Prior to the Nazi rise to power, the city of Breslau (Wrocław), in Silesia Province (Śląsk), had one of the largest Jewish communities in Germany, with 19,722 residents in June, 1933. According to the census of May 17, 1939, this number dwindled to 10,309. On June 1, 1941, just 8,129 Jewish residents were recorded in Breslau.[1]
On November 25, 1941, the first transport, with some 1,000 deportees on board, left Breslau destined for Kovno (Kaunas) in Lithuania.[2] On April 13, 1942, the second mass transport was conducted leaving Breslau, this time to Izbica (Lubelska), in Lublin County, within the General Government.[3]
The Head of the Gestapo Staatspolizeileitstelle (STAPO, Secret Police Main Branch) in Breslau, Ernst Friedrich Wilhelm Gerke, ordered the drafting of a transport list for Izbica. To do this, he tasked the members of the Gauleitung (NSDAP, regional party leaders), together with Gestapo officer Walter Hampel, Head of the Jewish Affairs Office, Referat II B 2. According to Gerke, the Jews were chosen for deportation according the streets they lived on.[4]...