Ordered in Warsaw, October 2, 1940:
- On the basis of the Regulation for Restrictions on Residence in the General government of September 13, 1940 (V.Bl.G.G.I., p. 288), a Jewish quarter is to be formed in the city of Warsaw, in which the Jews living in the city of Warsaw, or still to move there, must take up residence. The [Jewish] quarter will be set off from the rest of the city by the following streets: [here follows a list of streets and sections of streets].
- Poles residing in the Jewish quarter must move their domicile into the other part of the city by October 31, 1940. Apartments will be provided by the Housing Office of the Polish City Hall. Poles who have not given up their apartments in the Jewish quarter by the above date will be forcibly moved. In the event of a forcible removal they will be permitted to take only refugee [style] luggage (Fluechtlingsgepaeck), bed-linen, and articles of sentimental value. Poles are not permitted to move into the German quarter.
- Jews living outside the Jewish quarter must move into the Jewish area of residence by October 31, 1940. They may take only refugee luggage and bed-linen. Apartments will be allocated by the Jewish Elder (Judenaeltester).
- The Appointed Mayor of the Polish City Hall and the Jewish Elder are responsible for the orderly move of the Jews to the Jewish quarter, and the punctual move of the Poles away from the Jewish quarter, in accordance with a plan yet to be worked out, which will provide for the evacuation by stages of the individual Police districts.
- The Representative of the District Governor of the city of Warsaw will give the necessary detailed instructions to the Jewish Elder for the establishing and permanent closure of the Jewish quarter.
- The Representative of the District Governor of the city of Warsaw will issue regulations for the execution of this Decree.
- Any person contravening this Decree, or the Regulations for its execution, will be punished in accordance with the existing laws on punishment.
Head of the Warsaw District
Dr. Fischer
Governor
Adolf Hitler ordered Hans Frank and other Nazi officials in occupied Poland to keep the standard of living low and to deprive the Polish population of education, for that the Polish people were now mere low laborers of Germany. Additionally, he ordered that the Polish gentry to be exterminated.
“The General Gouvernment is our work force reservoir for low-grade work (brick plants, road building, etc.) … Unconditionally, attention should be paid to the fact that there can be no “Polish masters”; where there are Polish masters, and I do not care how hard this sounds, they must be killed. (…) The Führer must emphasize once again that for Poles there is only one master and he is a German, there can be no two masters beside each other and there is no consent to such, hence all representatives of the Polish intelligentsia are to be killed … The General Gouvernment is a Polish reservation, a great Polish labor camp.”
In essence, Hitler sets forth the view that the Poles exist only to service the German war effort as slaves and otherwise are useless and unnecessary. This also is direct evidence of Hitler ordering executions of “undesirables.” The issue of the Poles will remain an active topic until the last days of the Reich and will not deviate from this attitude. One last fact: many of the Polish “intelligentsia” (but not by any means all) are Jewish.
Strength of the Italian army on the Greco-Albanian border has been raised to 200,000 men with arrival of three new Italian divisions of an estimated 45,000 soldiers, it was reported in reliable quarters today. The sources said that the Italian forces had 500 mountain and field guns and 200 tanks of various sizes mostly whippets which are best adapted to mountainous terrain at the border.
Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party newspaper, Voelkischer Beobachter, today warned the United States against “international complications” resulting from its aid to Britain and said the Reich will deal with this situation as it deems proper. The newspaper asserted that the United States is interested in helping the British only in its role as “heir” to Britain. “Many Americans do not seem to realize yet that they whether from greed or shortsightedness are about to swallow along with that inheritance also the brazen British arrogance and International complications which are born from it and which are now causing Britain’s ruin,” the Voelkischer Beobachter said. “We reserve the right to further examination of this Anglo-Saxon metamorphosis.”
Premier Mussolini’s own newspaper criticized the people of the United States today as “the most ignorant of the white race” and hinted strongly that Germany and Italy are counting on Spain to offset American and British influence in Latin-America. Just how Spain would play her part and the precise role she would have in the new Rome-Berlin-Tokyo axis remained unanswered, however, as Spanish Minister of Government Ramon Serrano Sunrr wound up a series of Rome-Berlin conferences.
While the French Government is engaged in the preparation of a permanent project to fix the status of Jews in unoccupied France, an ordinance was announced in Paris today fixing certain regulations for the Jewish population in the occupied territory. That ordinance emanates from the occupying authority. Under the regulations Jews will not be permitted to return from the free zone to the occupied zone of France. A census of Jews in occupied regions will be taken. Another provision specifies that shops owned by Jewish proprietors in the occupied regions must bear notice of that fact on the outside of the establishment. Leaders of Jewish communities will be held liable for furnishing information necessary for putting the ordinance into effect, and French authorities in the occupied zone will be responsible for its enforcement.
The British Government formally ends the Children’s Overseas Reception Board (CORB) due to the recent sinkings of the Volendam and City of Benares (the latter sinking on 18 September 1940 decisive because of the large loss of life by the evacuees).
Pope Pius XII tonight was reported to be preparing an encyclical warning Catholics throughout the world to be on guard against “communistic influences” resulting from the international struggle to win Russia’s support.
The Malta command, realizing how easy it is to confuse Royal Navy submarines and Italian ones (there are no U-boats in the Mediterranean at this time), develops a new protocol. Coastal batteries from now on will be given a stand-down order when Royal Navy submarines are known to be in the vicinity. The first such stand-down order (called “submarine sanctuary” orders, which is somewhat misleading) are issued today for the anticipated arrival of HMS Truant. Meanwhile, the infantry and artillery units on the island continue integrating the troops received in the recent convoy from Alexandria.
The British and General de Gaulle are having “issues.” The Royal Navy sends the transports loaded with the troops intended for Operation Menace from Freetown to join de Gaulle at Duala, Cameroon. However, disagreements about objectives arrive, and the British turn the transports around and they return to Freetown. De Gaulle’s prestige is at a low point due to the fiasco at Dakar.
A German Ju 88 bomber became lost in the darkness during an early-morning reconnaissance mission and landed at Brightlingsea, Essex, England, United Kingdom at 0630 hours and was captured. During the day, the German Luftwaffe launched 6 raids of Bf 109 and Bf 110 fighters and fighter-bombers against London and Kent in southern England; only one of the raids contained bombers. The Germans lost 5 bombers and 5 Bf 109 aircraft, while the British lost 1 fighter without the loss of its pilot. Overnight, London, Manchester, and Newcastle were bombed.
The Luftwaffe continues on 2 October 1940 its new and improved tactic of using “Jabo” fighter-bombers to entice the RAF up to the battle. The tactics work reasonably well, and Luftwaffe losses have declined drastically since true bombers were restricted to night operations. The RAF has difficulty intercepting these raids because Jabos fly higher and faster than the medium bombers, and also can get back to France quicker, providing fewer attack possibilities. On the downside for the Luftwaffe, the Jabos carry fewer bombs that can cause less damage (though they can aim more accurately under some circumstances), and the pilots have a pronounced tendency to jettison their bombs randomly whenever confronted by interceptors.
It is a cloudy, rainy day, giving the attacks some much-needed cover. The raids start early today, heading for London and nearby airfields such as RAF Biggin Hill around 07:15. RAF Penrhos (Gwynedd in Wales) takes a beating, with numerous ancillary buildings destroyed.
The first major attack starts to form at 08:30. when the Luftwaffe assembles a mixed formation of bombers, Jabos and fighters above Calais and sends it against London. RAF Fighter Command intercepts with 8 squadrons when they approach London. More formations follow, with the first group heading for central London and following formations branching off to surrounding areas. Some ancillary formations cross at different locations, creating a confusing picture for the RAF. The bombers generally reach their targets, and there are massive dogfights which result in few losses given the good cloud-cover.
A smaller raid crosses shortly before noon in the Maidstone area. This is a hit-and-run raid that bombs the coast there, but a larger, following formation heads for RAF Biggin Hill, RAF Lympne, and RAF Kenley and also east London and causing moderate damage.
After the by-now standard break for lunchtime, the Luftwaffe returns with moderate-sized (a few dozen aircraft) raids at 13:30 heading for the same Biggin Hill/Kenley/east London areas targeted during the morning. Once again, there are many ancillary raids of much smaller formations bombing other targets in East Kent such as Camberwell and Sheppey.
Another large raid occurs around 16:30. This time, there is a large component of Heinkel He 111s amongst the 75 Luftwaffe planes. They target the same areas as in the earlier raids. Fighter Command, as one might expect, has better luck with the slow bombers than it had with the Jabos in the earlier raids.
Around dusk at 19:30, the Luftwaffe attacks a convoy off Peterhead with Heinkel He 115s, which have some luck (mentioned below). Fighter Command shoots down one Heinkel and damages another.
After dark, 180 Luftwaffe bombers queue up over London, Newcastle, Manchester, northwest Scotland and the Midlands. The raids are largely over by 01:00, much earlier than during September. The Luftwaffe also mines the Humber and the Thames Estuary. Overall, it is a fairly quiet night as these things have gone since the start of the Blitz on 7 September.
Losses are moderate, with the Luftwaffe losing about ten planes (half bombers, the rest Bf 109s) and the RAF apparently only one. The Luftwaffe’s mix of fighters lost to bombers is “improving” in the sense that fewer bomber crews are being lost, though at the expense of more elite fighter pilots lost. Given the fact that there were bombers in only one moderate-sized raid throughout the raid, the attack around 16:30, a disproportionately high five Luftwaffe bomber losses just underscores how vulnerable they have become to the increasingly experienced and aggressive RAF fighter pilots.
For its part, the RAF is getting many more interceptors in the air at night — this time about 33 planes — but they remain singularly unsuccessful at intercepting the lumbering Luftwaffe bombers. The slow, largely unprotected Heinkel He 111s, Junkers Ju 88s, and Dornier Do 17s still can conduct their operations virtually unmolested after dark aside from anti-aircraft fire (admittedly extremely intense over the London Inner Artillery Zone).
During the morning dogfights, some pilots of JG 53 claim to have a big day. Lt. Eric Schmidt and Uffz. Robert Wolfgarten, both from 9./JG 53, combine for claims of four Spitfires. RAF records, though, only report the loss of one plane during the day, so there was some, ah, German confusion over England.
An unusual incident happens in the morning when the crew of a meteorological/reconnaissance Junkers Ju 88 bomber — still a new entrant on the scene — gets disoriented. After departing Amsterdam Schiphol at 03:00, it wanders about in the dark, cloudy night and mistakes England for France (hey, it happens a lot during the war). Landing at 06:30, the RAF gets a perfectly good new plane for its “Ratwaffe,” the British collection of intact captured aircraft.
RAF Bomber Command dispatches 6 Blenheims on uneventful daylight sweeps.
RAF Bomber Command dispatches 81 Blenheims, Hampdens, Wellingtons and Whitleys to 9 targets overnight in Germany, Eindhoven airfield, the Channel ports and minelaying. 1 Blenheim and 1 Whitley lost. Bomber Command targets oil installations at Bottrop in the Ruhr, Stettin and Hamburg, Hamm, Cologne warehouses, the Essen Krupp factory, and several major ports (Flushing, Antwerp, Hamburg, Wilhelmshaven, Rotterdam, Amsterdam and other invasion ports along the Channel).
U-32, commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Hans Jenisch, sank steamer Kayeson (4606grt) in 51-12N, 24-22W. At 1825 hours the unescorted Kayeson (Master William Ayres) was hit in the fore ship by the last torpedo from U-32 west of Ireland. The submerged U-boat came too close to the target and slightly collided with its rudder, bending the bow to port. They surfaced and tried to finish her off with the last two rounds from the deck gun, but missed due to high swells. Shortly thereafter the ship sank steeply by the bow. The Germans had observed how the crew abandoned ship in the lifeboats, but the master and all 37 crew members were lost. The 4,606-ton Kayeson was carrying general cargo and coal and was bound for Montevideo, Uruguay.
Destroyer HMS Tartar departed Scapa Flow at 1200 for Devonport for refitting, and arrived at 1700/4th.
Destroyer HMS Matabele departed Kirkwall at 1300 to search for a German submarine reported at 1130, seven miles 360° from Lossiemouth. She was recalled to Scapa Flow on the 3rd and arrived at 1420.
Destroyer HMS Bulldog departed Sheerness at 0740 for Rosyth to join the Home Fleet temporarily.
British floating mines were still being destroyed west of the Orkneys and Shetlands on this date, preventing the carrying out of anti-submarine exercises in the normal area.
In a raid on German shipping in Bjorne Fjord by the British 801 Squadron from Hatston, a Skua was shot down and S/Lt A. Hartoch and Naval Airman E. J. Adlam were killed.
Steamer Latymer (2218grt) in convoy HG.44 was sunk by German bombing in 51-20N, 10-30W, four miles west of Skelligs.
Anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Curacoa arrived at Scapa Flow at 0400 after escorting convoy WN.19 F. She departed Scapa Flow at 1230 to cover convoy HX.74 A. The convoy was attacked by German bombers which dropped two torpedoes, but both torpedoes missed. Steamer Trehata (4817grt) was damaged by German bombing off Peterhead in convoy HX.74 A. Curacoa arrived back at Scapa Flow that evening.
Destroyers HMS Havock and HMS Hasty, returning to Alexandria from convoy AN 4 escort, sank Italian submarine Berrilo south of Crete in 33-09N, 26-24E. Forty five crew were rescued — the sub surfaces after being heavily damaged and all 45 onboard are taken as prisoners. Hasty and Havock joined the Main Fleet at noon on the 2nd and proceeded to Alexandria.
Early on the 2nd, light cruisers HMS Orion and HMAS Sydney bombarded Maltezana in Stampalia. The ships arrived back at Alexandria on the 3rd.
The British Mediterranean Fleet arrived back at Alexandria.
Heavy cruiser HMS Devonshire (Flagship Vice Admiral John Cunningham) with destroyers HMS Faulknor, HMS Foresight, HMS Fury, and HMS Escapade departed Freetown for Duala, Cameroons arriving on the 4th with Dutch liner Westernland (16, 469grt), carrying 1564 tons, French sloops Commandant Domine and Commandant Duboc. When agreement could not be reached between De Gaulle and the British command on operations, the destroyers returned to Freetown.
Heavy cruiser HMS Hawkins arrived at Durban for refitting completed on 16 November.
Convoy OA.223 departed Methil escorted by sloop HMS Sandwich. Corvette HMS Heartsease joined on the 6th and both were detached later that day.
Convoy FN.297 departed Southend, escorted by destroyers HMS Valorous and HMS Wolsey. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 4th.
Convoy FS.298 departed Methil, escorted by destroyers HMS Wallace and HMS Watchman. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 4th.
Convoy BS.5 A departed Port Sudan, escorted by armed boarding vessel HMS Chakdina and sloops HMS Flamingo and HMIS Indus. The convoy was dispersed off Aden on the 6th.
President Roosevelt signed a proclamation directing that registration under the Selective Service Training Act be conducted in Hawaii on October 26, discussed remedial measures for flood conditions at Mount Holly, New Jersey, with Senators Barbour and Smathers, Representative Powers and citizens of that area and transacted other official business.
The Senate completed Congressional action on the “Truth-in-Fabrics” Bill, heard Senator Bridges accuse Solicitor General Biddle of abusing his official position in an attempt to destroy a Chattanooga newspaper in whose rival he had a financial interest and recessed at 7 PM until noon tomorrow.
The House completed Congressional action on a bill authorising the President to requisition machine tools needed in national defense work, received the conference report on the Ramspeck Civil Service Bill and adjourned at 1:10 PM until noon tomorrow.
Another tour of defense projects, this time in Pennsylvania and Ohio, was added tentatively to President Roosevelt’s schedule today, when the White House said he might go to that area about October 11.
An assertion that Solicitor General Francis Biddle abused his official position on two occasions, once as counsel for the TVA Investigating Committee and again as Solicitor General, in attempting to “injure and destroy” a newspaper whose only afternoon rival was a paper in which he was financially interested, was made in the Senate today by Senator Bridges of New Hampshire.
A new United States naval force will be established in the Atlantic in the near future, according to a Navy Department announcement tonight. This, in the opinion of observers, is the answer of the naval strategists for the time being to the problem of how this country, having only one fleet now and that in the Pacific Ocean, can best maintain its flag in the Atlantic without weakening its Pacific defenses. The new organization will consist of more than 125 vessels of all types, in addition to airplanes of an undisclosed number, and will be called the Patrol Force. It will be an integral part of the United States Fleet and will be under command of Rear Admiral Hayne Ellis, present commander of the Atlantic Squadron. Admiral Ellis will be responsible to Admiral James O. Richardson, Commander in Chief of the United States Fleet. The new force is being formed chiefly of vessels now in service in the Atlantic, but under varied commands, such as the Atlantic Squadron and the Neutrality Patrol. All these and more which will be added later will be merged into one coordinated force.
Cash expenditures of $594,975,389 for defense purposes during the first quarter of this fiscal year were reported today by the Treasury, while the Defense Commission said it had cleared contracts aggregating $7,660,000,000 in about the same period.
The American Federation of Labor, which claims more than 4,000,000 members, tonight reaffirmed its traditional nonpartisan policy in the 1940 presidential race. The decision was made by the organization’s executive council which also approved immediate publication and distribution among A.F.L. officers and members of a pamphlet comparing the labor records of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates of the two major parties. The federation has departed from its non-partisan policy only once and that was in 1924 when it backed the presidential candidacy of Senator Robert M. LaFollette Sr., Wisconsin Progressive. The rival C.I.O. has taken no official stand on the race. C.I.O. President John L. Lewis predicted earlier this year that President Roosevelt would be defeated “ignominiously” if he sought a third term.
Henry A. Wallace in Spokane, Washington, tonight charged the Republican farm program was directed by “forces of high finance” and urged farmers to “stand shoulder to shoulder to preserve new deal gains.” Turning east after his west coast tour, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee again assailed Wendell L. Willkie, Republican presidential nominee, but praised Willkie’s running-mate, Senator Charles L. Mc-Nary, as “able and public spirited.” Wallace elaborated on his Portland, Ore., public power speech with the declaration utility holding company interests “desperately want to elect their man to the presidency” to fight and “block full use and public benefit of Columbia river power.”
Wendell L. Willkie charged tonight the political theories and ambitions of a few men had exposed the United States “to the aggressors” and urged aid for Britain even at a sacrifice of speed in building up America’s air fleet. In a major address on foreign policy and defense delivered in Cleveland’s Public Auditorium, the Republican presidential nominee said, “We are not prepared and we are not getting prepared.” Willkie charged the Roosevelt Administration with playing politics with preparedness and the safety of the nation at a time when Germany, Italy and Japan, “the three most aggressive nations on earth,” had formed an alliance aimed at the United States.
A Dies subcommittee spokesman announced today questioning of visitors to the German American Bund’s Camp Nordland had disclosed hundreds of Nazi sympathizers employed in munitions, shipbuilding and other national defense industries. Chairman Joe Starnea, Alabama Democrat, made the charge in a public statement on conclusion of two days of public and private hearings. National leaders of the bund and state heads of the Ku Klux Klan had been called as witnesses.
Colonel George S. Patton, Jr. receives a promotion to temporary brigadier general after well over a decade at the colonel level. Patton is the commander of the 2nd Armored Brigade, part of the 2nd Armored Division, and is in charge of training. Patton is one of the few U.S. Army officers with actual experience leading tanks in combat during World War I and is a key figure in one of the very few armored formations in the U.S. Army.
1940 World Series, Game One:
The Series opens in Cincinnati, and the Reds lose 7–2, the 10th straight world series loss for a National League team. Two singles and an error loaded the bases before Pinky Higgins drove in two runs with a single. A walk reloaded the bases before Dick Bartell’s two-run single. Bruce Campbell’s RBI single knocked starter Paul Derringer out of the game. Bruce Campbell adds a 2–run home run in the fifth to make it 7–1, and Bobo Newsom rations 8 hits and only one walk. The Reds got another run in the eighth when Billy Werber doubled and scored on Goodman’s single, but nothing else as Detroit took a 1–0 series lead. Bobo’s father, visiting from South Carolina, dies in a Cincinnati hotel the next morning. The Tigers’ win in Game 1 was the first World Series game won by a non-New York City team since 1935. In every World Series between 1935 and 1940, either both teams were from New York City or a New York City team won in a sweep (1938 and 1939).
The Sullivans become the first father and son to have played in a World Series when Billy Jr. is the Tigers backstop in Game 1 of the Fall Classic at Crosley Field. The Detroit catcher’s dad, Bill Sr., appeared in the postseason in 1906, playing the same position for the White Sox when he went 0-for-21 in the Hitless Wonders’ six-game triumph over the Cubs.
Detroit Tigers 7, Cincinnati Reds 2
The Royal Canadian Navy armed yacht HMCS Vison (S 11) arrived at Halifax from conversion and arming at Pictou, Nova Scotia.
American and British oil companies were instructed today to remove their stocks from Hanoi airfield within the next two days to make way for Japanese occupation under the Vichy-Tokyo accord. The Japanese assumption of “limited” military facilities at three air bases in Tonkin State [Northern Indo-China], including Hanoi’s, as well as on Tonkin’s railways, moved swiftly and smoothly toward conclusion. These facilities will offer the Japanese means for an offensive into Southwest China — an attempt to conclude the “China incident,” as the Japanese call their three-year-old war with the forces of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek.
The newspaper Asahi warned Britain and America today that if they ban oil, rubber and tin exports to Japan, the Japanese would choose an “all or nothing struggle” rather than “waiting for death.” The newspaper said there was an opportunity for Anglo-American reflection toward eliminating unnecessary international friction, but added that the new tripartite pact most likely will cause a stiffening instead of a softening of Anglo-American far eastern policies.
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 134.97 (+0.64)
Born:
Prince Muhammad bin Talal of Jordan, in Amman, Jordan (d. 2021).
Lord David Davies, Welsh engineer, peer (House of Lords. 1944-99), sailor, and administrator (Chairman of Welsh National Opera, 1975-2000), in Llandinam, Wales, United Kingdom (d. 2024).
Patrick Sky [Lynch], American musician, folk singer, songwriter, record producer, and uilleann bagpiper (Songs That Made America Famous), in College Park, Georgia (d. 2021).
Wendell Harris, NFL cornerback, safety, and kicker (Baltimore Colts, New York Giants), in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (d. 2024).
Bruce Draper, Canadian NHL centre (Toronto Maple Leafs), in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (d. 1968, of Leukemia).
Naval Construction:
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type VIIC U-boat U-136 is laid down by Bremer Vulkan-Vegesacker Werft, Bremen-Vegesack (werk 15).
The Royal Navy Hunt-class (Type II) escort destroyer HMS Zetland (L 59) is laid down by Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd. (Scotstoun, Scotland).
The Royal Navy MMS I-class motor minesweeper HMS MMS 3 (J 503) is launched by Richard Irvin & Sons (Peterhead, Scotland, U.K.).
The Royal Navy MMS I-class motor minesweeper HMS MMS 11 (J 511) is launched by John Noble Ltd. (Fraserburgh, Scotland, U.K.).
The Royal Navy Shakespeare-class minesweeping trawler HMS Juliet (T 136) is launched by Cook, Welton & Gemmill (Beverley, U.K.); completed by Holmes.
The Royal Navy Shakespeare-class minesweeping trawler HMS Coriolanus (T 140) is launched by Cochrane & Sons Shipbuilders Ltd. (Selby, U.K.); completed by Amos & Smith.
The U.S. Navy Tambor-class submarine USS Tuna (SS-203) is launched by the Mare Island Navy Yard (Vallejo, California, U.S.A.).
The Royal Canadian Navy armed yacht HMCS Wolf (Z 16) is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Lieutenant John Alexander Gow, RCNR.
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type IID U-boat U-144 is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Oberleutnant zur See Friedrich von Hippel.
History Diaries 