Free Cruel World by Lynn H. Nicholas Page A

angels all, is beyond words. Special thanks to Daisy, Carter, Philip, Tammy, Sonia, Olivia, William, Robert, and Josephine, who have all tolerated my absences, and most of all to my husband, Robin, who has helped with every aspect of this book, and who has been so very patient.
    Washington, D.C.
2004                   



A Note on Nomenclature
    The bureaucracies of all the nations involved in the events described in this book were extremely complex. In the approximately thirty-year span described, agencies proliferated, changed their names, and spawned subagencies. This was especially true of the Nazi agencies dealing with race and youth matters and, after the war, the Allied refugee organizations. Added to this complexity is the fact that translators are not consistent in their terminology and use “Service,” “Agency,” “Bureau,” and so on interchangeably to translate the same German word. I have therefore tried to minimize the use of specific agency names in favor of more generic terms. Those who wish to know the details of the permutations and relationships of the Nazi agencies should consult the specialized studies dedicated to them listed in the Bibliography.
BDM     
Bund Deutscher Mädel (League of German Girls)
DAF     
Deutsche Arbeitsfront (German Labor Front)
DAI     
Deutsches Auslands-Institut (German Overseas Institute)
DP     
Displaced person
Einsatzgruppe     
Special task force
EWZ     
Einwandererzentralstelle (Immigration Authority)
Führer     
Leader (When used alone, always refers to Adolf Hitler)
Führerprinzip     
Leadership principle
Gestapo     
Geheime Staatspolizei (Secret State Police)
Heimat     
Homeland
HJ     
Hitlerjugend (Hitler Youth)
IRO     
International Refugee Organization
ITS     
International Tracing Service, Arolsen
Jungmädel     
Nazi organization for girls aged ten to fourteen
Jungvolk     
Nazi organization for boys aged ten to fourteen
Kameradschaft     
Group of comrades
KLV     
Kinderlandverschickung (Evacuation of Children)
Kripo     
Kriminalpolizei (Criminal Police)
Landdienst     
Land Service
Lebensborn     
SS “Well of Life” Society
Lebensraum     
Living space
Luftwaffe     
German Air Force
Mädel     
Maiden
NAPOLA     
National-Politische Lehranstalt (National Political High School)
Nazi     
National Socialist
NJS     
Nationale Jeugdstorm (National Youth Storm—Dutch Nazi Youth)
NKVD     
People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs (USSR)
NSB     
Nationaal Socialistische Beweging (Dutch Nazi Pary)
NSDAP     
Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (Nazi Party)
NSF     
Nationalsozialistischer Frauenschaft (National Socialist Womanhood)
NSV     
Nationalsolzialistische Volkswohlfart (National Socialist Welfare Organization)
OPK     
Voogdij-commissie voor Oorlogs Pleegkinderen (Custody Commission for War Foster Children–Netherlands)
OSE     
Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants (Children’s Welfare Organization)
Ordensjunker     
Graduate of an Ordensburg, or Nazi college
Ostarbeiter     
Eastern worker, usually from the USSR
Osteinsatz     
Eastern Action Mission
RAD     
Reichsarbeitsdienst (Reich Labor Service)
RFSS     
Reichsführer SS (Heinrich Himmler)
Reich     
State or nation
Reichsdeutsche     
Full German citizen
RJF     
Reichsjugendführung (Reich Youth Directorate)
RKFDV     
Reichskommisariat für die Festigung Deutschen Volkstums (Reich Commission for the Strengthening of Germandom)
RSHA     
Reichssicherheitshauptamt (Reich Security Head Office)
RuSHA     
Rasse-und Siedlungs Hauptamt (Race and Settlement Main Office)
R     
 
SA     
Sturmabteilung (storm troopers)
SD     
Sicherheitsdienst (Security Service)
Sopade     
Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands—Social