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Introduction
The
establishment of Jewish quarters and limitations of the right
of Jews to take up residence or establish an economic
existence are not new in the history of the East [i.e.,
Eastern Europe]. Their beginnings go back to the 13th century
and have been observed again and again in the course of
history, down to the establishment of the Polish Republic.2*
A
new method is being applied when these limitations are imposed
according to National-Socialist principles and perception.
Back
in February 1940 − shortly after the establishment of
the Department for Resettlement the idea came up for the
creation of a Jewish quarter in Warsaw, and the first
preparations were made. It had originally been planned by the
Governor to place the Jewish quarter in a suburb of Warsaw
which is bordered on the east by the [River] Vistula.
The
head of the Department of Resettlement was instructed to carry
this out.
It
was clear that this idea must at first appear to be incapable
of execution, owing to the specific and extremely complicated
conditions in the city of Warsaw. Objections were raised on
various sides, in particular by the City Administration. It
was argued that the forming of a ghetto would cause serious
disruption to industry and the economy. As about 80 percent of
all the skilled labor was Jewish, it was indispensable and
could not be shut away. Finally it was argued that the feeding
of the Jews would not be possible if they were concentrated in
a closed area.
The
discussion on March 8, 1940, produced the conclusion that the
plan for the establishment of a ghetto should be postponed for
the time being.
About
the same time it was being considered in the
Government-General that the district of Lublin might be
declared a collection area for all the Jews in the
Government-General, and in particular for the evacuated Jews
arriving there, and refugee Jews.
Cases
of illegal emigration of Jews and unauthorized border
crossings by Jews increased greatly at that time, particularly
on the border of the sub-districts of Lowicz and Skierniewice.
Conditions had become dangerous in the city of Lowicz as a
result of the illegal move there of Jews, both as regards
hygiene and from the point of view of the Security Police. The
sub-district Commander (Kreishauptmann) of the Lowicz
sub-district rightly considered that he should remove these
dangers by means of the establishment of areas of Jewish
residence in Lowicz and Glowno. The experience of the
establishment of the Jewish quarters in Lowicz and Glowno have
shown that these methods are the only ones that are correct to
banish the dangers that emanate from the Jewish world (Judenwelt).
At
the beginning of April 1940 we were informed by the Higher SS
and Police leader (Hoeherer SS- und Polizeifuehrer) in
Cracow that it was not intended to concentrate the Jews in the
district of Lublin.
The
Department of Resettlement then turned once more to the
preliminary work for the establishment of Jewish quarters in
the Warsaw district. The Governor gave instructions that the
establishment of the Jewish quarters should be begun by a date
which would make it possible to carry out the resettlement
before the beginning of winter.
The
plan now submitted by the Department of Resettlement provided
for the establishment of two ghettos, both situated on the
outskirts of the city one in the west, including the suburbs
of Kolo and Wola, and in the east of the city the suburb of
Grochow. This idea was based on the realization that these
ghettos on the outskirts of the city would cause the least
harm and disruption to the economy, industry and traffic of
the city of Warsaw. The start of these Aktionen was set
for July 1, 1940, in order to complete the most important
measures in time before the onset of winter.
In
the first stage of the preparations, orders were sent out from
Cracow that all work on the establishment of the ghettos
should be stopped in view of the fact that, according to the
plan of the Fuehrer, after the war all the Jews of Europe
would be resettled in Madagascar,3* and that the
creation of ghettos was therefore in fact illusory.
Upon
this, the preliminary work of the Department of Resettlement
was halted again. At the end of August 1940 the establishment
of ghettos was once more pushed ahead by the Department for
Health Care, in view of the increasing concentration of troops
in the Warsaw District, and for the protection of the German
Army and population. The Department for Interior
Administration in the office of the Governor General on August
20, 1940, confirmed that it was necessary to establish Jewish
areas of residence, but these would not be hermetically closed
ghettos, but Jewish districts which would permit just enough
economic contact with the Aryan surroundings to keep the
Jewish quarter viable.
It
was now already very late [in the year] to establish ghettos
on the outskirts of the city, and this would have taken at
least four to five months, as it would have involved
regrouping almost 600,000 persons. But the resettlement Aktionen
had to be completed by November 15, in particular according to
the recommendation of the District Medical Officer, or at the
latest by the end of November, as there was always an
increased incidence of epidemics during the winter months, and
these would have been speeded up dangerously by the
resettlement operation.
The
plan for ghettos on the outskirts of the city was therefore
abandoned. The area chosen now was one that had been marked as
endangered by epidemics (Seuchensperrgebiet), which in
its present condition offered no secure protection against
epidemics.
After
voluminous preliminary discussions and negotiations, visits to
the area and preparations, a promising plan was submitted to
the Governor.
On
October 2, 1940, general instruction went out from the
Governor of the Warsaw District to all local leaders and the
representatives of the district Governor of the city of Warsaw
to begin work by November 15, 1940, on the resettlement
required for the establishment of Jewish quarters. It was
clear that this problem would have to be attacked all along
the line if there were to be certainty of success.
On
the same day the Governor issued Decree No. 40/50 concerning
the establishment of a Jewish quarter in the city of Warsaw,
and instructed the head of the Department of Resettlement to
take charge of the whole resettlement operation.
The
reasons for the establishment of a Jewish quarter in the
Warsaw District, apart from general principles concerning
ethnic restructuring (Volkstumsordnung) in this area,
are as follows:
1.
The German Army and population must in any case be protected
against the Jews, the immune carriers of the bacteria of
epidemics.
2.
The separation of the Jews from the rest of the population,
both Poles and ethnic Germans (Volksdeutsche)4*
is a political and moral requirement. Jewish thinking and
action had up to now dominated the population of the eastern
lands. The beneficial effects of the elimination of Jewish
influence can now already be seen. If the German task of
reconstruction is to be successful at all, then the freedom of
Jewry to act in the area must be ended.
3.
A further reason derives from the need to secure the execution
of war economy measures and the safeguarding of the nutrition
level in general by stopping the black market and the raising
of prices.
The
Resettlement Aktionen
in Warsaw
The
resettlement Aktionen started at the beginning of
October 1940. The first date set for the completion of the
operation was October 31, 1941.
For
a start, 700 Volksdeutsche had to be pulled out of the
section which had been declared a Jewish quarter and moved
into the provisional German area.
Altogether,
113,000 Poles and 138,000 Jews were exchanged. As the Jews who
had been living outside the Jewish area in most cases had
fairly large apartments, it was possible to carry out the
change without disturbances by placing several Polish families
in one of these larger apartments. A total of 11,567 Aryan
apartments were vacated in thJewish quarter and about 13,000
Jewish apartments taken over outside the Jewish quarter....
It
is surprising that the resettlement of roughly 250,000 persons
was carried out in the comparatively short period of not quite
six weeks without any blood being shed and with the aid of
police pressure only in the final stage. This was done by
bringing in the Polish mayor on the one hand and the Judenrat,
on the other, to give their help.
On
November 16, 1940, a major police Aktion was carried
out under the direction of the head of the Department of
Resettlement, in which all parts of the city outside the
Jewish quarter were combed and 11,130 Jews caught and taken
forcibly to the Jewish quarter. On the same day 1,170 food
stores and 2,600 other stores owned by Jews were sealed by the
police, handed over to the appropriate departments and
organizations and cleared by them....
The
Appearance of the Jewish Quarter
The
Jewish quarter extends over about 1,016 acres. According to
the figures supplied by the Judenrat, which claims to have
carried out a census, about 410,000 Jews live in this area;
according to our own observations and various estimates,
carried out by other bodies, they number between 470,000 and
590,000.5*
Based
on the statistics supplied by the Judenrat, and subtracting
empty spaces and cemeteries, there are [in the Jewish quarter]
1,108 persons living on a built-up area of one hectare (2.5
acres), i.e., 110,800 persons per sq. km. [approx. 277,000 per
sq. mile]. The population density of the city of Warsaw is
14,400 persons per sq. km. of the total area and 38,000 per
sq. km. of built-up and inhabited area.
It
should be noted that the number will be increased by the new
resettlement of 72,000 Jews from the western section of the
District. This is needed in order to make room for 62,000
evacuated Poles.
In
the Jewish area of residence there are about 27,000 apartments
with an average number of 2½ rooms. Occupancy therefore works
out at 15.1 persons per apartment and 6 to 7 persons per room.
The Jewish area of residence is separated from the rest of the
city by the use of partition walls and fireproof walls and by
walls sealing off streets, windows, entrances and spaces
between houses. The walls are three meters high and are raised
another meter by means of a barbed-wire extension. Additional
control is assured by motorized and mounted police patrols.
At
first 22 gates in the surrounding wall were retained for the
maintenance of necessary traffic, but these have since been
reduced to 15. Reinforced German police guards were at first
posted at these openings; these were later replaced by Polish
police, with German police taking over mainly the supervision.
The
units of the German police for the Jewish quarter consisting
of 87 men under the command of an Oberleutnant are
accommodated in three posts outside the wall....
Permits
to pass these gates are issued for absolutely essential
passenger traffic: the permit cards are yellow for German
citizens, ethnic Germans and Poles; for Jews there are yellow
cards with an oblique blue bar. The permits are valid only
together with an identity card with a photograph....
Eksterminacja,
pp. 99-104.
1*
Lecture by Waldemar Schoen, Head of the Department of
Resettlement in the Warsaw District.
2*
The reference is to the independent Polish Republic between
the two wars.
3*
See Documents 97, 98.
4*
Volksdeutsche persons of German origin or persons who
declared themselves to be of German origin and lived outside
Germany.
5*
The German estimate is deliberately exaggerated. According to
J. Ziemian, Gvulot Getto Varsha ve-Shinuyehem
("The Borders of the Warsaw Ghetto and Their
Changes"), Jerusalem, 1971, p. 17, the population census
taken on Jan. 1, 1941, gave the number of persons in the
ghetto as 380,740. According to the calculations of the
Judenrat, based on the food-ration cards of Jan. 1, 1941, the
number of Jews was 394,836. |
