Memorandum for Hitler on the transfer of the household goods of western Jews or refugees to Germany and the east, with preference for Germans whose homes have been bombed

Memorandum for the Fuehrer
By a decision of the Fuehrer the Reichsminister for the occupied Eastern territories has received the authority to put to use for the support of government arrangements in the Eastern territories the available household goods of refugees, absent or deported Jews in the occupied Western areas. This is the so-called Action "M". For the execution of Action "M" the service office West [Dienststelle Westen] has been set up in Paris with directive authority in France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Up to the present time about 40,000 tons of household goods have been loaded on free transportation space (ship and railway) bound for the Reich.
In recognition of the fact that the requirements of bomb damaged persons in the Reich must take precedence over the demands of the East, the Reich Ministry has placed a major portion (over 19,500 tons) of the household goods at the disposal of the bomb damaged persons in the Reich. The goods have then been transported by the appropriate service office west in the occupied territory. Likewise, the Reich Ministry will place at the disposition of bomb-damaged persons the greatest portion,
80
041—PS
at least 80%, of the goods accruing from Action "N" [sic]. For its own purposes only these goods which are urgently needed in the'East will be reserved.
The execution of Action "M" has resulted in two categories of difficulties up to the present time:
a. Transportation Question. The goods have been transported up to this point as Armed Forces goods by means of railway cars and ships. The transportation authorities [Kommandanturen] now wish to treat the transport requirements of Action "M" as the transport of the civilian sector. This would lead to unbearable delays and among other difficulties would require the export-approval of the French State. Because of this the following decree is required: Goods which the Reich Minister for the East-Service Office West [Dienststelle Westen] Paris or their directive authorities in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, declare as goods accruing from Action "M", are to be transported as Armed Forces goods.
b. Distribution of furniture among bombed-out persons. The giving up of the furniture to bomb-damaged persons is being delayed in order that it. may be submitted upon import into the Reich territory to handling by the customs. After time-losing determination of the value, the furniture in many cases is auctioned to the bomb-damaged persons by Chief Financial Commissioners [Oberfinanzpraesidenten] ; to avoid these red-tape procedures the following decree is proposed:
1. Goods accruing from Action "M" are exempt from all customs handling. For such goods there are no obligations or duties to pay.
2. Bomb damaged districts announce their needs in household furnishing under the auspices of the competent Reich defense commissar to Reich Ministry for Occupied Eastern Territories^— Central Section. The Reich Ministry instigates the immediate removal of the objects placed at its disposal by .its service office West [Dienststelle Westen] and in accordance with the indication of the Reich defense commissar ships directly to the competent regional directorates [Gauleitungen], These give the furniture to the persons suffering the bomb damage on a loan basis. The determination of the value of the furniture and the definitive acquisition by the person suffering the bomb' damage remains in abeyance till a later accounting. Up to the time of reckoning the goods are Reich property, and are subject to the evaluation right of the Reich Minister for the occupied Eastern territory.
By these proposals a type of management would be achieved
81
041-PS
whereby persons who have suffered bomb damage would have furniture and household goods at their disposal in the shortest possible time. And thereby also a portion of their most immediate difficulties would be eliminated.
Berlin, 3 October 1942
Signed : A ROSENBERG