Luxembourg
Question
I am reasearching the life of a German-Jewish artist (Hannelore Baron)
whose family fled from Germany to Luxembourg in 1939 before emmigrating to
the USA in 1941. There are conflicting accounts as to whether or not the
Nazis ever invaded Luxembourg and I'm having difficulty finding out if this
was the case and if so, when? I would be most grateful for any help you
could give me on this. Its only a small sentence in my thesis but I'm at
the stage where I have to check for accuracy on every little thing.
Thank you for your assistance.
Harry W. Mazal OBE answers:
I am one of the persons who answers questions addressed to our project.
It is possible that other colleagues of mine will wish to respond as well.
The Duchy of Luxembourg fell to the Nazis on Sunday, May 10, 1940 and was
annexed to the Reich.
According to:
The Holocaust
Leni Yahil
c. 1990, Oxford University Press
ISBN 0-19-604522-X
Page 178:
In the western areas annexed to the Reich, the Germans followed
the model established in the Eastern districts to a certain degree.
We have already mentioned the deportation of the Jews of Alsace-
Lorraine to Southern France. A similar strategy was adopted in
Luxembourg, where close to four thousand Jews had been living
prior to the occupation, about one-quarter of them refugees.
Luxembourg fell on Sunday, May 10, 1940, and it appears that around
one thousand Jews managed to flee during the invasion of France.
At the beginning of August the Germans officially announced the
annexation of Luxembourg, and a civil administration was
established there under Gauleiter Gustav Simon, who governed the
area on the left bank of the Rhine between Koblenz and Trier
(Treves). By the end of the month he had already submitted
proposals for anti-Jewish measures for Hitler's approval, and his
orders were published beginning on September 5. [...]
There is considerably more information on this annexation than I have
transcribed above. If you need more details, please do not hesitate to
contact me.
Yours sincerely,
Harry W. Mazal OBE
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