The Himmler-Kersten Agreement was a document signed on 12 March 1945 by

Reichsführer-SS (, ) was a special title and rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945 for the commander of the (SS). ''Reichsführer-SS'' was a title from 1925 to 1933, and from 1934 to 1945 it was the highest rank of the SS. The longest-servi ...

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

and his personal physician

Felix Kersten Eduard Alexander Felix Kersten (30 September 1898 – 16 April 1960) was the personal physical therapist of Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler. He also became a confidant and adviser to him and used his contacts with Himmler to help people persecut ...

, in which Himmler made four pledges 'in the name of humanity' concerning the fate of

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as con ...

upon the approach of Allied forces at the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. The four points of the agreement were that on the approach of Allied forces: # The concentration camps would not be destroyed # A

white flag White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale. Contemporary use The white flag is an internationally recognized protective sign of truce or ceasefire, and for negotiation. It is also used to symbolize ...

would be flown and control of concentration camps handed over to the Allies # The killing of Jews would be ceased and Jews treated equally to other prisoners # The inmates would not be evacuated and Sweden would be allowed to send food parcels to individual Jewish prisoners The document was signed in secret, in the presence only of Himmler's secretary

Rudolf Brandt Rudolf Hermann Brandt (2 June 1909 – 2 June 1948) was a German SS officer from 1933–45 and a civil servant. A lawyer by profession, Brandt was the Personal Administrative Officer to ''Reichsführer-SS'' (''Persönlicher Referent vom Reichsf ...

, in a room at the

Hohenlychen Sanatorium The Hohenlychen Sanatorium was a complex of sanatoriums in Lychen, Uckermark district (a bit north of Berlin), Germany, that was in use from 1902 to 1945. The complex was originally built in 1902 to house tubercular children. By the 1930s the ...

. This agreement saved the lives of 60,000 Jews as well as more than 15,000 people who were rescued during the White Buses operations in March-April 1945.

References

1945 in Germany Heinrich Himmler 1945 documents {{Nazi-stub