Loading the cars to Belzec

This drawing shows the cattle cars loading human freight at the Kleparow train station for their journey to the gas chambers at Belzec. Kleparow was on the outside edge of Janowska. The harsh black lines surrounded by the skulls, which were the Nazi symbols of death, cast a horrifying and frightening shadow over these images. Before the cars were loaded for Belzec, the Jews were stripped naked and would often spend a day and night standing in the cold waiting for orders. The transportation of the Jews to Belzec extermination camp,(near the city of Lublin) or from eastern Polish towns to Janowska was a daily event. Jews were transported in open freight cars or box cars. Transport cars were always crammed tight with bodies. It is estimated that between 80-100 bodies would normally be crowded into these cars. Uniformed officers carrying sub-machine guns always guarded them from above. Many prisoners tried to jump off the cars. Some were shot and killed immediately, while others got away with broken bones. This open freight car was most likely used for short distances, to transport the Jews from the ghetto to Janowska.