Discussion Of The Compulsory Evacuation of Jews
From The Wartheland to the Generalgouvernement

(January 30, 1940)

1. SS Gruppenfuehrer Heydrich stated that today's meeting was called on the instructions of the Reichsfuehrer SS for the purpose of achieving a uniform policy in the offices involved in carrying out the tasks of resettlement ordered by the Fuehrer. The evacuations carried out up to now have consisted of approximately 87,000 Poles and Jews from the Warthegau in order to make room for the Baltic Germans* who are to be settled there. In addition there has been a spontaneous, so-called illegal, emigration.

Following statements by Reich Minister SS Gruppenfuehrer Seyss-Inquart and SS Obergruppenfuehrer Kruger, SS Gruppenfuehrer Heydrich noted that no objections in principle were raised against the evacuation in the direction of the Generalgouvernement by the competent authorities of the Generalgouvernement. The objections raised up to now had only been directed against the fact that in the earlier evacuations the figures originally set had been exceeded, and not kept to. The creation of Section IV D 4 for the central regulation of all evacuation measures will eliminate the objections that were raised.

It is of prime importance to move out 40,000 Jews and Poles from the Warthegau into the Generalgouvernement to free space for Baltic Germans. The policy for the selection is the Order of the Reichsfuehrer SS, according to which, among other points, no persons of German origin are to be moved, regardless of their record....

3. After the two mass evacuations:

a) of 40,000 Poles and Jews in the interests of the Baltic Germans and

b) of about 120,000 Poles in the interests of the Germans from Volhynia, there is now to be a final mass movement to shift all Jews from the new Ostgau ** (Eastland) and 30,000 Gypsies from the area of the Reich into the Generalgouvernement. As it has been decided that the removal of 120,000 Poles is to begin about March 1940, the evacuation of Jews and Gypsies will have to be postponed until after the completion of Aktionen referred to above. In any case the Generalgouvernement is to supply information on the system of distribution [of the evacuees] in order that planning can begin.

SS Obergruppenfuehrer Krueger stated that fairly considerable training areas would have to be prepared in the Generalgouvernement for the Wehrmacht, Luftwaffe and SS, which would necessitate the relocation of about 100,000-120,000 persons within the Generalgouvernement itself. It was therefore desirable to take this fact into account in the evacuations in the direction of the Generalgouvernement in order to avoid double resettlement. SS Gruppenfuehrer Heydrich observed in this connection that the building of the [defensive] ramparts and other plans in the East would probably occasion the concentration of several 100,000 Jews in forced-labor camps. Their families would be distributed among Jewish families already living in the Generalgouvernement, which would solve the problem referred to....

In the middle of February 1940, he observed, 1,000 Jews from Stettin, whose apartments were urgently needed for purposes of the war economy, would also be evacuated to the Generalgouvernement.

SS Gruppenfuehrer Seyss-Inquart recapitulated the number of persons that would have to be absorbed by the Generalgouvernement in the immediate future, as follows:

40,000 Jews and Poles,

120,000 Poles and also all the Jews from the new Ostgau and 30,000 Gypsies from the Altreich *** and the Ostmark [Austria].

He referred to the transport difficulties which the German Railways would have to solve and, finally, also to the poor food situation in the Generalgouvernement, which would not improve before the next harvest. This would make it necessary for the Reich to continue its subventions. Reich Minister Seyss-Inquart requested SS Gruppenfuehrer Heydrich to support him on this issue if it should become necessary to obtain further food subventions for the Generalgouvernement.

SS Brigadefuehrer Waechter requested that the evacuees, who came from areas where the food situation was considerably better than in the Generalgouvernement, should be provided with the appropriate foodstuffs.

SS Gruppenfuehrer Heydrich noted in connection with the transport difficulties referred to by Reich Minister Seyss-Inquart, that this had already been taken into consideration, as all transport was supervised centrally by the Reich Ministry of Transport, so as to avoid the inefficient use of rolling stock. .

* Persons of German descent living in the Baltic countries, who were to be concentrated within the area of the Reich in accordance with the Nazi-German plan.
** The reference is to formerly Polish areas, which had been annexed to the German Reich.
*** Germany before 1938.

Source: Nuremberg Documents NO-5322