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Hamburg Deportation Transport to Litzmannstadt (Lodz)
Chapter 1. Evacuation Order to Minsk
Chapter 2. Deportation Assembly Point Moorweidenstraße
36
Chapter 3.Deportation Procedure in Hamburg
Chapter 4. Deportation from Hamburg to Minsk
Chapter 5. “Settlement” in the Minsk Ghetto
Chapter 6.The Evolution of the Minsk Ghetto (1941-1944)
(1940-1944) )
Chapter 7.The Evolution of rest of the city of Minsk
(1941-1944)
Chapter 8. Deportation to another concentration camp in
Minsk
Chapter 9. Extermination actions near Trostinez
Chapter 10. Further deportations westwards
(1943-1945)
1. “Evacuation Order” to Minsk
The deportation transport to Lodz (Litzmannstadt) had
hardly departed Hamburg on 25.10.1941 before further transports were
planned.
Now all Jews under the age of 65 years of age (women under 60) came into
consideration. In the circular from the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA) to
the Gestapo offices the number of individuals and the schedule were again
precisely specified.1
In letters dated 7.11.1941 and 15.11.1941 to the
Hamburg Regional Finance Office Claus Göttsche, head of the
‘Department for Jews’ (Judenreferat), for the Gestapo, Gestapo headquarters
Hamburg, sent two lists of names, a list of 1,000 Jews who were to be
"evacuated" (“evakuiert”) to Minsk on 8.11.1941 and a list of 420 Jews who
were to be “evacuated” to Minsk on 18.11.1941. 2 BR>
The individuals concerned received an “evacuation
order” (“Evakuierungsbefehl”) from the Gestapo, by registered mail,
informing them to report to the Masonic Lodge building at Moorweidenstraße
36 one day before “evacuation”. They would be subject to special regulations
for the duration of transport. Their assets are confiscated. Each individual
could bring: a suitcase with accoutrements up to 50 kg, clothing, bedding
with blanket, food for 3 days and up to 100 RM currency, which is to be
surrendered at registration.
In addition they had to fill out the accompanying inventory of assets. This
“declaration of assets“ (“Vermögenserklärung”) consisted of 8 pages and had
to be filled out separately for each person. Especially much space was
allotted for particulars of bank accounts, cash and securities, insurances,
properties, other receivables, business shares, and total assets.3
The Rosenberg family living at Hansastraße 40 were
among those Jews who received an “evacuation order”.
Those affected were Fritz Alexander Rosenberg, his wife Else,
their daughter Irmgard and son Heinz Ludwig.
Heinz Rosenberg the only member of his family to survive and one of
the few Germans Jews worldwide to have survived Minsk relates the following
regarding the day they received the evacuation order:
4
“My parents immediately telephoned my sister and me at
our places of work. We immediately returned home, (...) We were all alarmed.
My mother wept, my aunt Meta arrived and wept, but could do nothing
to help. Our neighbours visited, but the majority of people were
indifferent.”
They gave the neighbours some mementoes. Then they went to the Jewish shop
to buy as much food from the ration card as possible.
Later Heinz’s girlfriend Erika Hirschhorn, a young Jewess from
Romania, arrived. She related that her foster-parents had also been allotted
to this transport. She said that if all had to go then she wished to
accompany them.
“At noon we sat down to eat together for the last time but nobody was
hungry. Finally it was time to pack our suitcases and backpacks. Miss
Fehrs, the neighbour who lived above us gave us warm things, sturdy
shoes and as much food as she could muster. She told us that she thought our
transport was also destined for the east where warm clothes were essential.
We packed accordingly as best we could.
Finally we wrote some letters that aunt Meta was to post for us. None of us
could sleep during the night.
Mother was in despair about having to leave behind all her furniture,
pictures, porcelain and many beautiful belongings of sentimental value.”
2. Deportation Assembly Point Moorweidenstraße
36
© Dipl.-Pol. Wilhelm Mosel,
Deutsch-Jüdische Gesellschaft, Hamburg.
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