General
After the departure of the transport on 12 December 1942, which ended the "Cosel period", a rest break had occurred, which was called the "Christmas break" with the usual dose of camouflage, but seems to have been caused by a shortage of transport material. the deportations of Jews from the Netherlands were resumed with effect from 11 January 1943. The period from 11 January to 23 February 1943, in which 9 transports left directly for Auschwitz, namely 8 from Westerbork and 1 from Apeldoorn, are for brevity called “Spring Transports 1943.”
The Spring Transports
To a greater extent than the Auschwitz transports of autumn 1942, the spring transports of 1943 had the character of extermination transports, accentuated above all by the fact that they were composed for the most part of older and less able-bodied persons, who were not eligible for employment, and were therefore destined to be gassed immediately upon arrival at Auschwitz. The number of women is also predominant.
Whether or not related to the composition and size of these transports, it is in any case worth mentioning a secret order (the only one of this nature known) from the head of the "Reichs Sicherheits-Hauptamt", ordering the deportation of 45000 persons of “Jewish blood”, of which 3000 from the Netherlands, in the period from 11 to 31 January 1943. This order was complied with by the "Befehlshaber der Sicherheitspolizei" in the Netherlands by having 5 transports removed, respectively on 11,18, 23 and 29 January, 1943 from Westerbok and on 22 January 1943 from Apeldoorn ("Apeldoornse Bosch transport"), a total of 3594 people. Afterwards, 4 more transports left Westerbork during this period, on 2, 9, 16 and 23 February 1943 respectively, together comprising 4283 people.
Overview of the composition of the transport of 16 February 1943:
Number of deportees: ............ 1108, of which 515 were men and 593 were female
Persons over 50 years: ................................... 427, of which 171 M and 256 F.
Children under 16 years: ............................... 180, of which 96 M and 84 F .
Persons aged 16-50 for employment selection 501, of which 248 M and 253 F.
Age 16-17 years: ......................................... 28, of which 15 M and 13 F.
From 18-35 years: ........................................ 246, of which 118 M and 128 F.
From 36-40 years: ....................................... 86, of which 43 M and 43 F.
From 41-50 years: ...................................... 141, of which 72 M and 69 F.
Number of survivors: ..................................... 5, of which 4 men and 1 female.
The transport of 16 February 1943
4 men and 1 woman returned from this transport. The woman was a nurse who, as happened with a nurse from the transport of 8 February 1943, was the only woman taken from the group intended for the gas chambers to be employed in her profession.
All other women, as well as the children and the older, sick and weak-looking men, were, according to the statements of witnesses, gassed immediately upon arrival at Auschwitz on 19 February 1943. In fact, none of them were ever heard from again after that date.
According to statements from the surviving men, the immediately held selection selected men aged 18-40 for employment. The ages of the known matriculates, with one doubtful exception (a letter writer aged 13 who has not been identified with certainty), do indeed fall within the stated age group.
Since, according to the table on page 23, the number of men in this age group totaled 176, while the reconstructed matricule series runs from 103541 (C) to 103698 (V), so excluding the letters A-B and W to Z already includes 158 numbers, an estimate of the number of employees at 170 to 180 is not far from reality, and it can therefore be assumed on good grounds that the men aged 16-40, with exceptions (only known to the extent that they are the survivors are specified) have been "selected" for employment. The employees remained "in quarantine" in Auschwitz until 1 March 1943, and were then transferred to Birkenau, where they were assigned to various labor commands.
Two men died during the quarantine period. From the statements of the survivors, from the letter lists and from the fact that the deaths recorded in the "Number Death Book" all took place in Birkenau, it must be concluded that almost the entire group remained in this camp. Only one of the employed persons, who by the way, the name has been found in Monowitz's “Krankenbau” administration.
Letters were received from 23 men, all from Birkenau and most recently: in February/May 1943 from 1 man; on 15 June 1943 from 1 man; on 7 September 1943 of 8 men; on 8 November 1943 from 9 men and on 7 April 1944 from 4 men. With regard to these letter writers, reference is made to what is stated under IVa of paragraph 3 of Chapter I. A total of 17 dates of death are known from the "Number Death Book". Of these, in February 1943: 2; in March 1943: 10; in April 1943: 3; in May 1943: 1; in July 1943: 1.
From these figures it can be concluded that the greatest mortality occurred before the end of April 1943, while on the other hand it can be assumed that those who lived longer, from the letters received, from the administration or from witness statements, existed afterwards. has still been proven. On this basis it has been concluded that the employees, about whom no individual information is known, must be considered to have died no later than 30 April 1943.
In connection with the above-mentioned quarantine period, the starting date of the period during which the death may have occurred must be assumed to be: 1 March 1943.
Source: the archives of the Dutch Red Cross, publication “Auschwitz IV”, deportation transports in 1943, published October 1953, pages 5 (General), 21 (Spring transports), 23 (Composition of transport 16 February 1943) and page 37 sub h, 38 and 39 (the transport of 16 February 1943).