In early 1947, american officials in germany stumbled across a document. The wannsee conference was a meeting of senior officials of the nazi german regime, held in the berlin suburb of wannsee on 20 january 1942. First is if going to potsdam its right on the way, just exit at wannsee station several s bahn lines go there. 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 loud background music and amateurish production quality detracts from the history here. At the time of the wannsee conference, most participants were already aware that the national socialist regime had embarked on the mass murder of jews.
The exhibition includes various documents and materials connected to this tragic part of. 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. 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. Pack up the swimwear, grab your little sister and get the heck out to the wannsee. On january 20, 1942, an infamous meeting of highranking members of the ss took place in berlinwannsee. Despite its romantic setting by the lake, this villa has witnessed a dreadful part of german history. The minutes from the wannsee conference january 20, 1942. The wannsee conference was a meeting of senior government officials of nazi germany and schutzstaffel. Yes, were cycling like the wind, through the grunewald swiftly and then soon well be a the wannseethis schlager sang the at that time seven year old cornelia froboess in a 1951 television programme, which made the wannsee known to germany.
House of the wannsee conference in steglitzzehlendorf. Wannsee conference attendees jewish virtual library. Reich secret document30 copiesprotocol of conferencei. The holocaust was the result of a perfectly rational argument given what reason had become that was selfjustifying and hermetically sealed. Encyclopedia of jewish and israeli history, politics and culture, with biographies, statistics, articles and documents on topics from antisemitism to zionism. Protocol of the wannsee conference, january 20, 1942. The volume is in fact the last part of a trilogy that evans has dedicated to nazi germany. It was attended by 15 nazi bureaucrats including reinhard heydrich and adolf eichmann. The replayed wannsee conference with artistic license.
The wannsee conference also made allowance for specific exceptions to jewish evacuation, such as jewish german world war one veterans. Hitler had made his views to exterminate the jews known in 1942. The wannsee conference was a pivotal moment in the evolution of the final solution. The wannsee conference in berlin jewish virtual library. This english text of the original germanlanguage wannsee protocol is based on the official u. The purpose of the conference was to inform administrative leaders of departments responsible for various policies. Learn more about the wannsee conference in this article. Moreover, there was the question of who had the power to make such decisions in nazi germany. As they snack on food and sip on fine french wines, the paper pushers, yes men, intellectuals and hatchet men of the third reich debate the fate of 11 million people. As a result, a network of extermination camps was established in which 1. The myth of the wannsee conference internet archive. As a reminder of these horrible acts, it has been turned into a memorial site. Entitled secret reich matter, it summarized the results of a meeting of top nazi officials.
The wannsee conference essay sample new york essays. This policy of deliberate and systematic genocide starting across germanoccupied europe was formulated in procedural and geopolitical terms by nazi leadership in january 1942 at the wannsee conference held near berlin, and culminated in the holocaust, which saw the killing of 90% of polish jews, and two thirds of the jewish population of europe. Reinhard heydrich, chief of the reich security main office rsha, convenes the wannsee conference in a villa outside berlin. The conference was to tell leaders of government departments that dealt with jews, that reinhard heydrich had been put in charge of the final solution to the jewish question in german. Adolf eichmann, the nazi official who had inspired that turn of phrase, was the main organizer of the wannsee conference, a. 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. The wannsee conference on january 20, 1942, at a villa in a suburb of berlin called wannsee, 15 men, all highranking nazi party officials and members of the german government, met to discuss what they called the final solution of the jewish question. The socalled final solution, the deportation and mass murder of european jews, was put into motion in this mansion in 1942. 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. Adolf eichmann uses the term final solution in his conference minutes to describe the task of killing the jews of europe. This is really a film about the holocaust in general, specifically the years leading up to the wannsee conference. The wannsee conference 1 january 2018 first, he wanted to inform and gain support from government bureaus and other agencies that were involved in the implementation of the final solution which was the code word for the systematic, pre determined, plan. This page was last edited on 22 december 2018, at 01.
Top secret 30 copies 16th copy minutes of discussion. Download our mobile app for onthego access to the jewish virtual library. At the time of the wannsee conference, 500,000 jews, including women and children had been murdered, primarily by firing squad. Timeline of events wannsee conference united states. Wannsee conference article about wannsee conference by. The wannsee conference of 20 january 1942, was a crossdepartmental meeting of the nazi government. The exhibition in the house of the wannsee conference gives an.
At this conference, he presents plans to coordinate a europeanwide final solution of the jewish question to key. The villa in which the wannsee conference took place in berlin. Wannseekonferenz was a meeting of senior government officials of nazi germany and schutzstaffel ss leaders, held in. Not one of the men present at wannsee objected to the announced policy. Wannsee is a lake complex in the western suburbs of berlin. In eichmann in jerusalem, hannah arendt described the machinations of one of the architects of the holocaust as the fearsome, wordandthoughtdefying banality of evil. This movie is a fascinating fly on the wall look at the infamous wannsee conference held on 20 jan 1942. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. The aim was to outline the modus operandi of the question regarding the final solution of the jewish problem. A real time recreation of the 1942 wannsee conference, in which leading ss and nazi party officals gathered to discuss the final solution to the jewish question. In 1942, leading figures in the nazi government and ss meet here to discuss their socalled final solution to the jewish question. I just watched conspiracy which is a great film, so i was looking for some actual historical information about the wannsee conference. The wannsee conference facing history and ourselves.
The script is derived from the minutes of the meeting. The wannsee conference is significant for another very important reason, at no point in the lead up to the conference, or on any official documentation relating to the conference, can hitler himself be seen to support or have ordered it. It was held in the berlin suburb of wannsee on 20 january 1942. Wannsee protocol, january 20, 1942 the holocaust history. About the holocaust nazi germany and the jews 19331939 the outbreak of world war. In 1942, at the wannsee conference, the decision was made to exterminate european jewry. The wannsee conference, named for the resort district in southwestern berlin where it was held. 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. Since no verbatim transcription of the meeting exists, the dialogue is. As it approaches the most dramatic period in the history of germany, the. Wannsee berlin 2020 all you need to know before you go. 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.
The wannsee conference was extremely important in transitioning the holocaust from intimidation, beating and harassment of jewish people in the occupied territories to the planned, systematic extermination that encompassed virtually every arm of the nazi german bureaucracy. 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. Neither heydrich nor his guests were in a position to unleash. The following took part in the conference on the final solution endloesung of the jewish question held on january 20, 1942, in berlin, am grossen wannsee no. But, despite the fact that the wannsee conference cemented a bureaucratic policy of mass murder, it was by no means the beginning of nazi. During the meeting, 15 executives of the ss and nazi party sat down to discuss the final solution, a plan to slaughter all the jews under nazi germany during world war ii. Led by ssgeneral reinhard heydrich, the wannsee conference was the starting point for the jewish holcaust which led to the mass murder of six million people. John ralston saul gives a devastating example of the limits of technocracy. The wannsee conference, held on january 20, 1942 was called to coordinate the final solution to the jewish problem. House of the wannsee conference where the holocaust was. Leibbrandtreich ministry for the occupied eastern territoriessecretary of state dr. From the outset, youth from berlin, the region, and later throughout europe and the rest of the world, have been coming together in an atmosphere of mutual tolerance and respect. Invitees to the conference did not deliberate whether such a plan should be undertaken, but instead discussed the realisation of a decision that had already been made. Nazi officials discuss final solution at the wannsee.
Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. Nazi germany, wannsee conference, jewish question, holocaust, film. There are two itineraries you could put it on your list to visit. Click the button below to get instant access to this resource for use in the classroom or at a home.