Lot 163

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Description:

THE FORERUNNER OF HITLER'S HOLOCAUST Historic partial signed document, an annotated working draft letter sent to "All Party and State Services in Austria" creating the "Centre for Jewish Emigration in Vienna" ...an agency created by SS-Obersturmfuhrer Adolf Eichmann sent from Berlin specifically for that task, and which would serve as a model for other such emigration bureaus throughout occupied Europe. The letter, lacking the last page, is a working draft dated Vienna, Aug. 20, 1938 which coincides with the date of the official establishment of the agency by Eichmann. The letter, clearly hurriedly prepared as attested to by the many holograph corrections, is issued by the Reichs Commissioner for the Reunification of Austria with the German Reich, JOSEF BURCKEL (1895-1944), who collaborated with Eichmann in establishing the office and who likely penned the emendations. It reads, in part: "...The emigration of Jews has resulted in unfortunate disturbances and delays...the questions of Jewish emigration were not dealt with efficiently...In order to promote and accelerate the emigration of Jews from Austria, the Centre for Jewish Emigration in Vienna...is therefore established...The Central Office shall in cooperation with other departments be concerned with...negotiation of entry permits with the relevant German or other emigration organizations...Request the foreign exchange necessary for emigration...Cooperation with travel agencies and shipping companies...Monitoring the Jewish political and other migrant organizations regarding their attitude to the issue of emigration...Publication of directives and permanent contact with all parties [including Austrian administrators]...Secret State Police...security service of the Reichsfuhrer-SS...the exchange office...Central Tax and Fees Office...the magistrate...Passport Office...Police Directorate for Migration...Central Registration Office...All the party departments and authorities were instructed to forward all emigration requests immediately...to the Central Office for Jewish Emigration, and refer them to all emigrant Jews. Jews who want to emigrate have only to turn to the Central Office..." File holes and a few toned spots, else very good. The Central Office for Jewish Emigration in Vienna was so successful, it served as a template - "the Vienna Model" - for the Reich Central Office for Jewish Emigration as well. Eichmann, who also led a raid on the Jewish Cultural Community offices in Vienna in March 1938, used the lessons he learned in establishing this office with him to his postings in Berlin and Hungary. And the Vienna office? It "facilitated" the emigration of 110,000 within less than a year, and by its dissolution in 1943 sent 50,000 Jews to their deaths in the camps.

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May 14, 2020 12:00 PM EDT
Chesapeake City, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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Bid Increments
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$100 $499 $20
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 + $10,000