The End of the “Final Solution”?: Nazi Plans to Ransom Jews in 1944

Central European History

Volumn 25, Issue 2, 1992, Pages 177-203

  Aronson, Shlomo ^b  

^a AMERICAN UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b HEBREW UNIVERSITY OF JERUSALEM   (Israel)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 84972234874     PISSN: 00089389     EISSN: 15691616     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0008938900020318     Document Type: Article

References (143)

1. Joel Brand, A Mission on Behalf of the Sentenced to Death (Tel Aviv, 1957);
2. Joel and Hansi Brand, The Devil and the Soul (Tel Aviv, 1960), both in Hebrew. For Brand's story in English, if not with scrutiny
3. see Alex Weissberg, Desperate Mission:Joel Brand's Story (New York, 1958).
4. Randolph Braham, The Politics of Genocide: The Holocaust in Hungary, vol. 2 (New York, 1981), 950, 1015, note 80.
5. For Kasztner's report, see Ernest Landau, ed., Der Bericht des jüdischen Rettungskomitees aus Budapest 1942–1945 (Munich, 1961);
6. for Biss's, Andreas Biss, Der Stopp der Endlösung: Kampf gegen Himmler und Eichmann in Budapest (Stuttgart-Degerloch, 1966).
7. Walter Laqueur, “The Kasztner Case: Aftermath of the Catastrophe,” (1955) reprinted in
8. Michael R. Marrus, The Nazi Holocaust: Historical Articles on the Destruction of European Jews [hereafter Marrus, Nazi Holocaust] (Westport, CT, 1989), vol. 9, The End of the Holocaust, 127–55.
9. Braham, Politics of Genocide, 2:968 ff.
10. Zeev Venia Hadari, Against All Odds: Istanbul 1942–1945 (Hebrew) (Tel Aviv, 1992), esp. 134–35.
11. According to Tuvia Friling, “David Ben Gurion and the Catastrophe of European Jewry 1939-1945,” (Ph.D. diss. (Hebrew), Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1990), 118–23
12. Michael Dov-Ber Weissmandel, From the Distress (Hebrew) (Jerusalem, 1960).
13. According to Dina Porat, An Entangled Leadership: The Yishuv and the Holocaust, 1942–1945 (Hebrew) (Tel Aviv, 1986), 336–38
14. Raul Hilberg, The Destruction of the European Jews (New York, 1985), 2:845-846.
15. Leni Yahil, The Holocaust: The Fate of European Jewry, 1932–1945 (New York, 1990), 633.
16. Yehuda Bauer, American Jewry and the Holocaust: A History of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, 1939–1945 (Detroit, 1981), 390–393. Several of Bauer's relevant articles have been collected in Marrus, The Nazi Holocaust, vol. 9;
17. see esp. “The Mission of Joel Brand,” 65–126, above all, 118–20.
18. Bela Vago, “The Intelligence Aspects of the Joel Brand Mission,” Yad Vashem Studies on the European Jewish Catastrophe and Resistance 10 (1974): 111–28
19. Braham, Politics of Genocide, 2:936, 943–44.
20. Biss, Stopp der Endlösung, 91.
21. Michael R. Marrus, The Holocaust in History (Hanover, N. H., 1987), 186.
22. Braham, Politics of Genocide, 2:955.
23. Biss, Stopp der Endlosung, 105–09, 148–54.
24. Bormann's note for Pg. Friedrichs und Pg. Dr. Klopfer, 14 October 1942, Akten der Parteikanzlei, Institut für Zeitgeschichte microfiche 103 / 22534.
25. Hitler's remarks partially recorded in Himmler's notes at the meeting, see note 13 above, and clarified in Himmler's memorandum after the meeting, NA RG 242, T-580/R 39/no frame no.
26. Braham, Politics of Genocide, 1:506-517.
27. Braham, Politics of Genocide, 1:517. Some sources stress Winkelmann's role at first, more than Becher's: e.g., interrogation of Carl Berthold Franz Rekowski, 17 and 19 September 1945, NA RG 226, XL 25105; Thadden to Wagner, 22 May 1944, NA RG 238, NG-2980 and NG-4089, reprinted in Randolph L. Braham, ed., The Destruction of Hungarian Jewry: A Documentary Account [hereafter Braham, Destruction: Documents] (New York, 1963), 383.
28. See Himmler's dictated memo for the files, NA RG 242, T-175/R 138 2665819-2665820.
29. See interrogation of Kurt Becher, 7 July 1947, reprinted in John Mendelsohn, ed., The Holocaust (New York, 1982), vol.15: Relief in Hungary and the Failure of the Joel Brand Mission, 64–67
30. See NA RG 242, T-84/R 25/no frames. On the secrecy of the payments in foreign exchange, Becher affidavit of 6 February 1946, NA RG 238 T-1139/R 32/816, NG-2972;
31. Braham, Politics of Genocide, 1:518.
32. Interrogation of Carl Berthold Franz Rekowski, 17 and 19 September 1945, NA RG 226, XL 25105;
33. Veesenmayer to Ribbentrop, 26 May 1944, NA RG 238, NG-2770, reprinted in Braham, Destruction: Documents, 835.
34. On the three-hour meeting with Hitler, Himmler's schedule, NA RG 242, T-84/R 25/no frames, 28 March 1944.
35. On Veesenmayer, interrogation of Kurt Becher, 28 July 1947, NA RG 238, M-1019/R 5 538-539.
36. Rekowski (interrogation of 17 and 19 September 1945, NA RG 226, XL 25105) claimed that both Himmler and Ribbentrop had opposed Veesenmayer's appointment, but that Hitler had chosen him.
37. see Ritter to Veesenmayer, 31 March 1944, NA RG 238, NG-5564, reprinted in Braham, Destruction: Documents, 308.
38. Interrogation of Rekowski, 17 and 19 Sept. 1945, NA RG 226, XL 25105.
39. Veesen-mayer to Ribbentrop, 26 May 1944, NA RG 238, NG—2770, reprinted in Braham, Destruction: Documents, 835, and discussed in Hilberg, Destruction, 2:829.
40. On Goring's efforts, Braham, Politics of Genocide, 1:516-17. For Himmler's memo, NA RG 242, T-175/R 138 65819-2665820.
41. Biss, Stopp der Endlösung, 99. For Himmler's original terms, NA RG 242, T-175/R 138 2665819-2665820.
42. On good behavior, Altenburg to Wagner, 20 June 1944, with Stojay's memo of conversation with Himmler, 6 June 1944, reprinted in Braham, Destruction: Documents, 407.
43. For general treatment Braham, Politics of Genocide, 1:519-520;
44. Hilberg, Destruction, 2:829. For Hitler's and Himmler's views, telegram of German Embassy, Budapest, 30 June 1944;
45. Wagner to Rudolf Brandt, 1 July 1944;
46. Himmler to Winkelmann, 8 July 1944, all in NA RG 242, T-175/R 125 2650721-24, 2650739.
47. Veesenmayer to Ribbentrop, 3 April 1944, NA RG 242, T-1139/R 26/173, NG-2234.
48. On Ribbentrop's goals, see interrogation of Bruno [Peter] Kleist, 27 October 1945, NA RG 226, entry 125, box 29, folder 407, which must be used with some caution.
49. Many relevant documents on these offers are reprinted in Mendelsohn, ed., The Holocaust, vol. 7, Jewish Emigration: The St. Louis Affair and Other Cases, 151–270.
50. Hilberg, Destruction of the European Jews, 2:850-853.
51. Braham, Politics of Genocide, 2:762-774.
52. Ribbentrop to Veesenmayer, 10 July 1944, reprinted in Braham, Destruction: Documents, 700.
53. On the initiative from the Jewish Rescue Committee in Budapest, see interrogation of Becher by Kasztner in the presence of American authorities, 7 July 1947, in Mendelsohn, ed., The Holocaust, vol. 15, Relief in Hungary and the Failure of the Joel Brand Mission, 64–67.
54. Kasztner said quite directly: “Vielleicht werden Sie sich erinnern, die Initiative ist von uns ausgegangen.” On these negotiations, see in particular, Yehuda Bauer, “The Mission of Joel Brand,” in Marrus, ed., Nazi Holocaust, vol. 9, The End of the Holocaust, 65-126;
55. Braham, Politics of Genocide, 2:932-57. All sources in notes 1 and 3 discuss these events in considerable detail.
56. On Eichmann and Brand, Braham, Politics of Genocide, 2:936; Biss, Stopp der End-losung, 53–54.
57. Interrogation of Becher by Kasztner, 7 July 1947, in Mendelsohn, ed., The Holocaust, 15:64-67, 70–71. On Himmler's schedule, NA RG 242, T-84/R 25/no frames.
58. Interrogation of Becher, 1 November 1947, NA RG 238, M-1019/R 5/534.
59. Veesenmayer to Foreign Office, 30 June 1944, NA RG 238, T-1139/R 26/400, NG-2263.
60. ref-text>See also McClelland to War Refugee Board, enclosed in State Department and War Refugee Board to Harriman, 6 July 1944, in Mendelsohn, ed., The Holocaust, 15:190.
61. Wagner to Ribbentrop, 11 November 1944, in Braham, Destruction: Documents, 811.
62. Biss, Stopp der Endlösung, 87–97. Although Himmler's schedule for June 1944 does not survive, his records for April and May show a number of meetings with Kaltenbrun-ner. NA RG 242, T-84/R 25/no frames.
63. Kasztner to ? [Nathan Schwalb], 18 June 1944, Hagana Archive, Tel Aviv, Brand/ Kasztner files.
64. Biss, Stopp der Endlösung, 96–96, 105–109.
65. see Braham, Politics of Genocide, 2:953-55.
66. NA RG 242, T-175/R 94 2615074.
67. Memorandum by Altenburg, 21 July 1944, quoted in Hilberg, Destruction of the European Jews, 2:854.
68. Text in Andreas Hillgruber, ed., Staatsmänner und Diplomaten bei Hitler: Vertrauliche Aufzeichnungen über Unterredungen mit Vertretern des Auslandes 1942–1944 (Frankfurt am Main, 1970), 476–477.
69. Himmler to Mutschmann, 31 July 1944, Berlin Document Center, Non-Biographic Ordner, RFSS 5, SS 704.
70. S. I. M. E. [Security Intelligence Middle East] Report no. 3, 22 June 1944, Top Secret, Public Record Office [hereafter PRO], FO 371 42811 01239, 37.
71. Yehuda Bauer, “The Mission of Joel Brand,” The Nazi Holocaust, 9:115-17, (see note 4). For a reading of Gyorgy's various activities and alliances
72. Barry Rubin, instanbul Intrigues (New York, 1989), 190–92, 260–62, 279.
73. S. I. M. E., no. 3, 22 June 1944, PRO FO 371 42811 02139, 38–41.
74. On Himmler's normal methods, see Richard Breitman, The Architect of Genocide (New York, 1991), 73.
75. Veesenmayer to Ribbentrop, 22 July 1944, NA RG 238, NG-2994, reprinted in Braham, Destruction: Documents, 630.
76. Gyorgy's mention of Foreign Office in S. I. M. E. report no. 3, PRO FO 371 82811 02139. Interrogation of Bruno [Peter] Kleist 27 October 1945, NA RG226, entry 125, box 29, folder 407. The most detailed study in Nazi-Soviet peace efforts, containing a good deal of new material, is Ingeborg Fleischauer, Die Chance des Sonderfriedens: Deutsch-sowjetische Geheitngesprdche 1941–1945 (Berlin, 1986). Unfortunately, Fleischauer fails to differentiate adequately between reliable and unreliable information.
77. The substance of Olsen's cable appears in State Department and War Refugee Board to Ambassador Harriman, 6 July 1944, reprinted in Mendelsohn, ed., The Holocaust, 15:188-89.
78. (see note 28). Also memorandum from Gosta Engzell, 7 July 1944, reprinted by Steven Koblik, The Stones Cry Out: Sweden's Response to the Persecution of the Jews, 1933–1945 (New York, 1988), 249–51. Bauer, “The Mission of Joel Brand,” 117, makes the same general point as we do: Kleist's mission in a sense confirms the legitimacy of Gyorgy's.
79. Schellenberg's entry of 4 August 1944, NA RG 242, T-175/R 579 124;
80. Kaltenbrun-ner to Himmler, 9 October 1944, NA RG 242, T-175/R 579 133.
81. Schellenberg's entry of 4 August 1944, NA RG 242, T-175/R 579/124; Kaltenbrun-ner to Himmler, 9 October 1944, NA RG 242, T-175/R 579/133. Koblik, Stones Cry Out, 249–251.
82. Himmler's preference for a peace with the West was mentioned by Felix Kersten in talks with an American businessman in Stockholm named Abram Hewitt. Hewitt's “Con-tact with Himmler,” written at the request of General William J. Donovan, NA RG 226, entry 180, roll 28;
83. see also the analysis of the well-informed Eduard Waetjen, code-named Gorter, in Bern to OSS, Washington, 5 March 1944, NA RG 226, entry 134, box 228.
84. Interrogation of Bruno [Peter] Kleist, 27 Oct. 1945, NA RG 226, entry 125, box 29, folder 407.
85. Biss, Stopp der Endlösung, 113. Becher Affidavit of 6 February 1946, NA RG 238, T-1139/R 32/812. For Eichmann's negative recommendation to Himmler on a proposed small shipment of Jews to Palestine, see Veesenmayer to Foreign Office, 3 August 1944, and Hezinger Memorandum, 4 August 1944, reprinted in Braham, Destruction: Documents, 774, 706–7.
86. Biss, Stopp der Endlosung, 119.
87. Braham, Politics of Genocide, 2:957.
88. Palestine censorship, 18 August 1944, with extract of meeting of Middle East Advisory Committee of the JDC with Dr. Schwarz, 23 July 1944, NA RG 226, entry 191, box 4, Censorship—Belgian Jewry. Many other relevant documents are in Mendelsohn, ed., The Holocaust, 15:211-45.
89. See also Bauer, American Jewry, 411.
90. Braham, Politics of Genocide, 2:957-59.
91. Biss, Stopp der Endldsung, 132–48. Biss claims that Becher was ordered to Berlin to see Himmler on this matter at the end of July and returned to Budapest on 2 August. Himmler's schedule does not survive for this period.
92. Bauer, American Jewry, 413—414.
93. Braham, Politics of Genocide, 960. Biss, Stopp der Endlosung, 150–51. Bauer, American Jewry, 414–15.
94. Harrison to Department (McClelland to War Refugee Board), 26 August 1944 War Refugee Board Records, box 56, Jews in Hungary Folder, Franklin D. Roosevelt Library. Braham, Politics of Genocide, 960.
95. Harrison to Department (McClelland to War Refugee Board), 26 August 1944, War Refugee Board Records, box 56, Jews in Hungary folder. The impression that Himmler wished to give was that of the pragmatist who was simply trying to acquire useful goods.
96. Becher's telegram to Himmler, 25 August 1944, and Himmler's response, 26 August 1944, in NA RG 242, T-175/R 59 2574473 and 2574471.
97. Wagner Memorandum, 10 November 1944, reprinted in Braham, Destruction: Documents, 808.
98. Bauer, American Jewry, 415.
99. Harrison to State Department (McClelland to War Refugee Board), 26 August 1944, War Refugee Board Records, box 56, file Jews in Hungary, August 1944, Franklin D. Roosevelt Library.
100. Veesenmayer to Foreign Office, 24 August 1944, and Veesenmayer to Ribbentrop, 25 August 1944, in Braham, Destruction: Documents, 480–481.
101. See Braham, Politics of Genocide, 2:752-774.
102. See Earl F. Ziemke, Stalingrad to Berlin: The German Defeat in the East (Washington, D. C., 1984), 351–352. John Keegan, ed., The Times Atlas of the Second World War (New York, 1989), 176.
103. Ziemke, Stalingrad to Berlin, 353–354. Himmler to Winkelmann, 25 August 1944, NA RG 242, T-175/R 198 /2737827.
104. Hilberg, Destruction, 2:854-855.
105. Schellenberg to RSHA, RFSS Feldkommandostelle, et al., 4 September 1944, NA RG 238, NG—5354, reprinted in Braham, Destruction: Documents, 483.
106. Hoffmann (Hun-garian Minister in Berlin) to Hennyey (Hungarian Foreign Minister), 22 September 1944, NA RG 238, NG-2604, cited by Hilberg, Destruction, 2:855.
107. Himmler's agenda notes for meeting with Hitler, 12 September 1944, NA RG 242, T-175/R 94 2615061-2615062.
108. Braham, Politics of Genocide, 2:960-61.
109. Bauer, American Jewry, 416–18.
110. Interrogation of Becher, 27 March 1946, reprinted in Mendelsohn, ed., The Holocaust, vol. 14, Relief and Rescue of Jews from Nazi Oppression, 1943–1945, 203–6. Becher affidavit of 6 February 1946, NA RG 238, NG-2972, Microfilm T-1139/R 32/810. On the disbanding of Eichmann's unit, Feine to Veesenmayer, 29 September 1944, NA RG 238, NG-4895, cited by Hilberg, Destruction of the European Jews, 2:855.
111. Kalteribrunner's testimony, 12 April 1946, Trial of the Major War Criminals before the International Military Tribunal (Nuremberg, 1947), 11:335.
112. Braham, Politics of Genocide, 2:961.
113. Bauer, American Jewry, 417.
114. Biss, Stopp der Endlosung, 174–75.
115. Berger to Himmler, read by Himmler 27 September 1944, NA RG 242, T-175/R 138 2665822-2665829.
116. Interrogation of Bruno [Peter] Kleist, 27 October 1945, NA RG 226, entry 125, box 29, folder 407. Fleischauer, Chance des Sonderfriedens, 176, 194–95. Both sources reveal Hitler's previous outrage at peace feelers allegedly involving Jewish intermediaries.
117. On Himmler, Klages, and Biss, Biss, Stopp der Endlosung, 178–179.
118. See Himmler's agenda notes, NA RG 242, T-175/R 94 2615056-2615058.
119. See Hershel V. Johnson's cable, 14 October 1944, NA RG 200, box 29, folder 364, citing Hillel Storch's contact with Kleist and Kleist's information on what had transpired in Berlin.
120. On the date of Himmler's decision to free the remaining Bergen-Belsen group, Biss, Stopp der Endlösung, 180. For the general course of subsequent events: Braham, Politics of Genocide, 963.
121. Bauer, American Jewry, 422–34, esp. 430.
122. Koblik, Stones Cry Out, 127, 132.
123. Becher's testimony, interrogation of 7 July 1947, in Mendelsohn, ed., The Holocaust, 14:69
124. interrogation of 22 July 1948, NA RG 238, M-1019/R 5 758-779 confirms the other sources on Hitler's intervention to prevent further releases of Jews.
125. Eberhard Jäckel, Hitler's Weltanschauung: A Blueprint for Power, trans. Herbert Arnold (Middletown, 1972), 106–7.
126. Jochen Thies, Architect der Weltherrschaft: Die u Endziele” Hitlers (Düsseldorf, 1976), 61.
127. Gerhard L. Weinberg, The Foreign Policy of Hitler's Germany (Chicago, 1970), vol. 1, Diplomatic Revolution in Europe, 1933–36, 2-22;
128. Sebastian Haffner, The Meaning of Hitler, trans. Ewald Osers (New York, 1979), 79–80, 90, 126
129. Yahil, The Holocaust, esp. 127. Among the most recent versions: Ian Kershaw, Hitler (London, 1991), 18-19;
130. Alan Bullock, Hitler and Stalin: Parallel Lives (New York, 1992), 760–61, 764–65.
131. See among others: Heinz Höhne, The Order of Death's Head, trans. Richard Barry (New York, 1971), 584-596;
132. Peter Padfield, Himmler: Reichsführer SS (New York, 1991), 421–25, 489–91, 545;
133. Rubin, Istanbul Intrigues, 260;
134. Biss, Stopp der Endlosung, 11, 83-84;
135. Hadari, Against All Odds.
136. See Bauer, American Jewry, 422–34, which emphasizes negotiations in Switzerland.
137. Koblik, The Stones Cry Out, 121–40, 271–93, provides new material on Swedish contacts. Recently declassified interrogations of Walter Schellenberg represent a much better source than Schellenberg's later memoirs, Hitler's Secret Service (New York, 1971).
138. See esp. NA RG 226, entry 125, box 2, folder 21. Both Koblik and Schellenberg here support the view that Himmler broke with Hitler only in 1945.
139. Bullock, Hitler and Stalin, 766, 889.