The Delusions of Reprieve in Auschwitz

In psychiatry there is a certain condition known as delusion of reprieve. The condemned man, immediately before his execution, gets the illusion that he might be reprieved at the very last minute. These prisoners looked quite well, they seemed to be in good spirits and even laugh. Who knows? I might manage to share their favourable position. Just the sight of the red cheeks and round faces of those prisoners was a great encouragement. Little did we know then that they formed a specially chosen elite who for years had been the receiving squad for new transports as they rolled into the station day after day.