Transport from Westerbork, Camp, The Netherlands to Auschwitz Birkenau, Extermination Camp, Poland on 25/09/1942

In mid-August, 1942, the local German authorities had agreed to deport stateless Jews (for example Germans) before native Jews. Also at around mid-August, the head of Department for Jewish Affairs in the Netherlands, Wilhelm Zöpf, summoned the Commander of Security Police and Security Service in Amsterdam, Willy Lages, and the head of the Zentralstelle, Ferdinand aus der Fünten. On behalf of Harster, Zöpf ordered the arrest and removal of the Jews directly from their homes by SIPO and Zentralstellen personnel. At the same time, sensing what the Germans had in store for them, the Jews were less inclined to cooperate and show up at the assembly points or train stations for the so called ‘Arbeitseinsatz’ in Germany (lit. work assignment; Nazi euphemism for deportation). Zöpf's order was implemented first on the night of September 1. The Amsterdam Police Battalion, under the command of Amsterdam Police Chief Sybren Tulp, introduced a new method for meeting the quota of deportees required by the RSHA. So far Jews had been summoned by means of written notifications. However, from this date on Jews were rounded up in their homes in the evenings during curfew hours. The police received lists with addresses that the Zentralstelle had passed on to the stations and that were based on the files kept by the Jewish Council. In this new phase of summons for deportation the number of deportees in September was higher than in August. This was true especially for Amsterdam where raids were carried out even during day time. On September 2, a list of permitted provisions for the deportation was published in "Het Joodsche Weekblad" (the Jewish Weekly), the only Jewish newspaper permitted in the Netherlands, published by the Joodse Raad. These included items such as a suitcase, working shoes, a food bowl, food supplies for three days, etc. which helped to camouflage the deportation as a labour assignment. Most of the people arrested in Amsterdam were first taken to the Joodse Schouwburg, as were those for smaller transports from the western provinces. On an average day 300 to 400 people were housed in the former theater that served as an assembly point during the deportations from the Netherlands. Aus der Fünten was in charge of the site. After several days the deportees were taken to Westerbork via the Central Station....