It was held on the 20th of january in 1942, and set into motion the full range of horrors that the nazis would unleash on their prisoners. This english text of the wannsee protocol is based on the official u. Wannsee villa where the final solution was planned by. The wannsee conference, held on january 20, 1942 was called to coordinate the final solution to the jewish problem. It was only when i agreed to tackle this topic for this essay that i came to realise that the wannsee conference was not what i had thought. The final solution the final solution was the nazis code name for the deliberate, carefully planned destruction of european jewry.
The wannsee house, site of the conference, is now a holocaust memorial. At the meeting, 15 top nazi bureaucrats and members of the ss met to coordinate the final solution in which the nazis would attempt to exterminate the 11 million jews of. O n 20 january 1942, a number of highranking officials of the nazi state and security apparatuses gathered, under the direction of the chief of security police, reinhard heydrich, in order to discuss the final solution to the jewish question. Kempner was searching through german foreign office files when he found a crucial document that prosecutors used to convict german war criminals. There were 4,950 cities and towns in europe in which the jewish communities were destroyed by the nazis, according to the wannsee museum.
On january 20, 1942, in a grand villa on the shore of berlins lake wannsee, a conference of nazi officers produced a paper known as the wannsee protocol, which laid the groundwork for a final solution to the jewish question. I mean, writers who spend a good chunk of their lives or, for some, their entire careers studying the holocaust. A question, about an exhibit in the museum at the wannsee mansion where the the final solution to the jewish question in europe was planned on january 20, 1942, was asked in a comment on my blog by a reader named skeptic who is skeptical about the official story of the holocaust. Conspiracy is a 2001 bbchbo war film which dramatizes the 1942 wannsee conference.
The wannsee conference and the final solution isbn. It was attended by 15 nazi bureaucrats including reinhard heydrich and adolf eichmann. Holocaust the wannsee conference protocol january 20, 1942. Final solution was agreed upon and its mechanics discussed and decided. Jews through the use of original documents and audiovisual presentations. A reconsideration hardcover ever since its discovery in 1947 by robert kempner, the american prosecutor at nuremberg, this record of a meeting held in berlin on 20 january 1942 has been considered to be virtual proof of the determination of the nazis to murder each and every jew that came within their reach. The wannsee conference on january 20, 1942, reinhard heydrich, himmlers second in command of the ss organization, convened a conference in the berlin suburb of wannsee. Nuremberg laws, wannsee conference, and the final solution during the holocaust, jews were being persecuted by the antisemitic nazis. There is perhaps no better window into the banality of evil than a collection of bureaucrats gathering at a working lunch to discuss the most. The wannsee conference did not mark the beginning of the final solution. The mobile killing squads were already slaughtering jews in the occupied soviet union.
At the time of the wannsee conference, 500,000 jews, including women and children had been murdered, primarily by firing squad. Not one of the men present at wannsee objected to the announced policy. At the wannsee conference on january 20, 1942, senior nazi officials meet to determine the manner in which the socalled final solution to the jewish question can be best implemented. Both were premeditated attempts to exterminate the jewish population of europe especially in germany. On january 20, 1942, details about the extermination of europes jews were discussed. It was led by sd and sipo security police head reinhard. Wannsee conference, meeting of nazi officials on january 20, 1942, in the berlin suburb of wannsee to plan the final solution to the socalled jewish question. The wannsee conference of january 1942 was a meeting of nazi officials which formalized the agenda for the mass murder of millions of european jews. Rather, the wannsee conference was the place where the final solution was formally revealed to nonnazi leaders who would help arrange for jews to be transported from all over german.
The wannsee conference and the final solution mark roseman. The wannsee conference o n january 20, 1942 one of the most macabre conferences in history took place at an idyllic lakeside house am gro. This is really a film about the holocaust in general, specifically the years leading up to the wannsee conference. On january 20, 1942, 15 highranking nazi party and german government officials gathered at a villa in the berlin suburb of wannsee to discuss and coordinate the implementation of the final. The villa in which the wannsee conference took place in berlin. The wannsee conference where the final solution was planned the right term is nazi final solution. The wannsee conference final solution schutzstaffel. Steven lehrer, wannsee house and the holocaust, jefferson 2000.
Wannseekonferenz was a meeting of senior government officials of nazi germany and schutzstaffel ss leaders, held in. Holocaust museum at wannsee villa where the conference for. The purpose of this class is for you to become familiar with the idea of the holocaust and the final solution. The wannsee conference determined the way in which hitlers decision to solve the jewish question through systematic mass murder was to be transmitted to the appropriate ministries and bureaucracies. Wannseekonferenz was a meeting of senior government officials of nazi germany and schutzstaffel ss leaders, held in the berlin suburb of wannsee on 20 january 1942. Heydrich wanted to harmonize the organisation and implementation of that final solution with every office and administrative department that was to. The wannsee conference was a highlevel meeting of nazi officials that took place in berlin on january 20, 1942, to discuss the final solution of the jewish question called by reinhard heydrich, the head of the reich security main office which controlled both the gestapo and the sd, the conference was originally called for december 9, 1941, but fallout from the japanese invasion of pearl. In the quarter there are two lakes, the larger gro. The wannsee conference in the development of the final. As a result of this meeting, heydrich received the full backing from the participants to carry out the systematic.
Essentially, the wannsee conference was the meeting in which the policies of the final solution were discussed with highranking nazi officials. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Mar 14, 2010 meeting of nazi officials on january 20, 1942, in the berlin suburb of wannsee to plan the final solution endlosung to the socalled jewish question judenfrage. Adolf eichmann, the nazi official who had inspired that turn of phrase, was the main organizer of the wannsee conference, a meeting of 15 senior nazi leaders in suburban berlin on. The goal of this conference was the debate of the socalled final solution of the jewish question. Students will understand the importance of the wannsee conference and how it fits into the larger pattern of persecution of the jews in europe. Jan 23, 2017 the aim for the wannsee conference 20. Rather, the wannsee conference was the place where the final solution was formally revealed to nonnazi leaders who would help arrange for jews to be transported from all over germanoccupied europe to ssoperated extermination camps in poland. Hundreds of thousands of jews had already been victimized by the final solution of the jewish question, particularly in areas of the soviet union taken by german forces in summer 1941. Oct 29, 2011 about midway through the wannsee conference and the final solution by mark roseman, i got to wondering how writers like roseman do it. Wannsee villa where the final solution was planned by the. On january 20, 1942, 15 highranking nazi party and german government officials gathered at a villa in the berlin suburb of wannsee to discuss and coordinate. Wannsee protocol, january 20, 1942 the final solution.
The wannsee conference was a highlevel meeting of german officials to discuss and implement the socalled final solution of the jewish question mass killing. The extermination of 6 million jews in the nazi holocaust was the end product of such a complex labyrinth of social, political, economic and military courses of action which coalesced in hitlers germany that it is very difficult to sort out all of its parts. On july 31, 1941, hermann goring 18931946, acting on hitlers instructions, ordered reinhard heydrich. Wannseekonferenz was a meeting of senior government.
This work offers an overview hitler and the final solution pdf file. As a result, a network of extermination camps was established in which 1. By the end, be able to identify a specific way that the jews were persecuted by. After world war ii ended on may 8, 1945, the allied powers began a search for the nazi documents that they would need as evidence at the nuremberg international military tribunal which was set to begin in november 1945. How should we understand this calm, businesslike discussion of holocaust. There is some good history in there about the holocaust. In eichmann in jerusalem, hannah arendt described the machinations of one of the architects of the holocaust as the fearsome, wordandthoughtdefying banality of evil. On january 20, 1942, the villa was the site of the wannsee conference, at which the decision to proceed with the final solution to the jewish question was announced. As i struggled to make sense of the differing positions of dawidowicz that the final solution had been centrally planned to that of. This english text of the original germanlanguage wannsee protocol is based on the official u. It was found by robert kempner in march 1947 among files that had been seized from the. It was led by sd and sipo security police head reinhard heydrich, who had earlier been in charge of. Protocols of the wannsee conference, january 20, 1942. Goring s letter to heydrich authorizing the final solution.
Wannsee conference united states holocaust memorial museum. With dietrich mattausch, gerd bockmann, friedrich g. While the decision to liquidate the entire jewish population of europe cannot be pinpointed to a particular location or time, it appears to have been in place by the middle of 1941. Using the authentic script taken from the only surviving transcript recorded during the meeting, the film delves into the psychology of nazi officials involved in the final solution of the jewish question during world war ii the movie was written by loring mandel, directed by frank pierson, and starred an.
The wannsee conference handout includes kwl activities and the minutes from wannsee. The wannsee conference was held january 20, 1942, in wannsee, a suburb of berlin, to coordinate the implementation of the final solution of the jewish question or the holocaust, that is, the murder of european jewry. Villa in wannsee where final solution conference was held. The music is also unnecessarily creepy, like some alfred hitchcock movie. What was unique about the final solution was that it was the first time that the jews were being expelled from all of western europe at the same time. The wannsee conference where the final solution was. In the relaxed and distinctively upper middleclass atmosphere of that ss guesthouse fifteen highly placed. The final solution or the final solution to the jewish question was a nazi plan for the genocide of jews during world war ii. On january 20, 1942, in a grand villa on the shore of berlins lake wannsee, a conference of nazi officers produced a paper known as the wannsee protocol. Ss meet here to discuss their socalled final solution to the jewish question. Wannsee conference and the final solution the holocaust.
The museum in the wannsee house where the final solution. The purpose of the conference, called by the director of the reich main security office ssobergruppenfuhrer reinhard heydrich, was to ensure the cooperation of administrative leaders of various. The still existing wannsee conference protocol is deemed to document the nazigerman decision to exterminate most of the 11 million jews living in europe. The wannsee conference, the fate of german jews, and. The final solution of the jewish question was a euphemism used during and after the wannsee conference to disguise what topic. It was a grand berlin villa on the shores of lake wannsee. The day they toasted the final solution in brandy the guardian. Protocol and a 1944 report on auschwitz by the office of strategic. The zionists had been campaigning for their own final solution of the jewish questionproblem for decades when the nazis came up with theirs. Learn more about the wannsee conference in this article. The wannsee conference was a pivotal moment in the evolution of the final solution. At the time of the wannsee conference, 500,000 jews, including women.
Meyer reich ministry for the occupied and reichsamtleiter eastern territories dr. After world war ii ended on may 8, 1945, the allied powers began a search for the nazi documents that they would need as evidence at the nuremberg international military tribunal which was. The conference assured the cooperation of various branches of the german government in the nazi goal of the final solution, the elimination of all jews in territories occupied by german forces. Wannsee and the final solution mark roseman allen lane, penguin press. The wannsee conference, as it became known after the war, was a highlevel meeting that took place on january 20, 1942, to discuss the final solution of the jewish question.
Jul 31, 2007 on january 20, 1942, 15 highranking nazi party and german government officials gathered at a villa in the berlin suburb of wannsee to discuss and coordinate the implementation of the final. The wannsee conference, the fate of german jews, and hitlers. The following persons took part in the discussion about the final solution of the jewish question which took place in berlin, am grossen wannsee no. Adolf eichmann, the nazi official who had inspired that turn of phrase, was the main organizer of the wannsee conference, a meeting of 15 senior nazi leaders in suburban berlin on january 20, 1942. The wannsee conference where the final solution was planned. On january 20, 1942, 15 high ranking nazi party and german government officials gathered at a villa in the berlin. At a villa on the shore of the wannsee, a lake in suburban berlin, on 20th. About midway through the wannsee conference and the final solution by mark roseman, i got to wondering how writers like roseman do it. The wannsee conference, the fate of german jews, and hitlers decision in principle to exterminate all european jews christian gerlach the journal of modern history, vol. The nazis plans to systematically exterminate all european jews. The wannsee conference in the development of the final solution pdf. The subject was the organisation of the final solution, the destruction of all 11 million european jews.
1508 883 1247 1178 1318 1310 294 1270 1245 1485 1332 148 1303 931 652 1550 1247 869 1553 1534 957 1117 508 305 639 1323 383 690 658 1049