Three Train Tickets for Jews Deported by the Nazis for “Resettlement” on the Czechoslovakia-Poland Railway Line to the Death Camps During World War II. The tickets bear the departure station “Bratislava hl. st.” (Bratislava Main Train Station) and the destination marked “Polonia” (Poland).
These tickets were used by members of the same family, as indicated by consecutive seat numbers: 17612, 17613, 17615, suggesting they traveled together in close proximity.
During World War II, especially in 1942, tens of thousands of Slovak Jews were deported via trains from Bratislava and other regions in Slovakia to death camps in Poland, including Auschwitz, Sobibor, and Belzec. The deportations were carried out using trains, with the Nazis deceptively presenting them as “Resettlement in the East” (Umsiedlung im Osten) to mislead the victims. Nazi authorities published official documents and regulations portraying these transports as an “opportunity” for Jews to work or settle in the East. Deportees were permitted to take only a limited amount of personal belongings, reinforcing the illusion of legitimate relocation. Many Jews from Bratislava and surrounding regions were deported on these trains to extermination camps such as Auschwitz, Sobibor, and Treblinka. The Nazis spread false information, claiming that deportees were being sent to labor camps or agricultural settlements, while in reality, they were being transported to immediate extermination or forced labor until death. The Reichsbahn (German State Railways) meticulously planned the deportations, with the cooperation of local collaborators. Each transport consisted of hundreds of people crammed into freight cars, without adequate food, water, or sanitation, making the journey deadly even before reaching the final destination. Some of these deportation trains were coordinated with the Slovak government, which functioned as a Nazi puppet state. In 1942 alone, approximately 57,000 Slovak Jews were deported to death camps in Poland, with most of them murdered upon arrival.
Dimensions: 6 × 3 cm each. Condition: good.
