Even during the “demonstrations against the Jews”, as the SS called the pogrom of 9 and 10 November 1938, Hitler personally ordered mass arrests of Jewish men. They were imprisoned in concentration camps without charge. The Nazis used these arrests as a means of exerting pressure. They wanted to force the affected families to flee. “Along the way”, however, the aim was to steal Jewish property in favour of the state treasury. Many biographies on dunera.de, other sources and personal accounts refer to the 30,000 people arrested as “Aktionsjuden[1] English sources use the German term "Aktionsjuden" for the 30,000 Jewish men arrested after the pogrom of November 1938. A translation is therefore not provided here. Cf. Wikipedia about the mass arrests. ” or “Rath Jews”.
Peter Dehn, June 2024.
The mass deportation of 17,000 Polish Jews across the Polish border in October 1938 – known as the “Polenaktion“ – had consequences: It is known that a deported Jewish woman from the Polish border town of Zbaszyn had told her brother in Paris about her experiences. The young man, Herschel Herschel Grynszpan[2] Wikipedia about Herschel Grynszpan, retrieved 25 Sep 2023. by name, then shot the official of the local Nazi embassy Ernst Eduard vom Rath[3] Wikipedia about Ernst Eduard vom Rath (German), retrieved July 23, 2023. on 7 November 1938. The Nazis propagated this in order to legitimise the violent action against Jews that they had planned anyway. The pogrom of 9 and 10 November 1938 entered the Nazi vocabulary trivialised as the „Reichskristallnacht“: a state-controlled mob murdered 400 people or drove them to suicide. Over 1,400 synagogues, 7,500 shops and homes were destroyed, Jewish cemeteries and community facilities were vandalised[4] Jüdisches Museum Berlin, "9. November 1938" (German), retrieved 30 May 2024..
“Especially wealthy”
This attack on the Jews was not enough for the Nazis. On 9 November, Hitler personally ordered the arrest of up to 30,000 Jews. This can be seen in the diary of Propaganda Minister Goebbels[5] Josef Goebbels, diary entry about the evening of 9 Nov 1928. Quoted from. Document VEJ 2/363 in Susanne Heim "Die Verfolgung und Ermordung der europäischen Juden durch das nationalsozialistische Deutschland 1933 -1945 (collection of source) Vol. 2: Deutsches Reich 1938 – August 1939." (German) Munich 2009, ISBN 987-3-486-58523-0, page 365. Quoted from Wikipedia about "Aktionsjuden", retrieved 30 May 2024.. We will see why.
Heinrich Himmler passed on the order via the structures of the SS and police under his command. Following this, SS Gruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich instructed the Gestapo and other authorities on the night of 10 November, among other things, that ‘only such measures will be taken in the course of the “demonstrations” (i.e. the pogrom) that do not endanger German life or Aryan property’[6] Heydrich to Gestapo- and SD-departements from Nov 10, 1938, quoted from „Die Nacht als die Synagogen brannten“, Landeszentrale für politische Bildung Baden-Württemberg 1998, page 31, retrieved July 15, 2023.. Jewish property, however, should „only be destroyed, not looted[7] Stein loc.cit.“.
In paragraph 5 of the order, the Gestapo, police etc. were obliged to arrest[8] Ibid. “especially wealthy” healthy male Jews “not too old”. Paragraph 3 of the order also points to a large-scale looting of Jewish art and culture: “… the existing archive material[9] Ibid. in all synagogues and business premises of the Jewish religious communities is to be confiscated by the police so that it is not destroyed in the course of the demonstrations. What matters here is the historically valuable material (emphasis pd), not more recent tax lists etc.”
This is how the arrest of around 30,000 Jewish men was set in motion from 10 November 1938. They were not told why they were arrested. Most of them were transferred to the three large concentration camps[10] Heiko Pollmeier: "Inhaftierung und Lagererfahrung deutscher Juden im November 1938." Published in "Jahrbuch für Antisemitismusforschung" 8 (1999), ISBN 3-593-36200-7, page 111 (German), quoted from Wikipedia about "Aktionsjuden", loc.cit. by local SS and police units by 16 November. There is evidence that 10,911 Jews were sent to Dachau, 9,845 to Buchenwald and an estimated 6,000 to Sachsenhausen. The number of people deprived of their freedom in concentration camps had thus doubled in one fell swoop. However, as the capacities of the three concentration camps were insufficient, up to 10,000 men were kept in local prisons or collection points[11] Wolfgang Benz: „Mitglieder der Häftlingsgesellschaft auf Zeit. ‚Die Aktionsjuden‘ 1938/39“. In Dachauer Hefte. 21 (2005) ISBN 3-9808587-6-6, page 180 (German). Quoted from Wikipedia about „Aktionsjuden“ loc.cit..
Buchenwald for example
Just how quickly Heydrich’s order took effect is documented by the number of arrivals[12] Harry Stein „Juden in Buchenwald 1937 – 1942“, Ed. Buchenwald Memorial 1992, page 41. at Buchenwald concentration camp. „1,525 Jewish men arrived at Buchenwald on 10 November, 3,915 on 11 November, 3,360 on 12 November, 1,019 on 13 November and 9 on 14 November“.
Even before they arrived at the camp, they were humiliated and degraded. “If the transport travelled on the Reichsbahn, they were beaten in the tunnel passageway of Weimar station. Over a period of five days, Jews were hounded along the ‘Carachoweg[13] The name for the route from the main entrance to the commandant's area to the camp gate illustrates the SS's monopoly on the use of force, which chased newly arriving prisoners along it ‘with caracho’, beating and shouting.’ through the narrow gate of the Buchenwald camp gate and arrived at the camp with lacerations, bruises and broken bones. The SS increased the terror of reception[14] Stein loc.cit., page 45. with each passing day … and could not be satisfied by subjugation.”
Reports range from standing roll calls for hours on end in cold and rainy weather to the recording of personal details, the obligatory haircut and the removal of their own clothes; instead, they had to wear striped concentration camp clothing. Most of the „Rath-Juden“ or „Aktionsjuden“ were housed in special barracks, the so-called Sonderlager. And even there, the SS made use of their monopoly on violence, as eyewitnesses[15] Ibid, page 44f. reported.
The state as a robber on a grand scale
The fact that abuse and looting as well as attacks on foreigners “even if they are Jews” were expressly forbidden during the “demonstrations” was certainly not only in view of a critical echo from abroad. Apart from the fact that, according to eyewitnesses, this did not work, especially outside large cities: the Nazis cooled their heels on the Jewish men, and insults and beatings rained down. Jews were put on public display[16] Wolfgang Benz, loc.cit. page 180. in “shameful marches”.
The real aim of the „Judenaktion“ was formulated on 12 November. At a meeting, Hermann Göring, as Commissioner for the Four-Year Plan, stated with a critical undertone that a material loss of 225 million Reichsmarks[17] Jüdisches Museum Berlin, loc.cit. had been incurred. In order to prevent similar measures against the Jews in the future, it was decided to “eliminate the Jews from German economic life”. The Jews “in their entirety” were forced to pay one billion Reichsmarks to the Reich as “atonement”. In order to collect this enormous sum, a special tax of 20 per cent was imposed on all Jewish assets over 5,000 Reichsmark and insurance claims were confiscated. In order to pay this “Judenabgabe” (Jewish tax), many Jews were forced to sell their assets at dictated low prices.[18] See Wikipedia about the "Verordnung über den Einsatz des jüdischen Vermögens" (Ordinance on the Use of Jewish Property), retrieved 27 May 2024. In addition, all Jews had their driving licences withdrawn across the board, forcing them to sell their cars at ridiculously low prices.
The Nazi regime extorted further money by means of a “Reichsfluchtsteuer[19] Wikipedia about Reichsfluchtsteuer (German), retrieved am 27 May 2024.” (Reich refugee tax). Last but not least:Anyone who followed the threat and left the country was not allowed to take more than 10 Reichsmarks in cash with them and was not allowed to transfer any assets abroad. In this way, the Nazi state stole Jewish assets to finance its planned war.
Concentration camp imprisonment as leverage for expropriation and expulsion
When the government decision on the “atonement payment” became known to the SS henchmen in Buchenwald, “an unprecedented wave of plundering began”. Stein quotes: “The Jews were made to walk past large tables. There they had to throw their valuables into open boxes. The valuables were not recorded. In this way, money and valuables, the whereabouts of which are no longer known, were channelled into the storage chamber.” In order to conceal this, the prisoners were forced to declare on their release that they had “not handed over any money, valuables or effects” and therefore had no claims[20] Investigation report on corruption in Buchenwald, Federal Archives Koblenz NS 7/1020, quoteed from. Harry Stein loc.cit, page 47. whatsoever against the KL. Bu.”There would be unexpected repercussions. Another example: as a condition of his release from Buchenwald concentration camp, Friedrich Adler, co-owner of a shoe factory, had to agree to a sale of his company organised by Deutsche Bank for only 3 percent of the net value[21] Stein loc.cit., pages 49/50. Quoted from K. Pätzold, I. Runge, „Pogromnacht 1938“, Berlin 1988, page 194..
The first dismissals for individual groups of people were ordered as early as 16 November. The effects of deprivation and torture were clearly visible on many men, although most of them barely had to spend four weeks in the camps. For this reason, the releases of “Aktionsjuden”, for example in Buchenwald, were coupled with declarations of silence.
“… in no way prepared ...”
By the end of September, 2,000 Jewish men had already been transferred from Dachau to Buchenwald concentration camp and the consequences of the overcrowding were palpable. Even a few weeks later, Buchenwald was “in no way prepared to receive these mass admissions”, an internal SS report[22] Investigation report, loc.cit. later stated. “In the early days, they were not even able to provide the Jews with bread and water. In addition, there was a lack of everything and anything”.
At the beginning of November, SS doctor Kirchert had already forbidden Jews from being treated. At the end of 1938, there was an outbreak of typhus. The number of deaths quadrupled: while 53 prisoners died between 10 October and 9 November, the figure rose to 244 between 10 November and 9 December, 163 of them in the special camp. At the same time, the occupancy rate[23] Stein loc.cit. in Buchenwald rose from 10,156 to 17,262. A list at the Buchenwald Memorial contains 233 names[24] Ibid, page 59f. of men who died in Buchenwald in the short period from mid-November 1938 to early February 1940.
At least 185 “Aktionsjuden” died in Dachau and 80 to 90 in Sachsenhausen. The causes of death were mostly cited as physical overexertion, septicaemia, pneumonia, lack of prescribed medication and diet. In other words, causes of death[25] Susanne Heim loc.cit., page 56. that certainly reveal deficiencies in nutrition, lack of medical treatment, etc.
“… that we would look as ghostly …“
Siegmund Weltlinger[26] Invitation to event "Das Schicksal der 'Aktionsjuden' im KZ Sachsenhausen" (The fate of "Action Jews" in Sachsenhausen concentration camp), Brandenburgische Landeszentrale für politische Bildung, 11/2013, retrieved 25 May 2024. remembers the first few hours in Sachsenhausen: “We saw pale, emaciated figures, most of them with bandages on their heads and hands, dressed like us, marching off to work in endless columns. We couldn’t imagine at the time that we ourselves would look just as ghostly in a few weeks’ time.”
“Walther Hirschberg[27] This probably refers to the composer and music critic Rudolf Walther Hirschberg (1889-1960)., who spent five weeks in the concentration camp [Sachsenhausen] is back,” noted the artist Hannah Höch[28] Invitation to event, loc.cit. in her diary on 18 December 1938. “Is no longer human, sick, shaved head. Frostbite on his hands. He has to get out of here as quickly as possible.”
Despite the short period of imprisonment, many men felt the consequences of malnutrition, poor sanitary conditions, lack of water, lack of medical care and violent attacks by the SS long after their release. It is reported that 600 emergency amputations[29] Pollmeier loc.cit., page 117. had to be carried out at the Jewish Hospital Berlin as a result of untreated wounds and frostbite.
By mid-December, around 250 Jewish men were able to leave Buchenwald every day on the basis of corresponding instructions from Berlin. They were “advised” to leave Germany as soon as possible, including those to be released in Dachau and Sachsenhausen. According to Stein, there were still 1,605 Jews in the Buchenwald special camp on 1 January 1939.
Prosecution according to brown “law and order“
The mass arrests of the “Judenaktion” of November 1938 and the “Polenaktion” of October 1938 were preceded by numerous laws[30] A list of such regulations can be found on Wikipedia, (German), retrieved 30 May 2024. targeting Jews. The legal legalisation of racist and political persecution began immediately after basic rights[31] Wikipedia about the "Verordnung des Reichspräsidenten zum Schutz von Volk und Staat" (Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of the People and the State) from 28 Feb 1933, retrieved 30.May 2023. were suspended on 28 February 1933. In March, 1933 the first occupational bans were imposed on Jewish people. On 11 April 1933, the “Aryan paragraph[32] Wikipedia about "Gesetz zur Wiederherstellung des Berufsbeamtentums" (Act on the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service) from 7 April 1933, which removed Jews and the politically unreliable from the civil service, retrieved 30 May 2024.” came into force and in September 1935, all Jews were stripped of their German citizenship.
The second major attack against Jews in Germany served multiple purposes. The fascists wanted to drive Jews out of the country, seize their assets, test the transport system and gain information about the population’s loyalty to the system.
The wave of refugees reached a peak after the November pogroms. “But the potential countries of refuge increasingly tightened entry conditions, making it more and more difficult to organise an exit. Many simply couldn’t afford to flee[33] Jüdisches Museum Berlin, "Emigration/Exil", retrieved 30 May 2024., not least because it cost a lot of money.”
Against this backdrop, around 200,000 Jews were expelled from Germany by the start of the war and their assets “withdrawn” on a grand scale in order to divert 1 billion Reichsmarks into armaments. From 1933 until the ban on all emigration on 23 October 1941, “it is estimated that up to 300,000 Jews left Germany from 1933 onwards, which corresponds to around 60% of the Jewish population[34] Kim Wünschmann „Exilländer jüdischer Flüchtlinge aus dem Deutschen Reich“ (Countries of exile of Jewish refugees from the German Reich), Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung“ (2014), retrieved 30 May 2024.“.
Footnotes
show
- [1]↑English sources use the German term "Aktionsjuden" for the 30,000 Jewish men arrested after the pogrom of November 1938. A translation is therefore not provided here. Cf. Wikipedia about the mass arrests.
- [2]↑Wikipedia about Herschel Grynszpan, retrieved 25 Sep 2023.
- [3]↑Wikipedia about Ernst Eduard vom Rath (German), retrieved July 23, 2023.
- [4]↑Jüdisches Museum Berlin, "9. November 1938" (German), retrieved 30 May 2024.
- [5]↑Josef Goebbels, diary entry about the evening of 9 Nov 1928. Quoted from. Document VEJ 2/363 in Susanne Heim "Die Verfolgung und Ermordung der europäischen Juden durch das nationalsozialistische Deutschland 1933 -1945 (collection of source) Vol. 2: Deutsches Reich 1938 – August 1939." (German) Munich 2009, ISBN 987-3-486-58523-0, page 365. Quoted from Wikipedia about "Aktionsjuden", retrieved 30 May 2024.
- [6]↑Heydrich to Gestapo- and SD-departements from Nov 10, 1938, quoted from „Die Nacht als die Synagogen brannten“, Landeszentrale für politische Bildung Baden-Württemberg 1998, page 31, retrieved July 15, 2023.
- [7]↑Stein loc.cit.
- [8]↑Ibid.
- [9]↑Ibid.
- [10]↑Heiko Pollmeier: "Inhaftierung und Lagererfahrung deutscher Juden im November 1938." Published in "Jahrbuch für Antisemitismusforschung" 8 (1999), ISBN 3-593-36200-7, page 111 (German), quoted from Wikipedia about "Aktionsjuden", loc.cit.
- [11]↑Wolfgang Benz: „Mitglieder der Häftlingsgesellschaft auf Zeit. ‚Die Aktionsjuden‘ 1938/39“. In Dachauer Hefte. 21 (2005) ISBN 3-9808587-6-6, page 180 (German). Quoted from Wikipedia about „Aktionsjuden“ loc.cit.
- [12]↑Harry Stein „Juden in Buchenwald 1937 – 1942“, Ed. Buchenwald Memorial 1992, page 41.
- [13]↑The name for the route from the main entrance to the commandant's area to the camp gate illustrates the SS's monopoly on the use of force, which chased newly arriving prisoners along it ‘with caracho’, beating and shouting.
- [14]↑Stein loc.cit., page 45.
- [15]↑Ibid, page 44f.
- [16]↑Wolfgang Benz, loc.cit. page 180.
- [17]↑Jüdisches Museum Berlin, loc.cit.
- [18]↑See Wikipedia about the "Verordnung über den Einsatz des jüdischen Vermögens" (Ordinance on the Use of Jewish Property), retrieved 27 May 2024.
- [19]↑Wikipedia about Reichsfluchtsteuer (German), retrieved am 27 May 2024.
- [20]↑Investigation report on corruption in Buchenwald, Federal Archives Koblenz NS 7/1020, quoteed from. Harry Stein loc.cit, page 47.
- [21]↑Stein loc.cit., pages 49/50. Quoted from K. Pätzold, I. Runge, „Pogromnacht 1938“, Berlin 1988, page 194.
- [22]↑Investigation report, loc.cit.
- [23]↑Stein loc.cit.
- [24]↑Ibid, page 59f.
- [25]↑Susanne Heim loc.cit., page 56.
- [26]↑Invitation to event "Das Schicksal der 'Aktionsjuden' im KZ Sachsenhausen" (The fate of "Action Jews" in Sachsenhausen concentration camp), Brandenburgische Landeszentrale für politische Bildung, 11/2013, retrieved 25 May 2024.
- [27]↑This probably refers to the composer and music critic Rudolf Walther Hirschberg (1889-1960).
- [28]↑Invitation to event, loc.cit.
- [29]↑Pollmeier loc.cit., page 117.
- [30]↑A list of such regulations can be found on Wikipedia, (German), retrieved 30 May 2024.
- [31]↑Wikipedia about the "Verordnung des Reichspräsidenten zum Schutz von Volk und Staat" (Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of the People and the State) from 28 Feb 1933, retrieved 30.May 2023.
- [32]↑Wikipedia about "Gesetz zur Wiederherstellung des Berufsbeamtentums" (Act on the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service) from 7 April 1933, which removed Jews and the politically unreliable from the civil service, retrieved 30 May 2024.
- [33]↑Jüdisches Museum Berlin, "Emigration/Exil", retrieved 30 May 2024.
- [34]↑Kim Wünschmann „Exilländer jüdischer Flüchtlinge aus dem Deutschen Reich“ (Countries of exile of Jewish refugees from the German Reich), Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung“ (2014), retrieved 30 May 2024.