Resettlement to the East (German: Umsiedlung nach (dem) Osten) was a Nazi euphemism which was used to refer to the deportation of Jews and others such as the Roma to extermination camps and other murder locations as part of the Final Solution.[1][2] The Nazis used the euphemism as an attempt to fool their victims into thinking that they would be "resettled" somewhere else, usually in a labour camp, but not all of the victims believed the claim. The Germans also used the word "evacuation", implying preservation from danger and equally misleading to the victims. The Jews were granted a small luggage allowance, but the luggage was loaded separately, and it was often left at the station so it could be disposed of later, after the trains left. German Jews and their luggage were collected openly and in full view of the public before their transportation to the local railway station. To keep the lie credible, receipts were given, and the luggage was carried separately and collected from the victims after their murder.[3][4]
- ^ "Major deportations to killing centers, 1942-1944". encyclopedia.ushmm.org. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
- ^ Snyder, Timothy (2012). Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin. Basic Books. p. 217. ISBN 978-0-465-03297-6.
- ^ Kaplan, Marion A. (1999). Between Dignity and Despair: Jewish Life in Nazi Germany. Oxford University Press. pp. 184, 194, 227. ISBN 978-0-19-983905-6.
- ^ Fischel, Jack (1998). The Holocaust. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 58. ISBN 978-0-313-29879-0.