Report on Activity in Vienna
(August 1938)
To the Security Head Office
II 1 12
Berlin
On 22 August 1938, the Central Office for Jewish Emigration in Vienna
was established by orders of the Reich Commissioner for reunification
of Austria with the Reich....
There were more and more instances in Vienna where
Jews, eager to emigrate, had to stand in line for days and weeks to
arrange the necessary paperwork for their emigration. Over that time
there were many failures because of lack of organization and unqualified
officials. This damaged our interest in forcing the Jews to emigrate
from Austria.
A few additional remarks regarding the conversation
between Obersturmfuehrer Eichmann and Hagen:
One of the problems with the emigration of Jews from
Vienna is created by the activity of lawyers. Because of the complicated
system, obtaining the necessary paperwork for a passport can take up
to two or three months. For example, a certificate confirming that one
does not have a criminal record may take 6-8 weeks to obtain. Rich Jews
therefore employ Aryan lawyers to get the papers.
These lawyers manage to obtain favorable treatment
by the authorities. They or their workers will come to an office with
20-30 applications and take up a great deal of the clerks time, while
poor Jews are standing in the street in a line that hardly moves for
days. This has caused only problems. First, it has enabled the rich
Jews to leave the country without problem, while the poor Jews stayed
behind—this is contrary to our interest. Furthermore, it is already
being said abroad that obtaining a passport in Vienna costs RM 1,000.
The lawyers take enormous sums for each passport, and the rich Jews
pay willingly.
Since obtaining a passport by the Central Office for
Emigration takes only up to 8 days (We get the certificate from the
police within 48 hours), lawyers have already approached some of the
government and party offices. They have lost good business since the
creation of the Central Office. Furthermore, the Central Office has
not arranged for separate hours for these lawyers—a fact which
increases their bitterness.
The aim of the Central Office for Emigration is to
force the poor Jews to emigrate and to make the rich ones leave only
if a number of poor Jews, proportionate to the rich Jews capital, go
as well.
Prior to the creation of the Central Office, papers
and passports were provided without differentiation. The first Jew to
come received documents, regardless of his emigration prospects. The
result was that the papers would often expire while the Jews still had
no possibility to emigrate. (the police document and the certificate
of tax payment is good for only 4 weeks). These Jews had to go through
the same process several times until they could emigrate. This caused
heavy work loads for the authorities.
The Central Office for Emigration supplies the paperwork
and passports only to those Jews who can emigrate. Many Jews hold visas
that are valid for a limited time only. To prevent these visas from
expiring, they are given top priority. The Jewish political organizations
are looking for emigration possibilities for Jews. The period when Jews
emigrated in groups is over, one has to concentrate on individual emigration.
The Central Office prepares 200 Jews for emigration daily by supplying
them with passports and supervising their departure....
Heil Hitler!
Eichmann
Sources: Yad
Vashem Archive 051/OSO B1/70 |