• Search

  • Menu

  • Shop

  • Languages

  • Accessibility
Visiting Info
Opening Hours:

Sunday to Thursday: ‬09:00-17:00

Fridays and Holiday eves: ‬09:00-14:00

Yad Vashem is closed on Saturdays and all Jewish Holidays.

Entrance to the Holocaust History Museum is not permitted for children under the age of 10. Babies in strollers or carriers will not be permitted to enter.

Drive to Yad Vashem:
Navigate to Yad Vashem with waze
Navigate to Yad Vashem with Google
For more Visiting Information
  1. Home
  2. Articles
  3. Academic Articles
  4. Poverty and Persecution: The Reichsvereinigung, the Jewish Population, and Anti-Jewish Policy in the Nazi State, 1939-1945

Poverty and Persecution: The Reichsvereinigung, the Jewish Population, and Anti-Jewish Policy in the Nazi State, 1939-1945

Wolf Gruner

  1. Letter to Dr. Schäffer, July 24, 1942, reprinted in Leo Baeck Institute Year Book [LBIYB], 2 (1957), p. 312.
  2. Cf. the more recent description of the fate of specific individuals up to 1933, and particularly in the subsequent period, by Stefanie Schüler-Springorum, "Elend und Furcht im Dritten Reich. Aus den Akten der Sammelvormundschaft der Jüdischen Gemeinde Berlin," Zeitschrift für Geschichtswissenschaft,45 (1997), pp. 617-641, translated in this volume as "Fear and Misery in the Third Reich." On the general process of pauperization after 1933, see Shalom Adler-Rudel, Jüdische Selbsthilfe unter dem Naziregime 1933-1939 (Tübingen: Verlag Mohr, 1974); Avraham Barkai, From Boycott to Annihilation. The Economic Struggle of German Jews 1933-1943 (Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1989; German original, Vom Boykott zur "Entjudung" [Frankfurt am Main: Fischer, 1988]).
  3. Avraham Barkai, "Der wirtschaftliche Existenzkampf der Juden im Dritten Reich 1933-1938," in Arnold Paucker, ed., Die Juden im Nationalsozialistischen Deutschland. The Jews in Nazi Germany 1933-1943 (Tübingen: Verlag Mohr, 1986), p. 156. See Clemens Vollnhals, "Jüdische Selbsthilfe bis 1938," in Wolfgang Benz, ed., Die Juden in Deutschland 1933-1945. Leben unter nationalsozialistischer Herrschaft (Munich: C.H. Beck, 1988), pp. 314-412, here p. 374.
  4. Wolf Gruner, "Die öffentliche Fürsorge und die deutschen Juden 1933-1942. Zur antijüdischen Politik der Städte, des Deutschen Gemeindetages und des Reichsministeriums," Zeitschrift für Geschichtswissenschaft, 45 (1997), pp. 599-606.
  5. Wolf Gruner, Judenverfolgung in Berlin 1933-1945. Eine Chronologie der Behördenmassnahmen in der Reichshauptstadt (Berlin: Edition Hentrich, 1996), pp. 17-33. See Michael Wildt, ed., Die Judenpolitik des SD 1935-1938. Eine Dokumentation (Munich: Verlag R. Oldenbourg, 1995), pp. 82-84, doc. no. 6: "Lagebericht Sicherheitsdienst der SS (SD) D II 112 vom 25.6.1936"; Reichsvertretung der Juden in Deutschland, Informationsblätter, 6 (1938), no. 1/2, p. 4.
  6. Funding from organizations such as the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee or the Central Jewish Fund accounted for more than half of the outlay for the Central Committee for Aid and Rehabilitation in the Reichsvertretung during the period 1933-1938; Vollnhals, "Jüdische Selbsthilfe," p. 317. For a thorough treatment of the Joint, see Yehuda Bauer, My Brother's Keeper. A History of the American Joint Jewish Distribution Committee 1929-1939 (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1974).
  7. See Gruner, "Die öffentliche Fürsorge," p. 598.
  8. The oft-cited figure of 16 percent of Jews employed in the labor market, based on the May 1939 census, does not refer to the number remaining of those formerly in gainful employment, but indicates the extent of new, supervised job categories. Along with the small number of "medical practitioners" and "legal consultants" (so-called Krankenbehandler and Konsulten, which were new Nazi terms for still-practicing physicians and lawyers), the figure included a few skilled manual workers, white-collar employees in Jewish institutions, and, in particular, conscripted laborers, whose ranks had swollen by then into the thousands; Wolf Gruner, Der Geschlossene Arbeitseinsatz deutscher Juden. Zur Zwangsarbeit als Element der Verfolgung 1938 bis 1943 (Berlin: Metropol, 1997), p. 92.
  9. If a person still had any assets, they were frozen in blocked accounts; "Arbeitsbericht der Reichsvertretung der Juden in Deutschland für das Jahr 1938" ["Arbeitsbericht Rvtr. 1938"], ms. (Berlin, 1939), Jerusalem, Leo Baeck Institute, pp. 15-16.
  10. For a more extensive, initial exploration of this concept of persecution, see Gruner, Der Geschlossene Arbeitseinsatz, pp. 58-62, 334-335.
  11. "Reichsvereinigung für die Betreuung jüdischer Auswanderer und fürsorgebedürftiger Juden"; see letter, "Werner Best (CdS) an Auswärtiges Amt," November 15, 1938, cited in Imtrud Wojak, Exil in Chile. Die deutschjüdische Emigration während des Nationalsozialismus 1933-1945 (Berlin: Metropol, 1994), p. 46.
  12. The holdings of the Federal Archives, formerly housed in different locations, have now been brought together and are mostly deposited in Berlin. "Vermerk über die Besprechung betr. Neuerteilung des Schulunterrichts an Juden am 1.12.1938" (n.d.), Federal Archives Berlin (Bundesarchiv; BA), 49.01 RMWiss, No. 11787, fols. 100-103; see also "Anwesenheitsliste und Niederschrift ü. die Besprechung betr. Neuerteilung des Schulunterrichts an Juden am 1.12.," December 1, 1938, ibid., fols. 106-109RS.
  13. On February 2, 1939, the welfare department of the newly created compulsory organization issued its first circular: "Die Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland ist nunmehr als Gesamtorganisation aller Juden im Deutschen Reich - mit Ausnahme der Ostmark - geschaffen worden"; Otto Dov Kulka, ed., Deutsches Judentum unter dem Nationalsozialismus. Vol. 1: Dokumente zur Geschichte der Reichsvertretung der deutschen Juden 1933- 1939 (Tübingen: : Mohr-Siebeck, 1997), pp. 447-448. On February 17, 1939, the "Jewish public" was also informed of its establishment; Jüdisches Nachrichtenblatt (February 17, 1939), p. 1. See Kulka, Deutsches Judentum, pp. 448-449.
  14. On the history of the Reichsvertretung, see Kulka, Deutsches Judentum.
  15. Of for this opinion Esriel Hildesheimer, Die Jüdische Selbstverwaltung unter dem NS-Regime. Der Existenzkampf der Reichsvertretung und Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland (Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr, 1994); Kulka, Deutsches Judentum, especially pp. 27-31, 441-446. See also HansErich Fabian, "Zur Entstehung der 'Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland'," in Herbert A. Strauss and Kurt R. Grossmann, eds., Gegenwart und Rückblick. Festgabe für die Jüdische Gemeinde zu Berlin 25 Jahre nach dem Neubeginn (Berlin: Lothar Stiem Verlag, 1970), pp. 165-179, and especially p. 170.
  16. Cf. the relevant documents in Kulka, Deutsches Judentum, pp. 410-430.
  17. "Chef der Sipo und des SD (Müller)-Runderlass," February 5, 1939, Yad Vashem Archives (YVA), 051/OSOBI, no. 8 (500-2-87), fols. 1-2; see Kurt Pätzold, ed., Verfolgung, Vertreibung, Vernichtung. Dokumente des faschistischen Antisemitismus 1933-1942 (Leipzig: Reclam, 1983), pp. 222- 223, "Runderlass der Stapoleitstelle Düsseldorf," February 20, 1939, doc. no. 186.
  18. "Schreiben Stuckarts (RMdI)," March 7, 1939, BA, R 18 RMdI, no. 5519, fol. 378. A draft of that same date was virtually identical with the later decree regarding the Reich Citizenship Law; see Kulka, Deutsches Judentum, p. 442, n. 5.
  19. Reichsgesetzblatt (1939) I, p. 1097.
  20. Publication of the decree and bylaws in Jüdisches Nachrichtenblatt (July 11, 1939), pp. 1-2.
  21. "Bericht der Dt. Treuhand- und Revisionsanstalt (Stand vom 30.6.1940)," BA, 80 Re 1, no. 5019, fol. 7." I am grateful to Thomas Jersch (Berlin) for calling this document to my attention.
  22. "Satzungsentwurf des Reichsverbandes von 1938," in Kulka, Deutsches Judentum, pp. 418-424. "Satzung der Reichsvereinigung" in Jüdisches Nachrichtenblatt (July 11, 1939), pp. 1-2. Cf. in part similar arguments on discontinuity put forward earlier by Günter Plum, "Deutsche Juden oder Juden in Deutschland?," in Benz, ed., Die Juden in Deutschland, pp. 70-72.
  23. Jüdisches Nachrichtenblatt (July 21, 1939). Only after Cohn had joined the executive board "via a by-election with approval by the control agency" subsequent to Heinrich Stahl's resignation in February 1940, was the area of welfare now represented in persona, even though Cohn was nominally in charge of the department that dealt with preparations for emigration; "Bericht der Dt. Treuhand- und Revisionsanstalt (Stand vom 30.6.1940)," BA, 80 Re 1, no. 5019, fols. 6-7; likewise, ibid., "Vermerk über RV-Vorstandsitzung," February 19, 1940, 75 C Re 1, no. 1, fol. 190.
  24. On Württemberg, see Paul Sauer (comp.), Dokumente über die Verfolgung der jüdischen Bürger in Baden-Württemberg durch das nationalsozialistische Regime 1933-1943, II (Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1966), pp. 134-138, doc. nos. 375-377; on the Palatinate, see Kurt Düwell, Die Rheingebiete in der Judenpolitik des Nationalsozialismus vor 1942 (Bonn: Ludwig Röhrscheid Verlag, 1968), p. 155; on Darmstadt, see "Jüdische Notstandsküche an IKG Darmstadt," May 15, 1939, Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People (CAHJP) Jerusalem, Darmstadt III, no. 145, no fol.; on Frankfurt am Main, see Kommission zur Erforschung der Geschichte der Frankfurter Juden, ed., Dokumente zur Geschichte der Frankfurter Juden (Frankfurt am Main: Verlag Waldemar Kramer, 1963), VI 43-VI 45, pp. 319-323; on Göttingen, see "Notizen," December 7, 1938 and February 16, 1939, Municipal Archives Göttingen, Sozialamt, Acc. No. 407/77, no. 47/1, no fol.
  25. In Hamburg, the Gestapo dissolved the Council of Representatives, abrogated the community constitution and appointed Dr. Max Plaut as director of a newly created Jewish Religious Association (Jüdischer Religionsverband) and head of all Jewish organizations in Hamburg; see "Bericht über Arbeit der Religionsgemeinde Ende 1938 bis Ende 1940" (c. May 1940), State Archives Hamburg, 522-1 Jüdische Gemeinden, no. 991 a, fol. 33.
  26. In 1939, he acted initially on instructions from the municipality, from 1940 on as ordered by the Gestapo; see Lutz Becht, "Der Beauftragte der Geheimen Staatspolizei bei der jüdischen Wohlfahrtspflege in Frankfurt am Main," in Frankfurt am Main, Lindenstrasse. Gestapozentrale und Widerstand (Frankfurt am Main: Campus-Verlag, 1996), pp. 87-99.
  27. "Dr. Conrad Cohn (RV) an IKG München," August 26, 1940, BA, 75 c RE 1, no. 761, fol. 94.
  28. Reichsgesetzblatt (1938) I, p. 1649.
  29. Gruner, "Die öffentliche Fürsorge," pp. 606-610. Cf. "Arbeitsbericht Rvtr. 1938," p. 16.
  30. Privileged groups, such as small pensioners, disabled veterans or war widows, and war orphans, no longer received any special benefits. Only severely disabled Jewish veterans were left in a somewhat better position; "Arbeitsbericht Rvtr. 1938," p. 17. On the whole, there were diverse welfare practices in different cities; Munich, for example, introduced a reduced "payment schedule for Jews" (Judenrichtsatz); Gruner, "Die öffentliche Fürsorge," p. 609.
  31. Wolf Gruner, "Die Berichte über die Jüdische Winterhilfe von 1938/39 bis 1941/42. Dokumente jüdischer Sozialarbeit zwischen Selbstbehauptung und Fremdbestimmung nach dem Novemberpogrom," Jahrbuch für Antisemitismusforschung 1 (1992), pp. 307-341. Cf. Adler-Rudel, Jüdische Selbsthilfe, pp. 164-165. Jewish communities such as Hamburg also utilized funds from the Winter Relief to ease their budgetary burden in providing for institutions and institutional homes; "Bericht über Arbeit der Religionsgemeinde 1938 bis 1940," (c. May 1941), Municipal Archives Hamburg, 522-1, no. 991 a, fol. 30.
  32. "Bericht der Abwicklungsstelle für Organisationen bei der Reichsvereinigung über die Entwicklung des Vereinswesens 1933-1941," November 7, 1941, BA, 75 C Re 1, no. 31, fol. 235.
  33. Ibid. In Frankfurt an der Oder, for example, there were forty-two associations in 1937; that number had plummeted to just eighteen by the end of 1938; "SD-OA Ost Bericht," January 13, 1939, YVA, 051/OSOBI, no. 47, no fol.
  34. Some of the central institutions were formally incorporated in October 1939 into the RV; among the social institutions were the Jewish Employment Aid Office (Jüdische Arbeitshilfe) and the National Committee of Jewish Youth Associations. This was also the case with the remaining professional associations and political organizations, most of which had been forced to shut down their operations in November 1938; "Bericht der Abwicklungsstelle für Organisationen bei der Reichsvereinigung," November 7, 1941, BA 75 C Re 1, no. 31, fols. 235-237.
  35. As a leading welfare organization, the Central Welfare Agency for German Jews had belonged, since 1924, to the German League of Independent Welfare Services. On its history until 1933, see Giora Lotan, "The Zentralwohlfahrtsstelle," LBIYB 4 (1959), pp. 185-207. After 1933 it lost its top-level status and had to withdraw from the League, which a short time later was restructured as the Reich Association of Independent Welfare Services (Reichsgemeinschaft der freien Wohlfahrtspflege); on this, see Christoph Sachsse and Florian Tennstedt, Der Wohlfahrtsstaat im Nationalsozialismus. Geschichte der Armenfürsorge in Deutschland, vol. 3 (Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1992), pp. 132-136.
  36. "Anordnung des Stellvertreter des Führers Nr. 1/39," January 17, 1939, Der Prozess gegen die Hauptkriegsverbrecher vor dem Internationalen Militärgerichtshof [IMT], vol. XXV (Nuremberg, 1948), pp. 131-132. Cf. Sauer, Dokumente über die Verfolgung, II, no. 339, pp. 83-84. See also the decree on the deployment of Jewish assets, Jüdisches Nachrichtenblatt, no. 16 (February 24, 1939).
  37. "Israelitischer Wohltätigkeitsverein an Stapoleitstelle Leipzig," March 15, 1939, State Archives Leipzig, Poliziepräsidium Leipzig-V, no. 4442, fol. 6.
  38. The social-welfare office in Hamburg had reserved for itself the right to oversee payments. Officials in the Jewish community anticipated that welfare expenditures would rise from RM 643,000 in 1938 to almost RM 1.5 million in 1940. This also meant that there was no longer a positive balance between outlay and revenue as in times past, and the budget was now overdrawn. An initial deficit of RM 500,000 for 1939 doubled the following year, due in the main precisely to the spurt in welfare costs; "Sitzung des Vorstandes am 23.10.1939," State Archives Hamburg, 522-1, no. 985 c, fol. 1; "Sitzung Ende November 1939," ibid., fol. 4; see also "Bericht über Arbeit der Religionsgemeinde Ende 1938 bis Ende 1940" (c. May 1941), ibid., no. 991 a, fols. 10-12.
  39. From November 1, 1939, the RV had to take over all costs for institutional welfare; Gruner, “Die öffentliche Fürsorge”, p. 610. For the RV this meant that instead of participating with a partial payment of RM 15 per individual, it had to assume the full expenses (RM 90 per person) for some 1,000 mentally ill in public nursing homes; see "Arbeitsbericht der Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland für das Jahr 1939" ["Arbeitsbericht RV 1939"], ms. (Berlin, 1940), p. 38.
  40. "Arbeitsbericht RV 1939," p. 32.
  41. Funding for Germany just from the Joint jumped from $686,000 in 1938 to $978,102 in 1939; see Bauer, My Brother's Keeper, p. 258.
  42. The so-called Auswandererabgabe; "Arbeitsbericht RV 1939," p. 8.
  43. Revenue from this "tax" was initially utilized to cover the budget deficit in Hamburg and, after March 1939, was passed on to the RV; "Bericht über Arbeit der Religionsgemeinde Ende 1938 bis Ende 1940" (c. May 1941), State Archives Hamburg, 522-1, no. 991 a, fols. 38-39.
  44. The welfare department of the RV had to caution people to adhere to the guidelines; "Rundschreiben Nr. 1017," December 14, 1939, CAHJP Jerusalem, JCR/S no. 7, fol. 199; see "Dr. Conrad Cohn (RV) an IKG München (Dr. Neumeyer)," August 26, 1940, BA, 75 C Re 1, no. 761, fol. 94. 46 "Arbeitsbericht RV 1939," p. 35.
  45. "Arbeitsbericht RV 1939," p. 35.
  46. See the call issued by the RV district office in Baden at the beginning of 1939 to hand in all "dispensable articles," such as shoes and underwear, for the clothing distribution shops. The synagogue councils were now organizing collections four times a year; see Josef Werner, Hakenkreuz und Judenstern. Das Schicksal der Karlsruher Juden im Dritten Reich, 2nd rev. ed. (Karlsruhe: Badenia, 1990), p. 296.
  47. "Bericht über Arbeit der Religionsgemeinde 1938 bis 1940," (c. May 1941), State Archives Hamburg, 522-1, no. 991 a, fol. 35.
  48. Gruner, "Die Berichte über die Jüdische Winterhilfe," p. 313.
  49. "Notiz für Dr. Eppstein," July 7, 1939, BA, 75 C Re 1, no. 1, fol. 96.
  50. At the end of 1938, there were sixty-seven homes; this had risen to ninety by the end of 1939, and to 122 with 7,000 places in 1940; Adler-Rudel, Jüdische Selbsthilfe, p. 170; "RV-Statistik über Zahl der Heime 1940," BA 75 C Re 1, no. 1, fol. 175.
  51. Robert Prochnik, "Bericht über die organisatorischen und sonstigen Verhältnisse der jüdischen Bevölkerung in Berlin und unter Berücksichtigung des gesamten Altreichs, Stand 31.7.1941," ms. (Vienna, 1941), pp. 23-27.
  52. Adler-Rudel, Jüdische Selbsthilfe, p. 171.
  53. "Arbeitsbericht RV 1939," p. 38.
  54. Between January and September 1939, there was a huge wave of some 62,000 emigrants, many of whom received aid from Jewish relief agencies. Of the approximately 5,000 who emigrated from the outbreak of the war to the end of 1939, some two-thirds received funds from the RV; see "Arbeitsbericht RV 1939," pp. 12-14.
  55. Ibid., p. 29. These expenses had been divided between the communities and the RV. After the small communities were disbanded, the RV took on the total burden. In July 1939, there were a total of 3,425 training places (1,500 in the skilled manual trades; 1,555 in agriculture); see Adler-Rudel, Jüdische Selbsthilfe, p. 157 and appendix, p. 204.
  56. On this entire complex, see Gruner, Der Geschlossene Arbeitseinsatz, pp. 55-119.
  57. Cited in ibid., pp. 118-119; see Adler-Rudel, Jüdische Selbsthilfe, pp. 160- 161.
  58. See "Entwurf Eingabe RV (Dr. Arthur Lilienthal/Berthold Auerbach) an Reichsarbeitsministerium," July 17, 1939, BA, 75 C Re 1, no. 1, fols. 90-106. In Leipzig, a shelter for the homeless was set up in a former private synagogue, see Leipziger Neueste Nachrichten (October 31, 1939). On Munich, see “ IKG München an OB/Gewerbeamt," April 21, 1939, YVA, M1DN, no. 114, fols. 159-161.
  59. On aid for forced laborers, see Gruner, Der Geschlossene Arbeitseinsatz, pp. 118, 132. In Bavaria, the RV welfare department, working together with the section for schools in the RV district office saw to it that Jewish children also received vitamin tablet supplements, as was common practice in the public schools; "RV/Bezirksstelle Bayern an IKG Aschaffenburg," December 31, 1940, CAHJP Jerusalem, Inv. No. 346, no fol.
  60. In order to make sure there was enough food, the standard generic brand of margarine was declared kosher parve, even though it contained animal fat. Since kosher meat was no longer available, other permitted types of meat were used in the canteens and prepared in strict accordance with religious dietary laws; "Sitzung des Vorstandes Ende November 1939," State Archives Hamburg, 522-1, no. 985 c, fol. 4; "Sitzung des Vorstandes November 1940," ibid., fol. 22.
  61. For example, the RV provided aid for deportees from Schneidemühl, those who remained behind, and a certain number who later returned destitute from Poland to Germany; "RV-Schreiben an Hauptamt Sipo, Anlage," April 9, 1940, BA 75 C Re 1, no. 483, fols. 214-215; "Rücksprache im Gestapa am 1.4.1940," ibid., fols. 218-220.
  62. "RV-Haushaltsplan für das 1. Halbjahr 1940," BA 75 C Re 1, no. 1, fols. 40- 58.
  63. The second largest item in the budget was preparation for emigration, RM 4.2 million, though it also contained hidden welfare expenditures; third largest was vocational training, amounting to RM 1.9 million. "Bericht der Dt. Treuhand- und Revisionsanstalt (Stand vom 30.6.1940)," BA, 80 Re 1, no. 5019, fols. 10-13; see also "RV-Haushaltsplan für das 1. Halbjahr 1940," BA, 75 C Re 1, no. 1, fols. 40-58; "RV-Voranschlag für das 2. Halbjahr 1940," BA, fol. 146.
  64. "Anlage Organisation der RV (Stand vom 30.6.1940)," BA, 80 Re 1, no. 5019, fol. 30.
  65. "RV-Voronschlag für das 2. Halbjahr 1940," BA, 75 C Re 1, no. 1, fol. 146.
  66. Gruner, Der Geschlossene Arbeitseinsatz, pp. 133-150.
  67. "Rundschreiben der RV-BSt. Baden vom 1.7.1940." CAHJP Jerusalem, JCR/S 7, no fol.
  68. Thus, they tried concomitantly to integrate unemployed Jews into certain aid agencies or training programs, see Gruner, Der Geschlossene Arbeitseinsatz, p. 119.
  69. "Bericht der Dt. Treuhand- und Revisionsanstalt (Stand vom 30.6.1940)," BA, 80 Re 1, no. 5019, fols. 10-13.
  70. "RV - Voranschlag RV für das 2. Halbjahr 1940," BA, 75 C Re 1, no. 1, fols. 140-153.
  71. "Vorladung ins Gestapa am 25.6.1940," BA, 75 C Re 1, no. 45, fol. 178.
  72. Gruner, Der Geschlossene Arbeitseinsatz, pp. 161-178.
  73. "Anhang zu Voranschlag für RV-Etat des 1. Halbjahres 1941," BA, 75 C Re 1, no. 64, fol. 9. More than 2,800 Jews who had been on the welfare rolls of the Berlin State Welfare Office until the end of 1940 lost their claim to benefits; Wolf Gruner, "Die Reichshauptstadt und die Verfolgung der Berliner Juden 1933-1945," in Reinhard Rürup, ed., Jüdische Geschichte in Berlin. Essays und Studien (Berlin: Hentrich, 1995), pp. 229-266, here p. 245.
  74. "Vorstandssitzung des Jüd. Religionsverbandes," December 15, 1940, State Archives Hamburg, 522-1, no. 985 c, fol. 26.
  75. "Voranschlag für RV-Etat des 1. Halbjahres 1941," BA, 75 C Re 1, no. 64, fol. 63. The maximum daily maintenance allowance for persons in institutional homes was reduced to only RM 0.90, and residents had to take care of all housework. Laundry had to be done in the homes themselves, and vegetable gardens had to be planted on institution grounds. In addition, they wished to set maximum levels for the salaries of community and RV staff; "RV/Abt. Fürsorge-Rundschreiben," January 5,1941, BA, no. 484, fols. 154-156; "Vorstandssitzung des Jüdischen Religionsverbandes," December 15, 1940, State Archives Hamburg, 522-1, no. 985 c, fol. 27.
  76. "Protokoll der RV-Vorstandssitzung," December 20, 1940, BA, 75 C Re 1, no. 2, fol. 72; "Protokoll," January 6, 1941, ibid., fol. 69.
  77. Jewish disabled veterans received benefits in accordance with existing legislation just like their "Aryan" counterparts. This was standard procedure for war victims in Hildesheim, Braunschweig, and Bielefeld; by contrast, in towns such as Minden and Wolfenbüttel, in actual practice full maintenance was not provided; "RV/Abt. Fürsorge-Kriegsopfer an RV Berlin," August 25, 1941, ibid., no. 752, fol. 177+RS.
  78. The RSHA thwarted attempts in Aachen, Brandenburg, and Munich to set up special camps for the Jewish inhabitants; "Aktennotiz 30/41 ü. Vorladung ins RSHA," March 21, 1941, BA, 75 C Re 1, no. 45, fol. 13; "Aktennotiz 19/41 ü. Vorladung ins RSHA," March 8, 1941, ibid., fol. 47.
  79. Gruner, "Die öffentliche Fürsorge," pp. 610-613.
  80. Gruner, Der Geschlossene Arbeitseinsatz, pp. 121, 165-167.
  81. "Notiz Nr. 27 über Vorladung," March 17, 1941, BA, 75 C Re 1, no. 45, fol. 26.
  82. "RV-Organisationsplan (Stand vom 1.9.1941)," ibid., 75 C Re 1, no. 31, fol. 139. On the situation in 1940, see "Bericht der Dt. Treuhand- und Revisionsanstalt (Stand vom 30.6.1940)," ibid., 80 Re 1, no. 5019, fols. 7-9.
  83. Heavy cuts in numbers and personnel in the RV district offices were pushed through, which particularly affected emigration departments and their advisory positions; Prochnik, "Bericht," pp. 11-12.
  84. For budgetary reasons, schools had to merge or downsize their teaching staffs; "RV-Vorstandssitzung," February 17, 1941, BA, 75 C Re 1, no. 2, fol. 64; "Sitzung RV-Vorstand," February 23, 1941, ibid., fol. 62.
  85. Gruner, Der Geschlossene Arbeitseinsatz, p. 182.
  86. "Aktennotiz 7/41 ü. Vorladung im RSHA," February 20, 1941, BA, 75 C Re 1, no. 45, fol. 77+RS.
  87. If one adds the small number in independent professions or training schemes and the more than 6,000 working in RV administration, welfare and district offices, the estimated 59,000 fit and able to work were all employed; Gruner, Der Geschlossene Arbeitseinsatz, p. 280.
  88. Der Aufbau (August 1, 1941).
  89. Prochnik, "Bericht," pp. 1-4.
  90. "Rundschreiben," February 27, 1941, BA, 75 C Re 1, no. 4, fols. 14-15. The welfare department was forced to reduce the daily amount for maintenance in institutional homes, slashing it to RM 0.75 per person; "RVVorstandssitzung," February 17, 1941, BA, 75 Re 1, no. 2, fol. 64; "RVVorstandssitzung," February 23, 1941, ibid., fol. 62.
  91. Prochnik, "Bericht," pp. 23-27.
  92. Gruner, Der Geschlossene Arbeitseinsatz, pp. 249-262.
  93. Prochnik, "Bericht," pp. 1-4.
  94. Twenty percent went for non-institutional welfare (cash benefits, foster homes, on-institutional medical care). Forty-five percent was allocated forinstitutional welfare (benefits for wards/foster children, residents in RVoperated and other homes for the elderly, nursing homes for the infirm, youth homes, other types of residential institutions or hospitals) and 5 percent for meals for the needy; Prochnik, "Bericht," pp. 12-14.
  95. Ibid., pp. 15-17.
  96. "Brief von Selma Ebert an die RV-Bezirksstelle Brandenburg-Ostpreussen, eingeg. am 14.9.1941," BA, 75 C Re 1, no. 739, fol. 15. On living conditions, see ibid., fols. 54, 130, 154; "Notizen," March 27 and February 14, 1939, June 14, 1940.
  97. "Notiz über Vorsprache Löwenherz bei Brunner," October 2, 1941, cited in Hans Safrian, Die Eichmann-Männer (Vienna and Zurich 1993), p. 120. The Jewish Community in Berlin was informed on October 1 about the "partial evacuation"; "Bericht Hildegard Henschel," p. 3, YVA, 01/51, no fol.
  98. Especially as a consequence of the transports, the clothing distribution shops were under a heavy strain. In October, 840 persons had to be given clothing, as opposed to a previous monthly average of 300; "Bericht über Arbeit der Religionsgemeinde im Jahr 1941," State Archives Hamburg, 522-1, no. 991 a, fol. 48.
  99. Ibid., fol. 42. See also Schüler-Springorum, "Fear and Misery," in this volume.
  100. "Bericht über Arbeit der Religionsgemeinde im Jahr 1941," Municipal Archives Hamburg, 522-1, no. 991 a, fols. 42-43.
  101. Reichsministerialblatt der Inneren Verwaltung (1941), p. 1951; see "Vermerk der RV/Abt. Fürsorge vom 19.8.1942 als Anlage für das RSHA vom 20.8.1942," BA, 75 C Re 1, no. 759, fol. 1.
  102. The Jewish Community in Berlin was permitted to provide the needy with only RM 24 a month per person instead of RM 30, which was the amount at the time deemed the necessary minimum for survival; "Tabelle mit Richtsätzen der RV-Bezirksstellen, Anlage zum Vermerk vom 19.8.1942," BA, 75 C Re 1, no. 759, fol. 2; Prochnik, "Bericht," p. 23.
  103. Margarete S., a forced laborer at Siemens, was moonlighting at her old profession as a seamstress; see transcription of interview with Margarete S., Berlin, March 25, 1990, p. 9.
  104. Schüler-Springorum, "Fear and Misery".
  105. In Breslau, there were almost 2,000 persons, in Berlin 5,000. In 1940-1941, the total figure amounted to 37,000 of 170,000 Jews, slightly over 21 percent; "Bericht der RV/Abt. Fürsorge über die JWH 1941/42"; Gruner, "Die Berichte über die Jüdische Winterhilfe" p. 341, doc. no. 4.
  106. "Runderlass RSHA (IV B 4), “April 2, 1942, Wiener Library, doc. no. 605, no. fol. My thanks once again to Thomas Jersch for pointing out this reference.
  107. "Notiz über Vorsprache im RSHA," May 29/30, 1942, cited in Hans Safrian, Die Eichmann-Männer, p. 175.
  108. "Rundschreiben RV-Bezirksstelle Rheinland," June 17, 1942, CAHJP Jerusalem, HM-No. 4718.
  109. Jüdisches Nachrichtenblatt (June 19, 1942).
  110. "Notiz Henschel (RV) ü. Rücksprache bei Gestapo Berlin," September 28, 1942, BA, 75 C Re 1, film 52407-23, fol. 83. Cf. "Notiz Henschel über Vorsprache bei Gestapo Berlin," September 4, 1942, Leo Baeck Institute Archives New York, Max Kreuzberger Research Papers, Ar 7183, Box 2, Folder 2.
  111. "Aufstellung der RV/Abt. Fürsorge vom 4.9.1942," BA, 75 C Re 1, no. 759, fol. 3.
  112. "RV-September-Statistik," YVA, 08/no. 14, no fol.
  113. "Vermerk Leo Schindler," August 12, 1943, BA, 75 C Re 1, no. 9, fol. 780.
  114. "RV-Organisationsplan vom 1.7.1943," ibid., no. 10, fol. 7.
  115. This refers to the so-called Vertrauensmänner. "Rundschreiben Nr. 1," July 9, 1943, BA, 75 C Re 1, no. 23, fol. 14. More generally, cf. Barkai, From Boycott to Annihilation, pp. 184-185; see also Wolfgang Benz, "Überleben im Untergrund," in Benz, ed., Die Juden in Deutschland, pp. 690-700.
  116. Gruner, Der geschlossene Arbeitseinsatz, pp. 322-330.
  117. See "Notiz Kleemann," October 15, 1943, and "Bericht Neumann für Lustig," October 8, 1943, BA, 75 C Re 1, no. 61, fols. 45, 48.
  118. In Nazi "racial biology," the category Geltungsjude comprised persons with two Jewish grandparents who were nonetheless "considered in legal terms" as full Jews (Volljuden) —and not as so-called first-degree Mischlinge — because at the time the Nuremberg Laws were promulgated they had belonged to the Jewish religious community or were married to a Jew; see Horst Seidler and Andreas Rett, Das Reichssippenamt entscheidet. Rassenbiologie und Nationalsozialismus (Vienna and Munich 1982), pp. 114- 115.
Yad Vashem Holocaust History Museum

Worldwide antisemitism is on the rise.


At Yad Vashem, we strive to make the world a better place by combating antisemitism through teacher training, international lectures and workshops and online courses.

We need you to partner with us in this vital mission to #EducateAgainstHate

DONATE NOW