Deutsche Zivilverwaltung und Judenverfolgung im Generalgouvernement : eine Fallstudie zum Distrikt Lublin 1939-1944

The Jewish population in the Lublin district was scattered among many small towns and villages, making control difficult for the Nazis. Until summer 1941, responsibility for Jewish policy lay in the hands of the civil administration. Local administrative chiefs (Kreishauptleute) had considerable autonomy; thus, treatment of Jews was not uniform. The general policy was to exclude Jews from the economy and to exploit them in forced labor. Most of the Jews lost their livelihood; in addition, the Lublin district had to absorb Jews deported from other districts. The resulting shortage of food and housing, aggravated by war conditions and fear of epidemics, caused administrators to wish to get rid of the Jews. In October 1941 Hans Frank obtained Hitler's assent to their extermination - before, and independently of, the decision to murder all of Europe's Jews. At first, the Kreishauptleute were in charge; they rounded up only Jews unfit for labor. But in summer 1942 the police and SS took over the entire operation. Odilo Globočnik, SS- and Police Chief of the Lublin district, was in charge of the Final Solution in the whole Generalgouvernement. Entire communities were massacred or deported to extermination camps. The Kreishauptleute continued to give logistic support, and they instigated manhunts for escaped Jews. After the war only a few prominent administrators were tried, in Germany and Poland, and executed. Includes bibliographical references (pages 401-417) and indexes. x, 435 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm