The events of 9th to 11th November are, after the observations made in Germany, in no way to be considered merely as a consequence of the murder in Paris. Rather the act by Grynszpan was merely the welcome catalyst for the implementation of measures which had already been planned well in advance. Even hostile acts against Jewish houses of worship had increasingly become a reality in the autumn.
This is to an extent a case of "legal" acts. Some of the synagogues in Munich, Nuremberg, Dortmund etc. have been disposed of "voluntarily" by the synagogue communities, some dispossessed in the Enteignungsverfahren. In Dortmund a sum in the region of RM. 170,000.- was paid which was equivalent merely to the value of all the land whilst no account was taken of the substantial building. But even the purchase price of RM. 170,000.- was forfeited a short time later through the Beschlagnahme, because during demolition of the synagogue building old leaflets had been discovered in a floor area which had accidentally been put there because the Gemeindehaus was being renovated.
In addition to these measures, which had at least some lawful basis however, damage to and burglaries of places of worship also took place repeatedly, even before 9th November e.g. in Westphalia.
Similarly even before Grynszpan's deed stones were being thrown at and vandalism was carried out on Jewish private houses. Such events were happening e.g. even in the summer in Hülchrath (Rhineland) [now in North Rhine-Westphalia], in Selm-Beifang (Westphalia) [now a district in Selm, North Rhine-Westphalia] etc.
After the Paris murder the destruction of Jewish property and the burning of synagogues in the provinces of Hessen and Nassau already started before the death of the wounded man on 8th November.
It emerges from all this evidence, as also from the enlargement of the existing concentration camps, that the so-called reprisals would have been carried out in the same or similar form even without the welcome pretext.
The number of synagogues set on fire in November cannot be determined. In western Germany it can be established that no Jewish place of worship has escaped its fate. The degree of damage is very different though; in some of the great massive stone buildings in part merely the interior was burned out whilst the building itself remained intact, and precisely for this reason provides a ghostly sight with its empty window cavities.
The number of those arrested and those taken to concentration camps may amount to roughly 35,000. Of these 35% may have been released again in the middle of December. At present these are front-line soldiers and people whose imminent emigration can be proved.
The treatment of the prisoners was very variable; in Berlin it appears that no mistreatment was inflicted before transfer to concentration camp, or only very rarely, in Frankfurt highly unpleasant scenes (Einzelexerzieren, exercises by those lying on the floor and the like) occurred in the Festhalle.
The number of violent deaths is impossible to establish. The following have been killed: a Dr. Levy from Polzin [now Pol. Połczyn-Zdróz] the former proprietor of Tietz, Fürstenheim, in Chemnitz, four residents of Hilden (Rhineland) [now in North Rhine-Westphalia], coffee house owner Marcus in Düsseldorf, whose wife suffered a serious gunshot wound to the stomach. Jacoby, Küstrin, and Bamberger of Nuremberg are also said to have been killed.
The number of suicides is extraordinarily high; three such cases are said to have taken place in Würzburg; in Munich a partner in the Aufhäuser banking house met his end by committing suicide, in Essen lawyer Heinemann committed suicide with his wife, in Nassau an old man called Stern etc. A series of fatalities also occurred amongst elderly people due to the turmoil they had suffered.
The banker Wallich, Paul von Schwabach, both from Berlin, Dr. Hartog of Hamburg.
The mortality rate in concentration camps is very high; as things stand on 1st December the fatalities are said to amount to 180 in Buchenwald, 44 in Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg, relatively few in Dachau. The results of the cold snap in the second half of December cannot be predicted as yet.
Amongst those arrested the most by far were rabbis who were frequently treated particularly badly as they had relinquished their posts. Rabbi Klein, Düsseldorf, and his wife were thrown down the steps.
Because of the numerous arrests of Jewish teachers, education has sometimes been completely disrupted.
The economic consequences of the events are incalculable. The damage to property that has occurred also still cannot even be approximately determined. Nor can anything yet be stated about the impact of the so-called Sühneleistung.
In addition to these publicly known measures however, extortion took place about which nothing is known.
In Berlin wealthy Jews who want to emigrate have for some time not automatically been receiving their Unbedenklichkeitsbescheinigung, which is the requirement for issuing passports. They are summoned by the Stapo to an assessor, Müller-Scholtes, and compelled to make a special donation to the Graf-Helldorf-Fonds. This fund is supposed to be used to fund the emigration of less well-off Jews, however to date no case is known where funds have been provided from it. The sums extorted in this way already add up to RM. eight to ten million. Attempts by the Reichsvertretung to gain a certain degree of Jewish control have failed.
After the happenings of November the same Müller-Scholtes compiled a "millionaires list", which incidentally was predominantly made up of an array of non-Aryans involved in high finance who came from families baptised long ago (von Gewinner, Solmsen etc.). Five million had to be raised from the people thus selected. Although the Jewish community strove to achieve this aim, the attempt failed, not before Herr Müller-Scholtes had uttered to Herr Kozower, "If the millions are not collected, it will cost you your head."
All these events are completely unknown to the Aryans in their entirety. Individuals are merely aware of some details which are strongly denied.
The impoverishment of Jewry proceeds at a rapid tempo. After 1st January 1939 it will be barely possible for professional activity to continue, public welfare will basically cease from the same day, leased premises which until now have been debt-free can only continue to be retained against payment of rent. The educational burden of maintaining lessons to the same extent as to date amounts to RM. 25 million per year alone.
Signs of disorganisation and corruption are mounting within the entire population. Thefts within the Reichspost are increasing, the customs office supervisors show a growing inclination to bribery — incidentally to the benefit of the Jews.
Fierce battles about areas of responsibility take place between the authorities; it is scarcely possible to find a properly authorised person to deal with. In Berlin meetings currently take place chiefly with the Kriminalrat [detective superintendant] Gans from the Polizeipräsidium [police headquarters] at Alexanderplatz. The Judenaktion [Jews operation] seems to lie in the hands of Obergruppenführer [SS General] Wolf of the Reichsführung SS [SS High Command]. A Jewish source who has contacts in authoritative SS circles is frequently in a position to give advance warning of impending measures.
