The »Action 3«

Folk festival atmosphere, trampled front gardens

In November 1941, the »confiscation of assets« of the deported Jewish population was officially »regulated« by the Reich Ministry of Finance. The confiscation and »realization« of assets throughout the Reich was carried out in close cooperation between tax officials and the Gestapo and with the involvement of municipal administrations, property managers, bailiffs, bank employees, auctioneers and freight forwarders.

The cover name for these measures was »Aktion 3«. The income generated from the »utilization« of the inventory left behind in the apartments and the collection of the remaining assets is estimated at around 778 million Reichsmarks.

But even before 1941, there had already been numerous plundering situations, for example during the Reichspogromnacht in 1938. In 1940, the »Gau Baden-Elsass« was deported and »utilized« region by region for the first time, a »model experiment« from the point of view of the Nazi regime, which went entirely to its liking. There were no major protests against the deportation of Jewish neighbors and there was a great deal of interest in the »utilization« of their property.

The police photographer from Lörrach in Baden took pictures of Jewish property being auctioned off in October 1940. They show a festive atmosphere. Afterwards, there were complaints from the neighborhood about trampled front gardens - the crowds were so large.

Henning Bleyl