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Report on Dutch Jewry Before the Occupation(March 28, 1939)From the mid-1930's on, Hitler and the Third Reich leadership began to consider occupations that would attain Lebensraum in Eastern Europe and imposition of a “New Order” throughout Europe. When the anti-Jewish policy was tightened in 1938, and especially after Hitler decided to overhaul this policy generally after the events of Kristallnacht (November 1938), the SS was given a preeminent role in its implementation. Among the SS agencies, the SD and, especially, its Jewish Affairs Department gave much thought to future measures concerning the Jews. The following document, written by the Jewish Affairs Department (II 112) of the SD (northwestern subdistrict of the SS) about a year and a quarter before the occupation of the Netherlands, presents a detailed report about Dutch Jewry. The important point here is not the contents of the document (which disclose little that is new and contain errors, such as identifying non-Jews as Jews) but the fact of its having been written at the time it was written. These features show what the crafters of the anti-Jewish policy were planning and how well informed they were before the country was occupied. Sicherheitsdienst of the Reichsfuehrer-SS II 112 00 To the Berlin. Enclosure: 1 The enclosure contains an interim report on Jewry in Holland in two copies. Further investigations are still being made; their result will be forwarded in a final report. The investigations on the Jews in the Scandinavian countries have not yet made enough progress to be compiled in an interim report. For this purpose, a renewed extension of the deadline is [hereby, DS] requested. The SD-Fuehrer Source: Yad Vashem |
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