Final Solution

On June 30, 1941 Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler summoned Rudolf Höss to Berlin. There, Himmler informed Höss that he would take charge of the Final Solution at Auschwitz. He was ordered to begin preparations for the mass murder of the Jews.

Himmler and Höss at Auschwitz Picture from Anatomy of Auschwitz. pg. 47

Final Solution was the euphemism used by the Nazis, it was the code for the deportation and extermination of all European Jews. Hitler believed in a hierarchy of race. The Aryan race, or those of Scandinavian type descent were at the top of this hierarchy, the ideal was a person with blond hair and blue eyes ( There were even measurements to determine the purity, such as skull circumference and bone length). At the bottom of the hierarchy were those of Slavic descent, but even below them were the Jews. A lot of Nazi ideology was based upon the Jew as the scapegoat, the cause of misery.

The Nazis held a conference on January 20, 1942, the Wannsee Conference. Here Reinhard Heydrich (placed in charge by Goering of the final Solution), and 12 other Nazi officials agreed upon the terms of the final solution. The basic idea was to free Europe of the Jews in a quasi-legal fashion. The Jews were to emigrate out of Germany and its controlled lands, this was not optional and was to be forced upon the Jews (The Nazis had already begun to implement this and also tightened regulations, making it harder to leave the country). For those unable or unwilling to leave they would be "evacuated" (deported) to labor camps, here the difficult work would naturally select those strong and able to continue working, others would fall victim to evolutions theory of "natural selection". If a Jew was over the age of 65 they would be sent to an old age ghetto to live. Those who were only a part Jewish "mischlings" would continue to be decided upon in a case by case manner, many different options were available for dealing with these, only one thing was certain, sterilization was always to be used to make it impossible for more Jewish offspring. The one thing left unclear in the Wannsee Conference was what to do with those who were unable for work (which was thought to be the majority), all that was said was that this area of the Jewish question was to be dealt with as quickly as possible, this is where Auschwitz enters the question.

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This Page by Michele Frazer. Last edited 12/05/02

http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/wannsee.htm