Transport Ep from Theresienstadt, Ghetto, Czechoslovakia to Auschwitz Birkenau, Extermination Camp, Poland on 09/10/1944

On October 2, 1944, veterans of WW1 and former spouses of non-Jews, categories that were previously protected from transports, were summoned to the Jewish administration. Following a short interview, the protection for most of them was revoked. The transport orders were handed down from the Office for Settlement of the Jewish Question in Prague to the camp commander Karl Rahm. According to Vilem Cantor, who was in charge of transport registry in Theresienstadt, the commander passed the transport orders to the Jewish Council which was forced to comply. They included the date of the transport and the number of people to be transferred, as well as any special criteria: in this case, these included any person up to the age of 65. The orders also included the names of several other people who were to be included in the transport (Weisungen). The Jewish Council then held a meeting of up to 30-40 people who represented the different departments and nationality groups within the ghetto, and a list was finalized. The list also included a reserve amounting to 20% of the transport. If, for some reason, certain inmates could not join the transport, others whose names appeared on the reserve list would be allocated in their stead. According to the ghetto diary of Philipp Manes, On October 7, 1944, notices were posted in the ghetto, ordering every person below the age of 65 to prepare for transport. On the same day, the house and block elders were notified that summonses for people on the upcoming transport, which would depart on October 8, would be handed out on 18:00 that evening. Upon receipt of the summons those people selected had to pack immediately and report to the quarantine site (Schleuse) located at the Hamburg Barracks, no later than 06:00 on October 8. The luggage was to consist of no more than 30kg in two pieces of hand baggage per person, and could contain no tools or linens. Those who were unable to carry their own luggage were able to make use of a delivery wagon that made its rounds throughout the ghetto. During the period of quarantine, the Jewish leadership was able to arrange for provisions and supplies....