THE WANNSEE CONFERENCE
Wannsee , suburb of Berlin, January 20, 1942. Fourteen senior Nazi officials under the
presidency of Reinhard Heydrich, chief of the Reich Security Main Office (Gestapo, SD and
Kripo), met secretely with the purpose to be informed about the plans for the "Final
solution to the Jewish question", i.e. the killing of all the 11 million Jews of Europe. A
process now known as The Holocaust. The conference was held in one villa near the
lake at 56-58 Am Grossen Wannsee. Today it is a memorial and a museum.
Hitler himself was not present which allowed Revisionist historians to pretend he was not
aware or informed of the Final Solution. It is a sheer manipulation of history and a gross
misunderstanding of the reality of the IIIrd Reich : Hitler knew and ordered all as he once
said to one of his secretaries. However a decision like the total extermination of the
Jews, for obvious reasons, was not to be stated in writing. There was no written order but
only a general consent to do so and the thrust came from Adolf Hitler himself.
Reinhard Heydrich and Adolf Eichmann are the most famous Nazis present at the
conference. During his trial in Israel, it was hard for Eichmann to deny his knowledge and
active participation in the Holocaust and he was rightly sentenced to death. Heydrich was
assassinated by Czech partisans later in May 1942.
The following English text of the German original protocol is based on the official U.S.
government translation prepared for evidence in trials at Nuremberg, as reproduced in
John Mendelsohn, ed., The Holocaust: Selected Documents in Eighteen Volumes. Vol. 11:
The Wannsee Protocol and a 1944 Report on Auschwitz by the Office of Strategic Services
(New York: Garland, 1982), 18-32.
Note: The phrase "General Government" (from German: "Generalgouvernement" and
"Generalgouverneur") refers to occupied Poland.
presidency of Reinhard Heydrich, chief of the Reich Security Main Office (Gestapo, SD and
Kripo), met secretely with the purpose to be informed about the plans for the "Final
solution to the Jewish question", i.e. the killing of all the 11 million Jews of Europe. A
process now known as The Holocaust. The conference was held in one villa near the
lake at 56-58 Am Grossen Wannsee. Today it is a memorial and a museum.
Hitler himself was not present which allowed Revisionist historians to pretend he was not
aware or informed of the Final Solution. It is a sheer manipulation of history and a gross
misunderstanding of the reality of the IIIrd Reich : Hitler knew and ordered all as he once
said to one of his secretaries. However a decision like the total extermination of the
Jews, for obvious reasons, was not to be stated in writing. There was no written order but
only a general consent to do so and the thrust came from Adolf Hitler himself.
Reinhard Heydrich and Adolf Eichmann are the most famous Nazis present at the
conference. During his trial in Israel, it was hard for Eichmann to deny his knowledge and
active participation in the Holocaust and he was rightly sentenced to death. Heydrich was
assassinated by Czech partisans later in May 1942.
The following English text of the German original protocol is based on the official U.S.
government translation prepared for evidence in trials at Nuremberg, as reproduced in
John Mendelsohn, ed., The Holocaust: Selected Documents in Eighteen Volumes. Vol. 11:
The Wannsee Protocol and a 1944 Report on Auschwitz by the Office of Strategic Services
(New York: Garland, 1982), 18-32.
Note: The phrase "General Government" (from German: "Generalgouvernement" and
"Generalgouverneur") refers to occupied Poland.
| THE FINAL SOLUTION AND |
| THE PARTICIPANTS : 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. 56/58 : Gauleiter Dr. Meyer and Reichsamtsleiter Dr. Leibbrandt Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories Secretary of State Dr. Stuckart Reich Ministry for the Interior Secretary of State Neumann Plenipotentiary for the Four Year Plan Secretary of State Dr. Freisler Reich Ministry of Justice Secretary of State Dr. Bühler Office of the General Government (Poland) Under Secretary of State Luther Foreign Office SS-Oberführer Klopfer Party Chancellery Ministerialdirektor Kritzinger Reich Chancellery SS-Gruppenführer Hofmann Race and Settlement Main Office SS-Gruppenführer Müller, SS-Obersturmbannführer Eichmann Reich Main Security Office SS-Oberführer Dr. Schöngarth Commander of the Security Police and the SD in the Government General SS-Sturmbannführer Dr. Lange Commander of the Security Police and the SD for the General-District Latvia, as deputy of the Commander of the Security Police and the SD for the Reich Commissariat "Eastland". |
THE TEXT OF THE PROTOCOL
At the beginning of the discussion Chief of
the Security Police and of the SD,
SS-Obergruppenführer Heydrich, reported
that the Reich Marshal Göring (1) had
appointed him delegate for the preparations
for the final solution of the Jewish question
in Europe and pointed out that this
discussion had been called for the purpose
of clarifying fundamental questions. The
wish of the Reich Marshal to have a draft
sent to him concerning organizational,
factual and material interests in relation to
the final solution of the Jewish question in
Europe makes necessary an initial common
action of all central offices immediately
concerned with these questions in order to
bring their general activities into line. The
Reichsführer-SS and the Chief of the
German Police (Chief of the Security Police
and the SD) was entrusted with the official
central handling of the final solution of the
Jewish question without regard to
geographic borders. The Chief of the
Security Police and the SD then gave a short
report of the struggle which has been
carried on thus far against this enemy, the
essential points being the following:
a) the expulsion of the Jews from every
sphere of life of the German people,
b) the expulsion of the Jews from the living
space of the German people.
In carrying out these efforts, an increased
and planned acceleration of the emigration
of the Jews from Reich territory was started,
as the only possible present solution.
By order of the Reich Marshal, a Reich
Central Office for Jewish Emigration was set
up in January 1939 and the Chief of the
Security Police and SD was entrusted with
the management. Its most important tasks
were
a) to make all necessary arrangements for
the preparation for an increased emigration
of the Jews,
b) to direct the flow of emigration,
c) to speed the procedure of emigration in
each individual case.
The aim of all this was to cleanse German
living space of Jews in a legal manner.
All the offices realized the drawbacks of
such enforced accelerated emigration. For
the time being they had, however, tolerated
it on account of the lack of other possible
solutions of the problem.
The work concerned with emigration was,
later on, not only a German problem, but also
a problem with which the authorities of the
countries to which the flow of emigrants was
being directed would have to deal. Financial
difficulties, such as the demand by various
foreign governments for increasing sums of
money to be presented at the time of the
landing, the lack of shipping space,
increasing restriction of entry permits, or the
cancelling of such, increased extraordinarily
the difficulties of emigration. In spite of
these difficulties, 537,000 Jews were sent
out of the country between the takeover of
power and the deadline of 31 October 1941.
Of these there were:
At the beginning of the discussion Chief of
the Security Police and of the SD,
SS-Obergruppenführer Heydrich, reported
that the Reich Marshal Göring (1) had
appointed him delegate for the preparations
for the final solution of the Jewish question
in Europe and pointed out that this
discussion had been called for the purpose
of clarifying fundamental questions. The
wish of the Reich Marshal to have a draft
sent to him concerning organizational,
factual and material interests in relation to
the final solution of the Jewish question in
Europe makes necessary an initial common
action of all central offices immediately
concerned with these questions in order to
bring their general activities into line. The
Reichsführer-SS and the Chief of the
German Police (Chief of the Security Police
and the SD) was entrusted with the official
central handling of the final solution of the
Jewish question without regard to
geographic borders. The Chief of the
Security Police and the SD then gave a short
report of the struggle which has been
carried on thus far against this enemy, the
essential points being the following:
a) the expulsion of the Jews from every
sphere of life of the German people,
b) the expulsion of the Jews from the living
space of the German people.
In carrying out these efforts, an increased
and planned acceleration of the emigration
of the Jews from Reich territory was started,
as the only possible present solution.
By order of the Reich Marshal, a Reich
Central Office for Jewish Emigration was set
up in January 1939 and the Chief of the
Security Police and SD was entrusted with
the management. Its most important tasks
were
a) to make all necessary arrangements for
the preparation for an increased emigration
of the Jews,
b) to direct the flow of emigration,
c) to speed the procedure of emigration in
each individual case.
The aim of all this was to cleanse German
living space of Jews in a legal manner.
All the offices realized the drawbacks of
such enforced accelerated emigration. For
the time being they had, however, tolerated
it on account of the lack of other possible
solutions of the problem.
The work concerned with emigration was,
later on, not only a German problem, but also
a problem with which the authorities of the
countries to which the flow of emigrants was
being directed would have to deal. Financial
difficulties, such as the demand by various
foreign governments for increasing sums of
money to be presented at the time of the
landing, the lack of shipping space,
increasing restriction of entry permits, or the
cancelling of such, increased extraordinarily
the difficulties of emigration. In spite of
these difficulties, 537,000 Jews were sent
out of the country between the takeover of
power and the deadline of 31 October 1941.
Of these there were:
| Presiding : SS Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich, Chief of the RSHA and Reichsprotektor of Bohemia-Moravia |
| Otto Adolf Eichmann (known as Adolf Eichmann; March 19, 1906 – June 1, 1962) was a high- ranking Nazi and SS Obersturmbannführer (equivalent to Lieutenant Colonel). Due to his organizational talents and ideological reliability, he was tasked by Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich to facilitate and manage the logistics of mass deportation to ghettos and extermination camps in Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe. He was captured by Israeli Mossad agents in Argentina and indicted by Israeli court on fifteen criminal charges, including charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes. He was convicted and hanged. His boss Müller disappeared in1945 and was never seen again. |
|
The Jews themselves, or their Jewish political organizations, financed the emigration. In
order to avoid impoverished Jews' remaining behind, the principle was followed that
wealthy Jews have to finance the emigration of poor Jews; this was arranged by imposing
a suitable tax, i.e., an emigration tax, which was used for financial arrangements in
connection with the emigration of poor Jews and was imposed according to income.
Apart from the necessary Reichsmark exchange, foreign currency had to presented at the
time of landing. In order to save foreign exchange held by Germany, the foreign Jewish
financial organizations were - with the help of Jewish organizations in Germany - made
responsible for arranging an adequate amount of foreign currency. Up to 30 October 1941,
these foreign Jews donated a total of around 9,500,000 dollars.
In the meantime the Reichsführer-SS and Chief of the German Police had prohibited
emigration of Jews due to the dangers of an emigration in wartime and due to the
possibilities of the East.
Another possible solution of the problem has now taken the place of emigration, i.e. the
evacuation of the Jews to the East, provided that the Führer gives the appropriate
approval in advance. These actions are, however, only to be considered provisional, but
practical experience is already being collected which is of the greatest importance in
relation to the future final solution of the Jewish question.
Approximately 11 million Jews will be involved in the final solution of the European Jewish
question, distributed as follows among the individual countries:
order to avoid impoverished Jews' remaining behind, the principle was followed that
wealthy Jews have to finance the emigration of poor Jews; this was arranged by imposing
a suitable tax, i.e., an emigration tax, which was used for financial arrangements in
connection with the emigration of poor Jews and was imposed according to income.
Apart from the necessary Reichsmark exchange, foreign currency had to presented at the
time of landing. In order to save foreign exchange held by Germany, the foreign Jewish
financial organizations were - with the help of Jewish organizations in Germany - made
responsible for arranging an adequate amount of foreign currency. Up to 30 October 1941,
these foreign Jews donated a total of around 9,500,000 dollars.
In the meantime the Reichsführer-SS and Chief of the German Police had prohibited
emigration of Jews due to the dangers of an emigration in wartime and due to the
possibilities of the East.
Another possible solution of the problem has now taken the place of emigration, i.e. the
evacuation of the Jews to the East, provided that the Führer gives the appropriate
approval in advance. These actions are, however, only to be considered provisional, but
practical experience is already being collected which is of the greatest importance in
relation to the future final solution of the Jewish question.
Approximately 11 million Jews will be involved in the final solution of the European Jewish
question, distributed as follows among the individual countries:
|
The number of Jews given here for foreign countries
includes, however, only those Jews who still adhere
to the Jewish faith, since some countries still do not
have a definition of the term "Jew" according to
racial principles. The handling of the problem in the
individual countries will meet with difficulties due to
the attitude and outlook of the people there,
especially in Hungary and Rumania. Thus, for
example, even today the Jew can buy documents in
Rumania that will officially prove his foreign
citizenship.
The influence of the Jews in all walks of life in the
USSR is well known. Approximately five million Jews
live in the European part of the USSR, in the Asian
part scarcely 1/4 million.
The breakdown of Jews residing in the European part
of the USSR according to trades was approximately
as follows:
includes, however, only those Jews who still adhere
to the Jewish faith, since some countries still do not
have a definition of the term "Jew" according to
racial principles. The handling of the problem in the
individual countries will meet with difficulties due to
the attitude and outlook of the people there,
especially in Hungary and Rumania. Thus, for
example, even today the Jew can buy documents in
Rumania that will officially prove his foreign
citizenship.
The influence of the Jews in all walks of life in the
USSR is well known. Approximately five million Jews
live in the European part of the USSR, in the Asian
part scarcely 1/4 million.
The breakdown of Jews residing in the European part
of the USSR according to trades was approximately
as follows:
|
Under proper guidance, in the course of the final
solution the Jews are to be allocated for appropriate
labor in the East. Able-bodied Jews, separated
according to sex, will be taken in large work columns to
these areas for work on roads, in the course of which
action doubtless a large portion will be eliminated by
natural causes. The possible final remnant will, since it
will undoubtedly consist of the most resistant portion,
have to be treated accordingly, because it is the
product of natural selection and would, if released, act
as a the seed of a new Jewish revival (see the
experience of history.)
In the course of the practical execution of the final
solution, Europe will be combed through from west to
east. Germany proper, including the Protectorate of
Bohemia and Moravia, will have to be handled first due
to the housing problem and additional social and
political necessities.
The evacuated Jews will first be sent, group by group,
to so-called transit ghettos, from which they will be
transported to the East.
SS-Obergruppenführer Heydrich went on to say that an
important prerequisite for the evacuation as such is the
exact definition of the persons involved.
solution the Jews are to be allocated for appropriate
labor in the East. Able-bodied Jews, separated
according to sex, will be taken in large work columns to
these areas for work on roads, in the course of which
action doubtless a large portion will be eliminated by
natural causes. The possible final remnant will, since it
will undoubtedly consist of the most resistant portion,
have to be treated accordingly, because it is the
product of natural selection and would, if released, act
as a the seed of a new Jewish revival (see the
experience of history.)
In the course of the practical execution of the final
solution, Europe will be combed through from west to
east. Germany proper, including the Protectorate of
Bohemia and Moravia, will have to be handled first due
to the housing problem and additional social and
political necessities.
The evacuated Jews will first be sent, group by group,
to so-called transit ghettos, from which they will be
transported to the East.
SS-Obergruppenführer Heydrich went on to say that an
important prerequisite for the evacuation as such is the
exact definition of the persons involved.
The intention is not to evacuate Jews over 65 years old, but to send
them to an old-age ghetto - Theresienstadt is being considered for
this purpose.
In addition to these age groups - of the approximately 280,000 Jews
in Germany proper and Austria on 31 October 1941, approximately
30% are over 65 years old - severely wounded veterans and Jews
with war decorations (Iron Cross I) will be accepted in the old-age
ghettos. With this expedient solution, in one fell swoop many
interventions will be prevented.
The beginning of the individual larger evacuation actions will
largely depend on military developments. Regarding the handling
of the final solution in those European countries occupied and
influenced by us, it was proposed that the appropriate expert of the
Foreign Office discuss the matter with the responsible official of
the Security Police and SD.
In Slovakia and Croatia the matter is no longer so difficult, since the
most substantial problems in this respect have already been
brought near a solution. In Rumania the government has in the
meantime also appointed a commissioner for Jewish affairs. In
order to settle the question in Hungary, it will soon be necessary to
force an adviser for Jewish questions onto the Hungarian
government.
With regard to taking up preparations for dealing with the problem
in Italy, SS-Obergruppenführer Heydrich considers it opportune to
contact the chief of police with a view to these problems.
In occupied and unoccupied France, the registration of Jews for
evacuation will in all probability proceed without great difficulty.
Under Secretary of State Luther calls attention in this matter to the
fact that in some countries, such as the Scandinavian states,
difficulties will arise if this problem is dealt with thoroughly and that
it will therefore be advisable to defer actions in these countries.
Besides, in view of the small numbers of Jews affected, this
deferral will not cause any substantial limitation.
The Foreign Office sees no great difficulties for southeast and
western Europe.
SS-Gruppenführer Hofmann plans to send an expert to Hungary
from the Race and Settlement Main Office for general orientation at
the time when the Chief of the Security Police and SD takes up the
matter there. It was decided to assign this expert from the Race and
Settlement Main Office, who will not work actively, as an assistant
to the police attaché.
them to an old-age ghetto - Theresienstadt is being considered for
this purpose.
In addition to these age groups - of the approximately 280,000 Jews
in Germany proper and Austria on 31 October 1941, approximately
30% are over 65 years old - severely wounded veterans and Jews
with war decorations (Iron Cross I) will be accepted in the old-age
ghettos. With this expedient solution, in one fell swoop many
interventions will be prevented.
The beginning of the individual larger evacuation actions will
largely depend on military developments. Regarding the handling
of the final solution in those European countries occupied and
influenced by us, it was proposed that the appropriate expert of the
Foreign Office discuss the matter with the responsible official of
the Security Police and SD.
In Slovakia and Croatia the matter is no longer so difficult, since the
most substantial problems in this respect have already been
brought near a solution. In Rumania the government has in the
meantime also appointed a commissioner for Jewish affairs. In
order to settle the question in Hungary, it will soon be necessary to
force an adviser for Jewish questions onto the Hungarian
government.
With regard to taking up preparations for dealing with the problem
in Italy, SS-Obergruppenführer Heydrich considers it opportune to
contact the chief of police with a view to these problems.
In occupied and unoccupied France, the registration of Jews for
evacuation will in all probability proceed without great difficulty.
Under Secretary of State Luther calls attention in this matter to the
fact that in some countries, such as the Scandinavian states,
difficulties will arise if this problem is dealt with thoroughly and that
it will therefore be advisable to defer actions in these countries.
Besides, in view of the small numbers of Jews affected, this
deferral will not cause any substantial limitation.
The Foreign Office sees no great difficulties for southeast and
western Europe.
SS-Gruppenführer Hofmann plans to send an expert to Hungary
from the Race and Settlement Main Office for general orientation at
the time when the Chief of the Security Police and SD takes up the
matter there. It was decided to assign this expert from the Race and
Settlement Main Office, who will not work actively, as an assistant
to the police attaché.
| Concentration camp Theresienstadt (often referred to as Terezín) was a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. It was established by the Gestapo in the fortress and garrison city of Terezín (German name Theresienstadt), located in what is now the Czech Republic. |
| Arrival at Theresienstadt : One of the many problems with pouring thousands of human beings into a small space at Theresienstadt has to do with housing. Where were 60,000 people going to sleep in a town meant to hold 7,000? This was a problem that the Ghetto administration was constantly trying to find solutions for. Triple-tiered bunk beds were made and every available floor space was used. In August 1942 (camp population not yet at its highest point), the allotted space per person was two square yards - this included per person usage/need for lavatory, kitchen, and storage space.3 The living/sleeping areas were covered with vermin. These pests included, but certainly were not limited to, rats, fleas, flies, and lice. Norbert Troller wrote about his experiences "Coming back from such surveys [of the housing], our calves were bitten and full of fleas that we could only remove with kerosene."4 The housing was separated by sex. Women and children under twelve were separated from the men and the boys over age twelve. |
In the course of the final solution plans, the Nuremberg Laws
should provide a certain foundation, in which a prerequisite for the
absolute solution of the problem is also the solution to the problem
of mixed marriages and persons of mixed blood.
The Chief of the Security Police and the SD discusses the following
points, at first theoretically, in regard to a letter from the chief of
the Reich chancellery:
1) Treatment of Persons of Mixed Blood of the First Degree
Persons of mixed blood of the first degree will, as regards the final
solution of the Jewish question, be treated as Jews.
From this treatment the following exceptions will be made:
a) Persons of mixed blood of the first degree married to persons of
German blood if their marriage has resulted in children (persons of
mixed blood of the second degree). These persons of mixed blood
of the second degree are to be treated essentially as Germans.
b) Persons of mixed blood of the first degree, for whom the highest
offices of the Party and State have already issued exemption
permits in any sphere of life. Each individual case must be
examined, and it is not ruled out that the decision may be made to
the detriment of the person of mixed blood.
The prerequisite for any exemption must always be the personal
merit of the person of mixed blood. (Not the merit of the parent or
spouse of German blood.)
Persons of mixed blood of the first degree who are exempted from
evacuation will be sterilized in order to prevent any offspring and
to eliminate the problem of persons of mixed blood once and for all.
Such sterilization will be voluntary. But it is required to remain in
the Reich. The sterilized "person of mixed blood" is thereafter free
of all restrictions to which he was previously subjected.
2) Treatment of Persons of Mixed Blood of the Second Degree
Persons of mixed blood of the second degree will be treated
fundamentally as persons of German blood, with the exception of
the following cases, in which the persons of mixed blood of the
second degree will be considered as Jews:
a) The person of mixed blood of the second degree was born of a
marriage in which both parents are persons of mixed blood.
b) The person of mixed blood of the second degree has a racially
especially undesirable appearance that marks him outwardly as a
Jew.
c) The person of mixed blood of the second degree has a
particularly bad police and political record that shows that he feels
and behaves like a Jew.
Also in these cases exemptions should not be made if the person
of mixed blood of the second degree has married a person of
German blood.
3) Marriages between Full Jews and Persons of German Blood.
Here it must be decided from case to case whether the Jewish
partner will be evacuated or whether, with regard to the effects of
such a step on the German relatives, [this mixed marriage] should
be sent to an old-age ghetto.
4) Marriages between Persons of Mixed Blood of the First Degree
and Persons of German Blood.
a) Without Children.
If no children have resulted from the marriage, the person of mixed
blood of the first degree will be evacuated or sent to an old-age
ghetto (same treatment as in the case of marriages between full
Jews and persons of German blood, point 3.)
b) With Children.
If children have resulted from the marriage (persons of mixed
blood of the second degree), they will, if they are to be treated as
Jews, be evacuated or sent to a ghetto along with the parent of
mixed blood of the first degree. If these children are to be treated
as Germans (regular cases), they are exempted from evacuation as
is therefore the parent of mixed blood of the first degree.
5) Marriages between Persons of Mixed Blood of the First Degree
and Persons of Mixed Blood of the First Degree or Jews.
In these marriages (including the children) all members of the
family will be treated as Jews and therefore be evacuated or sent
to an old-age ghetto.
6) Marriages between Persons of Mixed Blood of the First Degree
and Persons of Mixed Blood of the Second Degree.
In these marriages both partners will be evacuated or sent to an
old-age ghetto without consideration of whether the marriage has
produced children, since possible children will as a rule have
stronger Jewish blood than the Jewish person of mixed blood of
the second degree.
SS-Gruppenführer Hofmann advocates the opinion that sterilization
will have to be widely used, since the person of mixed blood who is
given the choice whether he will be evacuated or sterilized would
rather undergo sterilization.
State Secretary Dr. Stuckart maintains that carrying out in practice
of the just mentioned possibilities for solving the problem of mixed
marriages and persons of mixed blood will create endless
administrative work. In the second place, as the biological facts
cannot be disregarded in any case, State Secretary Dr. Stuckart
proposed proceeding to forced sterilization.
Furthermore, to simplify the problem of mixed marriages
possibilities must be considered with the goal of the legislator
saying something like: "These marriages have been dissolved."
With regard to the issue of the effect of the evacuation of Jews on
the economy, State Secretary Neumann stated that Jews who are
working in industries vital to the war effort, provided that no
replacements are available, cannot be evacuated.
SS-Obergruppenführer Heydrich indicated that these Jews would
not be evacuated according to the rules he had approved for
carrying out the evacuations then underway.
State Secretary Dr. Bühler stated that the General Government
would welcome it if the final solution of this problem could be
begun in the General Government, since on the one hand
transportation does not play such a large role here nor would
problems of labor supply hamper this action. Jews must be
removed from the territory of the General Government as quickly
as possible, since it is especially here that the Jew as an epidemic
carrier represents an extreme danger and on the other hand he is
causing permanent chaos in the economic structure of the country
through continued black market dealings. Moreover, of the
approximately 2 1/2 million Jews concerned, the majority is unfit for
work.
State Secretary Dr. Bühler stated further that the solution to the
Jewish question in the General Government is the responsibility of
the Chief of the Security Police and the SD and that his efforts
would be supported by the officials of the General Government. He
had only one request, to solve the Jewish question in this area as
quickly as possible.
In conclusion the different types of possible solutions were
discussed, during which discussion both Gauleiter Dr. Meyer and
State Secretary Dr. Bühler took the position that certain preparatory
activities for the final solution should be carried out immediately in
the territories in question, in which process alarming the populace
must be avoided.
The meeting was closed with the request of the Chief of the
Security Police and the SD to the participants that they afford him
appropriate support during the carrying out of the tasks involved in
the solution.
should provide a certain foundation, in which a prerequisite for the
absolute solution of the problem is also the solution to the problem
of mixed marriages and persons of mixed blood.
The Chief of the Security Police and the SD discusses the following
points, at first theoretically, in regard to a letter from the chief of
the Reich chancellery:
1) Treatment of Persons of Mixed Blood of the First Degree
Persons of mixed blood of the first degree will, as regards the final
solution of the Jewish question, be treated as Jews.
From this treatment the following exceptions will be made:
a) Persons of mixed blood of the first degree married to persons of
German blood if their marriage has resulted in children (persons of
mixed blood of the second degree). These persons of mixed blood
of the second degree are to be treated essentially as Germans.
b) Persons of mixed blood of the first degree, for whom the highest
offices of the Party and State have already issued exemption
permits in any sphere of life. Each individual case must be
examined, and it is not ruled out that the decision may be made to
the detriment of the person of mixed blood.
The prerequisite for any exemption must always be the personal
merit of the person of mixed blood. (Not the merit of the parent or
spouse of German blood.)
Persons of mixed blood of the first degree who are exempted from
evacuation will be sterilized in order to prevent any offspring and
to eliminate the problem of persons of mixed blood once and for all.
Such sterilization will be voluntary. But it is required to remain in
the Reich. The sterilized "person of mixed blood" is thereafter free
of all restrictions to which he was previously subjected.
2) Treatment of Persons of Mixed Blood of the Second Degree
Persons of mixed blood of the second degree will be treated
fundamentally as persons of German blood, with the exception of
the following cases, in which the persons of mixed blood of the
second degree will be considered as Jews:
a) The person of mixed blood of the second degree was born of a
marriage in which both parents are persons of mixed blood.
b) The person of mixed blood of the second degree has a racially
especially undesirable appearance that marks him outwardly as a
Jew.
c) The person of mixed blood of the second degree has a
particularly bad police and political record that shows that he feels
and behaves like a Jew.
Also in these cases exemptions should not be made if the person
of mixed blood of the second degree has married a person of
German blood.
3) Marriages between Full Jews and Persons of German Blood.
Here it must be decided from case to case whether the Jewish
partner will be evacuated or whether, with regard to the effects of
such a step on the German relatives, [this mixed marriage] should
be sent to an old-age ghetto.
4) Marriages between Persons of Mixed Blood of the First Degree
and Persons of German Blood.
a) Without Children.
If no children have resulted from the marriage, the person of mixed
blood of the first degree will be evacuated or sent to an old-age
ghetto (same treatment as in the case of marriages between full
Jews and persons of German blood, point 3.)
b) With Children.
If children have resulted from the marriage (persons of mixed
blood of the second degree), they will, if they are to be treated as
Jews, be evacuated or sent to a ghetto along with the parent of
mixed blood of the first degree. If these children are to be treated
as Germans (regular cases), they are exempted from evacuation as
is therefore the parent of mixed blood of the first degree.
5) Marriages between Persons of Mixed Blood of the First Degree
and Persons of Mixed Blood of the First Degree or Jews.
In these marriages (including the children) all members of the
family will be treated as Jews and therefore be evacuated or sent
to an old-age ghetto.
6) Marriages between Persons of Mixed Blood of the First Degree
and Persons of Mixed Blood of the Second Degree.
In these marriages both partners will be evacuated or sent to an
old-age ghetto without consideration of whether the marriage has
produced children, since possible children will as a rule have
stronger Jewish blood than the Jewish person of mixed blood of
the second degree.
SS-Gruppenführer Hofmann advocates the opinion that sterilization
will have to be widely used, since the person of mixed blood who is
given the choice whether he will be evacuated or sterilized would
rather undergo sterilization.
State Secretary Dr. Stuckart maintains that carrying out in practice
of the just mentioned possibilities for solving the problem of mixed
marriages and persons of mixed blood will create endless
administrative work. In the second place, as the biological facts
cannot be disregarded in any case, State Secretary Dr. Stuckart
proposed proceeding to forced sterilization.
Furthermore, to simplify the problem of mixed marriages
possibilities must be considered with the goal of the legislator
saying something like: "These marriages have been dissolved."
With regard to the issue of the effect of the evacuation of Jews on
the economy, State Secretary Neumann stated that Jews who are
working in industries vital to the war effort, provided that no
replacements are available, cannot be evacuated.
SS-Obergruppenführer Heydrich indicated that these Jews would
not be evacuated according to the rules he had approved for
carrying out the evacuations then underway.
State Secretary Dr. Bühler stated that the General Government
would welcome it if the final solution of this problem could be
begun in the General Government, since on the one hand
transportation does not play such a large role here nor would
problems of labor supply hamper this action. Jews must be
removed from the territory of the General Government as quickly
as possible, since it is especially here that the Jew as an epidemic
carrier represents an extreme danger and on the other hand he is
causing permanent chaos in the economic structure of the country
through continued black market dealings. Moreover, of the
approximately 2 1/2 million Jews concerned, the majority is unfit for
work.
State Secretary Dr. Bühler stated further that the solution to the
Jewish question in the General Government is the responsibility of
the Chief of the Security Police and the SD and that his efforts
would be supported by the officials of the General Government. He
had only one request, to solve the Jewish question in this area as
quickly as possible.
In conclusion the different types of possible solutions were
discussed, during which discussion both Gauleiter Dr. Meyer and
State Secretary Dr. Bühler took the position that certain preparatory
activities for the final solution should be carried out immediately in
the territories in question, in which process alarming the populace
must be avoided.
The meeting was closed with the request of the Chief of the
Security Police and the SD to the participants that they afford him
appropriate support during the carrying out of the tasks involved in
the solution.
| Very soon after the Conference, the Final Solution will take this appearance. Mass murder under a gigantic scale and bureaucratic indifference. Thousands of Germans took part in the Final Solution of the European Jews. |
| The most expeditive form of mass murder will be the Einsatzgruppen works that mobilize vans into which dozens of people were pressed in. Then the engine was turn on and the gases of the exhaust directed into the van. When the vans were not available summary executions from a shot in the neck did the murder job. |
| Contrary to the carefully worded text of the Protocol, the implementation of the Final Solution was rude, brutal and ruthlessness : people were pulled out of their bed, dragged by their arms in the streets and thrown in an open van en route for gasing in the country. Ten of thousands of Jews were eliminated in this way between June 1941 and November 1942. |
| Those Jews who are as harmless as little kids playing in a yard were routed to their death without a word of explanation simply because they were Jews and because Hitler had decided that 1- they were bacilli on the social corps 2- they sould be eliminated from the surface of the earth. Too many Nazi officials were very happy to oblige. |
| Pseudo-historians like David Irving (right) still pretend today that Hitler was unaware of the Holocaust until 1941. The problem is that the Holocaust or Final Solution was decided in January 1942 and that a meeting like the Wannsee meeting could not be held without the knowledge of Hitler who was a maniac and required to be informed of everything. If the Wannsee conference had been held without the consent or the knowledge of Hitler, his promoters would have certainly faced certain death. On the right of Irving, Albert Speer, ex minister of Armaments during WW2, afher his release from jail in 1966 : in his Memoirs, Speer does not have a word of compassion or regret for te fate of the Jews of Europe. |
| In this speech pronounced during a Nuremberg meeting in the early 30s, Hitler said that "today we must examine ourselves and remove from our midst the elements that have become bad.:" He is evidently referring to the 11 million Jews of Europe. |
| The magazine Der Stürmer (The Striker), published by ferocious anti-semitic Julius Streicher, was a hotbed of hatred directed to the German Jews. Most of its readers were young people and people from the lowest strata of German society. Copies of der Stürmer were displayed in prominent display cases throughout the Reich. In 1927, it sold about 27,000 copies every week; by 1935, its circulation had reached around 480,000. However Hermann Göring forbade the Stürmer in all of his departments, and Baldur von Schirach banned it as a means of education in the Hitlerjugend (HJ)-hostels and other HJ-education facilities by a "Reichsbefehl", i.e. Reich command |
| The caption on the bench's back says :"Jews only". that was before the Final Solution when Jews were "only" ostracized and . |
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| (1)The order from Goering runs as follows: Complementing the task already assigned to you in the directive of January 24, 1939, to undertake, by emigration or evacuation, a solution to the Jewish question as advantageous as possible under the conditions at the time, I hereby charge you with making all necessary organizational, functional, and material preparations for a complete solution of the Jewish question in the German sphere of influence in Europe. Insofar as the jurisdiction of other central agencies may be touched thereby, they are to be involved. I charge you furthermore with submitting to me in the near future an overall plan of the organizational, functional, and material measures to be taken in preparing for the implementation of the aspired final solution of the Jewish question. |