From German Federal Archives, Koblenz, Document Folder R 2/14133:
---

Ministry for Transport			17 TPA Or 29
signed: Dr. Rau
to High Command of the Army
March 1, 1944

   In the spring of 1943 several trains with Jews from Greece were 
transported to Auschwitz [penciled in margin: Auschwitz?]. The special 
trains were ordered by the branch office of the Security Police and 
Security Service in Salonika. According to a statement made at the time 
on the telephone by the Reichsfürer-SS and Chief of the German Police
-- Commando Security Police (Superior Government Councillor Huntsche
[Hunsche]), the costs were to be borne from confiscated Jewish property 
which was at the disposal of the Military Commander -- Aegean Area 
(Military Administration) in Salonika. The fare owed to the Greek State 
Railways as dispatcher of the trains, for the benefit of all 
participating railways is 1,938,488 Reichmark.

   Repeated attempts were made to collect this amount from the 
above-mentioned office [the Military Commander], unfortunately 
without result so far. Now, on Feb. 1, '44 [the Army's] Field Railway 
Command 6, which has been primarily occupied with this situation, 
informed Reich Railway Directorate Dresden -- which I deputized to 
carry out the negotiations--as follows:

   "The Economic Attaché at the German Legation [in Athens], Mr. Höfinghoff, 
reported personally that payment of the transport costs of the Jewish special 
trains could not be made out of German-Greek clearing funds because there 
were no credits in this account. For the payment of ca. 1.9 million 
Reichmark one would first have to obtain authorization from the Reich 
Finance Ministry. The Special Plenipotentiary of the Reich [in Greece] 
refused to request this authorization and indicated that the transport 
cost should be raised at the Reich Finance Ministry [directly]." This 
suggestion obviously ignored the position of the Reichsführer-SS 
[Himmler] that the transport costs must be met from confiscated Jewish 
property.

   I ask that this matter be cleared up with the Reichsführer-SS and 
Chief of the German Police/Command Security Police and possibly with 
the Reich Economy Minister and that care be taken to assure 
transmittal of the transport costs to the Directorate of the Greek 
State Railways. Kindly inform me about the progress of negotiations.
---

From Documents of Destruction: Germany and Jewry 1933-1945, 
edited with commentary by Raul Hilberg, Quadrangle Books, Chicago, 1971.

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