The »Action M«

Furniture transportation in the context of mass murder

Not only art collections and libraries, but also furniture and household goods of all kinds from Jewish property were looted throughout Europe. In the occupied countries of Western Europe, Benelux and France, a particularly systematic approach was taken - and »Aktion M« was launched specifically for this purpose. »M« stands for furniture.

It began on January 14, 1942, on the instructions of Reichsleiter Alfred Rosenberg, who had immediately checked with Hitler. The Supreme Army Command was also involved, and those responsible were aware that this was not »only« de facto but also de jure robbery. The German ambassador in Paris wrote a memo: »From a formal legal point of view, there is no legal basis for the measure.« Instead, it was necessary to invoke its »historical justification«. When Alfred Rosenberg was sentenced to death in Nuremberg in 1946, his responsibility for the »system of organized looting of public and private property in all the invaded countries of Europe« was one of the four reasons given.

By 1944, 735 trains were deployed as part of »Aktion M«, bringing 29,463 wagonloads to Germany, as well as at least 580 cargo ships. But as enormous as the quantities were, the authorities wanted more: in September 1943, an audit report criticized the considerable lack of personnel, which was hindering work, particularly »in the area of transportation«. There were »considerable backlogs« in the evacuation of the 70,000 Jewish apartments and houses already registered. It was therefore »absolutely necessary to procure further German personnel for the removal as soon as possible«.

The enormous number of furniture and household items that were auctioned off and distributed to the German »national community« was considered »vital« for maintaining wartime morale, also in view of the increasing number of bombings. In Liège/Liège, for example, the Security Service (SD) was instructed to speed up the arrest of Jewish residents »as soon as possible« so that their furniture could be »released«.

Henning Bleyl

Source reference
Henning Bleyl: Möbeltransporte im Kontext des Massenmords, In: Irene Nierhaus et al (eds.): Unbehaust Wohnen, Mariann Steegmann Institut der Universität Bremen Bremen 2019