WALTHER RAUFF WAS PRESENT IN TUNISIA

By Felix Quigley

October 28, 2008

Leading to the anniversary of the Wannsee Conference in january I am going to include snippets of information about the Holocaust on this blog. The name of Walther Rauff is important in our story because he is associated with the Nazi Palestinian plan to kill all Jews in Palestine. More on that later…

I have come across the following

[start quote here]

The Holocaust:
Reexamining The Wannsee Conference,
Himmler’s Appointments Book, and Tunisian Jews  

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Summary

The Wannsee Conference

At the Wannsee Conference, German officials gathered on January 1942 to coordinate the final destruction of “the Jews of Europe.” What the Nazis called “the Final Solution” was to be carried by means of slave labour for all Jews, and mass deportation. At the Wannsee Conference, the Nazis noted the number of the Jews to be killed.

THE REEXAMINED

* “France’s unoccupied territory 700,000” means French North Africa …

 

(There follows material on how the reference to French Jews included Jews in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco…FQ)

– the recently published Himmler’s apointment book confirms the above. Peter Witte wrote me in e-mail:

 

on December 10, 1942 Himmler reported to Hitler on “Juden in Frankreich 600-700.000 abschaffen” (Jews in France 600-700.000 to be deported or to finish: the German word is a bit ambiguous in fact. At any rate the word “abschaffen” is Hitler’s reaction to Himmler’s proposal, which is emphasized by the addition of a hook (about like \/). The meaning is always that Hitler has agreed to Himmler’s proposals.Immediately after Himmler’s report to Hitler he made a note on it: “Der Führer hat die Anweisung gegeben, dass die Juden und sonstigen Feinde des Reiches in Frankreich verhaftet und abtransportiert werden. Dies soll jedoch erst geschehen, wenn er mit Laval darueber gesprochen hat.” (The Führer has given order to arrest and deport the Jews and other enemies of the Reich in France. But this shall happen only after talks with Laval about it. 6 to 700.000 Jews are concerned.)

We have commented on this remarkable note that these exaggerated numbers have already appeared in the protocoll of the Wannsee conference on January 20, 1942, and that these numbers must include the Jews of the French northern African colonies Marocco, Algeria and Tunesia in all probability, as in France only 290.000 Jews were still alive at the end of 1942. Our reasoning is in accordance with other scholars, e.g. Goetz Aly: “Endloesung”, p. 300. The printed sources and this information can be found in: Peter Witte u.a. (editors): Der Dienstkalender Heinrich Himmlers”

* – Tunisian Jews during the Holocaust, in occupied Tunisia

The Jews in Nazi-occupied Tunisia (Nov. 1942-May 1943) suffered during 6 months, under antisemitism Nazi terror by the infamous SS-Obersturmbannführer Walter Rauff.

Peter Witte wrote to me:

 

“Walther Rauff was “one of the biggest criminals of this century”):
Born June 19, 1906 in Coethen (Saxonia).
High navy officer (Korvettenkapitaen).
1937 fired by the German navy because of adultery (quite the same with Heydrich!) Rauff and Heydrich became friends.
1941-42 RSHA Berlin under Heydrich.
rank: SS-Obersturmbannfuehrer (lieutenant colonel).
here leader of Group II D (technical matters – including construction and distribution of gas vans).
*** 1942-43 Commander of the Security Police in Tunisia.
fall 1943 Commander of the Security Police in Milano (Italy).
June 21, 1944 SS-Standartenfuehrer (colonel) (Simon Wiesenthal).”

A Judenrat was created. Tunisian Jews were subject to acts of violence and terror: arrest of hostages, confiscation of property, ill-treatment -indiscriminate snatching of Jews from street corners and private homes, storming into the synagogue, hitting worshipers-, execution, deportation, and forced labour. Around 5,000 of them had been sent to labor camps near the front lines. It has been estimated that about 100 Jews perished during the period of recruitment: some were murdered in cold bllod by their German guards; others died from ill-treatment, disease, and others were killed in aerial bombardments.

The Tunisian Jews were very much concerned with the threat for their existence. And indeed the Germans were planning to exterminate them. An SS unit was preparing gas chambers near Kairouan. Plans were not completed because of lack of time. Tunis was liberated May 7, 1943.

Tunisian Jewish victims
Mr. Tibi	in the resistance of Sousse, deported to Europe, dead
Mr. Assous	in resistance of hodjeb El Ayoun, deported to Europe, dead
Mr. Mounier	in resistance, died during mission
Joseph Chemla	deported to Buchenwald, died in Torgau
Gilbert Chemla	deported to Buchenwald, died in Torgau
Jean Chemla	deported to Buchenwald, died in Torgau
Rousseau Ruhlmann	deported, dead
Cohen-Hadria	died in Auschwitz
Raymond Samama	died in Oranienbourg
Victor Nataf	shot by the Nazi, as a spy for the Allies
Serge Moatti	deported to Auschwitz, came back
Victor Silvera	deported to Auschwitz, came back
Andre Assuied	in Djebibina, died in forced labor camp
Emile Hababou	shot by a German guard, 1/23/1943, Bizerte camp
Alfred Hababou	shot by German guard, nicknamed “Grandma,” Bizerte
Elie Saadoun	shot by German guard, nicknamed “Grandma,” 2/9/43
Victor Lellouche	killed by soldier Walter, nicknamed “the killer”
Simon Allali	Jacques Attal	Ed. Bellaiche	Albert Boccara
Gilbert Cohen	Joseph Cohen	Moise Cohen	Felix Ghidalia
G. M. Guedj	Joseph Haddad	Maurice Haddad	Joseph Hassan
Lucien Naccache	Roger Ktorza	Sauveur Saada	J. Saffar
Ab. Sitbon	Alfred Smadja	Elie Taieb	Zerah
Andre Haddad	Maurice Kalfon	Asher Gino	Uzan Albert Slama
Edmond Azria 2/16/43	Chalom Guez 2/24/43	Robert Amram 1.43	Jacques Cohen 4.43
Joseph Chelly	Mazouz
(compiled from Sabille, Jacques. Les Juifs de Tunisie sous Vichy et l’Occupation. Paris: Edition du Centre de Documentation Juive Contemporaine, 1954)This is only a partial list of victims of the Holocaust in Tunisia