The Ausnahme-Bescheinigung, the ultimate exemption from deportation.
In the summer of 1943, a very large proportion of Dutch Jews had already been deported. This meant that the right to exist of the Jewish Council had been affected in a proportionate way and that many Jewish Council functions and the associated “Sperres” - exemptions from deportation - were abolished. The last group of Jewish Council staff ended up on exception lists, and had a document as proof of this: the Ausnahme-Bescheinigung.
On the top of the Jewish Council registration card, the "Au-Be" was mentioned, with a red outline. There were Ausnahme Bescheinigungen for various groups of people, such as those working in the food supply (Au-Be v.d. Laan), in the P.I.Z. the Portuguese Israelitic Hospital, the N.I.Z. the Dutch Israelitic Hospital, for 170 people working in certain higher positions at the Jewish Council in Amsterdam and the same in Westerbork.
On 24 July 1943, a transport from Amsterdam with 450 people arrived in Westerbork. They were almost all in the possession of the famous Ausnahme-Bescheinigung. On the basis of this paper received less than a month ago, they would be protected against all possible police actions. After Sunday, June 20, 1943, when the raid prepared in secret had yielded more than 5500 Jews for deportation, Aus der Fünten was of the opinion that a small "Jewish Council" should still exist. The whole lot was not to be liquidated too soon. What else the Zentralstelle should do with its many officials?
Dr. Edwin Sluzker (from Vienna and head of the so-called Expositur, Jewish Council, who eventually went into hiding in 1944), got it done that 170 people were allowed to keep the last remnant of the Jewish Council going. The 170 received an Ausnahme-Bescheinigung, and luckily there was another list at the Zentralstelle. Aus der Fünten went shortly after the 20th of June, on a holiday; Wörlein looked after his affairs. Wörlein was less honed than his chief, allowed himself to be persuaded, and allowed further Ausnahme-Bescheinigungen, so that when Aus der Fünten returned, there were more than 170 employees of the Jewish Council in possession of this paper, a reason for the high chef, to burst into anger.
A second reason for his indignation was that 22 Jewish people in hiding had escaped from the Zentralstelle für jüdische Auswanderung-building at the end of June; the blame was not wrongly given to employees of the Jewish Council, who had to supervise the luggage in this building of the former Christian HBS (school) at night. The damage had to be repaired - and the end of the song was that there was a random group of Ausnahme-Bescheinigung-owners was picked up by the S.D. and put on the train to Westerbork. Among these 450 people, there were just two weeks ago released from Westerbork.
Sources among others: “Vermoedelijk op Transport” (Presumably on transport), Masterscription Archive sciences University of Leiden 2010/2011 by Raymund Schütz, par.3.3.8 and the book De Oorlog die Hitler won, (The War, Hitler won), 1947 published by the Amsterdamse Boek-en Courant Mij. N.V., pages 250 and further and the Database Jewish Biographical Dictionaire/Jews in the Netherlands in the 20th century/Sluzker, Edwin.
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