TREBLINKA: - Holocaust Handbooks

194 Carlo Mattogno, Jürgen Graf: Treblinka
5. The Start of Deportation of Jews to the East
The policy of deportation of Jews to the east, which was decided upon by
Hitler himself in September 1941, received its official blessing in a letter,
which Himmler wrote to Gauleiter Arthur Greiser on September 18, 1941: 551
“The Führer desires that the Altreich [Germany proper] and the Protectorate
be emptied and freed of Jews as soon as possible, from the west to
the east. It is therefore my intention, if possible this year, to initially transport
the Jews from the Altreich and the Protectorate into the eastern territories
newly incorporated into the Reich two years ago, as a first stage, in
order to deport them still farther to the east next spring.
I am planning to bring about 60,000 Jews of the Altreich and the Protectorate
into the Litzmannstadt Ghetto for the winter, which, as I understand,
has space to accept them. In the interests of the Reich as a whole, I
am asking you not only to understand, but to exert all your powers in supporting
this measure, which surely will cause difficulties for your district.
SS-Gruppenführer Heydrich, who has the task of carrying out this migration
of Jews, will be turning to you in due course, directly or through
SS-Gruppenführer Koppe.”
At a meeting held in Prague on October 10, 1941, in which Heydrich also
took part, the solution of the Jewish problem in the Protectorate as well as the
partial solution of the Jewish problem in the Altreich was discussed. The start
of the deportations was fixed for October 15, and it was decided to deport
50,000 Jews to Minsk and Riga: 552
“It was planned to begin with it on October 15, 1941, in order to get
the transports started gradually until November 15, up to an amount of
about 5,000 Jews – from Prague only. For the time being, much consideration
must still be shown to the Litzmannstadt authorities. Minsk and Riga
are supposed to get 50,000.”
In regard to the accommodation of the future deportees, we read:
“SS-Brif. [Brigadeführer] Nebe and Rasch can take Jews into the camps
for Communist prisoners in the zone of operations.”
As already mentioned, the deportation order was issued on October 24,
1941. The eastern territories were the destination of these deportations. At that
time, the eastern territories under civilian administration were the Reichskommissariat
Ostland and the Reichskommissariat Ukraine, both subject to
the authority of Alfred Rosenberg, the Reichsminister for the occupied territories
of the east. The Reichskommissariat Ostland, administered by Reichs-
551 Himmler letter to Greiser of 18 September 1941, Bundesarchiv Koblenz, NS 19/2655, p. 3.
Reproduction of the document in Peter Witte, “Zwei Entscheidungen in der ‘Endlösung der
Judenfrage’: Deportationen nach Lodz und Vernichtung in Che�mno” in: Theresienstädter
Studien und Dokumente, Verlag Academia, Prague 1995, p. 50.
552 T-37/299.