Transport Ax from Theresienstadt, Ghetto, Czechoslovakia on 09/05/1942

The transport carrying 1,000 Jews from Theresienstadt to Siedliszcze on May 9, 1942 was designated "Ax" and first announced in a Special Order of the Day, issued by the Jewish council of Theresienstadt on May 3, 1942. As with the other transports, it was simply called "Osttransport" (transport to the East) and the deportees were left in the dark regarding the final destination. On May 6, the council issued another Order specifying that mainly people from the incoming transport "At" from Prague would board this train. "At" arrived with 1,000 Jews on May 7. Shortly after their arrival these Jews were informed of their onward transport. They spent two days at the quarantine site (the “Schleuse”) in the courtyard of the Aussig Barracks. Some deportees remained in Theresienstadt for health and age-related reasons. Their places were taken by other inmates who were informed by the council in the "evening or night hours" of May 8. Order No. 121 which was published on May 10 confirmed that transport "Ax" departed on May 9. Usually the RSHA issued the transportation order and also determined the destination. However, in most cases with regard to transports headed for the Lublin district, Globocnik's staff, together with the respective civil administration, decided where to direct the transports. Due to the high number of transports, the decision was based on the absorption capacity of each location. As a result, many trains had to be redirected at short notice, sometimes only after their departure and were often ordered to head for several locations instead of just one. In early May 1942, the Department of Jewish Affairs in the Population and Welfare Division (Bevölkerungswesen und Fürsorge – BuF) of the Lublin district sent a circular to all county commissioners, asking how many Jews they could take into which of their ghettos, using which railway station. On May 6, a meeting was held at Globocnik's headquarters to discuss the results of this survey. Globocnik informed his staff that it was necessary to "temporarily accommodate 15,000 Jews from the Reich, the Protectorate and Slovakia." On May 8, the county commissioner of Chelm, Kreishauptmann Dr. Werner Ansel, offered to send one additional transport to Siedliszcze via the Kanie railway station. Siedliszcze is a village between Trawniki and Rejowiec, on the railroad line to Sobibór, 10 km from Kanie....