TREBLINKA: - Holocaust Handbooks

Chapter VIII: Indirect Transports of Jews to the Eastern Territories 269
measures lay in the changed conditions themselves. With the progress of
the war, emigration possibilities became more and more restricted. On the
other hand, Germany was now able to send the Jews to non-German territories
under German control, so that as stimulated emigration declined,
deportation increased. The Jews were either expelled to ‘purge’ a given
country or city of its Jewish element, or they were concentrated in specific
regions, cities or parts of cities to ‘purge’ the rest of the locality.
It must be emphasised that the wholesale and recurrent removal of Jews
is at the same time an effective method of securing their economic extermination.
There is no regard for their prospects of earning livelihood; on the
contrary, the transfer is carried out in such a way as to make it impossible
for the Jew to reorganise his economic life.” (Emphasis added)
One of the methods for the realization of this economic extermination was
the following: 805
“First they [the Jews] are sent to the General Gouvernment. Then the
town in which they were settled is ‘purged’. In their new place of residence
a ghetto is established. But even the ghetto does not give the Jews the security
of a permanent residence, and they are again removed further east.”
Kulischer then presents a little-known historical fact, which found its confirmation
decades later:
“In many cases the immediate motive for expulsion or deportation was
to make room for Germans. The first victims of expulsion on a grand scale
were the Jews of the incorporated western Polish provinces, who were expelled
along with the Polish inhabitants, in both cases to make room for
the ‘repatriated’ Germans. Later, Jews were deported because, according
the official statements, they owned apartments suitable for refugees from
cities subject to air-raids.”
In fact, Peter Witte has cited several examples of this German policy – approved
by Hitler himself. 806
Afterwards Kulischer dedicates much space to the “Countries and Territories
of Expulsion and Deportation” and furnishes figures, some of which exceed,
others of which are below, but all of which fall within the same order of
magnitude as those of the Korherr Report. For example, for the period up until
the end of December 1942, he assumes 120,000 Jewish deportees from the territory
of the Reich 807 (compared to 100,516 given in the Korherr Report); for
Austria he speaks of 40,000 807 (compared to Korherr’s 47,555), for the Protectorate
of Bohemia and Moravia of 50,000 to 60,000 807 (compared to 69,677 in
805 Ibid., p. 96.
806 Peter Witte, op. cit. (note 551), pp. 43-46.
807 Eugene Kulischer, op. cit. (note 801), p. 101.