by The Destruction of the European Jews, Vol. 1-3 (Third Edition) Yale University Press (2003) (pdf)
period; in part, they were a prelude to the struggle that was to follow,
for the implication was clear that whoever owned the Jewish property
also owned the Jews. There was a long list of “claimants" to the Jewish 67 68 69 70 71 72 73
67. See detailed breakdown by labor administration of Gebietskommissar, August
18, 1943, T459, roll 23. The number of employed Jews at that time was about 11,000.
68. Dr. Abshagen (Institut fur medizinische Zoologie) to Generalkommissar. October 24, 1942, T 459, roll 19. The experiment involved typhus.
69. Report by Soviet Extraordinary State Commission (signed by Burdentko,
Nikolai, TVainin, and Lysenko), undated. USSR-41.
70. Affidavit by Alfred Winter (survivor), October 15, 1947, NO-5448.
71. Decree (signed Kube) of June I, 1942 , Amtsbiatt des Generalkommissars fur
Weissrulhenien, 1942, p. 105. According to official rate of exchange, one ruble was equal
to 0.10 reichsmark.
72. Decree (signed Kube) of August 18. 1942, Amisblall des Generalkommissars in
Minsk, 1942, p. 166.
73. The term estate (Nachlass) was freely used in correspondence. See, for example, Generalkommissar in White Russia to ReichskommissarAhisteeship (Special Repre360
THE INTERMEDIARY STAGE
One of the first collectors of Jewish property was invariably a
killing unit.7' As a rule, the mobile killing units generously handed out
furniture and clothes to the native population, particularly to the ethnic
Germans in the area.74 75
A second claimant—of a very de facto character—was the civilian
population, which helped itself to the abandoned Jewish apartments,
often taking possession
of them.'6 Following the Riga massacre of
November
30,
thousands
of
packed
suitcases
were
left
unguarded
where they had been collected and stacked. Many were subsequently
found to have been forced open, their contents removed.77
Other claimants were administrative officials of the military and
the Kommissariate who needed offices, office furniture, and a variety
of other things. In Riga such requests came from the German railways,78 from local branches of corporations, such as a truck repair facility of Daimler-Benz, which sought to establish its eligibility to
receive ghetto property by asserting that its personnel were attendants
of the Wehrmacht (Gefolge der Wehrmacht) within the meaning of
sentative for Seizure of Jewish Property in the Ostland) Bruns, March 4,1942, T 459, roll
3. Secrecy of records dealing with Jewish gold and silver in the Ostland was abandoned
altogether. Notation by Kunska (Generalkommissar in LatviaArusteeship), June 27,
1942, on copy of directive from Reichskommissar's Trusteeship Office. April 30, 1942, T
459, roll 21.
74. RSHA IV-A-1, Operational Report USSR No. 21 (32 copies), July 13, 1941,
NO-2937. RSHA 1V-A-I, Operational Report USSR No. 125 (50 copies), October 26,
1941, NO-3403. RSHA IV-A-I. Operational Report USSR No. 156, January 16, 1942,
NO-3405.
75. RSHA1V-A-I, Operational Report USSR No. 103 (48 copies), October 4,1941,
NO-4489. In Zhitomir, Einsatzgruppe C handed 50,000 to 60,000 pounds of clothes and
utensils to a representative of the NSV (National Socialist People's Welfare). RSHA IV-
A-l, Operational Report USSR No. 106 (48 copies), October 7, 1941, NO-3140. Einsatzgruppe D delivered its loot to Reich finance offices—much to the chagrin of the 1 Ith Army, which wanted the stuff for its own purposes. Ohlendorf to 11th Army. February
12, 1942, NOKW-631. In October, 1942, the Higher SS and Police Leader Center,
Obergruppenführer von dem Bach, sent 10,000 pairs of children's socks and 2,000 pairs
of children's gloves to Himmler's Personal Staff for distribution to SS families. OStuf.
Meine (Personal Staff) to Gruf. Hofmann (Chief, RuSHA). October 28, 1942. NO-2558.
The Higher SS and Police Leader North, Jeckeln, presided over a huge warehouse in
Riga. He spent hours sorting jewelry on his desk. Affidavit by Richard Dannler (SS
mailman), September 19, 1947, NO-5124.
76. Report by 454th Security Division Ic, December 4, 1941, NOKW-2926. Also,
report of looting in Kharkov: RSHA IV-A-1, Operational Report USSR No. 164 (65
copies), February 4, 1942, NO-3399.
77. Neuendorff to Reichskommissar/II-h (Finance). December 4, 1941, T 459,
roll 21.
78. Haupteisenbahndirektion Nord to Reichskommissar, April 26, 1942, T 459, roll
361
MOBILE KILLING OPERATIONS
Article 13 of the Hague Land Warfare Regulations7’, and from individuals, including a Latvian policeman who had taken part in a “Jewish transport”
( Judentransport),*
an
official
interpreter
who
wanted
a
piano
for
his
talented
ten-year-old
daughter,”
and
a
sculptor
who
wished to remove stones of granite and marble from the Jewish cemetery as a public service.“ On the front line the troops “requisitioned”
things, although looting was prohibited.“ What was left was subject to
systematic confiscation by the economy inspectorates in the military
areas and by the finance offices in the Reichskommissariate. The disposal of the Jewish property, like the requisition of Jewish labor, was consequently
handled
on
a
first-come-first-grab
basis.
Very
few
changes could be made in this scheme.
In the military area the Wirtschaftsstab Ost, armed with authority
from the OKH, attempted to curb the looting by Einsatzgruppen and
army units.“ It was an uphill fight,“ and the spoils were hardly worth it.
In one report the Economy Inspectorate Center explained that by German standards the Jewish clothes and underwear could be classified only as “rags” {Lumpen).* On July 4, 1942, the Economy Inspectorate
79. Daimler-Benz Corporation (Mercedes) to ReichskommissarAlVusteeship (Dr.
Köster), January 7, 1942, T 459, roll 2.
80. Nikolai Radzinsch (Radzins) to Reichskommissar, January 26, 1942, T 459,
roll 2.
81. Wilhelm Strauss to Generalkommissar/Finance, October 9, 1942, T 459, roll 2.
82. Rudolf Feldberg. Riga, to Security Police in Riga (passed on to Trusteeship
Office, attention Bruns), July 16, 1942, T 459, roll 2. The graveyards in Jelgava (Latvia)
and Tallinn (Estonia), he explained, had already been leveled. The Finance Office of the
Reichskommissar took a dim view of the sale of Jewish gravestones at inappropriately
low prices. Alletag to Generalkommissare in Riga, Kaunas, Tallinn, and Minsk, October
2, 1942, T 459, roll 3. Alletag dealt with Jewish property in the Finance Office. The
director of the office was Vialon.
83. Order by Commander, Rear Army Group Area South (signed von Roques),
September I, 1941, NOKW-2594. Ortskommandantur Nikolaev to Commander, Rear
Army Area 553 (llth Army). September 25, 1941, NOKW-1729.
84. Order by Wirtschaftsstab Ost/FOhrung la, October 22, 1941, Wi/ID 0.82. The
OKH order, investing the Wirtschaffsstab Ost
with sole authority to conduct
confiscations in the military area, was dated October 2,1941.
85. Economy Inspectorate Center (signed Kapitän zur See Kotthaus), to
Wirtschaftsstab Ost, November 6, 1941, Wi/ID 2.124. Report by Economy Inspectorate
Center (signed Generalleutnant Weigand), November 22, 1941, Wi/ID 2.124. Report by
Economy Inspectorate Center (signed Generalleutnant Weigand), December 22, 1941,
Wi/ID 2.124. Report by Economy Inspectorate Center (signed Generalleutnant
Weigand), April 4, 1942, Wi/ID 2.33. War diary. Economy Command in Klimovichi
(signed Hauptmann Weckwerth) to Economy Inspectorate Center, December 31, 1941,
Wi/ID 2.90.
86. Economy Inspectorate Center/Main Group Economy to Wirtschaftsstab Ost,
July I, 1942, Wi/ID2.347.
362
THE INTERMEDIARY STAGE
reported that in the entire area of Army Group Center it had collected
property amounting to 2,046,860 rubles (204,686 reichsmark, or about
80,000
dollars). A part of that property had been “relinquished" in
favor of the suffering Russian communities in the area.*’
The
civilian
administration
approached
the
confiscation
problem
with stubbornness in the Ostland and with remarkable laxity in the
Ukraine. Reichskommissar Lohse of the Ostland made a determined
attempt to stop confiscations by the mobile killing units, collect all
articles
not
essential
for
subsistence
living
(notdürftige
persönliche
Lebensführung) from the Jews, and lay claim to Jewish property in
possession of the civilian population. To establish his exclusive competence, Lohse declared in secret directive and public decree that he, as Reichskommissar,
had
sole
jurisdiction
in
Jewish
property
matters.“
But declarations are one thing, action another.
On September 8, 1941, the Gebietskommissar of Siauliai, Lithuania
(Gewecke), complained to Lohse that he simply could not carry out a
systematic
seizure
of
Jewish
property.
A
certain
Hauptmann
Stasys
Senulis had appeared in his office that very day and had demanded in
the
name
of
Standartenführer
Jäger
(Einsatzkommando
3)
that
the
local mayors hand over all the gold and silver that had been in Jewish
possession.“ On September 24, 1941, a file note in the office of the
Generalkommissar in Kaunas recorded the fact that the SS had removed from Lithuanian banks 3,769,180 rubles in Jewish deposits and valuables.“ On September 25, 1941, Lohse wrote to the Higher SS and
Police
Leader
personally
(Priitzmann),
pointing
out
that
confiscations
were in the exclusive province of the Reichskommissar. “I do not
permit any sideswipes at Jewish property and expect to take all necessary
measures
to
persuade
your
police
officers
to
cease
all
self-
empowered
action.”
But
there
was
very
little
he
could
do.
On
November 15, 1941, Rosenberg and Himmler had a four-hour discussion. Among the subjects aired were, in Himmler’s words, the “fussiness of
Reichskommissar
Lohse”
and
the “ludicrous
complaints
of
Generalkommissar Kube" about the “requisition of necessary items for 87 88 89 90 91
87. Economy Inspectorate Center (signed Generalleutnant Weigand) to
Wirtschaftsstab Ost, July 4, 1942, Wi/1D 2.70.
88. Temporary directive (signed Lohse). August 18,194], NG-4815. Decree (signed
Lohse), October 13, 1941, Verkündungsblatt des Reichskommissars fur das Oslland,
1941, p. 27.
89. Gewecke to Lohse, September 8, 1941, PS-3661.
90. Memorandum by Generalkommissar in Kaunas/Main Division 1I-F, September
24, 1941, Occ E 3-24.
91. Lohse to Higher SS and Police Leader Ostland personally, September 25, 1941,
Occ E 3-25.
363
MOBILE KILLING OPERATIONS
the SS and Police” ("Kleinlichkeit des Reichskommissars Lohse" und
“lächerliche
Beschwerden"
des
Generalkommissars
Kube
über
“Sicherstellung des notwendigen Bedarfs für SS und Polizei”).”
The civil war between the SS and the Lohse administration continued for many months.” At last, on October 13, 1942, the Jewish expert
of
the
Ostland's
Security
Police,
Obersturmführer
Regierungsrat
Jagusch,
conceded
to
the
civil
authorities
jurisdiction
in
property disposals, but asserted on the basis of a Führer directive (a
text of which had never been transmitted to the Reichskommissar) that
the SS possessed the primary power
all Jewish matters.”
Even in Lohse's own apparatus there were a number of conflicts.
Initially he had placed confiscatory powers into the hands of his
Generalkommissare,
instructing
them
to
collect
immediately
all
money,
bankbooks,
promissory
notes,
and
valuables.”
In
December
1941 the administration of tangible Jewish property was concentrated
in the hands of the Reichskommissar's Main Division ILLTrusteeship
(Dr. Köster). This transfer was accompanied in Riga by the forcible
eviction of a local official by Dr. Köster personally.” Meanwhile, the
chief of finance in the Latvian Generalkommissariat, Dr. Neuendorff,
was still struggling with the recovery of taxes owed by Jews who had
just been killed. A collection of the taxes themselves, he concluded,
was
not
possible
for
reasons
already
known
(aus
den
bekannten
Gründen nicht möglich), but he thought that from the proceeds of the
sale of Jewish assets, some portion might be allocated for the discharge
of tax obligations.” By July 1942, responsibility for the personal portable
possessions
of
Jews
was
moved
from
/> the
Reichskommissar’s
Thisteeship Office to the Finance Office of his Main Division II." That 92 93 94 95 96 97 98
92. Memorandum by Himmler, November 15, 1941, NO-5329.
93. Reichskommissar Ostland/II-c to ReichskommissariTfusteeship Office on quarrel in Vilna, early February 1942. T 459, roll 3. Memorandum in Reichskommissar's thisteeship Office (signature illegible), March 19, 1942, complaining that objects—
ostensibly of gold—delivered by SS in Riga were not genuine, T 459, roll 2.
94. Summary of conference, prepared on October 15, 1942, by Ministerialrat Bur-
meister of Reichskommissar's Office, T 459, roll 3.
95. Lohse directive, August 18,1941, NG-4815. The Generalkommissare deputized
the Gebietskommissare to seize Jewish belongings. See registration of property order by
Gebietskommissar of city of Vilna (Hingst), September 1, 1941, T 459, roll 3.
96. Report by Friedrich Brasch (deputized by Gebietskommissar Wittrock to administer the Riga ghetto) to Wittrock, December 18, 1941, and Wittrock via Generalkommissar to Reichskommissar, December 19, 1941, T 459, roll 21.
97. Neuendorff to Generalkommissar/Thisteeship (Kunska), June 4, 1942, T 459,
roll 21.
98. Vialon to Main Division II/Heaith. May 15. 1943, T 459, roll 24.
364
THE INTERMEDIARY STAGE
office,
under
Regierungsdirektor
Vialon,
patiently
issued
directive
after directive to deal with every conceivable claim.5’
Now the only remaining problem was the recovery of loot in the
possession of the population. This was not much easier than taking
things away from Himmler. A decree issued by Lohse on October 13,
1941, provided that whoever was holding Jewish property at the moment was to continue to “administer" it. Only extraordinary transactions required the permission of the Reichskommissar.99 100 A year later, Lohse
ordered
the
registration
of
the
property.101
Many
practical
difficulties
developed
in
consequence
of
the
registration
order.
On
November 16, 1942, an article entitled "Better One Registration Too
Many [Besser eine Anmeldung zu vief]" appeared in the German newspaper published in Riga. The politely worded press release pointed out that many Jewish belongings had been distributed by various agencies
"at the time” (seiner Zeil) without receipt. On the other hand, many
people
had
already
reported
these
possessions
at
various