Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team

 

Holocaust Prelude


  Early Nazi Leaders

  Nazi Propaganda

  Nazi Racial Laws

  Sinti & Roma

  Kristallnacht

  The SS

  SS Leadership

  Wannsee

 

  Prelude Articles

  Image Galleries

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Richard Korherr Report  

*Note:  While "The Korherr Report" having been compiled after the vast majority of European Jews had already been murdered, H.E.A.R.T has selected to place this article  in the Prelude section as a conclusion to many of the events leading to the genocidal intent and actions detailed herein, perpetrated by the Nazi's and their collaborators.   [Some photos added to enhance the text]

 

Richard Korherr (circa 1978)

On the 18 January 1943 Heinrich Himmler the Reichsfuhrer SS ordered Richard Korherr who was “Inspekteur fur Statiskik” of the SS to produce a report on the Final Solution of the “Jewish Question in Europe.” up to the period of the 31 December 1942.

 

Richard Korrher undertook this work and on the 23 March 1943 sent a sixteen page report to SS- Obersturmbannfuhrer Dr. Rudolf Brandt, who was on the personal staff of the RF-SS Heinrich Himmler.

 

On the 9 April 1943 Heinrich Himmler wrote to Ernst Kaltenbrunner the Chief of the SIPO and SD that he found Korherr’s report to be excellent because it could later serve as camouflage, but for the moment he forbade circulation. Himmler wanted in the future to receive short monthly reports concerning the number of Jews evacuated and how many remained.

 

The next day the 10 April 1943 Rudolf Brandt informed Korherr that his report had been received by Himmler who wished that “nowhere it be spoken of the ‘special action applied to the Jews.’ In the meantime Himmler ordered Korherr to draft a summary of his report “to be presented to Hitler.”  

 

The result was a summary report of six and one half pages addressed to Dr Brandt on the 19 April 1943, which covered the period up to the 31 March 1943

 

The report produced by Korherr is one of the most damming documents of the whole Nazi period and their brutal policy in pursuit of the destruction of the Jews of Europe. Of particular noteworthy consideration is the figure of 1274166 for the number of Jews passing through the camps in the General Government.

 

This is the figure quoted by Hans Hofle, the Chief of Staff for Aktion Reinhard controlled by Odilo Globocnik in Lublin. The message sent to SS- Obersturmbannfuhrer Heim, of the BdS office in Krakow dated 11 January 1943 was intercepted by British Intelligence using the replica enigma machine, supplied by the Poles, at Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire.

 

Korherr was employed by the West German Ministry of Finance but was dismissed from this post in 1961 following the publicity generated by the book written by Gerald Reitlinger, the “Final Solution” which heavily covered the wartime report drawn up by Korherr.

 ______________________________________________________________________________________________

 

The First Korherr Report

Secret Reich Material

                                                            

-The Inspector of Statistics for the Reichsfuhrer SS 

 

 

                                  The Final Solution of the European Jewish Problem

                              Statistical Report

 

Contents

 

l   Preface  

ll. Jewish Statistics for Germany  

III. The Weakness of the Jewish Race  

IV. Jewish Emigration from Germany  

V.  The Evacuation of the Jews 

VI. The Jews in the Ghetto 

VII. The Jews in the Concentration Camps  

VIII. The Jews in Penal Institutions  

IX. The Jews involved in Work Projects 

X. European Jewish Statistics

 

I. Preface

 

The numerical recording of Jewry and its development are necessary for setting up a statistic representation of the results on the way to the solution of the Jewish problem. The contradictions in Jewish figures make preliminary remarks necessary to the effect that the numerical data of Jewry are always to be accepted only with reservations and that lack of knowledge about the origin and source of these data can lead to false conclusions.

 

Page 1 of the Korherr Report

(in German -click text to enlarge)

The sources of error are above all to be found in the nature of Jewry and its historical development, the many thousands of years of restless wandering, the numerous conversions to and from Judaism, the efforts of the Jews to integrate, the interbreeding with the native populations, the efforts of the Jews to avoid registration and lastly in erroneous or falsely interpreted statistics of Jewry.

However, up to now, partly due to the large degree of overlap between the Jewish religion and the Jewish race, ignorance of racial theory, and partly due to being caught up in the religious thought of the times, Jewish statistics have never been compiled on the basis of race but rather on the basis of religion.

 

The classification of the race pre-supposes many years of training and knowledge of genealogy. It was also difficult, particularly in southern and eastern countries, despite this overlap, to isolate a homogeneous Jewish race statistically. The avowal of Mosaic or Jewish faith is also no foolproof evidence, because as a result of the former Jewish missionary movement with its conversion of masses of heathens and Christians, also because of changes of faith in modern times via mixed marriages and conversions, there are more than a few people of Jewish faith who are not racially Jewish.

 

On the other hand compulsory Christianity in the last century and the increase in baptised Jews and non-practising Jews have reduced their number. Thus in 1893 Leroy- Beulieu estimated the loss of Judaism to Christianity to be between four and ten times as great as the present number of adherents to the Jewish religion.

 

According to Maurice Fishberg and Mathias Mieses, three times the present Jewish population have been absorbed by Aryan Europe. Even Hans Gunther estimates the Jewish population of Germany at double the number of Jews of mosaic faith with German nationality. Finally, the Lithuanian Jew Brutzkus goes so far as to classify the Berlin Jews on the basis of their blood composition as being purer Europeans than the Germans in Berlin.

 

According to these opinions the number of racial Jews in Europe including half-breeds was assumed to be three times as great as the number of religious Jews (in Eastern Europe twice as great, in Middle Europe four times as great and in the rest of Europe as much as eight times as great) and approximately 6% of Jewish blood was calculated to be in the European population.

 

In contrast Burgdorfer estimates the Jewish population of Germany in 1933 at 850,000 full, half and quarter Jews (based on 502,000 religious Jews) and the Jewish population of Austria in 1934 as between 300,000 and 400,000 (based on 191,481 religious Jews). The German census of the racial Jews in 1939 lists the only slightly higher of 330, 892 full and 72, 738 half and 42,811 quarter Jews with the figure 307,614 religious Jews. These figures cannot be regarded as trustworthy, particularly in the case of the half and quarter Jews.

 

These figures can only be considered to represent minimums. They originated as answers to a question appearing on a card to be filled out for the German census of 1939, “Was, or is one of your grandparents Jewish?” This question was to be answered yes or no for each grandparent. Since these cards were to be handed in, in a sealed envelope and could not be examined on the spot, they were filled out poorly. In many cases instead of an answer there were only marks made in the corresponding boxes.

 

Page 3 The Korherr Report

The first official attempt to classify Jews by race was immediately sabotaged by the Jews. It occurred during the Austrian census of March 7 1923. Vice Chancellor Dr Frank (Greater German People’s Party) signed a decree shortly before the census, according to which question 7 (language) of the census form was also to be answered by listing “ethnic origin and race.” Since the census forms had already been printed this was only indicated on a red page without any explanation, instructions or examples. The Austrian Jews sabotaged this question in the Jewish Marxist press, shortly before the census by calling on its readers to answer the questions about race with “white.”

 

The result was that the “white race in Austria was about as widespread as the influence of the Jewish Marxist press and parties.” Only in Karnten and Burgenland were the data analysed with dubious results, whereas in the remaining states, particularly in Vienna the project was abandoned as pointless.  

 

II. Jewish Statistics in Germany

 

The following material on the number and development of Jews in Germany is based on the official census figures, on similar statistical investigations of the Reich and on statistical calculations and estimates. The material is however, mainly provided by the Reich Jewish Union in Germany and the Jewish Religious Centres in Vienna and Prague which deal with census forms and figures, population movement and extrapolation in addition to calculations and estimates.

 

These Jewish offices work under the supervision and for the purposes of the Main Reich Security Office. Aside from the questionable initial statistics on Jews the Reich Jewish Union of Germany seems to do reliable work. On the basis of statistics prepared by this office and checked by the Main Reich Security Office the following figures can be established for the development of Jewry in Germany from the seizure of power (January 30 1933 in Altreich, March 1938 in Austria, March 1939 in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia) up to January 1 1943.

   

1. Jewish Population of Altreich with Sudetengau and Danzig

 

Jewish population of Altreich without Sudetengau and Danzig on Jan 30 1933

Approx 561,000

Decrease from January 30 1933 to January 1 1943 due to :-

 

Excess deaths (in Altreich)

- 61,193

Emigration

- 352, 534

Evacuation

- 100,516

 

- 514,243

Increase from 1 December 1933 to January 1 1943 due to the annexation of the Sudetenland.

 

Other changes (Danzig, movements within the area, officially sanctioned conversions, recognition as a first class half-breed , new registrations , cleaning up of files

                           

                        + 2,649 *

 

 

 

                        + 1,921

 

                         + 4570

 

 

Jewish population of the Altreich with Sudetengau and Danzig on January 1 1943

                          51, 327

 

* This figure of 2,649 Jews in the Sudetenland was arrived at in the census of 1939. Before the annexation of the Sudetenland into the Reich the Jewish population was approximately 30,000, who rapidly moved to the Protectorate, without crossing a national border and without loss of property.

 

The newly acquired Eastern Territories (except for Danzig) are not included in the statistics. These figures cannot be calculated. There are, however, various estimates of the Jewish population at the time of the annexation into the Reich which indicates a figure of approximately 630,000.

 

In addition there are approximately 160,000 Jews in the district of Bialystok and there were approximately 1.3 million Jews in the General Government when it was set up (without the district of Lemberg with a Jewish population of approximately 700,000).

 

That would give us a total Jewish population of about 2.5 million for the entire Greater German Territory (without the occupied Eastern Territories), the greater part of which are in the new East.

 

On January 1 1943 the Jewish population of the Reich without the new Eastern Territories, without the Ghetto for the Aged in Theresienstadt and without the Jews working in the programs of the Schmelt organisation is only 74,979. Of these 51,327 in Altreich, 8102 in Ostmark and 15,550 in the Protectorate. In the Altreich with the Sudetenland only 9.2% of the Jewish population at the time of seizure of power now remain. On January 30 1943 the Jewish population was only 48, 242 or 8.6%. On February 22 1943 only 44,589 or 7.9%

 

Berlin which comprised 1/8 of the Jewish population of Germany in 1880, over 1/4 in 1910 and almost 1/3 in 1933, had not less than 32,999 Jews on January 1 1943 or 64.3% of the total Jewish of the Altreich on January 30 1943 only 30,121 and on February 28 1943 only 27,281. In Ostmark it is only Vienna that accounts for any Jewish population at all.

 

Of the 51,327 Jews of the Altreich 23,197 are men and 28,130 women. 40,351 are religious Jews, 10,976 non-practicing Jews. 16,760 live in mixed marriages, in Ostmark 4,803 (of 8102), in the Protectorate 6,211 (of 15,550). 

 

III. The Weakness of the Jewish Race

 

The Jewish population of Germany shows an extraordinarily high excess of deaths which is not only due to the high mortality rate of the Jews but also to the very low birth rate. Thus the natural population change in the Altreich with the Sudetenland from 1933 to 1942 developed as follows (according to the estimates and data of the Reich Jewish Union of Germany since the figures based on religious Jews are much more complicated and less reliable):

 

Jewish Births and Deaths in the Altreich

 

Years

Births

Deaths

Excess of Deaths

1933

3425

8925

- 5500

1934

2300

8200

- 5900

1935

2500

8100

-5600

1936

2300

8000

-5700

1937

2100

8000

-5900

1938

1000

7448

-6448

1939

610

8136

-7526

1940

396

6199

-5803

1941

351

6249

-5898

1942

239

7657

-7418

 

 

 

 

1933- 1942

15,221

76,914

- 61,693

 

Figures up to 1939 are calculated or estimated.

 

From the day of the seizure of power (January 30 1933) to January 1 1943 the excess of deaths of the Jews in the Altreich with the Sudetenland was 61693; this represents the result of 14,921 births and 76,114 deaths

 

Portrait of Heinrich Himmler

The emigration on the one hand and lack of data on the number of deaths in concentration camps in the figures provided by the Reich Jewish Union on the other leave room for many errors, however, despite the decrease in the Jewish population a cursory examination is enough to recognise the relatively constant Jewish death rate.

 

That would give us a Jewish mortality rate of 80-85 per 1,000 (compared to the average European mortality rate of 10-15 per 1,000) in 1942. Moreover, the decrease of births is noticeable and is far ahead of the decrease in the Jewish population.

 

The birth rate for the Jews in the Altreich would only be approximately 2 1/2 per 1,000 in 1942 according to these calculations. Similarly in Ostmark between March 3 1938 and January 1 1943 there were 15,188 Jewish deaths as opposed to 679 births.

 

Finally in the Altreich there were only 14 Jewish children born in December 1942 and in January and February of 1943 only 7 and 8 respectively. It must be taken into consideration that Jewry has had a low birth rate in the civilised Western countries for decades, as shown by the denominational birth statistics. The Jew Felix Theilhaber pointed to the “fall of the German Jew” in 1911 which was only kept in balance by the constant re-supplying of East Jewish blood.

 

This phenomenon was only partially due to the ageing of Jews in major cities, mainly it was a result of the real weakness of the Jewish race. The age structure of the Jewish population must be taken into consideration when trying to understand the extraordinarily high Jewish death rate and their low birth rate.

 

After their long wandering the German Jews are composed mainly of the aged so that their age distribution represented graphically resembles a “club” in the words of the Reich Jewish Union, which is also objectively the case.

 

Children and people in their fertile years are missing while the aged comprise not only a greater proportional part of the population but also a numerically greater part of the population. This is also the cause of the high suicide rate among the Jews since suicide is primarily prevalent amongst the aged.  

 

IV. Jewish Emigration from Germany

 

The emigration of the Jews from the East to Middle and Western Europe and from Europe overseas to the United States of America is a phenomenon which has been observed for decades. Many Jews emigrated from Germany mainly between 1840 and 1870, after this, however, this emigration all but ceased due to the new economic possibilities of the Reich.

 

Instead the Germans began to emigrate. The Jewish emigration from Germany after 1933, to a certain extent a continuation of the interrupted emigration of 1870, attracted the attention of the entire civilised world, particularly of the Jewish-governed democracies. Attempts were made by various groups using different methods to classify this emigration numerically and structurally, however, no consistent results were obtained.

 

The statistics on German emigration the figures of the Reich Jewish Union in Germany and of the Jewish Religious Centres in Prague and Vienna, foreign statistics, calculations and estimates, the statistics on international Jewry and the figures of scientific studies exhibit a great variation.

 

Professor Zielenziger of Amsterdam calculated an emigration of 135,000 between the seizure of power and the end of 1937 whereas the Reich Jewish Union lists the figure 203,000. This emigration increased considerably after 1938 but ceased almost completely (with a few exceptions per month) with the prohibition of Jewish emigration in the autumn of 1941. The Reich Jewish Union and the Jewish Religious Centres of Prague and Vienna list the following high emigration figures (including duplications).

 

Emigration from

Figure

Time Period

Altreich with Sudetenland

352, 534

January 30 1933 – January 1 1943

Ostmark

149,124

March 1 1938 – January 1 1943

Protectorate

26,009

February 15 1939 – January 1 1943

 

Page 6 of the Korherr Report

The initially hectic emigration precludes the possibility of obtaining exact figures. Also the countries listed as destinations, insofar as concerns European countries can be considered as a temporary stop-over in most cases. Of the emigrants from the Altreich approximately 144,000 went to other European countries, 57,000 to USA, 54,000 to South America, 10,000 to Middle America, 53,000 to Palestine, 15,000 to Africa (mainly South Africa), 16,000 to Asia (China) and 4,000 to Australia.

 

Of the 144,000 who emigrated to other European countries over 32,000 went to England, 39,000 to Poland or the General Government, 18,000 to France, 8,000 to Italy, 7,500 to the Netherlands and 6,000 to Belgium. It is to be assumed that most of these emigrants went on to emigrate overseas.

 

The following figures are listed for the Jewish emigrants from Ostmark; 65,500 to other European countries, 50,000 to America, 20,000 to Asia, 9,000 to Palestine, 2,000 to Australia and 2,600 to Africa.

 

V. The Evacuation of the Jews

 

The evacuation of the Jews superseded the Jewish emigration, at least in the territory of the Reich. This evacuation was prepared after the prohibition of Jewish emigration in autumn 1941 on a large scale and was carried out extensively in the entire Reich territory in 1942. In Jewish statistics this appears under the heading “emigrations.” According to the figures of the Main Reich Security Office the following number of Jews had “emigrated” by January 1 1943:

 

From Altreich with Sudetenland

100,516

From Ostmark

47,555

From the Protectorate

69,677

Total

217, 748

 

These figures also include the Jews evacuated to the Ghetto for the aged in Theresienstadt.

 

The figures for evacuations from Reich territory including the Eastern Territories and also from territories under German control or influence between October 1939 and December 30 1942 are:

 

1

Jews evacuated to France from Baden and the Palatinate

6504

2

Evacuation to the East from Reich territory including the Protectorate and the district of Bialystok

170,642

3

Evacuation from Reich territory and the Protectorate to Theresienstadt

87,193

4

Transportation of the Jews from the Eastern Provinces to the Russian East

 

Number passed through the camps in the General Government

 

Through the camp at Warthegau

1449692

 

 

1274166

 

 

145301

5

Evacuation of the Jews from other countries, namely;

 

France (as occupied before November 10 1942)

 

Holland

 

Belgium

 

Norway

 

Slovakia

 

Croatia

 

 

 

41911

 

 

38,571

 

16886

 

532

 

56691

 

4927

 

Total evacuation (including Theresienstadt  and special treatment

1873549

 

Without Theresienstadt

1786356

6

In addition there are the figures of the Main Reich Security Office for the evacuation of the Jews from the Russian territories including the formerly Baltic countries since the beginning of the Eastern campaign

 

 

633, 300

 

 

The above figures do not include the Jews in ghettos and concentration camps. The evacuations of Jews from Slovakia and Croatia were carried out by these countries themselves.

 

VI. The Jews in the Ghetto’s

 

Here are to be listed:

 

1

The ghetto for the aged in Theresienstadt

Where have been delivered a total of

 

Of these from the Reich Territory

 

 

Of these from the Protectorate

 

 

At the beginning of 1943 there were

 

 

Of these were German citizens

 

Of these were from the Protectorate

 

The decrease in these figures was primarily due to deaths. Besides Theresienstadt there were a number of Jewish homes for the aged and hospitals for invalids with a much smaller capacity. They are in the Reich territory and are not counted as ghettos nor places of evacuation

87193 Jews

 

 

47471

 (Ostmark 14,222)

 

39722

 

 

49392

Jewish Inhabitants

 

24,313

 

25079

 

 

 

 

 

2

The ghetto Litzmannstadt with a Jewish population of 87,180 in the beginning of 1943. Of these 83,133 are of former Polish nationality

87,180

3

The figures for the rest of the Jewish population, mainly living in the remaining ghettos of the General Government were listed as

 

District

 

Krakau

 

Radom

 

Lublin        

 

Warsaw

 

Lemberg   

 

Total for the General Government                               

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jewish Population

 

37,000

 

29,400

 

20,000

 

50,000

 

161,514

 

297, 914

 

 

VII. The Jews in the Concentration Camps

 

From the seizure of power to December 31 1942, 73,417 Jews were delivered to concentration camps.

 

Of those

 

Were again released

36,943

Have died

27,347

Leaving a balance on December 31 1942  of

9,127

 

It is to be observed that the first figure does not represent different Jews as the repeated commitment of one Jew would be counted more than once.

 

The Jews in the evacuation stations of Auschwitz and Lublin are not included in these figures. The concentration camps yield the following figures, divided according to commitments, releases, deaths and population on December 12 1942:

Jews in Concentration Camps

 

Concentration Camp

Commitments

Releases

Deaths

Population

On December 31 1942

Lublin  Men

23409

4509

14217

4683

Lublin Women

2849

59

131

2659

Auschwitz Men

4917

1

3716

1200

Auschwitz Women

932

 

720

212

Buchenwald

16827

13805

2795

227

Mauthausen / Gusen

2064

 

1985

79

Sachsenhausen

7960

6570

1344

46

Stutthof Men

28

 

13

15

Stutthof Women

3

 

 

3

Ravensbruck Women

1321

531

787

3

Ravensbruck Men

273

44

229

-

Dachau

12026

11140

886

-

Gross Rosen

231

-

231

-

Lichtenburg

195

195

 

-

Neuengamme

192

2

190

-

Flossenburg

80

2

78

-

Sachsenburg

52

52

 

-

Esterwegen

36

33

3

-

Niederhagen

12

 

12

-

Natzweiler

10

 

10

-

Total

73417

36943

27347

9127

 

VIII. Jews in Penal Institutions

 

At the beginning of 1943 there were 458 Jews in penal institutions in the territory of the Reich as follows:

 

 

Men

Women

Totals

Sentenced

350

78

428

Preventative detention

29

 

29

Work house

 

1

1

Total

379

79

458

 

 

IX. Jews Involved in Work Projects

 

At the beginning of 1943 there were 185, 776 Jews involved in work projects relevant to the war effort in the territory of the Reich.

 

They were divided as follows:

 

1) Within the inspectorates of the security police and the SD (without Posen and without the Russian Jews) there were 21,659 Jews. Of these 18,546 with German nationality, 107 from the Protectorate, 2519 stateless and 487 foreigners. They are divided among the inspectorates as follows (without Posen):

 

Berlin

15100

Braunschweig

110

Breslau (1*)

2451

Danzig

0

Dresden

485

Dusseldorf

673

Hamburg

497

Kassel

259

Konigsberg (2*)

96

Munchen

313

Nurnberg

89

Salzburg

7

Stettin

18

Stuttgart

178

Vienna

1226

Wiesbaden

139

 

 

Page 8 The Korherr Report

(1*) Without the Schmelt organisation  

(2*) Without the Russian Jews  

2) In the Inspectorate Konigsberg there are also 18,435 foreign Jews, i.e. almost exclusively Russian Jews. 

3) In the Inspectorate Posen in ghettos and work camps there are 95,112 Jews mainly Polish. 

4) In the Schmelt Organisation (Breslau) there are 50,570 Jews, of these 42,382 are stateless and 8,188 are foreign.

 

X. European Jewish Statistics

 

The collapse of European Jewry began decades ago with the racial deterioration of the Jews in the cities on the one hand and the Jewish emigration on the other. In 1927 the Jewish statistician Lestschinsky elucidated the decline of European Jewry as follows: “In the beginning of the 19th century Europe accounted for 85% of the world Jewish population with Russia, Austro-Hungary and Germany having 80% of all Jews.

 

There were only 2-3,000 Jews in America at that time. In 1925 63% of all Jews were in Europe, within the borders of Germany, Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire there were only 57% remaining, 30% in America and 7% in the rest of the world.”

 

According to the calculations of the Reich Office for Statistics, in 1880 Europe accounted for 88.4% of the World Jewish population, in 1937 only 60.4%. In 1943 Europe should not account for more than one third of the world Jewish population.

 

The following is a list of the Jewish population in some important European Countries:

 

Country

Census Year

Jewish Population

Year of Recent Census

Jewish population in 1000

% of Total Population

Altreich

1933/35

502,799

1943

51

0.07

Austria

1934

191,481

1943

8

0.1

Czechoslovakia – Protectorate

1930

356, 830

1943

16

0.2

Danzig

1929

10,448

-

-

-

Memel Territory

1925

2,402

1937

3

2.0

Belgium

-

-

1937

80

1.0

Bulgaria

1934

48, 398

1937

50

0.8

Finland

-

-

1937

2

0.04

France

-

-

1937

280

0.7

Greece

1928

72,791

1937

90

1.1

Great Britain

1931/33

234,000

1937

345

0.7

Italy

1930

47, 825

1937

52

0.1

Yugoslavia

1930

68,405

1937

75

0.1

Ireland

-

-

1936

4

0.1

Latvia

1935

93,479

1937

96

4.9

Lithuania

1923

155,125

1937

175

7.4

Netherlands

1930

111,917

1937

135

1.6

Poland

1930

3113933

1937

3300

9.6

Rumania

1930

984213

1941

302*

2.2

Slovakia

-

-

1940

89

3.4

Soviet Russia

1926

2570330

1939

4600**

2.4

Hungary

1930

444567

1940

750***

5.8

 

* New territorial division

** New territorial division with East Poland, the figure is estimated

*** New territorial division, the figure is calculated

.  

The total Jewish population of the world was estimated at 17 million in 1937. Of these, over 10 million were in Europe. They are or were concentrated in Europe mainly in the German – occupied Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland and the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, also in the trading centres of Middle and Western Europe, in the Rhine and along the Mediterranean coast.

 

Between 1937 and the beginning of 1943 the Jewish population of Europe should have decreased by an estimated 4 million, partly due to excess mortality of the Jews in Middle and Western Europe and partly due to the evacuations, mainly in the Eastern territories which are counted as a decrease here.

 

Moreover, it was not possible to count all of the deaths of the Soviet Russian Jews in the occupied Eastern Territories while those in the remaining European part of Russia and on the front have not been included at all.

 

In addition to this there are the masses of Jews who have fled from European Russia and the emigration of Jews abroad from the European countries outside German influence is a largely unknown quantity.

 

Page 10 The Korherr Report

Altogether European Jewry must have decreased by almost half since 1933 that is to say, during the first decade of the development of power of National Socialism.

 

Secret Reich Material  

 

THE FINAL SOLUTION OF THE EUROPEAN JEWISH PROBLEM

  

Necessary Preliminary Remarks 

 

Jewish statistics are to be accepted only with reservations since certain mistakes must be reckoned with in the statistical analysis of Jewry. Among the causes of these errors are the character and development of Judaism, its definition, the many thousand years of restless wandering, the numerous conversions to and from Judaism, the efforts towards integration, the miscenigation with the native population and above all the efforts of the Jews to avoid registration.

 

In the end, partly as an expedient and partly due to the large degree of overlap between the Jewish race and the Jewish religion, partly caught up in the denominational thought of the last century, Jews have been classified not according to their race but according to their religion.

 

The registration of Jews according to race is extremely difficult, above all because of the reduction in their numbers due to secessions, conversions, earlier racial interbreeding and concealment, as shown by the unsuccessful registration of Jews by race in Austria in 1923 and the classification of Jews into full, half and quarter Jews in the German census of 1939. Jewish statistics should generally be interpreted as minimal figures whereby the errors of classification tend to vary in inverse proportion to the amount of Jewish blood.

 

We have faced almost insurmountable difficulties in the compilation of accurate statistics regarding the Jewish population and its movements in the Eastern Territories since the beginning of the Second World War, which set uncontrollable masses of Jews in movement.

 

Statistical Analysis of Jewry

 

World

 

The total Jewish population of the world was estimated to be between 15 and 18 million in the last decade, sometimes at over 20 million. The Statistische Reichsamt (German Bureau of Statistics) estimated the total Jewish population of the world at 17 million in 1937.

 

Europe

 

In 1937 10.3 million (60%) were living in Europe and 5.1 million (30%) in America. In 1880 the European Jews comprised 88% of the world Jewish population and the American Jews only slightly more than 3%.

 

In Europe the Jews are, or rather, were concentrated in the formerly Polish, Russian and Baltic territories now occupied by Germany between the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland and the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, also in the trading centres of Middle and Western Europe, in the Rhine and along the Mediterranean coast.

 

Germany

 

The Jewish population of the Reich is related to the length of time since the seizure of power in the different territories. This marks the beginning of the great Jewish exodus. Up to then there had even been an increase in the Jewish population in some territories as a result of their exodus from territories already occupied by the Reich.

 

At the time of assumption of power and on December 31 1942 the Jewish population was;

 

Territory

Date of Assumption of Power

Jewish Population before Assumption of Power

Jewish Population on December 31 1942

Altreich

 

Sudetenland

 

January 30 1933

 

September 29 1938

561,000

 

30,000

51,327

Ostmark

March 13 1938

220,000

8,102

Bohemia and Moravia

March 16 1939

118,000

15,550

Eastern Territories (including Bialystok)

September 1939

(June 1940)

790,000

233,210

General Government (including Lemberg)

September 1939

 

(June 1940)

2,000,000

297,914

 

 

 

 

Total

 

3719000

606,103

 

 

Hitler surrounded by his Alte Kampfer  or "Old Fighters"

There is a certain amount of overlap in the figures prior to the assumption of power. Thus most of the 30,000 Jews of the Sudetenland (27,000 Religious Jews) before the annexation into the Reich rapidly fled to the Protectorate without crossing a national border and without loss of property and appear again in the figures for Bohemia and Moravia in 1939. On the 17 May 1939 there were only 2,649 Jews in the Sudetenland.

 

For the time shortly prior to World War II it is possible to list figures for or estimate the Jewish population of the Reich territories with the Protectorate and the General Government.

 

Altreich and Ostmark had already lost well over half of their civilised and sterile Jewish population before the war, mainly due to emigration, while in the East the collapse of the dangerous fertile Jewish masses only became clear during the war and particularly after the evacuation measures of 1942.

 

The Jewish population of the extended German Reich was reduced by 3.1 million between 1933 and 1943 under the leadership of National Socialism.

 

 

March 17 1939

For Comparison

December 31 1942

Altreich

 

Sudetenland

233,937

 

2,649

 

51,327

Ostmark

94,270

8102

Bohemia and Moravia

110,000

15,550

Eastern Territories

790,000

233,210

General Government

2,000,000

297,914

 

 

 

Total

3,120, 892

606,103

 

In Altreich the population dropped to 1/12, in Ostmark to 1/27, in the General Government and in Bohemia to about 1/7 and in the Eastern Territories to between 1/3 and 1/4.

 

Emigration, Excess Mortality and Evacuation

 

This reduction in the population is the result of a combination of emigration, excess mortality and evacuation and certain minor changes due to other factors (such as officially allowed conversions, recognition as a first class half-breed, new registrations and cleaning up of files).

 

 

Territory

Time Period

Emigration

 

Excess Mortality

Evacuation

Other

Total

Altreich

 

Sudetenland

 

Jan 30 1933

Sept 29 1938

 

-382,534

- 61,193

- 100,516

+ 4570

- 539,673

Ostmark

Mar 13 1938

- 149,124

- 14,509

- 47,555

- 710

- 211,898

Bohemia and Moravia

Mar 16 1939

- 25,699

- 7074

- 69,777

-

- 102,450

Eastern Territories

Inc Bialystok

Sept 39

 

June 40

- 334,673

(inc excess mortality)

 

- 222,117

 

- 556,790

General Government

With Lemberg

 

 

Sept 39

 

June 40

- 427,920

 

 

- 1274,166

 

- 1702086

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

- 1402726

 

- 1714031

+ 3860

- 3112897

 

 

The figures for Altreich, Ostmark, Bohemia and Moravia together are:

 

Jewish Population at time of Assumption of Power

929,000

 

 

Changes due to

 

Emigration

- 557,357

Excess Mortality

- 82,776

Evacuation

- 217,748

New Registration etc

+ 3860

 

- 854,021

Population on December 31 1942

74,979

 

The unusual excess mortality among the Jews, for example in Altreich, can be attributed to abnormal aging and the weakness of Jews as well as to a low birth rate and a high mortality rate.

 

In the first quarter of 1943 there were 22 births and 1,113 deaths. The figure for emigration and excess mortality (the turmoil of war!) in the Eastern Territories and the General Government cannot be checked. The figures represent results calculated from the origin Jewish population, the final population and the evacuations.

 

Between January 1 1943 and March 3 1943 113,015 Jews were evacuated from the Reich including Bohemia and Moravia, the new Eastern Territories and the district of Bialystok to the East and 8,025 Jews were moved to the Ghetto for the Aged in Theresienstadt. The Jewish population of Germany, particularly in the Eastern Territories was significantly reduced once again by this.

 

Mixed Marriages

 

The Jewish population of the Reich in the boundaries of 1939 includes a significant proportion of Jews in mixed marriages:

 

 

Jewish Population as of Dec 31 1942

Mixed Marriages

Rest

Altreich

51,327

16,760

34,567

Ostmark

8,102

4,803

3,299

Bohemia and Moravia

15,550

6,211

9,339

 

 

 

 

Total

74,979

27,774

47,205

 

Page 15 The Korherr Report

The Jewish population of the Altreich has continued to decrease from 51,327 on December 31 1942 to 31,910 on April 1 1943. Of these 31,910 Jews more than half, namely 16,668 are living in mixed marriages, 12,117 of them in privileged marriages and 4,551 in not privileged marriages.

 

These figures also include a number of Jews who are untraceable, as always happens in any registration of inhabitants. The Jewish population in the old Reich (without the Eastern Territories) is approaching its end.

 

Deployment of Labour

 

Of the Jews living in Reich territory at the beginning of 1943, 21,659 were working in areas important for the war effort. In addition to this 18,435 Jews from Soviet Russia were involved in the war effort in the Inspectorate of Konigsberg. 50,570 stateless and foreign Jews were working in the camp at Schmelt (Breslau) and 95,112 formerly Polish Jews were working in ghettos and camps in the Inspectorate of Posen.

 

Concentration Camps

 

There were a total of 9,127 Jews in Concentration Camps and 458 in penal institutions on December 31 1942 as follows;

 

Lublin

7,342

Auschwitz

1,412

Buchenwald

227

Mauthausen / Gusen

79

Sachsenhausen

46

Stutthof

18

Ravensbruck

3

Ghetto for the Aged

 

In the only Ghetto for the Aged in Theresienstadt there were a total of 49,392 Jews in the beginning of 1943. This figure represents a compilation of other figures.

 

Evacuation from other European Countries

 

Within the realm of German influence and power beyond the boundaries of the Reich the following evacuations have taken place:

 

Country

Up to December 12 1942

In the First Quarter of 1943

France (as occupied before November 10 1942)

41,911

7995

Holland

38,571

13,832

Belgium

16,886

1,616

Norway

532

158

Greece

-

13,435

Slovakia

56,691

854

Croatia

4,927

-

Bulgaria

-

11,364

In the Russian Territories including the former Baltic countries since the beginning of the Eastern Campaign

 

 

633,300

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

792,818

49,254

 

 

European Jewish Statistics

 

These figures indicate that the Jewish population of Europe has already been reduced by 4 million. On the European continent (after Russia with c. 4 million) only Hungary (750,000, Rumania (302,000) and possibly France have large Jewish populations.

 

In addition to the abovementioned figures, if one takes into account the Jewish emigration, the excess mortality in the non-German countries of Middle and Western Europe and the unavoidable double-counting due to the fluctuation of the Jews, then the reduction of the Jewish population of Europe from 1937 to the beginning of 1943 could be estimated at 4 and a half million.

 

Moreover, it was not possible to count all the deaths of the Soviet – Russian Jews in the occupied Eastern Territories while those in the remaining European part of Russia and on the front have not been included at all.

 

In addition to this there are masses of Jews who have fled from European Russia to Asian Russia and the emigration of Jews from the European countries outside German influence abroad is a largely unknown quantity.

 

Altogether, European Jewry must have been reduced by almost half since 1933, that is to say, during the first decade of the development of power of National Socialism.

 

Again half, that is a quarter of the total Jewish population of 1937, has fled to other countries.

 

 


 

Sources:

 

The Holocaust Chronicle, Publications International.  2000

NS-Archiv

The Holocaust and the Neo-Nazi Mythomania by Dr. Joseph Billig, Georges Wellers, edited by Serge Klarsfeld, & Beate Klarsfeld NY 1978

National Archives KEW

Wiener Library

BundesArchiv

USHMM

 

Copyright: Chris Webb   H.E.A.R.T  2009

 

 

Remember Me  |   Special Thanks   |   Holocaust Links   |   Publications

© 2009  H.E.A.R.T  All Rights Reserved.