Chapter LXII: Part I: , page 969, signed by Frick and Hess) (1)

They were denied employment by press and radio (1933 _Reichsgesetzblatt_, Part I, page 661).

They were excluded from stock exchanges and stock brokerage (1934 _Reichsgesetzblatt_, Part I, page 661).

They were excluded from farming (1933 _Reichsgesetzblatt_, Part I, page 685).

In 1938 they were excluded from business in general and from the economic life of Germany (1938 _Reichsgesetzblatt_, Part I, page 1580, signed by Goering).

The Jews were also forced to pay discriminatory taxes and huge atonement fines. Their homes, bank accounts, real estate, and intangibles were expropriated.

A report of a conference under the chairmanship of Goering, and attended by Funk, among others, which was held at 11 o’clock on 12 November 1938 at the Reich Ministry for Air, quotes Goering as saying:

“One more question, gentlemen, what would you think the
situation would be if I’d announced today that Jewry shall have
to contribute this one billion as a punishment.”

* * * * * *

“I shall choose the wording this way that German Jewry shall, as
punishment for their abominable crimes, etc., etc., have to make
a contribution of one billion; that’ll work. The pigs won’t
commit another murder. I’d like to say again that I would not
like to be a Jew in Germany.” (_1816-PS_)

Following these whimsical remarks a decree was issued over the signature of Goering, fining German Jews the sum of one billion Reichsmarks (1938 _Reichsgesetzblatt_, Part I, page 1579, dated 12 November 1938, signed by Goering).

Similar decrees are contained in 1939 _Reichsgesetzblatt_, Part I, page 282, signed by Goering; and in 1941 _Reichsgesetzblatt_, Part I, page 722, signed by Frick and Bormann.

Finally, in 1943, the Jews were placed beyond the protection of any judicial process by a decree signed by Bormann and Frick, among others; the police were made the sole arbiters of punishment and death (1943 _Reichsgesetzblatt_, Part I, page 372, signed by Frick and Bormann).

3. ANTI-JEWISH BOYCOTTS, RAIDS, AND VIOLENCE

Simultaneously with the passage of these decrees and their execution, still another weapon was wielded by the Party and the party-controlled state. This was the openly sponsored and official anti-Jewish boycotts. The published diary of Joseph Goebbels, at page 290, contains this entry for 29 March 1933:

“The boycott appeal is approved by the entire cabinet.”
(_2409-PS_)

Again, on 31 March 1933, he wrote:

“We are having a last discussion among a very small circle and
decide that the boycott is to start tomorrow with all severity.”
(_2409-PS_)

Streicher and Frank, together with Himmler, Ley, and others, were members of a central committee who conducted the 1933 boycott against the Jews. Their names are listed in National Socialist Party correspondence for 29 March 1933. (_2156-PS_)

In this early 1933 violence against the Jews, raids were conducted on synagogues by uniformed Nazis. Attending members of the synagogues were assaulted, and religious insignia and emblems were desecrated. A report of such an occurrence was contained in an official dispatch from the American Consul General in Leipzig, dated 5 April, 1943, which stated:

“In Dresden several weeks ago uniformed Nazis raided the Jewish
prayer house, interrupted the evening religious service,
arrested 25 worshippers, and tore the holy insignia or emblems
from their headcovering worn while praying.” (_2709-PS_)

At a meeting in Nurnberg, before the representatives of the German press, Streicher and Mayor Liebel of Nurnberg revealed in advance to the gathered members of the press that the Nurnberg synagogue was to be destroyed. The minutes of this meeting, dated 4 August 1938, read as follows:

“The breaking up of the synagogue
(information must still be secret)

“On August 10, 1938 at 10 o’clock a. m., the breakup of the
synagogues will commence. Gauleiter Julius Streicher will
personally set the crane into motion with which the Jewish
symbols, Star of David, etc., will be torn down. This should be
arranged in a big way. Closer details are still unknown.”
(_1724-PS_)

Streicher himself supervised the demolition, according to a newspaper account of 11 August 1938, which described the scene:

“In Nurnberg the Synagogue is being demolished; Julius Streicher
himself inaugurates the work by a speech lasting more than an
hour and a half. By his order then—so to speak as a prelude of
the demolition—the tremendous Star of David came off the
cupola.” (_2711-PS_)

These accounts of violence were not localized anti-Semitic demonstrations, but were directed and ordered from a centralized headquarters in Berlin. This fact is established by a series of teletype messages sent by the Berlin Secret State Police Headquarters to police chiefs throughout Germany on 10 November 1938, which contained instructions pertaining to the prearranged demonstration (_3051-PS_). One of these confidential orders, signed by Heydrich, provides:

“Because of the attempt on the life of the Secretary of the
Legation von Rath in Paris tonight, 9-10 November 1938,
demonstrations against Jews are to be expected throughout the
Reich. The following instructions are given on how to treat
these events:

“1. The Chiefs of the State Police, or their deputies, must get
in telephonic contact with the political leaders who have
jurisdiction over their districts and have to arrange a joint
meeting with the appropriate inspector or commander of the Order
Police to discuss the organization of the demonstrations. At
these discussions the political leaders have to be informed that
the German police has received from the Reichsfuehrer SS and
Chief of the German Police the following instructions, in
accordance with which the political leaders should adjust their
own measures.

“_a._ Only such measures should be taken which do not involve
danger to German life or property. (For instance synagogues are
to be burned down only when there is no danger of fire to the
surroundings.)

“_b._ Business and private apartments of Jews may be destroyed
but not looted. The police is instructed to supervise the
execution of this order and to arrest looters.” (_3051-PS_)

4. THE PROGRAM FOR THE COMPLETE ELIMINATION OF JEWRY

At this point the gradual and mounting campaign against the Jews was prepared for the achievement of its ultimate violent ends. The German people had been indoctrinated, and the seeds of hatred had been sown. The German state was armed and prepared for conquest. The force of world opinion could now safely be ignored. Already the Nazi conspirators had forced out of Germany 200,000 of its former 500,000 Jews. The Nazi-controlled German state was therefore emboldened, and Hitler in anticipation of the aggressive wars already planned cast about for a provocation.

In his speech before the Reichstag on 30 January 1939, Hitler declared:

“If the international Jewish financiers within and without
Europe succeed in plunging the nations once more into a world
war, the result will not be the Bolshevication of the world and
the victory of Jewry, but the obliteration of the Jewish race in
Europe.” (_2663-PS_)

The chief editor of the official organ of the SS, the “_Schwarze Korps_,” expressed similar sentiments on 8 August 1940:

“Just as the Jewish question will be solved for Germany only
when the last Jew has been deported, so the rest of Europe
should also realize that the German peace which awaits it must
be a peace without Jews.” (_2668-PS_)

Other officials of the Party and State voiced the same views. Rosenberg wrote for the publication “World Struggle,” which in the April and September 1941 issues declared:

“The Jewish question will be solved for Europe only when the
last Jew has left the European continent.” (_2665-PS_)

Hans Frank entered this apologetic note in his diary:

“Of course, I could not eliminate all lice and Jews in only a
year’s time. But in the course of time, and above all, if you
will help me, this end will be attained.” (_2233-C-PS_)

A. _Registration._

The first step in accomplishing the purpose of the Nazi Party and the Nazi-dominated state, to eliminate the Jew, was to require a complete registration of all Jews. Inasmuch as the anti-Jewish policy was linked with the program of German aggression, such registration was required not only within the Reich, but successively within the conquered territories. For example, registration was required, by decree, within Germany (_Reichsgesetzblatt_ Part I, 1938, page 922, 23 July, signed by Frick); within Austria (_Reichsgesetzblatt_, Volume 1, 1940, page 694, 29 April); within Poland (_Kurjer Krakowski_, 24 October, 1939); in France (_Journal Official_ No. 9, page 92, 30 September, 1940); in Holland (_Verordnungsblatt_, No. 16, 10 January, 1941, signed by Seyss-Inquart).

B. _Segregation into Ghettos._

The second step was to segregate and concentrate the Jews within restricted areas, called ghettos. This policy was carefully worked out, as is illustrated by the confidential statement taken from the files of Rosenberg (_212-PS_). This memorandum of Rosenberg’s, entitled “Directions for Handling of the Jewish Question”, states:

“The first main goal of the German measures must be strict
segregation of Jewry from the rest of the population. In the
execution of this, first of all, is the seizing of the Jewish
population by the introduction of a registration order and
similar appropriate measures * * *.”

* * * * * *

“* * * All rights of freedom for Jews are to be withdrawn. They
are to be placed in ghettos and at the same time are to be
separated according to sexes. The presence of many more or less
closed Jewish settlements in White Ruthenia and in the Ukraine
makes this mission easier. Moreover, places are to be chosen
which make possible the full use of the Jewish manpower in case
labor needs are present. These ghettos can be placed under the
supervision of a Jewish self-government with Jewish officials.
The guarding of the boundaries between the ghettos and the outer
world, is, however, the duty of the Police.

“Also, in the cases in which a ghetto could not yet be
established, care is to be taken through strict prohibitions and
similar suitable measures that a further intermingling of blood
of the Jews and the rest of the populace does not continue.”
(_212-PS_)

In May 1941 Rosenberg, as the Reich Minister for the Occupied Eastern Territories, issued directions confining the Jews to ghettos in the Ukraine:

“After the customary removal of Jews from all public offices,
the Jewish question will have to have a decisive solution,
through the institution of ghettos.” (_1028-PS_)

The policies set forth in the foregoing utterances of Rosenberg were not accidental, isolated, or the views of one individual. They were the expressed State policies. Von Schirach played his part in the program of ghettoization. His speech before the European Youth Congress held in Vienna on 14 September 1942 was reported on page 2, column 2 of the Vienna edition of the “_Voelkischer Beobachter_” of 15 September, as follows:

“Every Jew who exerts influence in Europe is a danger to
European culture. If anyone reproaches me with having driven
from this city, which was once the European metropolis of Jewry,
tens of thousands upon tens of thousands of Jews into the ghetto
of the East, I feel myself compelled to reply: I see in this an
action contributing to European culture.” (_3048-PS_)

One of the largest ghettos was within the city of Warsaw. The official report made by SS Major General Stroop concerning this ghetto is entitled “The Warsaw Ghetto Is No More.” (_1061-PS_)

The report thus describes the ghetto:

“The Ghetto thus established in Warsaw was inhabited by about
400,000 Jews. It contained 27,000 apartments with an average of
2½ rooms each. It was separated from the rest of the city by
partition and other walls, and by walling-up of the
thoroughfares, windows, doors, open spaces, etc. * * *”
(_1061-PS_)

Conditions within this ghetto are indicated in the statement of the report that an average of six persons lived in every room. (_1061-PS_)

Himmler received a report from the SS Brigade Fuehrer Group A, dated 15 October 1941, which further illustrates the establishment and operation of the ghettos. (_L-180_) The report states:

“Apart from organizing and carrying out measures of execution,
the creation of ghettos was begun in the larger towns at once
during the first day of operations. This was especially urgent
in Knowno because there were 30,000 Jews in a total population
of 152,400.”

* * * * * *

“In Riga the so-called ‘_Moskau Suburb_’ was designated as a
ghetto. This is the worst dwelling district of Riga, already now
mostly inhabited by Jews. The transfer of the Jews into the
ghetto district proved rather difficult because the Latvians
dwelling in that district had to be evacuated and residential
space in Riga is very crowded. 24,000 of the 28,000 Jews living
in Riga have been transferred into the ghetto so far. In
creating the ghetto, the Security Police restricted themselves
to mere policing duties, while the establishment and
administration of the ghetto as well as the regulation of the
food supply for the inmates of the ghetto were left to civil
administration; the labor officers were left in charge of Jewish
labor.

“In the other towns with a larger Jewish population ghettos
shall be established likewise.” (_L-180_)

Jews were forced into ghettos in the Polish Province of Galicia. The conditions in these ghettos are described in the report from Katzmann, Lt. General of Police, to Krueger, General of the Police East, dated 20 June 1943, and entitled “Solution of Jewish Question in Galicia.” (_L-18_):

“Nothing but catastrophical conditions were found in the ghettos
of Rawa-Ruska and Rohatyn * * *.”

* * * * * *

“* * * The Jews of Rawa-Ruska, fearing the evacuation, had
concealed those suffering from spotted fever in underground
holes. When evacuation was to start the police found that 3,000
Jews suffering from spotted fever lay about in this ghetto. In
order to destroy this center of pestilence at once every police
officer inoculated against spotted fever was called into action.
Thus we succeeded to destroy this plague-boil, losing thereby
only one officer. Almost the same conditions were found in
Rohatyn * * *.”

* * * * * *

“Since we received more and more alarming reports on the Jews
becoming armed in an ever-increasing manner, we started during
the last fortnight in June 1943 an action throughout the whole
of the district of Galicia with the intent to use strongest
measures to destroy the Jewish gangsterdom. Special measures
were found necessary during the action to dissolve the ghetto in
Lwow where the dug-out mentioned above had been established.
Here we had to act brutally from the beginning, in order to
avoid losses on our side; we had to blow up, or to burn down
several houses. On this occasion the surprising fact arose that
we were able to catch about 20,000 Jews instead of 12,000 Jews
who had registered. We had to pull at least 3,000 Jewish corpses
out of every kind of hiding places; they had committed suicide
by taking poison. * * *”

* * * * * *

“* * * Despite the extraordinary burden heaped upon every single
SS-Police officer during these actions, mood and spirit of the
men were extraordinarily good and praiseworthy from the first to
the last day * * *.” (_L-18_)

These acts of removal and slaughter were not entirely without profit. The report continues:

“Together with the evacuation action, we executed the
confiscation of Jewish property. Very high amounts were
confiscated and paid over to the Special Staff ‘Reinhard’. Apart
from furniture and many textile goods, the following amounts
were confiscated and turned over to Special Staff ‘Reinhard’ * *
*

“20.952 kilograms of gold wedding rings.
7 Stamp collections, complete.
1 Suit case with pocket knives.
1 basket of fountain pens and propelled pencils.
3 bags filled with rings—not genuine.
35 wagons of furs.” (_L-18_)

The thoroughness of the looting is illustrated by an item listing 11.73 kilograms of gold teeth and inlays. (_L-18_)

By the end of 1942, Jews in the General Government of Poland had been crowded into fifty-five localities, whereas before the German invasion there had been approximately 1,000 Jewish settlements within this same area. This fact is reported in the 1942 Official Gazette for the General Government, No. 94, page 665, 1 November 1942.

C. _Forced Labor._

The Jews, having been registered and confined within the ghettos, now furnished a reservoir for slave labor. The difference between slave labor and “labor duty” was this: the latter group were entitled to reasonable compensation, stated working hours, medical care and attention, and other social security measures, while the former were granted none of these advantages, being in fact, on a level below that of slaves.

Rosenberg set up within his organization for the Occupied Eastern Territories a department which, among other things, was to seek a solution for the Jewish problem by means of forced labor. His plans, contained in a memorandum entitled “General Organizations and Tasks of our Office for the General Handling of Problems in the Eastern Territory,” and dated 29 April 1941, read as follows:

“A general treatment is required for the Jewish problem for
which a temporary solution will have to be determined (forced
labor for the Jews, creation of Ghettos, etc.).” (_1024-PS_)

Thereafter Rosenberg issued instructions that Jewish forced labor should be utilized for every manual labor task:

“The standing rule for the Jewish labor employment is the
complete and unyielding use of Jewish manpower regardless of age
in the reconstruction of the occupied eastern territories.”

* * * * * *

“Violations against German measures, especially against the
forced labor regulations, are to be punished by death to the
Jews.” (_212-PS_)

From the ghettos Jewish labor was selected and sent to a concentration area. Here the usable Jews were screened from those considered worthless. For example, a contingent of 45,000 Jews could be expected to yield 10,000 to 15,000 usable laborers. This estimate is based on an RSHA telegram to Himmler, marked “Urgent” and “Secret”, and dated 16 December 1942.

“In the total of 45,000 are included physically handicapped and
others (old Jews and children). In making a distribution for
this purpose, at least 10,000 to 15,000 laborers will be
available when the Jews arriving at Auschwitz are assigned.”
(_1472-PS_)

The report from Lieutenant General of Police, Katzmann, to General of the Police East, Krueger, clearly outlines the nature of the Jewish forced labor:

“The best remedy consisted of the formation, by the SS and
Police Leader, of forced labor camps. The best opportunity for
labor was offered by the necessity to complete the ‘Dg.4’ road
which was extremely important and necessary for the whole of the
southern part of the front, and which was in a catastrophically
bad condition. On October 15th 1941, the establishment of camps
along the road was commenced, and despite considerable
difficulties there existed, after a few weeks only, seven camps
containing 4,000 Jews.”

* * * * * *

“Soon more camps followed these first ones, so that after a very
short time the completion of fifteen camps of this kind could be
reported to the Superior Leader of SS and Police. In the course
of time about 20,000 Jewish laborers passed through these camps.
Despite the hardly imaginable difficulties occurring at this
work I can report today that about 160 kilometers of the road
are completed.”

* * * * * *

“At the same time all other Jews fit for work were registered
and distributed for useful work by the labor agencies.

* * * When the Jews were marked by the Star of David, as well as
when they were registered by the labor agencies, the first
symptoms appeared in their attempts to dodge the order of the
authorities. The measures which were introduced thereupon led to
thousands of arrests. It became more and more apparent that the
civil administration was not in a position to solve the Jewish
problem in an approximately satisfactory manner. Then, for
instance, the municipal administration at Lwow had no success in
their attempts to house the Jews within a closed district which
would be inhabited only by Jews. This question, too, was solved
quickly by the SS and Police Leaders through subordinate
officials. This measure became the more urgent as in the winter,
1941, big centers of spotted fever were noted in many parts of
the town.”

* * * * * *

“During this removal of the Jews into a certain quarter of the
town several sluices were erected at which all the work-shy and
asocial Jewish rabble were caught during the screening and
treated in a special way. Owing to the peculiar fact that almost
90% of artisans working in Galicia were Jews, the task to be
solved could be fulfilled only step by step, since an immediate
evacuation would not have served the interest of War Economy.”

* * * * * *

“* * * Cases were discovered where Jews, in order to acquire any
certificate of labor, not only renounced all wages, but even
paid money themselves. Moreover, the organizing of Jews for the
benefit of their employers grew to such catastrophical extent
that it was deemed necessary to interfere in the most energetic
manner for the benefit of the German name. Since the
administration was not in a position and showed itself too weak
to master this chaos, the SS and Police Leader simply took over
the entire disposition of labor for Jews. The Jewish labor
agencies, which were manned by hundreds of Jews, were dissolved.
All certificates of labor given by firms or administrative
offices were declared invalid, and the cards given to the Jews
by the labor agencies were revalidated by the police offices by
stamping them. In the course of this action, again, thousands of
Jews were caught who were in possession of forged certificates
or who had obtained, surreptitiously, certificates of labor by
all kinds of pretexts. These Jews also were exposed to special
treatment.” (_L-18_)

D. _Extermination._

(At this point a strip of motion picture footage taken, presumably, by a member of the SS, and captured by the United States military forces in an SS barracks near Augsburg, Germany, was shown to the tribunal. The film depicts what is believed to be the extermination of a ghetto by Gestapo agents, assisted by military units.

The following scenes are representative:

Scene 2: A naked girl running across the courtyard.

Scene 3: An older woman being pushed past the camera, and a man in SS uniform standing at the right of the scene.

Scene 5: A man with a skull cap and a woman are manhandled.

Scene 14: A half-naked woman runs through the crowd.

Scene 15: Another half-naked woman runs out of the house.

Scene 16: Two men drag an old man out.

Scene 18: A man in German military uniform, with his back to the camera, watches.

Scene 24: A general shot of the street, showing fallen bodies and naked women running.

Scene 32: A shot of the street, showing five fallen bodies.

Scene 37: A man with a bleeding head is hit again.

Scene 39: A soldier in German military uniform, with a rifle, stands by as a crowd centers on a man coming out of the house.

Scene 44: A soldier with a rifle, in German military uniform, walks past a woman clinging to a torn blouse.

Scene 45: A woman is dragged by her hair across the street.)

The means of accomplishing the extermination of the Jews are discussed in the diary of Hans Frank, then Governor-General of Occupied Poland (_2233-D-PS_). In a cabinet session on Tuesday, 16 December 1941 in the Government Building at Cracow, Frank made a closing address, as follows:

“As far as the Jews are concerned, I want to tell you quite
frankly that they must be done away with in one way or another.
The Fuehrer said once: ‘Should united Jewry again succeed in
provoking a world-war, the blood of not only the nations which
have been forced into the war by them, will be shed, but the Jew
will have found his end in Europe’. I know that many of the
measures carried out against the Jews in the Reich at present
are being criticized. It is being tried intentionally, as is
obvious from the reports on the morale, to talk about cruelty,
harshness, etc. Before I continue, I want to beg you to agree
with me on the following formula: We will principally have pity
on the German people only, and nobody else in the whole world.
The others, too, had no pity on us. As an old
National-Socialist, I must say: This war would only be a partial
success if the whole lot of Jewry would survive it, while we
would have shed our best blood in order to save Europe. My
attitude towards the Jews will, therefore, be based only on the
expectation that they must disappear. They must be done away
with. I have entered negotiations to have them deported to the
East. A great discussion concerning that question will take
place in Berlin in January, to which I am going to delegate the
State Secretary Dr. Buehler. That discussion is to take place in
the Reich Security Main Office with SS-Lt. General Heydrich. A
great Jewish migration will begin, in any case.

“But what should be done with the Jews? Do you think they will
be settled down in the ‘Ostland’, in villages? This is what we
were told in Berlin: Why all this bother? We can do nothing with
them either in the ‘Ostland’ nor in the ‘Reichskommissariat’. So
liquidate them yourself.

“Gentlemen, I must ask you to rid yourself of all feeling of
pity. We must annihilate the Jews, wherever we find them and
wherever it is possible, in order to maintain there the
structure of the Reich as a whole. This will, naturally, be
achieved by other methods than those pointed out by Bureau Chief
Dr. Hummel. Nor can the judges of the Special Courts be made
responsible for it, because of the limitations of the framework
of the legal procedure. Such outdated views cannot be applied to
such gigantic and unique events. We must find at any rate a way
which leads to the goal, and my thoughts are working in that
direction.

“The Jews represent for us also extraordinarily malignant
gluttons. We have now approximately 2,500,000 of them in the
General Government, perhaps with the Jewish mixtures and
everything that goes with it, 3,500,000 Jews. We cannot shoot or
poison those 3,500,000 Jews, but we shall nevertheless be able
to take measures, which will lead, somehow, to their
annihilation, and this in connection with the gigantic measures
to be determined in discussions from the Reich. The General
Government must become free of Jews, the same as the Reich.
Where and how this is to be achieved is a matter for the offices
which we must appoint and create here. Their activities will be
brought to your attention in due course.” (_2233-D-PS_)

This was not the planning and scheming of an irresponsible individual, but the expression by the Governor-General of Occupied Poland, of the official policy of the German State.

Rosenberg’s notion of the means to be taken against the Jews is expressed in a secret “Document Memorandum for the Fuehrer—Concerning: Jewish Possessions in France,” dated 18 December 1941. Rosenberg urges plundering and death:

“* * * In compliance with the order of the Fuehrer for
protection of Jewish cultural possessions, a great number of
Jewish dwellings remained unguarded. Consequently, many
furnishings have disappeared because a guard could, naturally,
not be posted. In the whole East the administration has found
terrible conditions of living quarters, and the chances of
procurement are so limited that it is not practical to procure
any more. Therefore, I beg the Fuehrer to permit the seizure of
all Jewish home furnishings of Jews in Paris, who have fled or
will leave shortly, and that of Jews living in all parts of the
occupied West, to relieve the shortage of furnishings in the
administration in the East.

“2. A great number of leading Jews were, after a short
examination in Paris, again released. The attempts on the lives
of members of the armed forces have not stopped; on the contrary
they continue. This reveals an unmistakable plan to disrupt the
German-French cooperation, to force Germany to retaliate, and,
with this, evoke a new defense on the part of the French against
Germany. I suggest to the Fuehrer that, instead of executing 100
Frenchmen, we substitute 100 Jewish bankers, lawyers, etc. It is
the Jews in London and New York who incite the French communists
to commit acts of violence, and it seems only fair that the
members of this race should pay for this. It is not the little
Jews, but the leading Jews in France, who should be held
responsible. That would tend to awaken the Anti-Jewish
sentiment.

“(Signed) A. Rosenberg.” (_001-PS_)

(1) _Starvation._ Chief among the methods utilized for the annihilation of the Jewish people was starvation. Policies were designed and adopted to deprive the Jews of the most elemental necessities of life. Hans Frank, then Governor-General of Poland, wrote in his diary that hunger rations were introduced in the Warsaw Ghetto (_2233-E-PS_). Referring to the new food regulations of August 1942, he noted that by these food regulations more than one million Jews were virtually condemned to death.

“That we sentence 1,200,000 Jews to die of hunger should be
noted only marginally. It is a matter of course that should the
Jews not starve to death it would we hope result in a speeding
up of the anti-Jewish measures.” (_2233-E-PS_)

In pursuance of the deliberate policy of Jewish starvation, Jews were prohibited from pursuing agricultural activities in order to cut them off from access to sources of food. A document entitled “Provisional Directives on the Treatment of Jews”, issued by the Reichscommissar for the Ostland, provided:

“Jews must be cleaned out from the countryside. The Jews are to
be removed from all trades, especially from trade with
agricultural products and other foodstuffs.” (_1138-PS_)

Jews were also excluded from the purchase of basic food, such as wheat products, meat, eggs, and milk. A decree dated 18 September 1942, from the Ministry of Agriculture, provided:

“Jews will no longer receive the following foods, beginning with
the 42nd distribution period (19 October 1942): meat, meat
products, eggs, wheat products (cake, white bread, wheat rolls,
wheat flour, etc.) whole milk, fresh skimmed milk, as well as
such food distributed not on food ration cards issued uniformly
throughout the Reich but on local supply certificates or by
special announcement of the nutrition office on extra coupons of
the food cards. Jewish children and young people over ten years
of age will receive the bread ration of the normal consumer.”
(_1347-PS_)

The sick, the old, and pregnant mothers were excluded from the special food concessions allotted to non-Jews. Seizure by the State Police of food shipments to Jews from abroad was authorized, and Jewish ration cards were distinctly marked with the word “Jew” in color across the face of the cards, so that the store-keepers could readily identify and discriminate against Jewish purchasers.

According to page 110 of an official document of the Czechoslovakian government published in 1943 and entitled “Czechoslovakia Fights Back,” Jewish food purchases were confined to certain areas, to certain days, and to certain hours. As might be expected, the period permitted for the purchases occurred during the time when food stocks were likely to be exhausted. (_1689-PS_)

By Special Order No. 44 for the Eastern Occupied Territories, dated 4 November 1941, Jews were limited to rations as low as only one-half of the lowest basic category of other people, and the Ministry of Agriculture was empowered to exclude Jews entirely or partially from obtaining food thus exposing the Jewish community to death by starvation. A bulletin issued by the Polish Ministry of Information, dated 15 December 1942, concludes that upon the basis of the nature of the separate rationing and the amount of food available to Jews in the Warsaw and Cracow ghettos, the system was designed to bring about starvation:

“In regard to food supplies they are brought under a completely
separate system, which is obviously aimed at depriving them of
the most elemental necessities of life.” (_L-165_)

(2) _Annihilation._ Annihilation within the ghettos is illustrated and glorified in the report of Major General of the Police Stroop, entitled “The Warsaw Ghetto is No More.” (_1061-PS_)

This report bound in leather profusely illustrated, typed on heavy bond paper, and almost 75 pages in length, is the almost unbelievable recital of a proud accomplishment by Stroop, who signed the report with a bold hand. Stroop in his report first pays tribute to the bravery and heroism of the German forces who participated in the ruthless actions against a defenseless group of Jews numbering, to be exact 56,065—including infants and women. His report relates day-by-day progress in the accomplishment of his mission—to destroy and to obliterate the Warsaw Ghetto. According to this report, the ghetto, which was established in Warsaw in November 1940, was inhabited by about 400,000 Jews; and prior to the action for the destruction of this Ghetto, some 316,000 had already been deported.

These are some of the boastful and vivid account’s of the scenes within the Warsaw Ghetto:

“The resistance put up by the Jews and bandits could be broken
only by relentlessly using all our forces and energy by day and
night. On 23 April 1943 the Reichsfuehrer SS issued through the
Higher SS and Police Fuehrer East at Cracow his order to
complete the combing out of the Warsaw Ghetto with the greatest
severity and relentless tenacity. I therefore decided to destroy
the entire Jewish residential area by setting every block on
fire, including the blocks of residential buildings near the
armament works. One concern after the other was systematically
evacuated and subsequently destroyed by fire. The Jews then
emerged from their hiding places and dugouts in almost every
case. Not infrequently, the Jews stayed in the burning buildings
until, because of the heat and the fear of being burned alive,
they preferred to jump down from the upper stories after having
thrown mattresses and other upholstered articles into the street
from the burning buildings. With their bones broken, they still
tried to crawl across the street into blocks of buildings which
had not yet been set on fire or were only partially in flames.
Often the Jews changed their hiding places during the night, by
moving into the ruins of burnt-out buildings, taking refuge
there until they were found by our patrols. Their stay in the
sewers also ceased to be pleasant after the first week.
Frequently from the street, we could hear loud voices coming
through the sewer shafts. Then the men of the Waffen SS, the
Police or the _Wehrmacht_ Engineers courageously climbed down
from the shafts to bring out the Jews and not infrequently they
then stumbled over Jews already dead, or were shot at. It was
always necessary to use smoke candles to drive out the Jews.
Thus one day we opened 183 sewer entrance holes, and at a fixed
time lowered smoke candles into them, with the result that the
bandits fled from what they believed to be gas in the center of
the former Ghetto, where they could then be pulled out of the
sewer holes there. A great number of Jews who could not be
counted were exterminated by blowing up sewers and dugouts.

“The longer the resistance lasted the tougher the men of the
Waffen SS, Police, and _Wehrmacht_ became. They fulfilled their
duty indefatigably in faithful comradeship, and stood together
as models and examples of soldiers. Their duty hours often
lasted from early morning until late at night. At night search
patrols with rags wound round their feet remained at the heels
of the Jews and gave them no respite. Not infrequently they
caught and killed Jews who used the night hours for
supplementing their stores from abandoned dugouts and for
contacting neighboring groups or exchanging news with them.

“Considering that the greater part of the men of the Waffen SS
had only been trained for three to four weeks before being
assigned to this action, high credit should be given to the
pluck, courage and devotion to duty which they showed. It must
be stated that the _Wehrmacht_ Engineers, too, executed the
blowing up of dugouts, sewers and concrete buildings with
indefatigability and great devotion to duty. Officers and men of
the police, a large part of whom had already been at the front,
again excelled by their dashing spirit.

“Only through the continuous and untiring work of all involved
did we succeed in catching a total of 56,065 Jews whose
extermination can be proved. To this should be added the number
of Jews who lost their lives in explosions or fires, but whose
number could not be ascertained.” (_1061-PS_)

At the beginning of his report Stroop lists the losses of German troops:

“For the Fuehrer and their country the following fell in the
battle for the destruction of Jews and bandits in the former
ghetto of Warsaw * * *” [Fifteen names are thereafter listed].

“Furthermore, the Polish police sergeant Julian Zielinski, born
13 November 1891, 8th Commissariat, fell on 19 April 1943 while
fulfilling his duty. They gave their utmost, their life. We
shall never forget them.

“The following were wounded * * *” [There follow the names of 60
Waffen SS personnel] “11 watchmen from training camps, probably
Lithuanians; 12 Security Police officers in SS units; 5 men of
the Polish Police; and 2 regular army personnel, engineers.”
(_1061-PS_)

The story continues in the daily teletype reports, from which the following are excerpts:

“Our setting the block on fire achieved the result in the course
of the night that those Jews whom we had not been able to find
despite all our search operations left their hideouts under the
roofs, in the cellars, and elsewhere, and appeared on the
outside of the buildings, trying to escape the flames. Masses of
them—entire families—were already aflame and jumped from the
windows or endeavored to let themselves down by means of sheets
tied together or the like. Steps had been taken so that these
Jews as well as the remaining ones were liquidated at once.”

* * * * * *

“When the blocks of buildings mentioned above were destroyed,
120 Jews were caught and numerous Jews were destroyed when they
jumped from the attics to the inner courtyards, trying to escape
the flames. Many more Jews perished in the flames or were
destroyed when the dugouts and sewer entrances were blown up.”

* * * * * *

“Not until the blocks of buildings were well aflame and were
about to collapse did a further considerable number of Jews
emerge, forced to do so by the flames and the smoke. Time and
again the Jews try to escape even through burning buildings.
Innumerable Jews whom we saw on the roofs during the
conflagration perished in the flames. Others emerged from the
upper stories in the last possible moment and were only able to
escape death from the flames by jumping down. Today we caught a
total of 2,283 Jews, of whom 204 were shot, and innumerable Jews
were destroyed in dugouts and in the flames.”

* * * * * *

“The Jews testify that they emerge at night to get fresh air,
since it is unbearable to stay permanently within the dugouts
owing to the long duration of the operation. On the average the
raiding parties shoot 30 to 50 Jews each night. From these
statements it was to be inferred that a considerable number of
Jews are still underground in the Ghetto. Today we blew up a
concrete building which we had not been able to destroy by fire.
In this operation we learned that the blowing up of a building
is a very lengthy process and takes an enormous amount of
explosives. The best and only method for destroying the Jews
therefore still remains the setting of fires.”

* * * * * *

“Some depositions speak of three to four thousand Jews who still
remain in underground holes, sewers, and dugouts; The
undersigned is resolved not to terminate the large-scale
operation until the last Jew has been destroyed.” (_1061-PS_)

The teletype message of 15 May 1945 indicates that the operation is in its last stage:

“A special unit once more searched the last block of buildings
which was still intact in the Ghetto, and subsequently destroyed
it. In the evening the chapel, mortuary, and all other buildings
in the Jewish cemetery were blown up or destroyed by fire.”
(_1061-PS_)

On 24 May 1943 the final figures were compiled by Major General Stroop:

“Of the total of 56,065 caught, about 7,000 were destroyed in
the former Ghetto during large-scale operation. 6,929 Jews were
destroyed by transporting them to T.II [believed to be Treblinka
Camp No. 2]. The sum total of Jews destroyed is therefore
13,929. Beyond the number of 56,065 an estimated number of 5 to
6,000 Jews were destroyed by being blown up or by perishing in
the flames.” (_1061-PS_)

It was not always necessary, or perhaps desirable, to place the Jews within Ghettos to effect elimination. In the Baltic States a more direct course of action was followed. According to a report by SS Brigade Fuehrer Stahlecker to Himmler, dated 15 October 1941, entitled “Action Group A,” which was found in Himmler’s private files, 135,567 persons, nearly all Jews, were murdered in accordance to basic orders directing the complete annihilation of Jews. SS Brigade Fuehrer Stahlecker continues his report:

“* * * To our surprise it was not easy at first to set in motion
an extensive pogrom against the Jews. Klimatis, the leader of
the partisan unit, mentioned above, who was used for this
purpose primarily, succeeded in starting a pogrom on the basis
of advice given to him by a small advanced detachment acting in
Kowno and in such a way that no German order or German
instigation was noticed from the outside. During the first
pogrom in the night from 25 to 26 June the Lithuanian partisans
did away with more than 1,500 Jews, setting fire to several
synagogues or destroying them by other means and burning down a
Jewish dwelling district consisting of about 60 houses. During
the following nights about 2,300 Jews were made harmless in a
similar way. * * *”

* * * * * *

“It was possible, though, through similar influences on the
Latvian auxiliary to set in motion a pogrom against the Jews
also in Riga. During this pogrom all synagogues were destroyed
and about 400 Jews were killed.” (_L-180_)

Nazi ingenuity reached its zenith with the construction and operation of the gas van as a means of mass annihilation of the Jews. A description of the operation of these vehicles of death is fully set forth in a captured Top Secret document dated 16 May 1942, addressed to SS Obersturmbannfuehrer Rauff, 8 Prince Albrecht-Strasse, Berlin, from Dr. Becker, SS Untersturmfuehrer. The report reads in part:

“The overhauling of vans by groups D and C is finished. While
the vans of the first series can also be put into action if the
weather is not too bad, the vans of the second series (_Saurer_)
stop completely in rainy weather. If it has rained for instance
for only one half hour, the van cannot be used because it simply
skids away. It can only be used in absolutely dry weather. It is
only a question now whether the van can only be used standing at
the place of execution. First the van has to be brought to that
place, which is possible only in good weather. The place of
execution is usually 10 to 15 km away from the highways and is
difficult of access because of its location; in damp or wet
weather it is not accessible at all. If the persons to be
executed are driven or led to that place, then they realize
immediately what is going on and get restless, which is to be
avoided as far as possible. There is only one way left; to load
them at the collecting point and to drive them to the spot.

“I ordered the vans of group D to be camouflaged as
house-trailers by putting one set of window shutters on each
side of the small van and two on each side of the larger vans,
such as one often sees on farm houses in the country. The vans
became so well-known, that not only the authorities but also the
civilian population called the van ‘death van’, as soon as one
of these vehicles appeared. It is my opinion the van cannot be
kept secret for any length of time, not even camouflaged.”

* * * * * *

“Because of the rough terrain and the indescribable road and
highway conditions the caulkings and rivets loosen in the course
of time. I was asked if in such cases the vans should be brought
to Berlin for repair. Transportation to Berlin would be much too
expensive and would demand too much fuel. In order to save those
expenses I ordered them to have smaller leaks soldered and if
that should no longer be possible, to notify Berlin immediately
by radio, that Pol. Nr. is out of order. Besides that I ordered
that during application of gas all the men were to be kept as
far away from the vans as possible, so they should not suffer
damage to their health by the gas which eventually would escape.
I should like to take this opportunity to bring the following to
your attention: several commands have had the unloading after
the application of gas done by their own men. I brought to the
attention of the commanders of those S.K. concerned the immense
psychological injuries and damages to their health which that
work can have for those men, even if not immediately, at least
later on. The men complained to me about headaches which
appeared after each unloading. Nevertheless they don’t want to
change the orders, because they are afraid prisoners called for
that work, could use an opportune moment to flee. To protect the
men from those damages, I request orders be issued accordingly.

“The application of gas usually is not undertaken correctly. In
order to come to an end as fast as possible, the driver presses
the accelerator to the fullest extent. By doing that the persons
to be executed suffer death from suffocation and not death by
dozing off as was planned. My directions now have proved that by
correct adjustment of the levers death comes faster and the
prisoners fall asleep peacefully. Distorted faces and
excretions, such as could be seen before, are no longer noticed.

“Today I shall continue my journey to group B, where I can be
reached with further news.

“Signed: Dr. Becker, SS Untersturmfuehrer.” (_501-PS_)

A letter signed by Hauptsturmfuehrer Truehe on the subject of S-vans, addressed to the Reich Security Main Office, Room 2-D-3-A, Berlin, and marked “Top Secret,” establishes that the vans were used for the annihilation of the Jews. The message reads:

“A transport of Jews, which has to be treated in a special way,
arrives weekly at the office of the commandant of the Security
Police and the Security Service of White Ruthenia.

“The three S-vans which are there are not sufficient for that
purpose. I request assignment of another S-van (five tons). At
the same time I request the shipment of twenty gas hoses for the
three S-vans on hand (two Diamond, one Saurer), since the ones
on hand are leaky already.

(signed) The Commandant of the Security Police and the Security
Service, Ostland.” (_501-PS_)

It appears that a certain amount of discord existed between officials of the German government as to the proper means and methods to be used in connection with the extermination program. A secret report dated 18 June 1943, addressed to Rosenberg, complained that five thousand Jews killed by the police and SS might have been used for forced labor, and chided them for failing to bury the bodies of those liquidated:

“The fact that Jews receive special treatment requires no
further discussion. However, it appears hardly believable that
this is done in the way described in the report of the General
Commissioner of 1 June 1943. What is Katyn against that? Imagine
only that these occurrences would become known to the other side
and exploited by them! Most likely such propaganda would have no
effect only because people who hear and read about it simply
would not be ready to believe it.”

* * * * * *

“To lock men, women, and children into barns and to set fire to
them does not appear to be a suitable method of combatting
bands, even if it is desired to exterminate the population. This
method is not worthy of the German cause and hurts our
reputation severely.” (_R-135_)

Gunther, the prison warden at Minsk, in a letter dated 31 May 1943, addressed to the General Commissioner for White Ruthenia, was critical by implication. This letter, entitled, “Action Against Jews,” reads:

“On 13 April 1943 the former German dentist Ernst Israel
Tichauer and his wife, Elisa Sara Tichauer, nee Rosenthal, were
committed to the court prison by the Security Service. Since
that time all German and Russian Jews who were turned over to us
had their golden bridgework, crowns, and fillings pulled or
broken out. This happens always one to two hours before the
respective action.

“Since 13 April 1943, 516 German and Russian Jews have been
finished off. On the basis of a definite investigation gold was
taken only in two actions—on 14 April 1943 from 172, and on 27
April 1943 from 164 Jews. About fifty percent of the Jews had
gold teeth, bridgework, or fillings. _Hauptscharfuehrer_ Rube of
the Security Service was always personally present and he took
the gold along, too.

“Before 13 April 1943 this was not done.

(signed) Gunther, Prison Warden.” (_R-135_)

The foregoing letter was forwarded to Rosenberg, as Reich Minister for the Occupied Eastern Territories, on June 1943. The covering letter to Rosenberg reads:

“The enclosed official report from the warden of the prison in
Minsk is submitted to the Reich Minister and the Reich Commissar
for Information.

“(signed) The General Commissar in Minsk.” (_R-135_)

A further complaint is contained in a secret letter addressed to General of Infantry, Thomas, Chief of the International Armament Department, dated 2 December 1941 (_3257-PS_). The writer of this letter apprehensively stated his reason for not forwarding the communication through official channels:

“For the personal information of the Chief of the Industrial
Armament Department I am forwarding a total account of the
present situation in the Reichskommissariat Ukraine in which the
difficulties and tensions encountered so far and the problems
which give rise to serious anxiety are stated with unmistakable
clarity.

“Intentionally I have desisted from submitting such a report
through official channels or to make it known to other
departments interested in it because I do not expect any results
that way, but to the contrary am apprehensive that the
difficulties and tensions and also the divergent opinions might
only be increased due to the peculiarity of the situation.”

* * * * * *

“Jewish problem:

“Regulation of the Jewish question in the Ukraine was a
difficult problem because the Jews constituted a large part of
the urban population. We therefore have to deal—just as in the
General Government—with a mass problem of policy concerning the
population. Many cities had a percentage of Jews exceeding fifty
percent. Only the rich Jews had fled from the German troops. The
majority of Jews remained under German administration. The
latter found the problem more complicated through the fact that
these Jews represented almost the entire trade and even a part
of the manpower in small and medium industries besides the
business which had in part become superfluous as a direct or
indirect result of the war. The elimination therefore
necessarily had far-reaching economic consequences and even
direct consequences for the armament industry (production for
supplying the troops).”

* * * * * *

“The attitude of the Jewish population was anxious—obliging
from the beginning. They tried to avoid everything that might
displease the German administration. That they hated the German
administration and army inwardly goes without saying and cannot
be surprising. However, there is no proof that Jewry as a whole
or even to a greater part was implicated in acts of sabotage.
Surely there were some terrorists or saboteurs among them just
as among the Ukrainians. But it cannot be said that the Jews as
such represented a danger to the German armed forces. The output
produced by Jews who, of course, were prompted by nothing but
the feeling of fear, was satisfactory to the troops and the
German administration.

“The Jewish population remained temporarily unmolested shortly
after the fighting. Only weeks, sometimes months later,
specially detached formations of the police executed a planned
shooting of Jews. The action as a rule proceeded from east to
west. It was done entirely in public with the use of the
Ukrainian militia, and unfortunately in many instances also with
members of the armed forces taking part voluntarily. The way
these actions, which included men and old men, women, and
children of all ages were carried out was horrible. The great
masses executed make this action more gigantic than any similar
measure taken so far in the Soviet Union. So far about 150,000
to 200,000 Jews may have been executed in the part of the
Ukraine belonging to the Reichskommissariat; no consideration
was given to the interests of economy.