The requirement by the Historian to adopt an almost scientific approach to their work can, at times, seemingly prohibit the emotional necessity requiring our humanity raises its voice. In the struggle for determing how such a catastrophe as The Holocaust can have been invoked, evolved and consume 6,000,000 Jews, history has far too much which has gone unanswered. The following dates invoke a deeply held concern that while the World was being given rise to what Adolf Hitler proposed for the Jews of Europe, the World looked on with a sceptic ear and a disenfranchised mind. The terms of the assault upon the Jewish People all but subdued any human response to the crisis that had been growing since 1932, and before, with Hitler’s rancid brand of hatred.
When, on September 3rd. 1938, as Neville Chamberlain believes he has secured a peace deal with Hitler, and certainly over the continued existence of Czechoslovakia, and as Hitler recognises the Vatican’s silence as a free hand in dealing with the Jews, the Jews of Germany, Austria and now Czechoslovakia have a far more worrying concern. The sense that the World has turned its back upon them need look no further back that to Evian and last year’s resounding abandonment of the crisis for all of Jewry.
“..Jew bankers ..responsible for ..war.” Henry Ford.
The following year, on September 3rd. 1939, and at 9:00 am, Britains Ambassador to Germany Sir Nevile Henderson delivered the British proposal for the removal of all German Forces from Poland. This demand would be followed by, and would clearly facilitate a declaration which would effectively instate upon the World a collision course with Hitler, Germany and its allies. As a war footing would then be commenced from 11:00 am, a shudder would echo around the World, but not for what would be pressing more sustained against the World of Jewry. This very declaration of War was handed to Joachim von Ribbentrop, the German Foreign Minister who hardly seemed impressed by the threat he was being handed.
The British Commonwealth including India, Australia and New Zealand followed this threat with their own declarations. At 11:15 am, the British Prime Minister Sir Neville Chamberlain broadcast over the radio outlying the situation and because Germany had failed to withdraw its troops from Poland by 11:00 am,
“..a state of war now existed between ..United Kingdom and Germany.” Neville Chamberlain.
That same afternoon Hitler gave order’s to his Generals that they must avoid all Military intervention with both Britain and France and concentrate all attention upon Poland. In the meantime Hitler invited Russia to simultaneously invade Poland in a deal which would see the Country partitioned. France, as a joint signatory of the Peace accord with Poland followed Britain’s lead and issued its own directive, and at 5:00 pm late that afternoon it too declared war upon Germany. The British government now began the process of cancelling all the visas pertaining to those enemy nationals who were allied to Hitler and Germany. What this achieved, in effect was to close the door to all of Germany’s Jews, the Jews of Austria and Czechoslovakia who were all attempting to escape Hitler’s clutches. This now, in terms of a Worldwide event is perhaps, the most important anniversary date in that germ of Hitler’s eventual resolve for The Final Solution of The Jewish Question and it becoming The Holocaust. I do Not wish to leave you merely, with a Chronology of events to sustain the emerging debacle for all of humanity at this juncture. But today’s date, September 3rd. in 1939, which should have seen the end of the widespread and brutal persecution of the Jewish People in Europe was instead, the commencement for the escalating terms of an atrocity which bore a heavier burden than Humanity has ever witnessed, and that is The Holocaust. I do not doubt Hitler had as his Weltanschauung, his Worldview, the capture of lands, the diminishing of other states and the World’s capitualtion towards him. But almost immediately, as the War itself progressed, units of Hitler’s formative Einsatzkommando set about a murderous campaign against the Jews of Poland, its intelligentsia and bed rock of its nationhood. That he would serve notice too upon other’s within Poland, his assault upon the integrity of Judaism and Jewish antecedence would not cease nor would Hitler relinquish his hold upon the Jews until 6,000,000 of them were annihilated. History today, which has now turned its back on the deeds of those who Hitler had enabled to exact the most vengeful War ever envisaged, has rocked the foundations of every moral and ethical factet of our own humanity. Hitler unleashed this first phase of his two pronged campaigning with a ‘blitzkrieg’ of Poland that would effectively secrete behind it a destructive task given over to a force hell bent on destroying the Jewish presence within Poland. What is perhaps uncertain, in relation to all those Generals now engaged in this most aggressive and mechanised assault upon the sovereignty of Poland is, how complicit were all or any of these in the emergence of the very widespread detail of The Final Solution. However, with our knowledge of The Holocaust, as it was devised, designed and exacted, and we recognise that it was not conducted in a vacuum, and as such could never be unknown to any of those fighting personnel, let alone their commanding Generals, within a radius of the vicinity of its execution, gun fire attracts attention.
Here, some of these General’s who followed Hitler, and along with Brauchitch as Head of the Wehrmacht are all well known to History along with their allegiances to his anti-Jewish proclivity. Bock Army Group North, Runstedt Army Group South, Kuchler 3rd. Army, Kluge 4th. Army, Blaskowitz 8th. Army, Reichenau 10th. Army and List 14th. Army. There too was Strauss II Korps, Haase III Korps, Schwedler IV Korps, Schobert VII Korps, Busch VIII Korps, Ulex X Korps, Weichs XIII Korps, Wietersheim XIV Motorised Korps, Hoth XV Panzer Korps, Hoepner XVI Panzer Korps, Kienitz XVII Korps, Beyer XVIII Mountain Korps, Guderian XIX Panzer Korps, Falkenhorst XXI Korps, Kleist XXII Panzer Korps, Wodrig XXVI Korps and other Korps and their commanders.
Also, and amongst the many General’s who took up Divisional command’s and entered the fray in Poland, far too many to list here, and to accuse, but some of these are Andreas, Arnim, Bader, Baltzer, Bergmann, Bieler, Blumm, Bock, Boettcher, Bohme, Both, Brand, Braum, Briesen, Brockdorf, Cochenhausen, Cranz, de Courbiere, der Chevallerie, der Leyen, Dietl, Dietrich, Farmbacher, Feldt, Feuerstein, Fischer, Gablenz, Haenicke, Halder, Hansen, Hase, Henrici, Hofl, Hubicki, Keiner, Kaempfe, Kaupisch, Kempf, Koch-Erpach, Kortzfleisch, Kriebel, Kubler, Kuntzen, Leeb, Lemelsen, Lichel, Loch, Loeper, Manstein, Materna, Model, Neuling, Obstfelder, Orbricht, Ott, Ottenbacher, Otto, Paulus, Petzel, Pflugbell, Rabenau, Reinhardt, Rommel, Salmuth, Schaal, Schmidt, Schoener, Schubert, Schwentes, Schweppenburg, Sorsche, Stumme, Stumpf, Suttner, Tiedmann, Veiel, Vietinghoff, Weichs, Weidling, Weyer, Wiktorin and Zeitzler.
As a caveat to the intention of War, to defeat their enemies, the Jewish People were never an enemy, merely an excuse in establishing a driving force by which hatred could gain ground. Here, in two writings by Guderian and Manstein, Guderian is clearly not a leader in a good fight nor should Manstein bemoan those lost vistories as Hitler accomplished all he had set before the World, the annihilation of the Jewish People in Europe. Also, and on this bloodiest of Bloody Sunday’s, and with 180 of Czestochowa’s Jews lined up to be murdered, and a further 120 of Czestochowa’s Jews Murdered throughout the Night and into the following day, the atrocity is baring down heavily on all Jewish presence inside Poland. Here in Czestochowa, amongst the Murdered Jews there are:
Daniel Berkovitz,
Gdalia Szalom
Chojnowski,
Hersz Danziger,
Khaim ‘Dziaba’ Dzhave,
Abraham Eliezer Fajnsztat,
Ichak Freiman,
Aharon Frenkenberg,
Yakel Gelbart,
Yeakel Gelbart,
Bajla Frymeta Krauz,
Szmuel Krauz,
Jakob Shmuel Krzemien,
Maer Majerczak,
Jakob Pinkesowicz (Pinkusevitz),
Lipman Rikman,
Makhla Sandler,
Esther Lea Shmulevitz,
Shimon Shmulovitz,
Genakh Shulman,
Blima Szlamkowicz,
Bluma Szlomkowicz,
Yosef Valin (Yelin),
Heniek Khanina Zborowski,
Yekhezkel Zholty and
Abram Zalman Zylberklajd.
Also Murdered this day are these 17 of Wieruszow’s Jews, amongst whom are:
Hinda Braun,
Dobra Icyk,
Mayer Icyk and
Mira Rubinovitz
Also murdered to add even further to the bleak days atrocity are the 6 of Zdunska Wola’s Jews and these are:
Luzer Albek,
Shimshon Finkelstein,
Shprinza Fridman,
Moses Tobias ‘Tuvia’ Grabie,
Jona Jakubowicz and
Rakhel Medalion.
and of the 4 Lelow (Leluv) Jews Murdered this day we know amongst them is:
Mendel Hirsh Landau.
All of these Jews were murdered to claim ever more Jewish lives to Hitler’s ultimate cause, the total eradication of the Jewish People from the face of the Earth. While World War II has truly commenced, and with those who declared themselves Polish allies are the nation’s of Britain and France, the Commonwealth of Australia, New Zealand and India who are all now declaring their intention to wage war on Germany. I would suggest there must have been such a huge sigh of relief from The Jewish People who would have felt the groundswell of World opinion would now come to their aid. 3,300,000 Polish Jews, now held captive, and hostages to Hitler’s intention, would never feel that vindication of hope. Instantly, Britain establishes a Naval blockade which threatens to isolate Germany from its overseas produce.
“..We will fight ..White Paper as if there is no war ..and fight ..war as if there is no White Paper.” David Ben-Gurion.
David Ben-Gurion, as the representative of the Jewish Government of Palestine, the Jewish Agency Executive, is here facing down the threat to Jewish hopes of any escape to Palestine. Ben-Gurion assures the world that 1,500,000 of World Jewry will fight Hitler, 555,000 Jews in the American Armed Forces, 500,000 Jews from within Russia and 243,000 other European Jews and then some 116,000 Jews from Britain and the Commonwealth. That fight would not catch up to Hitler’s intent to destroy every single Jew he would find. Once Hitler was set upon his quest, to deprive the Jews of their lands, their property’s, their goods, their belongings, their valauables, their wealth and their very existence, nothing would sway him from his task. The destruction of Germany, the decimation of the German fighting force were both seconded to that final resolve and for the World, the time was ripe now to serve Hitler with any decree which would ensure some Jews might Survive.
On September 3rd. 1941 as Vilna the Ghetto is established we recognise that over 55,000 Jews are enclosed within its tightening grasp and as Vilna is one of the 9 Major Ghetto’s established, a Vilna Ghetto Judenrate is ordered. Shaul Trotzki, Anatole Fried, then Jakob Gens Chairmen serve the needs of Vilna Jewry as best they can, little realising the intention for their complete destruction has been set in motion.
The use of Zyklon ‘B’ as a killing agent is first used in Auschwitz against 250 Jewish Infirm and 600 Russian POW’s and marks the industrialised capacity to kill the Jewish People. Zyklon ‘B’ alone proves the method of murder for 1,000,000’s of Jews in two of the Death Camps and some even Concentration Camps. This figures heavily for 600 Elderly Dubossary Jews who are then burned to death in 8 Synagogues after the refusal of 6 Dubossary Jews to join the Jewish Council. They are publicly hanged for their willingness to disobey a German directive.
On September 3rd. 1942 some 2,000 of Bolechow’s Jews ar murdered at the Death Camp Belzec along with 2,000 of Bochnia’s Jews also removed to Belzec for the purpose of annihilation. At Lachva in Byelorussia, more than 800 Jews are led by Dov Lopatyn to resist the Nazis’s and are all killed. Meanwhile, the World Jewish Congress in Geneva is given information that deportations of French Jews will now commence. Josef Kaplan, a leader of the Jewish Fighting Organization, is detained in Warsaw, joining another leader, Yisrael Zeltzer, in detention. When another ZOB leader, Shmuel Braslav, is stopped in the street by German troops, he is shot dead after trying to pull a knife on his attackers. Another ZOB leader, Reginka Justman, is shot after being stopped while carrying the ZOB’s arms cache to a new hiding place and their small cache of arms are seized. The effort’s of the Death Camp at Treblinka are brought to bear as it recommences its killing operations.
“..British have landed in Naples. Northern Italy is occupied by ..Germans. ..truce was signed on Friday ..September 3rd. ..day ..British landed in Italy. ..Germans are ranting and raving in all ..newspapers at ..treachery of Badoglio and ..Italian king.” Anne Frank.
On September 3rd. 1943 while the Bochnia Ghetto is being Liquidated, 3,000 of Bochnia’s Jews are transported to Auschwitz as are Belgian Jews also deported to Auschwitz for destruction. Elsewhere, the Allies have landed in Calabria as the Italians sign an Armistice to quit its allegiance to Hitler. On September 3rd. 1944, with over 1,000 Dutch Jews transported from the Westerbork Camp to Auschwitz, we recognise that amongst these were Anne, Margot, Edith and Otto Frank and Auguste, Hermann van Pels and Peter van Pels and Fritz Pfeffer, the other members from the secret annexe who had been captured from the hiding place! On September 3rd. 1965 the Treblinka Trial concludes after 10 months of deliberation.
“..teachings ..about ..world ..people ..ethics ..faith ..I had to learn ..by myself in ..hell of concentration camps ..without my Mother who was put to death in ..Gas Chambers in Majdanek ..my Father ..put to death and burnt in ..crematorium in Treblinka ..my Brother ..my Sister in law ..so young ..but cared for me like my Mother ..tormented and burnt in Auschwitz.” Halina Birenbaum.
