5 rare photographs of Jews who were picked up on the street by the Nazis before their deportation to the death camps - Aktion. three of them signed on the back with the "photo Hartmann Berlin" ink stamp, and they were taken in the Polish ghettos by the Nazis themselves, c. 1940.
The photographs show: a large group of Jews before getting on the trucks, a row of women in the front sitting on a bench with their backs to the camera with yellow patches on their clothes, an old Jew carrying a suitcase with Nazi soldiers in the background, an old Jew and his family members with their belongings next to a truck full of Jews, a large group of Jews waiting to be transported, a group of Jews with Star of David armbands at the entrance to their homes.
The Aktion was a series of violent actions by the Nazi forces in areas of residence or concentration of Jews, such as the ghettos, for the purpose of transportation - forced collection and shipment from their locations - their permanent residences - to concentration and extermination camps, which was run by the forces of Nazi Germany: the Gestapo, the SS and others with the assistance of forces Local policing, during World War II. Photographs during the execution of the action are extremely rare, since even the Nazis themselves preferred not to leave any documentation of these actions. The action included a call to the Jews, accompanied by an order from the regional authorities, to gather at a central site (the town square or a central crossroads) at a certain time. Sometimes the Jews or their representatives, who asked to find out where they were being sent, were told that they would be taken to "labor camps" in "Eastern Europe", and they were even asked to send a letter about it to other relatives. The Jews were told that they could take money and valuables with them in their chattels, and that when the day comes they will return to their homes.
The Germans were careful about the detailed and complete management of the action. Jews who did not obey the order instructing them to be collected and sent away, were persecuted by the local authorities and the Nazi occupation authorities, who supervised them. When the Jews were gathered, they were rounded up by armed forces, led and put on a means of transportation to the intended concentration and extermination camp. In the actions, the police and local residents usually behaved very violently towards the Jews, and many Jews were brutally murdered even before being deported. The actions were conducted in order and with great organization, and they took place until the last stages of the war (even though they took resources in personnel, fuel, means of transport, etc. from Nazi Germany).
Provenance: Willy Lindwer collection.
5 photographs. Same size: 9x7 cm. Very good condition.
