photo #5842779

Transport E2 from Dossin Barracks, Mechelen, Belgium to Vittel, France on June 20, 1944 Transport E2 from Mechelen to Vittel left on June 20, 1944 and comprised 43 deportees (24 women and 19 men). It was the third smallest transport that left Mechelen. It included solely Jews who had been marked as "borderline cases". Their identity, specifically, their status with regard to citizenship and deportation required further investigation. For this reason the camp registry did not designate a number for them but the letter "E" for German "Entscheidungsfälle" (borderline cases). Unlike most of the other internees who stayed only a few days, the "E-Jews" stayed for weeks or months in Mechelen. The 43 deportees on transport E2 arrived that same day (on June 20). The Jews from Mechelen were placed under house arrest but could move freely within the premises. The E2 deportees stayed in camp Vittel until it was abandoned by the last German guard unit on September 2, 1944. The living conditions in camp Vittel were reasonable. The camp was guarded by older Wehrmacht soldiers who were, by all accounts, "very polite". The cleaning work was done by people from Senegal. The internees did not have to work and the camp had his own hospital. The children went to school which was run by British nuns. Ernst Josef Rothschild testified further: "Each week we received a parcel from the American Red Cross, five packages of cigarettes included. They enabled us to get the necessary cash in order to buy some fruits in the canteen. (…) Couples had a room for themselves singles shared a room à deux or in sets of three." 31 deportees (80%) survived. Details regarding those who died are not known. However, many internees were in frail health. Richard Lichtheim from the Executive of the Jewish Agency for Palestine wrote on June 16, 1944 that according to his "latest information", camp Vittel held about 450 to 500 internees before the first deportation of 283 Jews was assembled. However, only 163 were fit for deporation and the rest had to remain "for reasons of ill-health." A performance by children in Vittel