Transport from Muenster, Münster i. Westf. (Muenster), Westphalia, Germany to Riga, Ghetto, Latvia on 13/12/1941

On October 30, 1941, Gestapo headquarters in Münster ordered all Jews in its jurisdiction to be registered by November 8. On November 18, 1941, Gerhard Bast, deputy commander of Gestapo headquarters in Münster, updated the senior mayors and the county commissioners in the governorate about the planned deportation from Münster to Riga. Those selected for the transport were to bring clothing, bedding, and three weeks’ worth of food. They were allowed to pack working tools; in several cases, specific orders were given to allow them to bring a sewing machine, a kiln, or a mattress. The deportees also had to bring identification papers such as passports or labour permits. Personal luggage was limited to 50 kilograms and every deportee had to pay 50 Reichsmarks to cover their deportation expenses. The Jewish community financed the deportation of the poor. On November 19, 1941, a meeting was held at the Finance Ministry in Münster, chaired by Peter Stangier, deputy Gauleiter (district governor) of Westphalia-North. The attendees included representatives of the authorities involved in the deportation: the Finance Ministry, the Gestapo, the Nazi Party, the police, and the municipality. The meeting dealt mainly with matters related to real estate and other property belonging to the Jews who would soon depart, and those present resolved to expropriate and manage it. Although the meeting was called in anticipation of the deportation of Jews to Riga and Minsk, it stands to reason that the agreements concluded there would also apply to the assets of Jews sent away in the larger deportations that would follow....