Heinrich Himmler : A Life (174 page)

55
. Henry Picker (ed.),
Hitlers Tischgespräche im Führerhauptquartier
(Frankfurt a. M., 1989), 5 April 1942.

56
. See Heinemann,
‘Rasse’
, 331 ff., and Kettenacker,
Volkstumspolitik
, 255 ff.

57
. Heinemann,
‘Rasse’
, 331.

58
. Ibid. 332; on Himmler’s guidelines for the branch office and for the repatriation of those of German descent (sent with Greifelt’s letter of 15 May 1941) see
Menscheneinsatz
, 39 ff.

59
. BAB, R 69/650, 2 March 1942.

60
. Heinemann,
‘Rasse’
, 335 ff.; BAB, NS 47/49, transcript of the meeting on 12 March in VoMi about the granting of German nationality to the ethnic Germans registered in northern France; note on the file by the RKF, main office of VoMi, of 21 March 1943 about the granting of citizenship to the ethnic Germans in northern France; note by the head of the EWZ on the registration and granting of citizenship to those of German descent living in northern France (Volksdeutsche Kulturgemeinschaft Douai), 25 March 1943.

61
. BAB, NS 2/153, instruction from the head of RuSHA, undated: ‘The Reichsführer-SS has given instructions that the process of re-Germanization should be extended also to former Soviet Russian nationals (in other words, to eastern workers).’ See Heinemann,
‘Rasse’
, 486 f., which dates this instruction to January 1944.

62
. BAB, NS 2/154, instruction from RuSHA, 29 September 1944.

63
. BAB, NS 2/153, undated decree from RuSHA, cited from Heinemann,
‘Rasse’
, 485, January 1944.

64
. BAB, R 49/73, instruction no. 51 I, 1 October 1941. The precondition was acceptance into categories I and II.

65
. BAB, NS 19/150, Himmler to the head of RSHA, RuSHA and the Staff Main Office, 10 July 1941.

66
. Ibid. report from Creutz, Staff Main Office, 20 February 1942.

67
. Heinemann,
‘Rasse’
, 482 ff. See also Müller’s decrees of 10 September 1942 (BAB, NS 47/31).

68
. Heinemann,
‘Rasse’
, 488 ff.

69
. Ibid. 499 ff.

70
. Ibid. 501 ff. The most important decrees on this matter came from the head of RSHA, 9 June 1942 (IfZ, NO 3520) and 27 July 1943 (NO 1383), and also from the head of RuSHA, 23 August 1943 (NO 933).

71
. BAB, NS 19/3680, instruction no. 70 I of 23 March 1942; see Heinemann,
‘Rasse’
, 476 f.

72
. Heinemann,
‘Rasse’
, 508 ff.

73
. BAB, NS 2/58, instruction from Greifelt, 19 February 1942; see Heinemann,
‘Rasse’
, 510 ff.

74
. BAB, NS 19/2621.

75
. IfZ, NO 3074, letter of 12 August 1941.

76
. There are indications in Heinemann,
‘Rasse’
, 510 ff.

77
. His responsibilities related at first to the Volga region but were then extended to the entire European territories of the USSR (BAB, BDC, SS-O Pflaum, letter from Himmler, 11 July 1941 and 25 August 1941). On the placing of
predominantly Russian children in the home see IfZ, NO 5223, testimony of Willibald Zwirner, 19 June 1947, who as an SS doctor was in charge of the care of the children at various times.

78
. BAB, NS 2/81, work report of the RuS leader Russia South for the period 1–15 October 1942, 25 October 1942. According to this the Staff Leader had a number of meetings with the commanding officer of the security police about orphan children who were to be assembled in camps by the SD; see Heinemann,
‘Rasse’
, 514.

79
. BAB, NS 19/2216, Staff Main Office to RFSS, 13 May 1942. Himmler renewed this instruction in January 1942 in relation to Lithuanian and Estonian children (ibid. Jeckeln to RFSS, 13 June 1942).

80
. USHMM, RG 15.007 M/113, decree of 16 February 1942; see Heinemann,
‘Rasse’
, 521 f.

81
. Heinemann,
‘Rasse’
, 522 f., based on statements made by the Polish historian Czes
ó
aw Madajczyk.

82
. BAB, NS 19/4009.

83
. Doc. PS-1919, in
IMT
, vol. 29, pp. 110 ff., quotation p. 123.

84
. Heinemann,
‘Rasse’
, 515 ff.

85
. Ibid. 515.

86
. IfZ, NO 681; see Heinemann,
‘Rasse’
, 519.

87
. BAB, NS 19/1436, order from Himmler of 6 January 1943; see Gerlach,
Morde
, 1015 f.

88
. See Heinemann,
‘Rasse’
, 525 ff.

89
. Ibid. 528 ff.

90
. BAB, NS 2/82, report from Hauptsturmführer Dörhöfer on the tour of inspection in the Ukraine, 10–22 September 1942. As early as October 1942 the head of the SS Main Office discussed with Rosenberg the measures to be taken in this territory (NS 19/1976, report of 22 October 1942).

91
. Heinemann,
‘Rasse’
, 529; Gerlach,
Morde
, 1081.

92
. Heinemann,
‘Rasse’
, 530.

93
. On the criteria see ibid. 50 ff., and for an illustration of a ‘racial chart’ see 64 f.

1
. Stein,
Geschichte
, 181 f.;
Dienstkalender
, 29 December 1942.

2
. BAB, NS 19/2251, Himmler to Hitler, 12 December 1941.

3
. For the first six months of 1942 see, for example, Himmler’s
Dienstkalender
, 1 January, 17 February, 8 and 17 March, 3, 11, and 27 May 1942.

4
. IfZ, NO 1087, note by Himmler of 29 June 1942; mentioned here are Norwegian, Croatian, Spanish, and Italian legions. Cf. Stein,
Geschichte
, 137.

5
. Stein,
Geschichte
, 137.

6
. Ibid. 138; Thomsen,
Besatzungspolitik
, 96 ff.

7
. Stein,
Geschichte
, 138, instruction of 26 July 1941.

8
. Ibid. instruction of 30 July 1941.

9
. Ibid. 139.

10
. IfZ, MA 109/263 3910, survey of the Germanic volunteers in the Waffen-SS as of 15 January 1942; Stein,
Geschichte
, 139 f.

11
. NARA, T 175/109, Himmler’s order concerning the creation and deployment of foreign volunteer units in countries of German and related blood of 6 November 1941.

12
. Stein,
Geschichte
, 140 f.

13
. NARA, T 175/109, note on the file by Gerlinger about a discussion with the head of the Finnish state police, Aaltonen, 8 January 1942.

14
. Stein,
Geschichte
, 143 f.

15
. Ibid. 142 ff.; NARA, T 1 175, 109, report by Berger about volunteers from Germanic countries, 9 February 1942.

16
. IfZ, NO 1787, RFSS, duties of the head of the SS Main Office in the Germanic countries, 6 March 1942.

17
. Stein,
Geschichte
, 145; order of 13 April 1942, published in
SS en Nederland
, doc. no.144.

18
. Stein,
Geschichte
, 146.

19
. Picker (ed.),
Tischgespräche
, 5 April 1942; see Stein,
Geschichte
, 145.

20
. Stein,
Geschichte
, 146.

21
. Ibid. 147. The two units were constituted as the 28th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division ‘Wallonia’ (up to the autumn of 1944 Sturmbrigade Wallonia) and 33rd Armoured Grenadier Division ‘Charlemagne’. After the retreat from France the French division was composed from, among others, members of Darnand’s ‘Milice’ (see the correspondence in PAA, Inland IIg, R 101058, from the period September to December 1944).

22
. Stein,
Geschichte
, 145 f.

23
. BAB, NS 33/213, undated.

24
. BAB, NS 2/79, letter from Hofmann to Lippert about the inspection of the Dutch volunteers, 4 April 1941. See Heinemann,
‘Rasse’
, 341 f.

25
. BAB, NS 2/82, order of 3 July 1942; Heinemann,
‘Rasse’
, 344 ff. In Norway since the spring of 1942 and the Netherlands since July 1942 so-called SS leaders for race and settlement had been in place to monitor in particular the racial selection of SS recruits and compliance with the Marriage Order and to give SS ‘ideological’ guidance.

26
. Stein,
Geschichte
, 124 f. The figures are based on estimates by the former Waffen-SS general Felix Steiner,
Die Freiwilligen. Idee und Opfergang
(Göttingen, 1958), 373. In his speech in Sonthofen to Wehrmacht generals on 21 June 1944 Himmler spoke of 30,000 Germanic volunteers; Steiner’s figures refer to the total of all those recruited during the war. They may well still be somewhat exaggerated (BAB, NS 19/4014).

27
. IfZ, Partei-Kanzlei, Anordnung A 54/42 of 12 August 1942.

28
. Gerhard Hirschfeld,
Fremdherrschaft und Kollaboration. Die Niederlande unter deutscher Besatzung 1940–1945
(Stuttgart, 1984), 34; according to Hirschfeld the decree in question was that from the Reich Chancellery of 3 February 1943.

29
. Thomsen,
Besatzungspolitik
, 138 ff.

30
. Bohn,
Reichskommissariat
, 44 ff.

31
. Kwiet,
Reichskommissariat
, 146 ff. See, for example, BAB, NS 19/3363, two letters from Himmler to Seyss-Inquart, 5 March 1942, also Himmler’s letter to Rauter, 28 March 1942.

32
. This attitude of resignation is clearly seen in his report of a discussion with Mussert on 8 July 1943, which he informed Rauter about (BAB, NS 19/3364). Himmler meanwhile confined himself to the hope ‘that in this manner we shall be able to keep Mussert on board for the time being’ (ibid.).

33
. Meinoud Marinus Rost van Tonningen,
Correspondentie,
ed. and with an introduction by E. Fraenkel-Verkade in cooperation with A. J. van der Leuw, 2 vols. (’s-Gravenhage, 1967), i. 162 ff. and 912.

34
. On Rost von Tonningen’s withdrawal see Hirschfeld,
Fremdherrschaft
, 193.

35
. Warmbrunn,
German Occupation
, 132 f.; on Himmler’s support see his statements on 12 July 1944 (BAB, R 43 II/678a).

36
. Warmbrunn,
German Occupation
, 135; Wagner,
Belgien
, 248. In total the SS was to recruit some 20,000 volunteers in Flanders and Wallonia up to the end of the war (Stein,
Geschichte
, 124 f.).

37
. He made the speech in the Brussels Palais du Sport at a mass rally of Rexists in which many representatives of the occupying power also took part; see Martin Conway,
Collaboration in Belgium: Léon Degrelle and the Rexist Movement, 1940–1944
(New Haven and London, 1993), 173 ff.