RE: [Cz-L] Rescue Operation of Czernowitz Jews - A Joint Venture

How sad for the unlucky, "less needed" ones who were sent to and died in Transistria.
Essentially, they were chosen too !

________________________________

From: bounce-39065637-14854854_at_list.cornell.edu on behalf of Edgar Hauster
Sent: Mon 12/26/2011 3:59 AM
To: Miriam Taylor; Berti Glaubach
Cc: Jerome Schatten; Czernowitz Discussion Group; Hardy Breier
Subject: RE: [Cz-L] Rescue Operation of Czernowitz Jews - A Joint Venture

Mimi...

Thank you for your mail. It makes sense to have a closer look to Traian Popovici's "My Declaration":

"On the afternoon of October 15 while I waited with General Jonescu and General Council Schellhorn in the Governor's anteroom the door to his chambers opened and Major Marinescu said to us, "it's good that you are here, the Governor is asking for you." We entered the chambers and General Calotescu said to us, "Gentlemen, I just had a conversation with the Herr Marshal who has authorized leaving the 20,000 Jews in Czernowitz. I can't make the selection since I don't know the people and the degree of their indispensability. I empower you Herr General, and you Herr General Council and you Herr Mayor to make this selection. You know the people, one of you as city resident and mayor, the other as past prefect who lived for many years in Czernowitz and the Herr Council with a view to the importance of the economy of the province to the Reich. Start immediately compiling the list of those who will remain. Contact the chief of the Romanization Department to prevent the stagnation!
  of industry. I will give you four days during which I will suspend the deportations." Meanwhile approximately three trains had left on the evening of October 13. "You have the right to make decisions. I reserve for myself only the right to set the percentage and will personally sign the authorization without taking their great number into consideration."

Council Shellhorn immediately declined the honor pointing out to the governor that he as a representative of a foreign country could not mix in affairs that concerned only Romania.[11] So now there only remained two, General Jonescu and me."

In fact, that was the decisive meeting concerning the fate of the Czernowitz Jews. Radu Ioanid's statement is contradictory to Traian Popovici's declaration, but there is no contradiction wahtsoever between Schellhorn and Popovici. The footnote [11]

"The attitude of the German Consul Schellhorn is typical of the influence of Germany on Romania's laws concerning the Jews. He was invited by Calotescu to take part in the meetings because Calotescu evidently had received directions from Antonescu to allow all measures for killing Jews to proceed under German control. Schellhorn, on the other hand had no interest in working on the selection of those Jews who were to be exempted from deportation, especially since his orders were to expedite the "final solution," that is the extermination of all Jews without exception," Therefore, he diplomatically withdrew from the selection process."

seems to explain Schellhorn's participation in the meeting, but, due to lack of information, it's misleading. Schellhorn attended this afternoon session, somply because he had on the same day of 15.10.1941 a morning meeting with Calotescu, intervening in favor of the Czernowitz Jews. The content of this morning session has been minuted, BEFORE the afternoon session took place and its outcome became known.

BTW, Schellhorn could not make any "effort to help any Jews in his own country", as he didn't live in Germany since the 1920s. He started his diplomatic career in the year 1920, thirteen years before Hitler's seizure of power, being delegated to Brussels, Reykjavik, Vienna, Paris and finally to Czernowitz.

Warmest wishes for now.

Edgar Hauster
Lent - The Netherlands

http://hauster.blogspot.com/

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Received on 2011-12-26 11:59:53