The Nizkor Project: Remembering the Holocaust (Shoah)

The Trial of Adolf Eichmann
Session 43
(Part 5 of 7)


State Attorney Bar-Or: It is better to be precise if possible.

Von Hahn writes to the Accused:

"...the Hungarian Legation in Berlin has informed us that in the last few days several Hungarian nationals of Jewish race residing in the German Reich have been arrested. The Foreign Ministry has not so far authorized your office to apply the general anti-Jewish measures to Hungarian nationals of Jewish race who reside in the German Reich, in the Protectorate, in the Generalgouvernement, or in the occupied areas of the East. You are, therefore, requested not to make arrests of Hungarian Jews for the time being, or to annul such arrests, respectively."
Presiding Judge: This will be T/763.

State Attorney Bar-Or: I proceed to document No. 135, also marked T/37(14), and, with the Court's permission I shall also quote a passage from his Statement, since its importance goes beyond what is said in the document. What we have before us is a letter from the Accused to the Foreign Ministry, marked IVB4a-3 and dated 2 February 1943. It deals with the owners of the Capitol Cinema in Heidelberg. The owners of the cinema (a family by the name of Romhanyi) are said to be Hungarian by nationality and Jewish by race. In view of the fact that they have been trying to be made Aryans against payment of bribes, Eichmann intends to issue an order not to renew the residence permit of Mr. Romhanyi, his wife, and his son Rudolf, which is due to expire on 12 February 1943, and to deport them from the Reich at short notice.

On the other hand, Rudy Romhanyi, who has grossly offended the German authorities, will be sent to a concentration camp because of his insufferable conduct. When this document was shown to the Accused, he was asked about the fact that here he apparently made a decision of principle concerning the fate of this family, and that he consulted the Foreign Ministry, in order to find out whether there might be considerations which would interfere with the implementation of his decision for reasons of policy. The Accused replied to this on page 584 of his Statement:

"This is correct - yes - although the text did not originate with me, but was drafted by a Sachbearbeiter (an officer of the Section) - but it is signed by me by order of the Chief of the Security Police and the Security Service, since this follows clearly here on the top - IVB4a-3 - as far as I know this was at that time Regierungsrat Suhr - i.e., the officer of the Section. But as Dezernent (Head of Section), I put my signature under it here - this is my signature - I signed by order of the Chief of the Security Police."
Dr. Servatius: Your Honour, the Presiding Judge, I request permission to read the first sentence of the letter into the record.

Presiding Judge: Please, what do you wish to read?

Dr. Servatius: "I enclose herewith copy of a letter from the Delegate of the Fuehrer for the supervision of all the spiritual and ideological schooling and education of the NSDAP, and I ask you to take note." It follows that we have here a letter which bears a greater relationship to other letters, and if so, it is based on the proposal of another authority and the initiative of another authority.

Presiding Judge: This will be marked T/764.

State Attorney Bar-Or: I go on to document No. 1282, "Guidelines for the Technical Implementation of the Evacuation of Jews to the East (Concentration Camp Auschwitz)," signed by Guenther and dated 20 February 1943. They concern the evacuation of Jews to the East from the area of the Reich and from Bohemia-Moravia. The local authorities are charged with seizing the group of persons to be deported in accordance with the guidelines.

The categories of persons to be seized are given in Section II. Then the exceptions are listed, those who enjoy privileged status, the aged, persons holding certain decorations. In Section III there are transport arrangements: "Transports of at least 1,000 Jews each shall be dispatched in accordance with a schedule agreed on with the Reich Ministry of Transport." Further down on page 4 it says what each person on the transport must take with him. Here we find articles which constitute the minimum requirements for a working person. Property of real value must not be taken.

Again I direct your attention to the paragraph on channels of reporting, and here there is a curious divergence from what we have seen before. It says here:

"...the departure of every train has to be reported immediately, by express letter or telegram, in accordance with the attached sample (encl. 1) to (a) the Head Office for Reich Security, Section IVB4, (b) the Inspector of Concentration Camps, Oranienburg, (c) Concentration Camp Auschwitz. The arrival of the transports at destination shall be reported by the receiving office," that is to say, in Auschwitz, "to the Head Office for Reich Security, Section IVB4."
Presiding Judge: This will be marked T/765.

State Attorney Bar-Or: I pass on to document No. 932, a letter by von Hahn of the Foreign Ministry to the Head Office for Reich Security about "Sending back Jews of foreign nationality to their so-called home countries." It again refers to the dates sent to those countries required to take back the Jews who would otherwise be included in the expulsions to the East. Finally, the Foreign Ministry requests to see to it that not only the Swedish authorities, but also the Italian, Spanish, Hungarian, Turkish, Portuguese, Swiss, Finnish and Danish authorities provide the Foreign Ministry with lists of Jews coming under their jurisdiction.* {*This is not an accurate rendering of the contents of document No. 932.}

Presiding Judge: This will be marked T/766.

State Attorney Bar-Or: Now I go on to document No. 174, which was shown to the Accused and was marked T/37(76), on the same subject. On 25 February 1943, von Hahn of the Foreign Ministry approaches Eichmann for the second time. He addresses him "Very Honoured Party Comrade Eichmann" and says, inter alia: "Yesterday you informed me orally that you could not fulfil the request of the Foreign Ministry in the express letter under reference (i.e., to prepare lists of Jews who are eligible for being returned to their home countries). You explained your refusal with the argument that the listing of these persons was not essential for the prosecution of the War, and that, therefore, you could not make staff available for this work." We shall see later that, in the end, the Accused found a way to fulfil the request of the Foreign Ministry. He refers to the document, starting on page 1260.

Presiding Judge: This will be marked T/767.

State Attorney Bar-Or: I go on to document No. 165, a letter from the end of February from the Foreign Ministry to the Accused. In the margin it says here ab (out), i.e., it was sent out apparently on 25 February 1943. The Foreign Ministry objects to the departure of Jews of Spanish nationality to their country of origin or to Portugal and the United States.

Presiding Judge: This will be marked T/768.

State Attorney Bar-Or: And now I return to the correspondence between the office of the Accused and the Foreign Ministry, which was discussed this morning. I submit Prosecution document No. 173, which consists of two parts. First we have here what is called an "Entwurf" (draft) of a letter to be sent by Bergmann of the Foreign Ministry to the Accused. The subject is: "Foreign nationals of Jewish race." He refers to the draft by the Accused IVB4b, which we have already seen, and transmits the opinion of the Foreign Minister that the instructions are generally to be applied to foreign nationals resident in the Reich, with the exception of those cases which will be mentioned later on in the letter. In this draft, we again find the passage about the Foreign Ministry's request to make available for exchange purposes a special camp for 30,000 Jews.

I have also attached to this the original copy of the letter which was finally sent to the Accused on 2 March 1943, as signed, not by Bergmann, but by von Hahn.

This document was brought before the Accused and was marked T/37(87). The Accused refers to it in his Statement on page 1306 ff.

Presiding Judge: This document will be marked T/769.

State Attorney Bar-Or: Now I pass on to document No. 909, a letter from the Foreign Ministry to the Accused: Foreign Missions in Berlin point out that, in spite of the agreement about the return of Jews of foreign nationality to their countries of origin, the Gestapo offices do not seem to know, or do not want to know, what was agreed, and carry out the general anti-Jewish measures against these persons also. The Foreign Ministry therefore asks the Accused to see to it that what was agreed should be implemented in an orderly fashion.

Presiding Judge: This document will be marked T/770.

State Attorney Bar-Or: I go on to document No. 134, which was shown to the Accused and marked T/37(19). The Accused refers to it on page 585 ff. of his Statement. It is a letter from the Accused to the Foreign Ministry concerning the Jew Israel Hirschberg, resident in Berlin-Wilmersdorf. According to his own statement, the Jew Hirschberg, of German nationality, is employed as a teacher of languages by the Thailand Minister in Berlin and teaches both him and the members of his family. "Apart from the fact that other, suitable personnel of German blood should be available for this occupation," says the Accused, "I am of the opinion that the Thailand Minister, by employing the Jew Hirschberg, only intends to protect him from further measures ('vor Weiterem'). I should, therefore, be grateful if you could persuade the Thai Minister to renounce the further employment of the Jew Hirschberg, and ask to be informed about the action taken."

Presiding Judge: This document will be marked T/771.

State Attorney Bar-Or: Document No. 230 on our list is a letter from the Accused to the Foreign Ministry, again on the subject of that same correspondence. At last, following the request of the Foreign Ministry, the Accused now submits to it also the text of the second circular letter, as sent out to the Regional Headquarters of the Gestapo in the East, a text which is not quite in conformity with the opinion of the Foreign Ministry. At the end he says, in reply to arguments by the Foreign Ministry about Gestapo actions against the Jews here under discussion, that, in future, steps will be taken to prevent any actions contrary to the agreement.

Presiding Judge: This document is marked T/772.

State Attorney Bar-Or: Now our document No. 933, a letter from Guenther marked IVB4b to Rademacher. Attached to this letter, the Permanent Deputy of the Accused transmits the list of Jews of foreign nationality residing in the Reich area, the list requested, which he could not or would not submit at first because of lack of manpower.

Presiding Judge: This will be marked T/773.

State Attorney Bar-Or: I pass on to document No. 729. This is a letter from von Thadden of the Foreign Ministry to the Accused, dated 17 April 1943, in which he actually discloses the grounds for the entire dispute between the Foreign Ministry and the office of the Accused regarding the preparation of the circular which was to go to all government offices, and which caused problems in connection with the exemption of certain Jews of foreign nationality.

The Foreign Ministry found out - and this is what von Thadden writes here - that instructions were sent to the East (he mentions, in particular, Cracow, Riga, Kiev, Smolensk and Voroshilovsk) which were not in conformity with the instructions sent to the other District Headquarters of the Gestapo, which did conform to what was agreed with the Foreign Ministry.

Presiding Judge: This will be marked T/774.

State Attorney Bar-Or: I go on to our document No. 103, again a letter from von Thadden to the Accused, dated 17 April 1943. He again refers to the letter of 2 March 1943, in which the Foreign Ministry had asked the office of the Accused to have about 30,000 suitable Jews of various nationalities made available for possible exchange, instead of deporting them to the East. "The Foreign Ministry would be grateful for early, definitive information about the measures taken by you in this matter."

Presiding Judge: This will be marked T/775.

State Attorney Bar-Or: And now document No. 322. Again a letter by von Thadden of the Foreign Ministry to the Accused, of 19 April 1943. It is of some interest. There was a sect called Djuguten. It was doubtful whether these people, whose customs were apparently similar to the customs of the Jews or to the Jewish religion, could be called Jews, or whether they were perhaps Moslems. The Foreign Ministry points out to the Accused that the customs of these Djuguten are somewhat similar to those of the Jews, not only are they Iranian nationals but they appear to be Moslems, and therefore the Accused should not touch them.

Presiding Judge: This will be marked T/776.

State Attorney Bar-Or: And now, to complete the picture, our document No. 905, which was shown to the Accused and marked T/37(286). The Accused refers to it on page 3370 ff. of his Statement. Here, at last, IVB4, the office of the Accused, transmits to the Foreign Ministry a copy of the instructions given to all the offices of the Security Police in all the Districts of the East. This is the circular letter which was not quite in accordance with that sent to the Centre and the West.

Presiding Judge: This will be marked T/777.

State Attorney Bar-Or: I proceed to document No. 202, a letter of 7 May 1943, to von Thadden, in connection with the emigration to Sweden of the Jewish family Kaufmann, of Netherlands nationality. The Accused says: "In accordance with the orders of the Reichsfuehrer-SS and the Chief of the German Police, the emigration of Jews to neutral countries abroad can only be considered when a positive interest of the Reich is involved."

Presiding Judge: This will be marked T/778.

State Attorney Bar-Or: I go on to document No. 107, which was shown to the Accused and marked T/37(187). The Accused refers to it on page 2299 ff. It is a letter dealing with Jews of foreign nationality, in an attempt to achieve at last a definitive solution to this question. It says:

"In accordance with the present state of the Final Solution of the Jewish Question in the Reich, only Jews cohabiting in mixed, German-Jewish marriages and a few Jews of foreign nationality are left in the Reich area."
And then:
"In order to reach a definitive solution in this respect, the foreign governments concerned must be given a final date for the completion of the repatriation."
Finally Eichmann writes:
"In conclusion, it is requested, in the interest of the Final Solution of the Jewish Question, to put aside any possible objections, since, up to now, the Reich has been generously forthcoming vis-a-vis the foreign governments in this matter."
Presiding Judge: This document will be marked T/779.

State Attorney Bar-Or: Now our document No. 1060, a letter from Hunsche of the office of the Accused which deals with property questions of an individual Jew by the name of Frank from the District of Mainfranken. This is a matter of confiscation under Regulation 11, under the notorious law.

Presiding Judge: This document will be marked T/780.

State Attorney Bar-Or: Our document No. 906 is a letter from von Thadden to the Accused, dated 10 July 1943. It concerns again the Termin, the last day given to the various governments for settling the question. And the final date set here is 31 July 1943.

Presiding Judge: This document will be marked T/781.

State Attorney Bar-Or: I go on to document No. 536. It is a Vortragsnotiz (notes for a report). These are notes usually typewritten in bold, very large letters, prepared by a State Undersecretary, if they were to be submitted to the Foreign Minister himself. I direct your attention to page 3 of the document, which was prepared on 12 June 1943. Wagner here informs the Foreign Minister about the steps taken by the Ministry in order to pressure foreign states into repatriating those few of their Jews who are still left in the area of the Reich.

Presiding Judge: This will be marked T/782.

State Attorney Bar-Or: I proceed to document No. 1287. This is a Schlussbericht, a concluding report, from the District Headquarters of the Gestapo in Wuerzburg, dated 6 August 1943, about transports totalling 2,063 Jews from the district of Mainfranken, which left for the East, from Wuerzburg alone, between November 1941 and June 1943. Details of seven transports are given here, four to the East and three to Theresienstadt.

Presiding Judge: This will be marked T/783.

State Attorney Bar-Or: And now Prosecution document No. 537. It was shown to the Accused and marked T/37(186). The Accused refers to it on page 2290 ff. The document is signed by Mueller and was sent from IVB4b on 9 September 1943. The date is important, since the Court yesterday heard a witness who was transferred from Westerbork to Ravensbrueck. On page 4 we find the following: "Since, for political reasons, these Jews cannot yet be deported to the East at the present time, Concentration Camp Buchenwald is envisaged for the temporary accommodation of male Jews over 14 years of age, and Concentration Camp Ravensbrueck for Jewesses as well as children." About three months later, Mrs. Salzberger found herself, in fact, in Ravensbrueck. According to what she told the Court, she belonged to Category No. 1 of this document.

Presiding Judge: This document will be marked T/784.


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