Judenfrage: The “Jewish Problem”

The cover in Figure 1 relates a very fascinating chapter in the Jewish involvement in World War II. It tells us of family separation, migration, involuntary transport, and and evidence of the Nazi “Final Solution.”

<strong>Figure 1:</strong> Card sent from Copenhagen, Denmark, to Theresienstadt
Figure 1: Card sent from Copenhagen, Denmark, to Theresienstadt

Arnold Cohn, the sender of this card, came from the city of Hamburg and served in the German army during World War I, like many of his Jewish countrymen. Unlike many Jews who stayed when the Nazis came to power, he relocated to Denmark. This destination proved to be temporary, as Hitler’s conquest spread to all of Central Europe. When the Nazis invaded Denmark, he was forced to flee again, this time to Sweden.

Arnold’s brother Simon was not so lucky. He lived in Frankfurt and was involuntarily transported to Theresienstadt, a walled city that served a unique purpose, on Sept. 15, 1942. During 1942 the Nazis moved many thousands of German and Austrian Jews east to the Polish ghettos and also to Theresienstadt.

Theresienstadt was the “model ghetto” established by the Nazis to appease many different groups. The Nazis announced that all German Army veterans of World War I, government officials, and the elderly could buy apartments in Theresienstadt by signing over their property to the Nazis; of course those who did so received nothing. To the Jews of Bohemia and Moravia the Nazis announced that Theresienstadt was the city set aside for the Jews of the region to live and work.

Families arriving in Theresienstadt were kept together, and the ghetto was fixed up to serve as a model community to show off to the International Red Cross. Also, work was provided for many of the residents, giving the impression of a normal town. In actuality, Theresienstadt was just a temporary stopover on the way to Auschwitz and the other death camps of the east.

Simon had been moved to Theresienstadt on September 15, 1942, as we learn from the address: Simon Cohn, on transport from Frankfurt, 15 September 1942, for Theresienstadt, Protectorate Bohemia.

He was part of the 18,639 Jews who were transported from Germany and Austria to Theresienstadt in the month of September. This brought the population of the ghetto to a total of 53,000 people in an area of 115,000 square meters. The mortality rate in the ghetto itself was very high; during September the deaths averaged 133 a day.

The card in Figure 2 was sent from Copenhagen, Denmark, registered #887 (station 40) with return receipt requested. The UPU designation is A.R. (Avis de Reception – return receipt). The rate is 75 ore, and the card has no formal address.

<strong>Figure 2:</strong> The front of the return card addressed back to Arnold Cohn in Denmark
Figure 2: The front of the return card addressed back to Arnold Cohn in Denmark

The message reads on the card in Figure 1 reads

Dear Simon,

We wrote to you repeatedly and it would give us great joy if you could verify by means of the attached red card (A.R.) the receipt of this missive. We have regularly, quite comforting news from Ivan, also after a lengthy interval news from Lotte, that everything is O.K. and that she had good news from Rosel, Amalie, Dorette, and from Jonas too. 

Generally, it is normal here and I hope that it is bearable for you.

The card was censored in the Hamburg (Reimer F5-b) censor office. When it arrived at Theresienstadt, the addressee could not be located, and the card was stamped as shown in Figure 3:

Zurück: Unbekannt. Zentralamt für die Regelung der Judenfrage, Bohmen und Mahren. 

RETURN: UNKNOWN. Central Office for the Regulation of the Jewish Problem, Bohemia and Moravia, Field Office Theresienstadt.

 

<strong>Figure 3</strong>: The handstamp requesting that the card be returned to the sender
Figure 3: The handstamp requesting that the card be returned to the sender

The postage stamp appears to have been removed after the card’s arrival back in Copenhagen. The arrival handstamp, January 4, 1943, is placed over the missing stamp.

Of note is the handstamp applied at Theresienstadt; it represents an intriguing admission by the Nazis that the Jews were considered to be a “problem.” The solution to this “problem” was agreed upon at the Wannsee Conference, in a suburb of Berlin, on January 20, 1942. This was the Final Solution–extermination of the Jews within the Reich.

Bibliography

Baurer, Yehuda, A History of the Holocaust. Franklin Watts, New York.

Feig, Konnilyn, Hitler’s Death Camps: The Sanity of Madness. Holmes and Meier Publishers, New York and London.

Riemer, Karl Heinz,  Zensurpost aus dem III. Reich. Die Überwachung des Auslandsbriefverkehrs während des II. Weltkrieges durch Deutsche Dienststellen. Neue Schriftenreihe der Poststempelgilde “Rhein‑Donau” E.V. [New series of the Rhein-Donau Postmark Guild], heft 61. Düsseldorf: Rhein-Donau. 1966.

Acknowledgement

Thanks to Allen Goodkind for his editorial help.