Archive/File: people/e/eichmann.adolf/transcripts/Judgment/Judgment-030
Last-Modified: 1999/05/27

From Malines, the Jews were evacuated to Auschwitz.  The
number of Jews evacuated from Malines was 25,437, of whom
1,276 survived (p. 30 of T/520).

101. Of the Accused's activities in Holland, we hear for the
first time in December 1941, when the question arises as to
the attitude to be adopted towards Jews who were members of
a Dutch pro-German association.  He was of the opinion that
they, too, should not be allowed to emigrate, but their
evacuation could be postponed, so that "their turn will come
last" (T/528).

The Adviser on Jewish Affairs in Holland is Zoepf, one of
the Accused's men.  We have already mentioned, in connection
with France, that at a meeting held in the Accused's Section
on 11 June 1942 (T/419), it was decided to evacuate 15,000
Jews for the time being from Holland.  On 24 September 1942,
Rauter, Senior Commanding Officer of the SS and the Police
in Holland, reports to Himmler that 20,000 Dutch Jews were
"put on the march" to Auschwitz (T/531), adding that "on 15
October, Dutch Jewry will be declared outlawed."  (Himmler
marks this report with the words "very good.")  The witness
Dr. Melkman describes to us in detail the large-scale round-
ups which took place as a result of this plan (Session 34,
Vol. II, 613-614).

On 27 April 1943, Zoepf sends in a report to the Accused's
Section (T/543) concerning evacuations up to that time,
which included 58,000 Jews in sixty trains "for posting to
labour in the East."  The summary is found in the report
made by the Reich Commissioner for Holland in July 1944,
which states:

     "The Jewish Question in Holland can be regarded as
     solved, since the great majority of Jews have been
     deported from the country."

The number of those deported, according to this report, is
113,000 (T/577).

At the end of 1943, a conflict of jurisdiction arose between
the RSHA and the Reich Commissioner, Seyss-Inquart, who
claimed authority to continue the handling of Jewish affairs
("especially mixed marriages, diamond Jews, etc.").

About this, Zoepf writes in a memorandum (T/562), that:

     "The representatives of the RSHA" (that is the Accused,
     who was present during the discussion with Seyss-
     Inquart's representative) "expressed the opinion that
     it would be contrary to the order of the Reichsfuehrer-
     SS and illogical, if at this late stage other
     authorities again were to handle the Jewish Question
     after the Reich Commissioner himself had confirmed that
     this lay within the province of the Security Police."

From a later cable (T/569), dated 3 February 1944, sent from
the Accused's office, in which Kaltenbrunner demands that
Sephardic Jews in Holland should also be included in
evacuations, we learn that the RSHA had the upper hand in
this dispute.

As to the plunder of the victim's property in Holland, Seyss-
Inquart's report of 28 February 1944 states that he
estimates the value of the property seized at 500 million
Dutch Gulden (T/571).  Here, too, Rosenberg's special unit
was active in the robbery of the property (T/508, p. 9).

102. Expulsions from Scandinavian Countries began at the end
of 1942 and continued throughout 1943
The Accused's Section sends a cable on 25 November 1942
(signed by Guenther) to the Commander of the Security Police
in Oslo, ordering the immediate evacuation of Norwegian Jews
via Stettin to Auschwitz.  The cable contains the usual
instructions regarding the categories of the evacuees
(nationality, mixed marriages, etc.) and the loss of
Norwegian nationality on crossing the border.  The very same
day, a message is sent from Oslo to Stettin that 700-900
Jews would sail the next day.  Arrests are carried out on
the same day and, in fact, 532 Jews are deported from Oslo
to Stettin, arriving at Stettin on 30 November 1942 and at
Auschwitz on 1 December 1942 (exhibit T/591).  The second
wave was from 25 to 26 February 1943, and this time 158 Jews
are expelled from Oslo via Stettin.  The Accused's office
(over his signature) instructs the local Gestapo office in
Oslo to transfer these Jews to Berlin, "where they will be
attached en bloc to one of the next transports of Jews to
Auschwitz" (T/592).  We heard from Mrs. Samuel how a similar
number of Jews were saved by escaping to Sweden (Session 36,
Vol. II, p. 649).  In Norway, 64 Jews in all remained, all
of them Jewish spouses of mixed marriages, and they were
concentrated in one camp.  The Swedish Government made
efforts over an extended period to secure their transfer to
Sweden, inter alia by granting them Swedish nationality.
Already on 1 March 1943 (T/593), the Accused's Section, in a
letter bearing his signature, strongly objected to these
attempts, and on 2 October 1944, his Section finally
rejected (over Guenther's signature) the Swedish request to
have the 64 Jews transferred to Sweden (T/605).

A total of 750 Jews was evacuated from Norway, and only 13
remained alive.

103. In Denmark the action was concentrated over a few days
at the end of September and the beginning of October 1943.
Most of the action failed, due to a `leakage' on the German
side and the active assistance of all sections of the Danish
people, from the King down to simple citizens, as was
related by the witness Melchior in his testimony (Session
35, Vol. II, pp. 627-641).  Only 202 Jews of Copenhagen fell
into German hands at the time and were sent to Germany on 3
October 1943 (T/582).

The order for expulsion came from Himmler, through the RSHA
and the Accused's Section, as appears from the affidavits
made by von Thadden (T/584) and Mildner (T/585); from a
letter from the Foreign Ministry, dated 13 September 1943,
to the Head of the Security Police, for the attention of the
Accused (T/580); from a report, T/582, sent to the RSHA with
a copy to the Accused's Section; and documents T/587-588,
which also reflect the activity of the Accused in the matter
of Danish Jewry.

According to reports by the Danish Government (T/589), the
total number of those deported was about 475.  They were all
sent to Terezin, and thanks to the continuous interest taken
by Danish institutions, their fate there was better than
that of all other inmates.  The number of those who died in
Terezin was 53.

104. From Western and Northern Europe, we move to Central,
Southern and South-Eastern Europe.  We shall deal first with
Slovakia which was, by the grace of Hitler, an autonomous
state.  Wisliceny acted as "Adviser on Jewish Affairs" in
this country on behalf of the RSHA and the Accused's
Section, being formally attached to Ludin, the German
Ambassador in Bratislava.

Three periods can be discerned in the fate of the Jews of
Slovakia:

(a) The first period was that of "relocation and
Aryanization," about which we heard from the witness Dr.
Abeles.  About the meaning of relocation we read in document
T/1076, dated 22 October 1941:

     "The Slovakian Minister of the Interior...is planning
     the concentrated settlement of Jews in certain places
     in Slovakia, thereby achieving the complete evacuation
     of Jews from large areas, as well as the evacuation of
     the capital.  This will be done by the setting up of
     ghettos - suggested by the German Counsellor, following
     the example of the Generalgouvernement."

Concerning Aryanization, Dr. Abeles stated (Session 49, Vol.
II. p. 888):

     "It was the large Jewish firms which were Aryanized,
     primarily industrial firms, part of which were owned by
     Jews."

(b) The second decisive stage, that of evacuation, begins on
16 February 1942 (T/1078).  On 13 March 1942, the German
Embassy in Bratislava is informed that the Accused will
arrive "for preliminary discussion of the evacuation of
20,000 Jews from Slovakia" (T/1079), and on 20 March 1942
(T/1080), the Foreign Ministry transmits to the German
Embassy a detailed plan coming from the Head of the Security
Police and the SD.  The Slovak Government is to pay the
German Government the sum of 500 Reichsmark for every Jew
received.  The Germans justify this demand by the low work
productivity of the Jews, "not yet trained for new trades,"
and by the fact that Jewish property in Slovakia is worth
three billion Slovakian Crowns.  On 29 April 1942, Ludin
reports that the plan was confirmed by the Slovak
Government, that three trains had already been dispatched,
and that after the evacuation of 20,000 "labour Jews" the
evacuation of the remainder (some 70,000 Jews (T/1081))
could be commenced.  The question of the payment of 500
Reichsmark for each evacuated Jew appears again a number of
times in documents submitted, and for the last time in
document T/1087, dated 2 May 1942, in which the Foreign
Ministry defines the attitude of the German Government as
follows:

     "The Reich Government undertakes responsibility that
     Jews removed from Slovakia and received by them will
     remain in the Eastern areas forever, and will not be
     given any opportunity to return to Slovakia.  No claim
     is put forward by the Germans in regard to the property
     of these Jews of Slovakian nationality, except the
     demand for the payment of 500 Reichsmark in exchange
     for each Jew received.  The Reich Government is to
     receive (abzunehmen) from Slovakia, during the month of
     May this year, 20,000 additional Jews, fit for labour,
     and send them to the East.  The details will be
     arranged as heretofore."

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