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VIRTUAL JEWISH MUSEUM
Annihilation
When it became clear to the Nazis that the world was largely indifferent to the plight of the Jews, and that no country was ready to accept a significant number of refugees, they formulated plans to wipe out the Jewish population under their control. At first, firing squads were sent to communities in Eastern Europe to round up and kill Jews and bury them in mass graves. Later, killing centers were set up to receive and murder and incinerate entire communities. Combined with starvation and disease that was rampant in every ghetto and camp, the numbers of victims ran in the mllions.
 Einsatzkommando.backEinsatzkommando means 'special task force'. Starting 1939, these groups went into civilian areas to stop partisan resistance & wipe out Jewish populations with killing squads. They were a key component in the 'Final Solution of the Jewish Question'. They operated in Poland Lithuania the Ukraine Soviet Union Hungary & parts of western Europe. They came with lists of people to murder but ended up destroying entire communities. These mass murderers are estimated to have killed 3-5 million people. |  Einsatzkommando.frontThis envelope was sent by a member of Einsatzkommando Burger. They destroyed villages in the Soviet Union until 1944 when they were moved to Italy to fight partisan forces. Mailed from Moravia Czechoslovakia 22 November 1944 to Vienna, Austria. |  Auschwitz telegram. Son DiedThis telegram from Auschwitz dated 23 June 1942 contained a simple message. "Son Joseph died in the Concentration Camp". This would be a tragic message for any family. However Jewish families didn't get these messages. For one thing, no one bothered. Furthermore, usually the entire family was deported so there was no one to notify. |
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 Mathausen Gusen.frontMathausen was established in April 1938 right after the Germans annexed Austria. It was among the harshest of concentration camps. Prisoners were sent here to be destroyed. Work conditions were intolerable and starvation shooting lethal injection and gassing did away with the prisoners. Jews were shipped here from Buchenwald Auschwitz Holland & Hungary. An estimated 350,000 prisoners passed through here, of which 122,767 were murdered. Gusen, a sub-camp opened in 1940. |  Mathausen Gusen.backOn the back we see a rubber stamp indicating that mail is permitted once a month. |  GrossRosen CampGrossRosen was in Silesia, southern Germany. It operated from August 1940 - February 1945. 125,000 inmates reached this camp of which over 40,000 died. Half of these were Jews mainly fro Hungary & Poland, and a third were women. Conditions were very harsh. The Red Army liberated the camp in the spring of 1945. |
 GrossRosen.inside messagePermission to receive packages was granted in early 1943. The directions on this concentration camp letter sheet state: "...packages may be received...alchoholic drinks and photos are forbidden..everything is available in the camp..." This letter to Alicja Abramowitz reads ' I received your packages today....they were complete and in order. Many thanks. Be well and cheerful...'. |  Bergen-Belsen Concentration CampBergen Belsen was a Nazi concentration camp in northwestern Germany. Initially this was an exchange or holding camp where Jewish hostages were to be exchanged for German prisoners overseas. Inmates worked in the 'shoe commando' salvaging pieces of leather. Only about 2560 Jews were ever released and allowed to leave Germany. There were no gas chambers; still an estimated 50,000 Jews and others, besides 20,000 Russian POWs died from disease and starvation, among them Ann & Margot Frank. |  Bergen Belsen Camp.backMailed at Bergen-Belsen 11 August 1944, postmarked Berlin, to Geneva Switzerland. When the camp was liberated on 15 April 1945 the British soldiers discovered about 53000 prisoners inside, most of them half-starved & seriously ill, and another 13000 corpses lying unburied. It was then burned to the ground because of typhus epidemic and louse infestation. The blue smear on the front was made by the censor looking for secret writing. |
 Auschwitz Concentration CampThe Nazi's largest camp, Auschwitz became a synonym for horror and inhumanity. It grew to a complex of four camps & 2 slave labor factories. More than 405,000 prisoners were numbered with a tattoo on their left arm, but well over a million were killed. In June 1941 the 'Final Solution' was implemented here. Arriving men & women underwent 'Selektion'; stronger ones were saved for forced labor, all others killed immediately, without even a number. |  Auschwitz.Letter message.jpgGas chambers disguised as shower rooms were used to kill prisoners. This letter was sent by a non-Jewish prisoner. He describes himself on the envelope a s 'protected internee'. the letter says things are fine and thanks for the package which was received. Needless to say, actual conditions were much different for Jewish prisoners, and probably for him too. |  Auschwitz.Behavior TokenSmall paper tokens were issued in several concentration camps. They seem to have been a reward to prisoners for exemplary work. Viktor Frankel wrote about receiving one in Auschwitz. It was worth 12 cigarettes or 12 portions of soup. Such an item represented survival in an impossible environment. The Nazis authorized these through 'Service Regulations for the Granting of Favors to Inmates' issued by the SS to reward 'industriousness, carefulness, & good behavior'. |
 Buchenwald.Cigarette TokenThe Germans relied on inmates for slave labor to support their war effort, such as producing uniforms and metal goods. These bonus coupons were intended to motivate workers. They could be redeemed for benefits including haircuts, extra food & cigarettes. This one was good for 5 cigarettes. "For inmates/Special bonus/for good performance/5 individual cigarettes/General army staff." |  Buchenwald.Cigarette Token.backOn the back is the imprint of the commander of the Buchenwald camp. |  Auschwitz Birkenau CampAuschwitz II at nearby Birkenau operated as a death camp beginning March 1942. At its height it had 4 gas chambers using Zyklon B gas and crematoria. By its closing in Nov 1944 as many as 1 1/2 million Jews were murdered there along with gypsies and Soviet POWs. While over 400,000 Jews kept alive for slave labor were tattooed, more than twice that many were killed immediately. This is an 'Operation Mail' postcard. The message is positive & reassuring, while the sender was burned to ashes. |
 Auschwitz Birkenau Camp.messageThe return address reads very innocently 'Work Camp Birkenau'. Written in Jan 1944, the Nazis followed these cards to their destination and found more surviving Jews! "I am here for 6 weeks. I am well, healthy and thinking of you constantly." Probably written by a fellow inmate as the signature 'Mother' is very shaky. She was 68 and probably very weak. |  Majdanek Concentration CampMajdanek near Lublin operated from fall of 1941 to July 1944. Close to Russia, it served as a POW and slave labor camp but ended up being a death camp for Jews in the Zamosc region of Poland. It contained 22 barracks 7 gas chambers & a crematorium. Nearly 1/2 million people passed through here, 2/3 of them destroyed. There were several escapes. 'KL' in the return address stands for Konzentration Lager = concentration camp. |  Majdanek.card.backJews from Czechoslovakia, Germany, Hungary, France, Belgium, Greece, the Netherlands, Byelorussia, the Ukraine, and Poland were sent here. In the face of the Red Army advance, the camp was partly destroyed. The gas chambers and most of the barracks survived. A few of the SS officers were brought to trial after the war. |
 Operaation Mail.card.frontThe postmark reveals the story. Mailed from Theresienstadt Czechoslovakia on Sept 12 to Vienna, it is postmarked 53 days later in Berlin. It is evidence of a Nazi campaign to identify Jews still living in Europe as late as 1944. Jewish inmates, usually denied mail privileges, were suddenly forced to write home describing how well things were going. Written in Auschwitz, Birkenau, Begen-Belsen, Majdanek and Theresienstadt they were shipped in bulk to Berlin, censored by Nazi controlled RVDJ. |  Operation mail.card.backThe RVDJ - Central Association for Jews in Germany was forced to censor these cards and put them in the regular mail. Relatives were reassured and people were allowed to think that relocation was reasonable and Jews were working for the German war effort. Meanwhile, lists of addresses were carefully compiled and more Jews were located and shipped to camps. This postal operation actually became the accomplice of Genocide. |  Athens to AuschwitzGreece lost over 80 % of its Jews during the Holocaust - between 60 - 70,000. Most were sent to Auschwitz. Some Jews of Athens survived, due to efforts of the Archbishop and other locals to hide them. But not Flora Benroubi Geni. As this court decision from Athens in 1947 states, (based on witness testimony), she was killed by the Germans at the crematorium in Auschwitz, on 20 May 1944. |
 Sonderkommando UnitsSonderkommandos were work units made up of Nazi death camp prisoners. They were composed of Jews who were forced, on threat of their own deaths, to aid with the disposal of gas chamber victims during the Holocaust. They were kept healthy and safe to do their work- and separate from other inmates to keep their work secret. Reportedly, no badge like this was ever seen in the camps. It most likely is a post-war FAKE, made for collectors. But the units who did this gruesome work were very real. |  Concentration Camp Conditions.labelsThese local stamps were issued on the first anniversary of Dachau's liberation, in the D.P. camp Freiman, to raise funds for survivors. They illustrate some of the horrific conditions in the camps, including beatings, starvation rations, vicious dog attacks, and firing squads. It was at Dachau that the policy was instituted of shooting prisoners who approached the fence, as shown in the 3rd row. After the war this was a refugee & transit camp for survivors. |
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