From _Documents of Destruction: Germany and Jewry 1933-1945_, edited
with Commentary by Raul Hilberg Quadrangle Books, 1971. pp. 106-111.

16. A Railroad Timetable

About three million Jews were transported to their death in trains.
The requests for trains were made by the Reich Security Main Office,
and the schedules were decided centrally for many transports in
advance at railway conferences held in various cities such as Berlin,
Frankfurt, or Vienna. Territorially, the German railways in the Reich
operated out of three General Management Directories: East (Berlin),
West (Essen), and south (Munich). From here orders were sent out to
all the Reich Railway Directories on the routes. The telegram below
deals with "special trains" of five kinds: Vd is the desigantion for
ethnic Germans, Rm for Roumanians, Po for Poles, Pj for Polish Jews,
Da ("David"?) for Jews generally. Lp stands for empty train.

   It will be noted that for Jews there are three destinations in the
timetable: Auschwitz, Treblinka, and Theresienstadt. Auschwitz was a
death camp near Katawice which received Jews from all parts of Europe.
It was also the final stop for non-Jewish transports (a Polish group
is included here), but non-Jews were employed there as slave labor in
industries and were not subject to gassing. Treblinka was a pure
killing center northeast of Warsaw. Only Jews were sent to Treblinka,
and most of the victims came from nearby ghettos such as Warsaw and
Bialystok. Theresienstadt was the "Old People's Ghetto" mentioned in
the Final Solution conference of January 20, 1942.
  There are very few railway documents in the archives or institutes,
and the copy below comes from the Reich Traffic Directorate in Minsk
which noted on it in ink: "We are not involved." Soviet authorities
found the document and transmitted a copy, with several other finds
from Minsk station, to West Germany.

[Institute für Zeitgeschicte, Munich, document Fb 85/2.]

German Reich Railways			Berlin, Jan 13, 1943
General Management Directorate East
PW 113 Bfsv
		Telegraph Letter!

To
Reich Railway Directories
Berlin, Breslau, Dresden, Erfurt, Frankfurt, Halle (S), Karlsruhe, 
Königsberg (Pr), Linz, Mainz, Oppeln, East in Frankfurt (O),
Posen, Vienna,
General Directorate of East Railway in Krakow,
Reichsprotektor, Group Railways in Prague
General Traffic Directorate Warsaw,
Reich Traffic Directorate in Minsk
copies to
Gerneral Management/Directorate South, Munich
General Management/Directorate West, Essen
-- Special, 3 copies each --
Subject: Special trains for resettlers during the period from January
20 to February 28, 1943

We enclose a compilation of the special trains (Vd, Rm, Po, Pj, and
Da) agreed upon in Berlin on January 15, 1943 for the period from
January 20, 1943 to February 28, 1943 and circulatory plan for cars to
be used on these trains.
   Train formation is noted for each recirculation and *attention is
to be paid* to these instructions. After each full trip, cars are to
be well cleaned, if need be fumigated, and upon completion of the
program prepared for futher use. Number and kinds of cars are to be
determined upon dispatch of the last train and are to be reported to
me by telephone with confirmation on service cards.

					Signed Dr. Jacobi

[in handwriting]
33 Bfp 5 Bfsv		Minsk Feb 9, 1943
1) We are not involved
2) (illegible) Bfsv

		General Management Directorate East -- Berlin
		PW 113 Bfsv of
		Jan 16, 1943

*Compilation*
of special trains agreed upon in Berlin, January 15, 1943 for Vd, Rm,
Po, Pj, Da resettlers in the period from January 20, 1943 to February
18, 1943, arranged according to departure date.

1	2	3		4	   5		6     7
Date	Train 
        Number  From		Departs	   To         Arrives Circulation No.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
20.1	Vd 201	Kalisch          8.22	Ottersweier           106
	Da 101	Theresienstadt 		Auschwitz             128
21.1	Lp 102	Auschwitz	        Theresienstadt        128
22.1	Lp 202	Ottersweier		Andrzejow             106
23.1	Da 103	Theresienstadt		Auschwitz             128
24.1	Lp 104	Auschwitz	        Theresienstadt        128
25.1	Vd 203	Andrzejow		Linz                  106
	Rm 1	Gleiwitz		Czernowitz            107
	Po 61	Zamoocz		 8.20	Berlin Whagan  17.30  126
26.1	Da 105	Theresienstadt		Auschwitz             128
27.1	Lp 204	Linz			Kalisch               106
	Lp 106	Auschwitz		Theresienstadt        128
28.1	Lp 2	Czernowitz		Gleiwitz              107
29.1	Da  13	Berlin Mob	17.20	Auschwitz      10.48  126
	Po  63	Zamocz		 8.20	Berlin Whagen  17.30  127
	Da 107	Theresienstadt	        Auschwitz             128
30.1	Vd 205	Kalisch		 8.22	Ottersweier           106	
	Lp 108	Auschwitz		Theresienstadt        128
31.1 	Lp  14	Auschwitz		Zamocz                126
 1.2	Rm   3	Gleiwitz		Czernowitz            107
	Da 109	Theresienstadt		Auschwitz             128
 2.2	Da  15	Berlin Mob	17.20	Auschwitz      10.48  127
	Lp 110	Auschwitz		Myslowitz             128
 3.2	Po  65	Zamocz		11.00	Auschwitz             126
 4.2 	Lp   4	Czernowitz		Ratibor               107
 	Lp  16	Auschwitz		Litzmannstadt[Lodz]   127
	Lp  66	Auschwitz		Myslowitz             126
 5.2	Pj 107	Bialystok	9.00	Auschwitz      7.57   121
 6.2	Pj 109	Bialystok	9.00	Auschwitz      7.57   122
 7.2	Pj 111	Bialystok	9.00	Auschwitz      7.57   123
	Lp 108	Auschwitz		Bialystok             121
 8.2	Rm  5	Ratibor			Czernowitz            107
	Lp 110	Auschwitz		Bialystok             121
	Lp 112	Auschwitz		Myslowitz             123
9.2	Pj 127	Bialystok	9.00	Treblinka      12.10  121
	Lp 128	Treblinka	21.18	Bialystok      1.30   121
10.2	Pj 129	Bialystok	9.00	Treblinka      12.10  122
	Lp 130	Treblinka	21.18	Bialystok      1.30   122
11.2	Pj 131	Bialystok	9.00	Treblinka      12.10  121
	Lp  6	Czernowitz		Gleiwitz              107
	Lp 132	Treblinka	21.18	Bialystok      1.30   121
12.2	Pj 133	Bialystok	9.00	Treblinka      12.10  122
	Lp 134	Treblinka	21.18	Grodno                122
13.2	Pj 135	Bialystok	9.00	Treblinka 12.10	      121
	Lp 136	Treblinka	21.18	Bialystok 1.30	      121
14.2	Pj 163	Grodno		5.40	Treblinka 12.10	      122
	Lp 164	Treblinka		Scharfenwiese         122
15.2	Rm   7	Gleiwitz		Czernowitz 16.2 17.2  107
18.2	Lp   8	Czernowitz		Gleiwitz              107

Home ·  Site Map ·  What's New? ·  Search Nizkor