Between 9 and 11 November 1938, a pogrom was carried out against the Jews throughout the Reich, and upon direct orders from Berlin. Defense witness Peter Eiffe testified that he heard rumors of the proposed pogrom on the night of 8 November and called at the Ministry of Propaganda where he was told that “somebody has let the cat out of the bag again.” During the 3-day period Jewish property was destroyed throughout the Reich and thousands of Jews were arrested.
In Berlin the destruction of Jewish property was particularly great. To cap the climax on 12 November 1938, Field Marshal Goering issued the following decree:[661]
“Article I.—All damage done due to the indignation of the people at the incitement of international Jewry against Nationalist Socialist Germany carried out on the 8, 9, and 10 November 1938, on Jewish enterprises and living quarters is to be removed by the Jewish owners immediately.
“Article II.—The costs of restoration are to be borne by the owner of the Jewish business concerned * * *.
“Section 2.—Insurance claims of Jews of German nationality will be confiscated in favor of the Reich.”
For this purpose a fine of one billion marks was imposed upon the Jews. The witness Schulz, who was an attorney in Berlin, acted in behalf of Frau Liebermann, the widow of the internationally known artist, Max Liebermann. Frau Liebermann was at that time 80 years old and the share of the fine imposed upon her was 280,000 marks. Ultimately orders were issued for her deportation to the East. She, however, died, either from heart failure or poison, as she descended the steps to be carried away. Defense witness Schulz[662] also testified concerning other methods of Jewish persecution. He said:
“* * * When a Jew wanted to emigrate, I had much to do with it. He had to pay the Reich escape tax, that was so and so much percent of his property and then a large amount was taken away from him by assessing his property very high. After all of that was done and the day he went to the passport office in order to get his clearance, his passport, and get his visa then he was told that now he still had to go to the notary, Dr. Stege, and had to deposit a voluntary fee to promote the emigration of the Jews, and that is where he paid the balance, and then left with his personal satchel, with his little valise.”
Speaking of the “asocial” persons, Dr. Thierack, on 5 January 1943, at a mass meeting of the NSDAP, stated (NG-275, Pros. Ex. 25):
“I have seen to it that these people shall no longer be employed for any sort of work that is not dangerous. The most dangerous tasks are just the thing that is for them. Now, today, when thousands of these people are carrying supplies in the far north or building roads, I cannot help it if some of them die, but at least they are of some use.”
The Roman Catholic chaplain at Amberg prison stated under oath that a large proportion of the inmates of that prison were Poles who had been sentenced under the “Poles’ Act.” Many of them died from undernourishment. They were forced to eat potato peelings and hunt through rubbish heaps for eatable refuse. From this prison “asocial elements” were picked out and sent in batches to the Mauthausen concentration camp. All of the first batch was said to have perished. Among the prisoners were Jews who had been sentenced for race pollution.