Leslie Massey
The deportation of Jews from Austria began in October 1939 when about 1,500 Jews were deported to Nisko. Between February and March 1941, another 5,000 were deported to Poland. In 1941, the Nazi leadership decided to implement the Final Solution, the systematic mass murder of European Jews. In 1942, the Wannsee Conference was held, where the deportation of Jews to killing centres in German-occupied Poland was coordinated. From 1942 onwards, deportation meant transit to killing centres for most Jews. The Nazis established centres where Jews were assembled before deportation, and about 35,000 Jews were deported from Vienna to ghettos in eastern Europe. By the end of the war, there were approximately 5,000 Jews left in Austria.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of first deportations | October 1939 |
| Number of Jews in the first deportations | 1,500 |
| Destination of the first deportations | Nisko |
| Date of further deportations | February-March 1941 |
| Number of Jews in the further deportations | 5,000 |
| Destination of the further deportations | Poland (Opole, Kielce, Modliborzyce, Lagow) |
| Date of systematic mass deportations from Vienna | October 1941 |
| Number of Jews deported from Vienna to ghettos in eastern Europe | 35,000 |
| Destinations of Jews deported from Vienna | Minsk, Riga, Lodz, Lublin region of Poland |
| Number of Jews deported from Vienna to Theresienstadt | Over 15,000 |
| Number of Jews remaining in Austria by November 1942 | 7,000 |
| Number of Jews deported from Germany to Theresienstadt | 42,000 |
| Number of Jews deported from Austria to Theresienstadt | Over 16,000 |
| Number of Jews remaining in Austria by the end of the war | 5,000 |
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What You'll Learn
- The first deportations of Austrian Jews began in October 1939
- Between February and March 1941, 5,000 Jews were deported to Poland
- The Wannsee Conference in January 1942 coordinated the deportation of Jews to killing centres
- From 1942, deportation meant transit to killing centres for most Jews
- By the end of the war, 16,000 Austrian Jews had been sent to Terezín
The first deportations of Austrian Jews began in October 1939
The persecution of Jews in Austria began in earnest after the annexation of Austria in March 1938. The Nazis and their Austrian supporters rapidly expropriated Jewish property and unleashed a wave of intimidation and violence against Jewish people. Synagogues were burned, Jewish businesses were vandalised, and thousands of Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps. In the following months, the Nazis looted Jewish assets, contributing to their war chest. Many Austrian Jews responded to the German occupation by fleeing the country, with 117,000 Jews emigrating between 1938 and 1940.
In 1941, the Nazi leadership decided to implement the "Final Solution", the systematic mass murder of European Jewry. This decision was formalised at the Wannsee Conference in January 1942, where it was estimated that 11 million European Jews would be targeted. The Nazis referred to the deportations as "'resettlement to the east", disguising their true intention to transport Jews to killing centres and extermination camps. The European rail network played a crucial role in this process, with Jews from across occupied Europe being deported by train to their deaths.
From 1942 onwards, the Nazis established a highly coordinated system of deportations, involving various government ministries and bureaucratic procedures. Jews were selected for transport, stripped of their property and civil identity, and issued with evacuation numbers. They were then sent to assembly camps, where they awaited further transport to the killing centres. The Nazis also forced Jewish communities to play a role in organising the transports. By November 1942, only about 7,000 Jews remained in Austria, mostly those married to non-Jews. The deportations continued into 1945, and by the end of the war, approximately 5,000 Jews were left in the country.
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Between February and March 1941, 5,000 Jews were deported to Poland
The mass deportation and murder of Jews during World War II, known as the Holocaust, began in October 1939 when about 1,500 Jews were deported from Austria to Nisko. The systematic persecution of Austrian Jews started after Germany annexed Austria in March 1938. This was followed by violent riots, arrests, and the burning of synagogues in November 1938. Austrian Jewish property was expropriated, and many Jews were sent to concentration camps or forced into labor.
Between February and March 1941, 5,000 Jews were deported from Austria to Poland, specifically the cities of Opole, Kielce, Modliborzyce, and Lagow. This was part of the Nazi regime's "Final Solution," which aimed to systematically murder European Jews. The deportations were disguised as "resettlement to the east," with victims being told they were being taken to labor camps. In reality, most of the Jews deported during this time were transported by rail to killing centers in German-occupied Poland, where they were murdered.
The Wannsee Conference in Berlin in January 1942 saw the coordination of the deportation of European Jews to these killing centers, referred to as "extermination camps." The six camps in occupied Poland included Chelmno, Treblinka, Sobibor, Belzec, Auschwitz-Birkenau, and Majdanek-Lublin. Jews were transported by trains or trucks to these camps, where they were killed using poisonous gas or shot.
The deportation of Jews from Austria continued into 1944 and 1945, with surviving Austrian Jews fleeing to other countries. By the end of the war, approximately 5,000 Jews remained in Austria, and around 120,000 Austrian Jews had survived the Holocaust.
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The Wannsee Conference in January 1942 coordinated the deportation of Jews to killing centres
The Wannsee Conference, held in January 1942, was a pivotal moment in the Nazi regime's plan to deport and exterminate Jews, marking a shift from intimidation and violence to a highly coordinated effort across various government departments and agencies. The conference was convened by Reinhard Heydrich, chief of the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA) and one of Heinrich Himmler's top deputies.
The deportation of Jews from Austria began as early as October 1939, when approximately 1,500 Jews were sent to Nisko, with few returning. However, the Wannsee Conference represented a significant escalation of these efforts. The conference brought together 15 high-ranking Nazi Party members, German government officials, and SS leaders. They discussed and coordinated the implementation of the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question," which entailed the systematic mass murder of 11 million Jews across Europe, including those from non-occupied countries.
The participants at the conference were well aware of the Nazi regime's prior engagement in mass murder, with some having knowledge of the actions of the Einsatzgruppen and other police and military units in the German-occupied Soviet Union and Serbia. Despite this, none of the officials present objected to the "Final Solution" announced by Heydrich. The aim of the conference was clear: to coordinate the deportation and extermination of European Jews, with Poland, specifically the General Government area, designated as the initial site of the Holocaust.
The conference served to secure the cooperation of administrative leaders from various government departments, including state secretaries from the Foreign Office, justice, interior, and state ministries, in implementing the "Final Solution." Heydrich outlined the plan to round up European Jews and send them to extermination camps, where they would be killed through excessive forced labor or directly in gas chambers. This marked a shift from the initial intention to deport and kill Jews in camps in the occupied areas of the Soviet Union, which had to be abandoned due to the lack of victory over the Soviets.
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From 1942, deportation meant transit to killing centres for most Jews
The first deportations of Austrian Jews began in October 1939, when about 1,500 Jews were deported to Nisko. Between February and March 1941, another 5,000 were deported to Poland. In 1944, Hungarian Jews were also deported from Austria, and these deportations continued into 1945. By the end of the war, there were approximately 5,000 Jews left in Austria.
In 1941, the Nazi leadership decided to implement the "Final Solution", the systematic mass murder of European Jewry. The German authorities used rail systems across the continent to transport Jews from their homes to German-occupied eastern Europe. Once they had begun to methodically kill Jews in specially constructed killing centers, German officials deported Jews to these facilities by train, truck, boat, or on foot.
From 1942, deportation meant transit to killing centers for most Jews. The Wannsee Conference in Berlin in January 1942 saw the coordination of the deportation of European Jews to killing centers in German-occupied Poland. The SS (the elite guard of the Nazi state) and representatives of German government ministries estimated that the Final Solution would involve 11 million European Jews, including those from non-occupied countries such as Ireland, Sweden, Turkey, and Great Britain. The Germans attempted to disguise their intentions, referring to deportations as resettlement to the east. The victims were told they were to be taken to labor camps, but in reality, they were being sent to their deaths.
Between December 1941 and July 1942, the SS and police officials established five killing centers in German-occupied Poland: Chelmno, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka II, and Auschwitz-Birkenau. The Germans killed nearly 2.7 million Jews in these five killing centers. In July 1942, the Germans deported nearly 100,000 Jews from Westerbork: about 60,000 to Auschwitz, over 34,000 to Sobibor, almost 5,000 to the Theresienstadt ghetto, and nearly 4,000 to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
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By the end of the war, 16,000 Austrian Jews had been sent to Terezín
The persecution of Jews in Austria began in earnest on March 12, 1938, when Germany annexed Austria. This annexation, known as the Anschluss, saw the expropriation of Austrian Jewish property and extreme intimidation and violence towards Jewish people. The Nazis' plan to kill the Jews of Europe, known as the "Final Solution", was formalised at the Wannsee Conference in Berlin in January 1942. This plan involved the deportation of Jews from Germany and German-occupied Europe to killing centres in occupied Poland, where they were murdered.
The first deportations of Austrian Jews began in October 1939, when about 1,500 Jews were deported to Nisko. Between February and March 1941, another 5,000 were deported to Poland. By December 1940, there were still about 50,000 to 60,000 Jews living in Vienna. They were mostly unemployed, evicted from their homes, and living with other families. October 15, 1941, marked the beginning of the first systematic deportations of Jews from Vienna to the Lodz Ghetto. Soon after, deportations to Minsk, Riga, and Terezin (Theresienstadt) followed.
Terezín, or Theresienstadt, was a hybrid ghetto-concentration camp located in German-occupied Czechoslovakia. It served as a waystation to the death camps further east. The first deportation of Jews directly to Auschwitz occurred on July 17, 1942, when 995 people were sent there. Many more deportations followed, including Hungarian Jews in 1944. The deportations continued into 1945. By the end of the war, there were approximately 5,000 Jews left in Austria, and 16,000 Austrian Jews had been sent to Terezín.
The liberation of Austria by the Soviet Army in May 1945 brought an end to the deportations and the terror inflicted on the Jewish population. However, the rebuilding of the country's infrastructure took priority, and Austrian politicians were slow to address the crimes of the Nazi regime and their responsibility to the former Jewish community.
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Frequently asked questions
The first deportations of Austrian Jews began in October 1939, when about 1,500 Jews were deported to Nisko.
The "Final Solution" was the Nazi plan to systematically murder 11 million European Jews. This was decided in 1941 and discussed at the Wannsee Conference in Berlin in January 1942.
The Nazis used rail transport to deport Jews from their homes to killing centers in German-occupied eastern Europe, primarily Poland. They also used trucks or made people walk when trains were unavailable.
