers" advises that in particularly difficult cases, application should be made to the RSHA for special treatment, adding that "special treatment takes place by hanging." In a letter to the RSHA, SS-Hauptsturmführer Heinz Trühe requests additional gas vans for "...a transport of Jews, which has to be treated in a special way..." The gas vans were vehicles containing an airtight compartment in which the victims were locked and the exhaust gas was pumped into, killing the victims with the combined effects of carbon monoxide poisoning and suffocation.
Equipment
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