1940 - 1942

After the Jewish refugees had returned to the camp in Westerbork, the guidelines became more strict. You could no longer just go in and out. The borders were marked with signs. Discipline was mentioned. The Ministry of Justice took over the management of the camp from Internal Affairs. Under the guidance of Jacob Schol, surveillance was addressed seriously. Instead of a couple of constables (rijksveldwachters), a detachment of fifteen military police members now supervised.

In the morning and the afternoon, there was a roll call, censorship on letters was tightened, and biking was prohibited.

On the other hand, education was taken seriously now. The children had to attend school until they were nineteen, and later until they were fourteen. Service groups were founded for all kinds of work, and every barrack was appointed their own barrack leader. These were measures that suited the continuing militarisation of the camp, which became hermetically sealed from the outside world. Commander Schol laid down the foundation for a camp organisation that would be taken by Germans. The anti-German commander Schol thought that perfect organisation was the best remedy to keep the Germans out. And although Schol tightened his regime, he didn’t act inhumanely. Some German authorities did not like that: 'I am under the impression that Jews are treated much too humanely here and that, due to the attitude of the camp commander, the Jews feel very much at ease here. (...) Above all, it would be necessary to appoint a different camp commander here.’

When the Nazis moved to a systematic eradication of Jews in early 1942, there were consequences for the camp. The camp was expanded with a large number of barracks and smaller buildings. On 1 July, the camp was designated as Polizeiliches Judendurchgangslager. Although commander Schol stayed until January 1943, the commanding officer of the Sicherheitspolizei (SD) took over the task from the Dutch camp leadership.

 

  • European Heritage Label
  • Unesco

Route descriptions

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