Transport 55 from Drancy, Camp, France to Auschwitz Birkenau, Extermination Camp, Poland on 23/06/1943

Beginning in the Spring of 1943, the Germans conducted most of the arrests of Jews in France without local assistance. The transports that followed included also those who, following the requests of the Vichy regime, had previously been protected from deportation: former POWs, foreign volunteers in the French army, and employees of the UGIF (Union générale des Israélites de France – Union of Jews in France). In May 1943, for example, the Sipo-SD conducted arrests at the UGIF offices in Marseille. After the deportation to the East of over 8,000 Jews in eight transports that departed during the months February and March 1943, deportation was halted for three months. During that period, less than 2,000 Jews were brought to Drancy, mostly from Paris, its environs, and from provincial towns throughout France. A possible reason for this hiatus was that the heads of the Sipo-SD, particularly Heinz Roethke, were preparing for the arrest and concentration of thousands of Jews in Drancy, which were supposed to take place immediately after the Vichy regime passed an act that would strip French citizenship from all Jews who had been naturalized French after August 10, 1927; in the end, this bill was not enacted. In order to expedite the arrests and deportations, a team headed by Alois Brunner arrived in Paris. In the months prior to his arrival, Brunner was tasked with the deportation of 43,000 Jews from Thessaloniki to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Brunner took great interest in the Drancy camp: he arrived there on June 18, and began interrogating about 1,500 inmates for three days. He also imposed harsher rules. In an attempt to deceive the Jews regarding the true purpose of the deportations, Brunner would address the inmates before each transport: “Whatever the implication, I must tell you that this is no longer a deportation but rather an evacuation. We are sending you to concentration camps, where you will live as a family and receive payment according to the work you provide.” This speech is quoted by an escapee whose testimony was published in the underground publication “La France d'abord” in May 1944. After Brunner's arrival, deportations departed from Drancy regularly, once or twice a month....