The German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 and the successful outcome of the early military operations on the Eastern Front lead to a sense of euphoria in the Nazi leadership. Due to that, in September 1941, Adolf Hitler approved plans proposed by various members of the Nazi hierarchy that called for mass deportation of Jews from Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia and Luxembourg. The deportations commenced in October 1941 while Germany was in the process of attacking Moscow and in wake of its victories in the battles of Vyazma and Bryansk.
Show more On October 10, prior to the first deportation from Germany, Reinhard Heydrich, head of the RSHA (Reichssicherheitshauptamt - Reich Security Main Office), had a meeting in Prague that was attended by Adolf Eichmann, head of the Jewish Desk in the RSHA, and other SS officers. Heydrich reported that 50,000 Jews from the areas of the Third Reich and the Protectorate would be deported to recently occupied locations in the USSR, including Riga and Minsk.
Two weeks later, during the preparations for those mass-deportations and due to an agreement with SD (Security Service) and Sipo (Security Police), Kurt Daluege, Chief of Uniformed Police, assigned units under his command with the task of guarding the deportees during the train ride. The deportations were planned to take place between November 1st and December 4th, 1941. Orders sent out to the regional Gestapo offices stated that only Jews up to 65 years of age were to be deported. Jewish partners in “mixed marriages”, their children and Jews holding a foreign passport were to be exempted from the lists as well.
The first wave of deportations took place between October 15th and November 5th, and consisted of 20 transports taking 19,593 Jews from Germany, Austria, Bohemia and Moravia to Lodz. During the deportations to Lodz, preparations were made to deport 50,000 Jews to other destinations within the Reichskommissariat Ostland, including Riga, Minsk and Kaunas (Kovno). On November 8th, the second wave of deportations began and continued until early February 1942. This time, 22 transports left the Third Reich for the Reichskommissariat; seven to Minsk, five to Kaunas and ten to Riga. Approximately 22,000 Jews were deported with those transports.
Transport number 12 left the Aspangbahnhof in Vienna (Wien) on November 28th, 1941 was destined for Minsk ghetto. The Central Office for Jewish Emigration, headed by Alois Brunner, was in charge of organizing the deportations from Vienna. As in previous transports of Jewish deportees, the Central Office distributed orders to the Jews on the deportation list, which included instructions where and when they had to report. Each deportee was allowed to take personal luggage weighing no more than 50 kg and cash amounting to 100 Reichsmark (RM).
The Jews that had been selected for this transport had to report to the assembly camp in a former school situated in the 2nd Viennese district, Kleine Sperlgasse 2. In many cases, Jews were brought to the assembly point by SS personnel or by “marshals”, Jews hired by the SS to assist in the deportation process. The very appearance of these Jewish marshals would strike terror in the community as it signaled imminent deportation. At the command of the SS, they blocked off streets inhabited by Jews - usually at night. Then, they forced their way into the homes of those Jews whose names appeared on the deportation list and ensure that that were ready to leave. Where necessary, the Jewish marshals would assist in packing. In cases where potential deportees were not at home, they were in serious danger of being included in the transport themselves, as replacements. On arrival at the school grounds, Jewish deportees had to hand over the keys to their homes.
The assembly camp was supervised by members of the Central Office for Jewish Emigration. Sometimes as many as 2,000 people were stranded for days - even weeks - at the site, awaiting deportation. They would sleep on the floor or on bags filled with straw. The sanitary conditions at the site were terrible, as was the mood of the deportees. Some people suffered nervous breakdowns and some even committed suicide. The two doctors and nurses at the site did all they could to help. While they waited for deportation the Jews underwent a registration process (Kommissionierung), which was often accompanied by violence. The staff of the Central Office for Jewish Emigration in Vienna, along them Anton Brunner, forced the Jews to declare their property. Then they had to sign a document confirming that they transferred everything to the state. They were also forced to hand over all valuables and cash to the representatives of the Central Office for Jewish Emigration. The Jewish property was sold by the Gestapo after the transport left.
The transport consisted of 1,000 Jewish men, women and children, 381 of them were older than 61 years. The average age of the deportees was 54. Police officer Josef Dunkl and 12 armed policemen were guarding the deportees during the train ride to Minsk. On arrival in Minsk, the deportees were taken to the local ghetto which was divided into two sections: one section housed the local Jews, while the other was reserved for Jews arriving from the areas of the German Reich. It was referred to as the "Hamburg Ghetto", since the first transport had arrived from Hamburg in Germany. The transports to Riga and Minsk were temporarily discontinued on order of the German army, which was under Soviet attack at the time in the Moscow area and was in desperate need of every available rail stock for military supplies.
The transports to the Minsk area were resumed in May 1942.
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