From The Eyes of The Perpetrator

Jurgen Stroop (Perpetrator)
May 16, 1943
Warsaw Ghetto
As I stand there watching so many Jews die right before my eyes I think to myself, “Why do I enjoy this? Why do I enjoy watching all these Jews die?” I supervise all of the Jews who are sent to death camps. I watch Jews die for a living.

I was born on September 26, 1895 in Detmold, Germany. When I was born my real name was Josef Stroop but I changed my first name to the more “Aryan” sounding Jurgen Stroop in 1941. I also commanded the German Forces that destroyed the Warsaw Ghetto. Many people think that I should be killed for what I am doing to these filthy Jews. I have made many choices during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Choices that I think benefit me and my people. I have sentenced Jews to death. I believe Ferdinand Sammern-Frankenegg was not up to the task of completely destroying the Warsaw Ghetto like I was so I took his place.

We entered the ghetto on April 19, 1943 and we called it the “Great Operation”. 750 Jewish fighters were waiting for us so I ordered my men to retreat. I gave instructions for all of the building to be burned to the ground. I remember watching buildings fall to the ground and burn Jews to death. All the Jewish people who escaped from the burnings of the building were rounded up and deported to death camps. I remember it like it was yesterday, so many Jews, men and women, begging me to let them live. Crawling on me to save them. I did nothing but ignore them and kept giving orders.

The ghetto fighters continued the battle from the cellars and attics of Warsaw. I remember using poison gas to kill the Jews. Many Jews escaped out of the sewers but the rest died. My final report about the military campaign said, “The Great Operation terminated on May 16, 1943, at 8:15 pm, with the blowing up of the Warsaw synagogue.” I remember being so proud of those words that came out of my mouth. Only 300 Jews out of thousands survived the uprising. Many people in the world would probably think that I should be sentenced to death.