Transport from Poznan, Poznan, Poznan, Poland to Wloszczowa, Wloszczowa, Kielce, Poland on 12/1939

On the eve of World War II, about 1,500 residents of Poznań were Jewish. With the onset of the German occupation, the Jews were subjected to abuse, looting, forced labor, terror, and murder. On September 15, 1939, SS-Oberführer Erich Naumann, the leader of the Einsatzgruppe VI group operating in Poznań, reported to the head of the RSHA (Reichssicherheitshauptamt, Reich Security Main Office), SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich, that nearly half of the Jewish population had left the city; some of them returned in the following weeks.

As of November 13, 1939, the Jews were forbidden to change their address or move freely within the borders of the Reichsgau Posen. On November 14, 1939, by the decision of SS-Obergruppenführer and Reichsstatthalter (Reich Governor) Artur Greiser, the Jews were ordered to wear the yellow Star of David on their backs and chests. At the end of October 1939, SS-Obergruppenführer Wilhelm Koppe, the Higher SS- and Police-leader (HSSPF, Höherer SS- und Polizeiführer) in Poznań, announced the intention to remove from Poznań 35,000 Poles, and all Jews living in the county, from November 15, 1939, to the end of February 1940....