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. 22, labeled Da 203, departed from Aspangbahnhof on May 20th, 1942, at 7 PM and arrived in Minsk on May 26th. The transport consisted of 1,000 Jews, 287 of them were older than 61 years. The average age of the deportees was 51. A group of armed uniformed policemen (Schutzpolizei) under the command of an officer named Johann Kranzler was guarding the deportees during the trainride. On May 18th the railroad administration in Vienna announced that due to a change in the railroad routes to Minsk, the distance and price of the journey had changed and the SS would now be required to pay 20.20 Reichsmark for every deported Jew.
The train stopped at Wolkowysk, where the deportees were transferred from passenger to railway cars under supervision of local and railroad police. Following a consultation which took place on May 22nd between SS-Obersturmführer Erich Lutkenhus and Reichsbahn representatives Hermann Kayser, Wilhelm Longeman and Konrad Reichardt, the “Haupteisenbahndirektion Mitte” (Main railway directorate – central division) was notified by SS Obersturmführer Georg Heuser, commander of the security police (Sipo) and the security service (SD) of White Ruthenia, that the train - scheduled to arrive in Minsk on Saturday - would be delayed in Koydanovo for three days due to the Christian Pentecost holiday and would therefore arrive in Minsk only around Tuesday.
According to available documentation, an unknown number of Jews died in Koydanovo due to the oppressive heat in the train cars and the lack of food and water. The train resumed its journey on Tuesday, May 26th, leaving Koydanovo at 4:39 am. It reached the freight station in Minsk at 6:09 am.
In accordance with established procedure, the Jews were robbed of their last belongings by the Security Police (Sipo) and the SD (Sicherheitsdienst) after they descended from the train. After that, the police carried out a selection among the Jews and chose between 20 and 50 young, able-bodied men. Most of these young men, who had been sent to do various kinds of hard labor, were murdered at the end of July 1944. The remaining Jews were transported in trucks to freshly dug pits in Blagovshchina forest, near the Maly Trostenets estate, 13 km southeast of Minsk, where they were shot dead by men of the Waffen SS and Sipo.
In his operation report dated May 16, SS Unterscharführer Fritz Arlt of the Waffen SS, whose unit was stationed in the Minsk area during the Summer of 1942, described the arrival of the Jews from Vienna and their annihilation: "On May 26, a transport from the Reich arrived in Minsk and was immediately transferred to the above-mentioned pit. Once again the Waffen-SS was deployed at the pit".
Show less