In the period between June and October 1942, thirteen transports left Vienna (Wien) for Theresienstadt. Each transport consisted of about 1,000 Jewish deportees, most of whom were old and sick. In January 1943, after a break of several months, the deportation of Jews from Vienna was resumed. This time, the transports were relatively smaller in size, each consisting of about 100 people.
Show more Transport number 46d departed from Vienna’s Nordbahnhof at 6 pm on January 28, 1943 and arrived in Theresienstadt on January 29. The transport consisted of nine people, including Benjamin Murmelstein (1905-1989), who served as the last head of the Jewish Council (Judenrat) in Theresienstadt. The average age of the deportees was 47. One unnamed policeman, with the rank of SS-Unterfuehrer, of the Second Viennese Police Watch Bataillon, was entrusted with accompanying and guarding the train to its destination. He was ordered to report, no later than 5:15 pm, at the postal freight platform (Postrampe) at Vienna’s Nordbahnhof and to receive the list of deportees from SS-Untersturmfuehrer Girzick.
Due to the small number of deportees on this transport the train car that had been ordered by Security Police (Sipo) Vienna from the Reichsbahn was attached to passenger train number 723, scheduled to depart Nordbahnhof for Lundenburg (Breclav) and Brno (Brünn). In Brno the train car was transferred to a Protektoratsbahnen train on its way to Prague and Theresienstadt. On its arrival in Theresienstadt, the transport was registered in the ghetto register as IV/14d. The Roman number IV represented the city of Vienna.
Show less