Sonderkommando were the Jewish prisoners who were indeed the tragic victims of the holocaust despite the fact that they were also compelled to perform gruesome tasks. They were left with no alternatives other than to assist the Nazis in the mass murder or face death straight away. This was a role that was intentionally given to them by the SS since it would bring them the greatest mental suffering.
On choosing, they realized that their survival was based on the usefulness. Rejection equated to instant execution. The extreme strain caused them to go into shock, those who survived claimed they felt like a machine or robot with their emotions closed off to face every moment.
Their work was unmentionable. They lingered in the changing rooms and told the victims coming in that they were going to a shower in a very very calm manner yet they knew that it was not true. Once the gas cylinders were installed, the Sonderkommando went into the chambers. They took bodies away, dug out gold teeth and put the dead in the crematoria ovens. The greatest hurt was usually the discovery of the corpses of their relatives or neighbors.
To those who managed to survive, the hope of being able to share with the world what had happened was the only encouragement they had. It was that feeling of responsibility which was their primary motivation to live. To guarantee the continuation of the truth, even without them, they wrote and buried documents, the Sonderkommando Scrolls. Their agonized existence which was not always understood was a special form of resistance against the most terrible evil.