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“From the beginning of the expulsion of Jews from Slovakia in March 1942, 59,000 Jews were removed from Slovakia on regular transports. At the same time, refugee wave opened at the beginning of the expulsions that took Jews to Hungary. The number of Jews who escaped to Hungary ranges between 7,000 to 8,000. From the last census of Jews in December 1940, the natural decline of Jewish population ranges around 2,000. The decline is caused by the number of deaths exceeding that of births. Even in respect to this, the number of Jews in Slovakia is around 20,000. When deducting from the figure the number of Jews who are protected by the Law of 15 May 1942, the number of which allegedly ranges around 5,000, there are still 15,000 Jews left to be evacuated. All those Jews hold the protective ID issued by the Government departments that are authorised by the Law of 15 May 1942 to issue such IDs in their own capacity. It was thus impossible for the Department XIV of the Ministry of Interior to gather the Jews for the final transports without including among the deportees those who held the exemption. We know from experience that the Government departments are reluctant to revise or abolish the exemptions they had issued. The reluctance is justified by the alleged vital need for those Jews in Slovak economy. Plus, the Jews use a lie that the Jewish specialists “removed” from Slovakia were sent to the old Reich territory to carry our special duties. Further false argument aired by the Jews suggests that the German Reich doesn’t wish to continue the expulsions of Jews for it has difficulty with their subsequent accommodation. On the contrary, it is evidenced that none of the Jews who has been deported to the territory of the General Government or to the occupied Eastern territory, are allowed to return to the territory of the Reich, and that 23 transports had been assigned to continue the deportations of Jews from Slovakia, the schedule being presented to the Department XIV of the Ministry of Interior. The so-called Jews of economic merit are largely the wealthiest, economically and politically most influential members of Jewry in Slovakia. Jewish proletariat that has no personal or economic contacts, was expelled without exception. The outrageous cases that have been recently published in the press show how cleverly the “Jews of economic merit” manage to fully corrupt public life. It is undeniable that the young Slovak state lacks technicians, physicians and similar university trained professionals, yet the gap can soon be filled. Production, however, can absolutely do without Jews. Their alleged essential merit largely arises from the inability and disinterest on the part of the Arysators of the previously Jewish businesses. The Aryanisation has been underway in Slovakia for two years already. Over this period, those who had took over the Jewish businesses had an opportunity to acquire the indispensable knowledge of trade in order to run their business independently. It seems to me more practical to review the Aryanisation in given cases rather than leaving the Jews to set up a fireplace of corruption. Most Arysators are willing to give up their Jews, if they are give a guarantee that those, as had been already noted don’t appear among the competitors. To find the way out of the current situation is, I believe, possible, provided that:

1. Every IDs issued to date by the individual Government departments would be subject to review, as it turned out that forged IDs had been issued. The existing IDs would be replaced by a universal Jewish ID card with a photograph. The Jews with no universal ID card or having their card taken away after the review, will be transferred with their entire family to the concentration camp.

2. The Arysators and owners of Jewish business that employ Jews will be requested to promptly submit to the relevant police authority a declaration why they employ the Jews and how soon they can do without them. The declarations will be reviewed and compared with the list of Jews in possession of the ID. It will become apparent during the process that innumerable Jews own the ID even though they don’t work for any business and got hold of their ID by bribery and forgery. Those Jews have to be sent to the concentration camp immediately.

3. Since even the President now spoke on behalf of the expulsions of Jews, it seems that the full concentration of all Jewish affairs at the Ministry of Interior is possible and necessary.

4. To identify the Jews who have so far avoided the expulsion by constantly changing their place of residence, a proposal will be presented for a sweeping comprehensive search across the territory of Slovakia. Special attention has to be paid to the properties that are still owned by Jews, even if they hold the exemption. We know from experience that a larger number of Jews is hiding in such properties.

5. If 1 to 4 of the proposed measures are applied, it will be possible to place 4,000 – 5,000 Jews in the camps. It seems to me practical to assign transports only once they are ready for dispatch. We have the opportunity to transport the concentrated Jews within the shortest time span.

6. Relatives of those Jew, who had been involved in economic activities for some time, will be taken to concentration camps. An individual Jew still fit to work, may visit his relatives in the camps. The relatives in such camps will have to engage in labour. It will achieve full isolation of the Jewish element. The removal of the Jews participating in economic life will be followed by the transport of the entire families from the concentration to the evacuation camp in Žilina.

7. Should the Slovak Government decide to also deal with the issue of the Jews who had been Christened some time ago (i.e. prior to 14 March 1939), they can be received in Parczew in the Lublin district. After the relocation, they can live there separated from the other Jews.

8. Based in the Jewish Code, the Jews economic worth don’t have to wear the Star of David. Yet, since this exemption is often the cause of complaints by the public, we suggest to introduce a different identification sign for those Jews. It can be, for instance, a circle made of yellow fabric, 6 centimetres in diameter with black inscription “H.Ž.” (transl. note: Jews of economic merit; in Slovak hospodársky Žid). That would meet the legal requirement and the Arysators would no longer be keen to employ Jews thus identified. Similarly, members of The Jewish Council would be identified with the yellow circle with inscription “ÚŽ” (transl. note: The Jewish Council; in Slovak Ústredňa židov).

9. The implementation of the proposed measures will naturally require to enhance the police force, as a significant portion of the difficulties arose because of insufficient implementation of the existing regulations. We therefore propose to form, for interim period, “Jewish police” from among the most reliable members of the Hlinka Guard (Pozn. Luc: navrhujem oplniť link s vysvetlením, čo je to HG) who would fall directly under the remit of the Ministry of Interior. Such measure has been most successful in France. In Paris, for instance, it led to the arrest of all Jewish element. I am firmly convinced that, even if only some of the proposed measures are applied, the expulsion of Jews from Slovakia, except for the negligible number that is expected to be transported later, is practicable. The Slovak state would thus become a role model in solving the Jewish question for all nations of the South-East.

Wisliceny SS–Hauptsturmführer”

 

Report by Dieter Wisliceny to the German Embassy, 18 August 1942

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