Following the Wannsee Conference, which took place on January 20th, 1942, Adolf Eichmann, who headed the Jewish desk at the RSHA (Reichssicherheitshauptamt - Reich Main Security Office), informed the Gestapo-leadership on January 31st, that the previous expulsions of Jews from various regions in the Third Reich had constituted only the beginning of the "Final Solution" of the “Jewish Question” in Germany, Austria and the Protectorate."
Show more Eichmann also stressed that the first deportation campaigns had been limited in size, but that new destinations were going to be prepared in order to allow the deportation of additional groups of Jews. Naturally, these preparations would take some time.
On March 6th, 1942, Eichmann convened a meeting of Gestapo representatives from all over the Third Reich to discuss the expulsion of 55,000 Jews from the Reich and from the Protectorate. He instructed the participants not to include elderly Jews among the deportees and not to notify the Jews in advance of their imminent expulsion. Additionally, Eichmann determined that notification of upcoming transports would be sent to local Gestapo offices only six days beforehand, apparently in order to prevent the spread of rumors among the Jewish population.
In May 1942, the Nazi security forces renewed their efforts to implement the "Final Solution"-policy by resuming transports of Jews from the Third Reich to Minsk in Belorussia, which had been stopped several months earlier. However, unlike with previous transports, which had been destined for Minsk Ghetto, from this point on the Jews were transported to the village of Maly Trostenets, situated approximately 15 km southeast of Minsk. Close to the village was a former Soviet kolkhoz, which was now used by the SS.
The Central Office for Jewish Emigration (Zentralstelle für jüdische Auswanderung), under the command of Alois Brunner, was responsible for deportations from Vienna (Wien). 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.
Transport No. 19, labeled Da 201, departed from Aspangbahnhof in Vienna on May 6th, 1942 at 7 pm and arrived in Minsk on May 11th at 10:30 am. The transport consisted of 1,000 Jews, 430 of them were older than 61 years. The average age of the deportees was 55. Twelve armed uniformed policemen (Schutzpolizei), amongst them two sergeants named Frey and Kainer, guarded the deportees during the train ride. They were commanded by an officer, first Lieutenant Peter Johann. Alois Brunner from the Central Office for Jewish Emigration instructed the guards to report at the station at 11 am and to wait for the deportees to arrive from the assembly camp. Brunner himself supervised the boarding process.
The train passed through Vienna’s Nordbahnhof. It then followed a route that took it through Lundenburg (Breclav), Prerau (Prerov), Olmütz (Olomouc), Gross Wisternitz (Velka Bystrice), Jägerndorf (Krnov), Olbersdorf (Mesto Albrechtice), Bad Ziegenhals (Glucholazy), Neisse (Nysa), Lamsdorf (Lambinowice), Oppeln (Opole), Loben (Lubliniec), Rudniki, Radomsko, Gorzkowice, Piotrkow, Warsaw (Warszawa), Wesola, Mrozy, Siedlce, Broszkow, Nurzec, Czeremcha, Wolkowysk, Koydanovo (Dzerzhinsk) and Minsk.
The train arrived at the station in Wolkowysk in the southwest of Belorussia on May 8th at 11 pm. In an operation, which took about three hours, all the Jews were transferred from the passenger cars to freight cars. On May 9th at 2:45 am the train continued on its way through Baranovichi. At 2:30 pm it stopped at Koydanovo. Because of the weekend vacation, the Minsk SD (Sicherheitsdienst) ordered the train to remain, under guard, at the station until May 11th. At Koydanovo, eight deportees – three men and five women - were declared dead. They were buried near the station.
The train resumed its journey at 9 am on Monday, May 11th and arrived at the cargo station in Minsk at 10:30 am. Supervised by the SD (Sicherheitsdienst) in Minsk, the deportees disembarked the train. Their belongings were taken away from them and a group of 81 young and strong men was selected for work. The others were put on trucks and transported to Blagovshchina forest, situated close to Maly Trostenets, approximately 13 km southeast of Minsk. They were shot by members of the SS- and SD-command Minsk and by local auxiliary units at pits that had been prepared in advance.
In his operation report dated May 17, Waffen SS Unterscharführer Arlt, whose unit was stationed in the Minsk area during the summer of 1942, described the arrival of the transport from Vienna: "On May 4, we began digging new pits by ourselves near the military commandant’s estate. It took us four days to finish with the work. On May 11, a transport with Jews (1000 “pieces”) from Vienna arrived in Minsk, they were immediately transported from the station to the abovementioned pits. Therefore, the platoon was deployed directly at the pit".
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