Transport 44, Train Da 901/36 from Drancy, Camp, France to Auschwitz Birkenau, Extermination Camp, Poland on 09/11/1942

The German authorities in France now looked for ways to intensify the arrests of foreign Jews residing in France. On October 6, Knochen informed the Sipo-SD posts that on October 9–10, Jews holding non-French citizenships and stateless Jews would be arrested. The arrests were to include men, women, and children, and there were to be no age limits. Each detainee was to bring two blankets, two pairs of shoes, and a small amount of food and a few toiletries. On October 30, Roethke sent Knochen a report summarizing the raids conducted in the occupied zone. The report claimed that 1,965 Jews in total were arrested and transferred to the Drancy internment camp and asked that three transports be arranged to depart for Auschwitz during the first ten days of November. He further noted that the German Embassy in Paris authorized the arrest of Greek Jews residing in France, and that the records in his office indicated that 1,416 Jews with Greek citizenship were registered in the Seine Department. On the next day, October 31, Roethke reported to Adolph Eichmann in Berlin that in a few weeks there would be 3,000 Jews incarcerated at the Drancy camp, and that he therefore intends to send out three transports, on November 4, 6 and 9. On November 2, Rolf Guenther, Eichmann’s deputy, authorized these deportation transports....