Introduction
On February 6, 1942, Martin Luther of the German Foreign Office forwarded an anonymous letter to Gestapo chief Heinrich Müller. The letter concernced “alleged incidents in the course of the solution of the Jewish question in the Warthegau”. In his response to Luther two weeks later, classified under the reference number “Secret State Affair (1005)”, Müller acknowledged misconduct against Jews in the Warthegau, noting that “where the axe falls, chips will fly”. However, he pointed out that these “measures” were often exaggerated to elicit sympathy and foster hope for an end to them. Müller emphasized that “the Jew tries to escape his well-deserved fate.”
The letter is considered as a starting point for the later operation known by the codename “Aktion 1005.” This operation led by SS-Standartenführer Paul Blobel aimed to conceal traces of mass graves of Nazi victims in the East. The technical prerequisites for the “exhumation operation” were, in turn, established during the elimination of graves at the extermination camp Kulmhof in the summer of 1942.
Document
Der Chef der Sicherheitspolizei und des SD
Berlin SW 11, den 28. Februar 1942
[…]
IV B 4 43/42 gRs(1005)
[…]
Geheime Reichssache!
An den
Herrn Unterstaatssekretär Luther
im Auswärtigen Amt,
Berlin.
Lieber Kamerad Luther!
Das an das Auswärtige Amt gerichtete anonyme Schreiben über angebliche Vorgänge im Hinblick auf die Lösung der Judenfrage im Warthegau, welches Sie mir mit Ihrem Schreiben vom 6.2.1942 übersandten, habe ich sofort in entsprechende Bearbeitung gehen lassen. Die Ermittlungen laufen zur Zeit.
Daß dort, wo gehobelt wird, Späne fallen, läßt sich nun einmal nicht vermeiden und es liegt auf der Hand, daß der Gegner stets versuchen wird, die gegen ihn gerichteten Maßnahmen nach Tunlichkeit aufzubauschen mit dem Ziel der Mitleiderregung und Hoffnung auf Abstellung. Gerade der Jude versucht, seitdem die Arbeiten zur Abdrängung dieses Gegners seinerzeit in verstärktem Maße von mir in Angriff genommen wurden, laufend durch anonyme Schreiben an fast alle Stellen des Reichsgebietes seinem verdienten Schicksal hierdurch zu entgehen.
Heil Hitler!
Ihr
[Unterschrift]
The head of the Security Police and Security Service
Berlin SW 11, 28 February 1942
[…]
IV B 4 43/42 Secret State Affair (1005)
[…]
Mr. Deputy Secretary Luther
at the Foreign Office,
Berlin.
Dear Comrade Luther,
The anonymous letter addressed to the Foreign Office regarding alleged events concerning the solution of the Jewish question in the Warthegau, which you forwarded to me in your letter dated February 6, 1942, I have immediately put into appropriate processing. Investigations are currently underway.
It is inevitable that where the axe falls, chips will fly, and it is obvious that the enemy will always try to exaggerate the measures taken against him in order to arouse sympathy and hope for intervention. Especially the Jew has been attempting, ever since the efforts to push back this adversary were intensified by me, to evade his deserved fate through continuous anonymous letters sent to almost all authorities in the Reich.
Heil Hitler!
Yours sincerely,
[Signature]
Archivial reference:
Politische Archiv des Auswärtigen Amtes, R 99238;