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Göring's Forschungsamt on Jews in Ghetto Lodz
Contemporary Source

1942-04-22 Document from Göring’s Secret Service Forschungsamt: “All Jews in the Warthegau capable of working would be resettled into the Lodz Ghetto after the removal of those unfit for work.”

The document is dated April 22, 1942 and was written by Forschungsstelle A Litzmannstadt (Łódź), a local branch of Hermann Göring’s Secret Service Forschungsamt of the Reich Ministry of Aviation. The message recalls a statement by Robert Schefe of the Litzmannstadt Stapo office that “All Jews in the Warthegau capable of working would be resettled into the Litzmannstadt Ghetto after the removal of those unfit for work”. Furthermore, he noted that “those Jews not capable of working would be placed in so-called care camps” – an euphemistic term for Kulmhof extermination camp.

Contemporary Source

1942-01-16 Telex from Forschungsstelle A Litzmannstadt to Forschungsamt 5 A 3: “the resettlement beginning on January 16 of 10,000 non-working Jews, involving whole families…estimated the number of non-working Jews at around 100,000”

The document, dated January 16, 1941, was addressed from Forschungsstelle A in Litzmannstadt to Forschungsamt 5 A 3. Both offices were part of Hermann Göring’s Secret Service, the Forschungsamt of the Reich Ministry of Aviation. The telex communicates details from Herbert Weygandt of the Stapo office in Litzmannstadt about forthcoming actions in the ghetto. He mentioned the planned “resettlement beginning on January 16 of 10,000 non-working Jews – involving whole families” and following this “a complex currently housing approximately 8,000 Jews will be removed from the ghetto”.

Contemporary Source

1941-12-09 Telex from Forschungsstelle A Litzmannstadt to Forschungsamt 5 A 3: “the sick from the ghetto should be “removed”. When the Stapo office asked whether Berlin had been informed about this, the response was evasive”

The telex, dated December 9, 1941, was sent from Forschungsstelle A Litzmannstadt to Forschungsamt 5 A 3, both of which were components of Hermann Göring’s Secret Service Forschungsamt of the Reich Ministry of Aviation. The message from the Litzmannstadt branch mentions a conversation involving Robert Schefe, the head of the local Stapo office that “by order of the Gauleiter, the sick from the ghetto should be ‘removed’.” Furthermore, when questions were raised about whether central authorities in Berlin had been informed of this decision, the response of the Stapo “was evasive”.

The term “removed” implies the extermination of the sick in Kulmhof extermination camp, where the operation was ramped-up at the time. The evasive answer about informing Berlin suggest a possible attempt to manage such operations discretely or independently at the local level, indicating the decentralized nature of some Nazi policies.

Contemporary Source

1942-12-03 Letter from Heinrich Himmler to Arthur Greiser: “Proceeding against the sick in the intended manner, in my opinion, is not feasible”

The letter, dated December 3, 1942, from Himmler to SS-Obergruppenführer Greiser, acknowledges Dr. Blome’s concerns regarding the proposed plan to address incurable tuberculosis patients. Himmler “carefully reconsidered whether the original idea should be implemented in some form” but concludes that “Proceeding against the sick in the intended manner, in my opinion, is not feasible”. Instead, he suggests now an alternative approach, advocating for the relocation of these patients to a designated area. Additionally, he emphasizes the importance of properly leveraging propaganda to support this action.

Contemporary Source

1942-11-21 Letter from Arthur Greiser to Heinrich Himmler: “to subject those members of the Polish community who are proven to be afflicted with open and thus incurable pulmonary tuberculosis to special treatment…do not believe that the Führer needs to be consulted…since during our last discussion regarding the Jews, he told me to proceed at my own discretion”

The letter, dated November 21, 1942, from the Reich Governor of the Reichsgau Wartheland Posen to Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, discusses the authorization granted “to subject those members of the Polish community who are proven to be afflicted with open and thus incurable pulmonary tuberculosis to special treatment”, which effectively meant execution. Despite thorough evaluation and planning, concerns regarding implementation were raised by Professor Dr. Blome, Deputy Head of the Main Office for Public Health of the NSDAP, in a letter dated November 18, 1942. Greiser seeks Himmler’s opinion on whether to inform the Führer about this stage of the process. However, he personally believes such consultation of Hitler may not be necessary, citing that previousy “regarding the Jews, he told me to proceed at my own discretion”.

Contemporary Source

1942-11-18 Letter from Kurt Blome to Arthur Greiser: “approximately 35,000 incurable and contagious Poles would be ‘specially treated’….one day even the relatives of the patients will notice that ‘something is not right here,’ even with the best efforts at secrecy.”

While the Nazi authorities in the Warthegau were already planning the killing of Polish individuals incurably afflicted with tuberculosis, concerns were raised by the Main Office for Public Health of the NSDAP. In a letter dated 18 November 1942 to Arthur Greiser, the Reich Governor of the Wartheland, Kurt Blume detailed the plan of the Warthegau authorities where “approximately 35,000 incurable and contagious Poles would be given special treatment.” He also noted that Greiser “obtained approval for the special treatment from the appropriate authorities,” (e.g. the Security Police and Reichsführer SS) but stressed the need to ensure “explicitly that the Führer truly agrees with such a solution.” Blume pointed out that Hitler “already halted the action in the asylums some time ago, and currently does not consider ‘special treatment’ of the hopeless patients politically expedient or acceptable.” Overall, Blume expressed that “secrecy is simply impossible… one day even the relatives of the patients will notice that ‘something is not right here,’ even with the best efforts at secrecy.”

Contemporary Source

1942-06-09 Letter from Heinrich Müller to Heinrich Himmler: “no objections to Polish nationals…afflicted with open tuberculosis, being subjected to special treatment..the implementation must be as inconspicuous as possible.”

After receiving the request from the government of the Warthegau to kill Polish nationals suffering from incurable tuberculosis through the use of the Sonderkommando Lange, Rudolf Brandt from the Personal Staff of the Reichsführer-SS sought a statement from the Chief of the Security Police, Reinhard Heydrich, on this matter. On June 9, 1942 ( after Heydrich’s death), Gestapo Chief Heinrich Müller reported that there were “no objections to Polish nationals of the Wartheland region, who are afflicted with open tuberculosis and stateless individuals of Polish ethnicity, being subjected to special treatment as proposed by Gauleiter Greiser”, however, “the implementation must be as inconspicuous as possible”.

Contemporary Source

1942-05-03 Letter from Wilhelm Koppe to Rudolf Brandt: “the transfer of those Poles who are demonstrably suffering from open tuberculosis to Kommando Lange for special treatment”

On May 3, 1942, in a coordinated action with the Reich Governor Arthur Greiser of the Reichsgau Wartheland, Wilhelm Koppe, the Higher SS and Police Leader in the same region, reached out to Rudolf Brandt, Personal Staff of the Reichsführer-SS. Their aim was to secure Himmler’s approval “for the transfer of those Poles who are demonstrably suffering from open tuberculosis to Kommando Lange for special treatment”, effectively meaning their execution by the Sonderkommando Lange, then operating the Kulmhof extermination camp.

Contemporary Source

1942-05-01 Letter from Arthur Greiser to Heinrich Himmler: “The action of special treatment of around 100,000 Jews in my district…will be completed in the next 2-3 months…the existing and incorporated Sonderkommando”

On May 1, 1942, Arthur Greiser, the Reich Governor in the Reichsgau Wartheland, relayed to Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler that “The action of special treatment of around 100,000 Jews in my district, which you approved in agreement with the Chief of the Reich Security Main Office, SS-Obergruppenführer Heydrich, will be completed in the next 2-3 months”, pertaining to the death toll of Kulmhof extermination camp. Additionally, Greiser proposed “to eradicate cases of open TB within the Polish ethnic group here in Warthegau” by “using the existing and incorporated Sonderkommando after the Jewish action”, suggesting the involvement of Sonderkommando Lange (then under the leadership of Hans Bothmann) in the extermination of Poles with open tuberculosis.

Contemporary Source

1942-02-28 Letter from Heinrich Müller to Martin Luther: “Geheime Reichssache (1005)…alleged incidents in the course of the solution of the Jewish question in the Warthegau”

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 “Geheime Reichssache (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.”

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