Joel Brand
"Blood for Goods"
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Joel Brand was born in Nasaud Transylvania in 1907, which was under Hungarian rule. Brand embraced Zionism after a spell in the radical leftist movement in Weimar Germany.
He returned to Transylvania after Hitler came to power but eventually settled in Budapest, where together with his wife, Hansi Hartmann- Brand, he operated a medium –sized glove manufacturing plant.
After the German annexation of Austria in 1938 and the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 the Brands took an interest in refugee causes, and took an active part organising a variety of rescue and relief ventures.
When the Va’ada was established in January 1943 to aid refugees who had escaped from or were seeking to escape from Slovakia and Poland, Brand was chosen to head its Tiyyul (Trip) section, a border crossing operation, whose function was to smuggle Jews out of these countries.
After the German occupation of Hungary on the 19 March 1944, the Va’ada’s primary concern was the rescuing of Jews within Hungary. Brand was also engaged in the Re-Tiyyul (Return Trip) programme, which enabled a number of Polish and Slovak refugees to return to Slovakia where the situation of the remaining Jews was better, for the moment.
While the first contact and rescue negotiations with the SS were established through Fulop Freudiger, the Orthodox representative of the Jewish Council Zsido Tanacs, and continued later by Rezso Kastner, it was Brand whom Adolf Eichmann summoned on the 25 April 1944, to offer his “Blood for Goods” proposal.
Brand met Eichmann in the Majestic Hotel in Budapest. Eichmann greeted Brand with the following words:
“Do you know who I am?
I have carried out the Aktionen in the Reich – in Poland – in Czechoslovakia. Now it’s Hungary’s turn. I let you come here to talk business with you. Before that I investigated you – and your people.
Those from the Joint and those from the Agency, and I have come to the conclusion that you still have resources. So I am ready to sell you – a million Jews.
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All of them I wouldn’t sell you. That much money and goods you don’t have. But a million – that will go. Goods for blood – blood for goods. You can gather up the million in countries which still have Jews.
You can take it from Hungary, from Poland, from Austria, from Theresienstadt, from Auschwitz, from wherever, you want.
What do you want to save? Virile men? Grown women? Old people? Children? Sit down and talk.”
This proposal which had been approved by Heinrich Himmler, Reichsfuhrer SS, was to exchange one million Jews for certain goods, such as 10,000 trucks to be used on the Eastern front, or for civilian purposes.
The Jews could not remain in Hungary, as Himmler had promised to make Hungary Judenfrei (free of Jews), so those covered by this proposal would be permitted to go into any Allied-controlled part of the world, except Palestine, for the Nazis had promised the mufti of Jerusalem, Hajj Amin al –Husseini, not to allow this.
Read more here: http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/nazioccupation/brand.html
The Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team
www.HolocaustResearchProject.org
Copyright Carmelo Lisciotto H.E.A.R.T 2009
