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25 THE WAREHOUSES As a result of the relocation of the inmates, nine different kitchens, all staffed almost entirely with Poles, are established: major ones in the prison area, the outer residential area, the satellite camp, the outer compound hospital, and the two American hospitals; small cooking units for administrative personnel. Each of the major kitchens is equipped with at least five I,ooo-liter kettles, some of which operate on coal instead of steam or electricity. The decentralization has produced special problems for the supply, maintenance, and labor offices, but, even so, I think it is easier for several kitchens to prepare meals for a few thousand each than for one kitchen to handle tens of thousands of persons . It doesn't seem to make much difference in quality, however. The hungry inmates are dependent on Howcroft's skill as the supply and mess officer, and on the competency of the IPC's food and labor committees. Howcroft is definitely the big man. He has been obtaining and issuing about thirty-five tons of food daily. Now the foresight of someone in G-S becomes apparent, because we would be helpless without Lieutenant Chaudon, his French drivers, and their fourteen trucks to procure, load, unload , and distribute the food, clothing, and other supplies needed here and at Allach. When Howcroft discovers that he is going to be a grocer on an astronomic scale, he seizes the largest of the SS warehouses and tags it for food storage. Then he consults with the IPC's food subcommittee, headed by a Pole, Jan Marinkowski, and is rewarded with a Polish pearl, Mr. Farnik, whom he immediately appoints as supervisor. 182 I The organization of space begins. Farnik bellows, and the labor office produces one hundred inmates, who sweep and clean. Groats are placed in one corner, dried beans in another, sugar elsewhere, flour somewhere else, potatoes in a special cellar , and eventually all of the floor space is covered except for one clear area, in the midst of which is a platform scale calibrated in kilograms. Farnik is a big man with an infectious smile. Several times a day he circles the camp on his bicycle and shrewdly assesses the food supplies. After each tour, he submits helpful comments on shortages and surpluses. Soon we learn something of his statistical idiosyncracies. When he enters our office with a disconsolate expression and announces that there is "nothing" in the warehouse, that means he has a one-day's supply. If he has "just something," it means that he has a three-day's supply. And a "good bit" indicates a two-week's supply. Farnik is definitely the man for this job, decisive and resourceful . When there is a shortage of flour or potatoes, he conducts a mental search of the region and visualizes a certain storehouse in town or recalls hearing about a similar treasure trove in Munich; a call to MG invariably proves that his brain cells have not atrophied-the needed supplies soon appear. One of Howcroft's most reliable helpers is the secretary of the food committee, a Pole whose last name begins with M, but is otherwise impossible for us to pronounce or spell. M, a small, thin, balding man in his mid-thirties who walks slowly and with great effort-a description that fits many other inmateslacks the effusiveness of Farnik. M believes in a detailed, daily inventory. Farnik dislikes the thought of keeping books. To him, ledgers, vouchers, requisitions, receipts, and invoices are repugnant and unnecessary trivialities. Often Farnik and M debate the importance ofrecords: M: Yesterday we receive 950 kilos [about one ton] of macaroni? F: Well? M: You give out 900 kilos today? F: Yes. M: Where are other 50 kilos? The Warehouses I 183 F: So. Maybe some of sacks leak. Maybe Germans put in less macaroni than they tell you. You want I should weigh each piece macaroni? M: This is no way to run business. You must have good scale and seven men to run books. M and F then plunge into a colorful, heated discussion in Polish , but neither convinces the other. Later they come to see Howcroft and me, separately, and each explains his position in detail. Howcroft, of course, insists on detailed records. But Farnik is stubborn. He looks at Howcroft reproachfully, as though Howcroft were the foremost bureaucrat in the world. A crisis arises when 5,57 5 packages arrive from the Geneva office of the...

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