Transport 16 from Pithiviers, Camp, France to Auschwitz Birkenau, Extermination Camp, Poland on 07/08/1942

The Jews deported on August 7, 1942, were among those with families who had been arrested on July 16. While the unmarried detainees had been transferred directly to the Drancy camp, those with families were first brought to the Velodrome d’Hiver stadium in Paris before being transferred to the camps in the Loiret region. Over 8,000 Jews were taken to the Velodrome d’Hiver, half of whom were children. On July 17, a meeting took place between German and French officials to discuss the question of the children. Among those present were Heinz Roethke, taking over in Dannecker’s absence as head of Jewish Affairs at the Sipo-SD, (and would replace him by the end of July 1942), Herbert Hagen, assistant to Carl Oberg, Jean Leguay, second in command at the French National Police in the occupied zone, Jean François, police director at the Paris Prefecture, Darquier de Pellepoix, and his secretary Pierre Gallien. During this meeting, it was confirmed that while the CGQJ (Commissariat général aux questions juives, General Commission for Jewish Affairs) had planned to accommodate the children in various houses in the Paris region, it was decided that, initially, the children would not be separated from their parents and would be transferred, to the camps of Beaune-la-Rolande and Pithiviers by trains provided by the SNCF. Hennequin specified that while the French authorities had expressed their wish to see the children deported with their parents on numerous occasions, they would wait for a final decision by the RSHA. The transfer of the Jews from the Velodrome d’Hiver to the Pithiviers and Beaune-la-Rolande camps began on July 19. They were transferred in trains provided by the SNCF. On July 18, Emile Hennequin sent out directives to the Gendarmerie regarding these transfers that were to take place on July 19, 20, 21 and 22. Boarding was to take place at the Austerlitz train station. Each train was to be accompanied by 1 officer and 24 guards from the French Gendarmerie. Each train would be composed of covered cars, plus 3 cars for the escort. Between July 19 and 22, 7 transports were directed from Paris to the Beaune-la-Rolande or Pithiviers camps where the Jews were detained before their deportations to the East....