Deportation is the forcible transfer of an individual or group of people from their place of residence.

In Nazi Germany, several categories of the population doomed to extermination were subject to deportation: Jews, Roma and Sinti (Gypsies), Jehovah’s Witnesses, mentally ill people, people with non-traditional sexual orientation, and those with physical disabilities. The largest deportations of Jews took place in Poland and then in other occupied territories. Initially, Jews were concentrated in the ghetto. Right in front of you, in the wall, there’s a passway to the exhibition dedicated to the ghetto phenomenon. Since 1942, the ghetto had been gradually liquidated as Jews were massively deported to concentration camps.

To your left, there is a collage showing how the deportation proceeded. First, Jews were forced to come to the assembly point. They also had to mark themselves and their belongings with specific signs. Most often, it was the Jewish national symbol, the Star of David. In front of you, there is a children’s suitcase marked with this symbol. People were transferred into freight cars. You can see the layout on the right. Open the car door. Here is a chronicle of the deportation of Jews to concentration camps. Transportation of people took place in inhumane conditions. The cars were overcrowded. There was no heating, food, or drinking water. All this and unsanitary conditions led to significant casualties even during short transportation.

As a rule, no deportations took place in Central, Northern, Eastern, and Southern Ukraine. Einsatzkommando (special police formations) exterminated Jews from these regions in the places of their permanent residency.