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Greiser to Pohl of February 14, 1944 on liqidation of Ghetto Lodz by means of Sonderkommando Bothmann
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1944-02-14 Greiser Informs Pohl That Reduction of the Getto Łódź “Will Be Carried Out by the Sonderkommando of SS-Hauptsturmführer Bothmann”

Letter dated February 14, 1944, regarding the Nazi administration’s plans for the liquidation of the Litzmannstadt (Łódź) ghetto, one of the largest Jewish ghettos in occupied Poland. In this document, Reich Governor of the Warthegau, Arthur Greiser, informs Oswald Pohl, head of the SS Administrative Main Office (SS-WVHA), that the ghetto’s population “will be reduced to a minimum”. Greiser specifies that the “reduction will be carried out by the Sonderkommando of SS-Hauptsturmführer Bothmann,” who will be “withdrawn from his mission in Croatia and made available to the Gau Wartheland again”.

Letter of October 23, 1941
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1941-10-23 Head of Anti-Jewish World League Paul Wurm: “Much Will Be Destroyed of The Jewish Vermin Through Special Measures”

Paul Wurm, the Foreign Editor of the Nazi propaganda newspaper Der Stürmer and head of the so-called “Anti-Jewish World League,” wrote a letter on October 23, 1941, to Franz Rademacher, the Foreign Office’s expert on Jewish affairs. In this letter, Wurm mentioned a recent encounter with “an old party comrade” who was actively involved in implementing the “resolution of the Jewish Question” in the East. According to Wurm, this old party comrade disclosed that “much will be destroyed of the Jewish vermin through special measures”.

D5 - Letter of 30 December 1944 on Kaltenbrunner's proposal to Himmler to kill with carbon monoxide
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1944-12-30 Kaltenbrunner’s Execution Proposal to Himmler: “Carbon Monoxide Introduced Via an Apparatus Operated From the Driver’s Seat”

After the shooting of Generalleutnant Fritz von Brodowski while in Allied captivity on 28 October 1944, the Nazis retaliated by executing French Major General Gustave Mesny “while attempting to escape” on 19 January 1945. In a letter dated 30 December 1944, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, chief of the Security Police, officially proposed to Himmler also the option that “carbon monoxide be introduced into the sealed rear compartment of the vehicle via an apparatus operated from the driver’s seat”.

Letter by Himmler of September 18, 1941 on the deportation of German Jews to the Litzmannstadt Ghetto
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1941-09-18 Clearing the Reich: Himmler’s Order for the Deportation of 60,000 German Jews to the Litzmannstadt (Łódź) Ghetto

On September 18, 1941, Heinrich Himmler sent a letter to Arthur Greiser, Gauleiter of the Warthegau, conveying Hitler’s request that the Old Reich and the Protectorate be “cleared and freed from Jews from west to east as soon as possible.” In line with this policy, Himmler ordered the deportation of 60,000 Jews from the Old Reich to the Litzmannstadt Ghetto in occupied Poland.

Order of July 19, 1942
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1942-07-19 Himmler’s Order for the Complete “Resettlement” of Jews in the General Government

On July 19, 1942, Heinrich Himmler, the Reichsführer of the SS, issued a directive ordering the complete “resettlement of the entire Jewish population of the General Government” to be carried out by December 31, 1942. The order specified that no persons of Jewish origin were to remain in the area after this date, except those confined in designated “collection camps” located in Warsaw, Krakow, Częstochowa, Radom, or Lublin. Himmler emphasized that this action was “in the interest of the security and cleanliness of the German Reich and its spheres of interest.”

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1945-01-26 The Inspector of the Security Police and SD Düsseldorf on “Special Treatment” of Foreign Workers: “Discreetly, Including by Shooting”

In a directive dated January 26, 1945, SS-Standartenführer Walter Albath, Inspector of the Security Police and SD in Düsseldorf, issued orders to the Secret State Police Offices concerning the “special treatment” of foreign workers in Wehrkreis VI. Albath instructed that “requests for special treatment in a concentration camp should no longer be submitted” and authorized the State Police Offices to carry out such measures “discreetly, including by shooting.”

Service diary entry of December 18, 1941 on Hitler Jewish Question to be exterminated as partisans
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1941-12-18 Himmler’s Notes from Hitler’s HQ: “Jewish Question | To Be Exterminated as Partisans”

On December 18, 1941, Heinrich Himmler recorded a meeting with Adolf Hitler at the Führerhauptquartier (Wolfsschanze) in his Diensttagebuch (service diary). The brief entry reads: “Jewish Question. | To be exterminated as partisans.” The date marks a critical moment in the evolution of Nazi policy toward European Jews. Just days earlier, Hitler had announced the decision to physically exterminate the Jewish population within the Nazi sphere of influence. The phrase “To be exterminated as partisans” noted by Himmler reflects an attempt to frame the genocide as a necessary wartime measure against alleged enemies and subversive elements. The general accusation was intended to justify collective destruction.

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1943-06-16 “Extermination of State Enemies”: Gestapo Proposes Sonderkommando Kulmhof Operating Chełmno Extermination Camp for War Merit Cross

Proposal for the Award of the War Merit Cross II Class with Swords by the Gestapo Headquarters in Posen, dated June 16, 1943. This document lists four members of Sonderkommando Kulmhof operating Chełmno extermination camp – Herbert Hiecke-Richter, Walter Burmeister, and gas van drivers Oskar Hering and Gustav Laabs – who were involved in the “direct combat and extermination of state enemies.” Their actions are described as requiring “a particularly manly and strong mental attitude” in service of “solving one of the most critical racial issues”.

Protocol of August 1, 1941 on Jews liquidated by Lithuanian collaborators.
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1941-08-01 Nazi High-Level Meeting on Occupied Eastern Europe: 10,000 Jews liquidated in Lithuania

On August 1, 1941, Reich Minister Alfred Rosenberg led a high-level meeting to discuss the governance of Nazi-occupied territories in Eastern Europe. Hinrich Lohse, the Reichskommissar for Ostland and Gauleiter of Schleswig-Holstein, reported that “approximately 10,000 Jews had been liquidated by the Lithuanian population”. Lohse emphasized that, following Hitler’s directive, “the Jews should be completely removed from this area”.

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1942-09-30 Poison and Human Soap – SS Investigator Interrogates Member of Sonderkommando Dirlewanger

Interrogation report dated September 30, 1942, documenting the questioning of SS-Oberscharführer Heinrich Feiertag by an SS court officer regarding allegations against Oskar Dirlewanger, infamous leader of the “Sonderkommando Dirlewanger”, known for its brutality on the Eastern Front. In his testimony, Feiertag acknowledged “hearing rumors about the poisoning of Jews with strychnine”. When confronted with accusations that he was involved in producing soap from human fat, he dismissed them as “slander spoken against me” and stated, “I only shot one Jew, so I would have been lacking material of this origin”.

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