Transport, Train 760 from Moravska Ostrava, Moravska Ostrava, Moravia-Silesia, Czechoslovakia to Nisko, Nisko, Lwow, Poland on 18/10/1939

The first transport to Nisko out of seven left from Ostrava in the Protectorate on October 18. It was ordered by Eichmann and organized by the local branch of the Central Office for Jewish Emigration in Prague (Zentralstelle für jüdische Auswanderung in Prag, Zweigstelle Mährisch-Ostrau) headed by SS-Hauptsturmführer, Hans Günther. Eichmann briefed his staff for the first time on October 9 in Ostrava. The Jewish community was forced to make up a list of at least 1,000 indigent and able-bodied males between the age of 17 and 55. The community representative, Salo Krämer finally provided a list with 1,036 names, a floor and building plan for the barracks in Nisko, and also itemized building materials that were still in Jewish hands. In addition, the Jewish community had to transfer 300,000 RM to Günther's office and have all the deportees convene on October 17 at an assembly point close to the railway station. They were informed only the evening before. "Some time at the start of October," recorded deportee No. 23 Adolf Sonnenschein (Sonek) in his memoirs, "rumors began to circulate in Ostrava that the Jews were to be taken away somewhere. We had to register with the police on Nádražní Street. … When I got the order to report to the riding school near the Don Bosco church in Ostrava, I didn't know that I would be saying goodbye to my mother, my sister and everybody else I knew for the last time." At the riding school, the candidates had to undergo a selection in the early morning that included a medical examination. The Jewish doctors were supervised by five German doctors, and the final decision was made by the head medical officer Dr. Brixel. The German physicians had no objections to putting very old and sick people on the transport. Approximately 100 men were declared unfit for travel. The registration process and the inspections were supervised by Gestapo officers. Each deportee was allowed to take 300 Reichsmarks and personal effects weighing up to 50 kg. Eichmann had taken great efforts to disguise the true nature of his plan and the deportees had to sign an affidavit stating that they were voluntarily travelling to a "retraining camp" (Umschulungslager). 916 Jewish citizens selected for the transport were partly marched and partly driven by bus from the riding school to the freight station in Přívoz (Prziwos). There, a long train (half a kilometer in length) consisting of 22 old passenger cars and 29 freight cars for building materials (specifically wood, shingles and tools) awaited them on a side track. Each car could hold up to 40 passengers. The deportees were instantly pushed inside and the doors locked. There were fewer seats than people so they had to take turns sitting down. Eichmann arrived on October 17 at 5 pm from Vienna and immediately went to inspect the train. Shortly after, he left for Nisko together with his deputy Theodor Dannecker where he could personally oversee and direct the proceedings once the train arrived. The deportees spent the whole afternoon and the night in the train prior to its departure. The guards carried out a search for valuables – gold and silver, with the exception of wedding rings and watches. 15 sick men were removed. The transport included six renowned Jewish officials: Rabbi Dr. Benjamin Murmelstein, Mauricy Grün, Julius Boschan and Berthold Storfer from Vienna; Jakob Edelstein and Richard Friedmann from Prague. They had been assembled in Ostrava by Eichmann on October 10 in order to establish a viable Jewish administration in Nisko....