[2] Immediately after the German troops marched in, the following
anti-Jewish decrees were introduced: 1) Jewish companies should remain
closed, 2) Jews were forbidden to withdraw more than 400 zlotys and they
should be deposited in banks in closed accounts, 3) Jews were forbidden to
have more than 2,000 zlotys in total, 4) Jews should submit a declaration about
their financial status, 5) Jews between the ages of 15 and 50 should report every
day at an appropriate German police station, 6) associations and institutions
should submit a declaration about their property, etc.
The office of the Jewish Community board and the prayer house were
sealed only after they had been plundered and the Torah scrolls had been
destroyed.
The Jews remained in Gdynia until the resettlement of the Polish population
of the city on 17 October 1939. All the time, being afraid of attacks
and roundups for forced labour on the repair of roads in Orłowo, where they
were treated very badly, the Jews barely went out. Even 70-year-old men when
caught, had to go and work hard. When nobody was caught on the streets,
people were commanded to report for labour the next day when they reported
to police stations as ordered.
There were official and unofficial searches in homes and looting. It
must be admitted that when the robberies were reported to the police, they
attempted to find the perpetrators, punish them and, if possible, compensate
for the damage.
Only a week before resettlement, the police director called on the deputy
chairman of the Jewish Community, ordered him to submit a list of all Jews
then present in Gdynia as well as the Council of Elders, including 12 respectable
inhabitants, for approval. He obliged.
In the meantime, it was discovered that a general resettlement would
soon take place, so individual passes to travel inland were issued.
From that day, thousands of people (Poles and Jews) queued from 5 a.m.
to 6 p.m. in front of the police head office in order to receive the pass to depart.
It was permitted to take only 50 kilos of hand luggage and the sum of money
approved by the Devisenschutzkommando.¹³⁵⁷
1357 (German) Foreign Exchange Protection Commando, a Nazi special looting unit, was established on 15 November 1939. The Jews were obliged to concentrate their assets in one account and had a limited ability to withdraw their money.
