When Did the Nazi's Decide Upon the Final Solution?
When did the Nazis decide on the Final Solution? Critically discuss.
‘The Holocaust’ marked the largest genocide recorded in modern history. Approximately 6 million Jews were slaughtered during the World War II time period. The mass killing of innocent Jews was the result of a complex web of economic, social, political and military courses of actions that merged during Hitler’s dictatorship of Germany.
Unsurprisingly the most common questions proposed when looking into the causes of ‘The Holocaust’ are how and why a seemingly westernized nation like Germany, who were very culturally and technologically advanced, were able to turn everyday civilians into murderers or justifiers of murder. However my essay will not be looking at the answers to these sociological questions, my essay will in fact look at another attention grabbing topic from ‘The Holocaust’ that which the Nazis termed the ‘Final Solution’. This was at the time what many people of Germany saw as the solution to dealing with the problems of Jews. I will be analysing historical information and try to establish a particular time to when the decision was made to exterminate the Jewish people of Europe.
For ease of reference the ‘Final Solution’ is defined as Nazi Germany’s plan during World War II to annihilate the Jewish people, resulting in the most deadly phase of the Holocaust, the destruction of Jewish communities in continental Europe. (Britannica Encyclopedia, 2009)
According to historians at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, ‘The Nazis frequently used euphemistic language to disguise the true nature of their crimes, they used the term ‘Final Solution’ to refer to their plan to annihilate the Jewish People’. Heinrich Himmler was the chief architect of the plan, and the German Nazi leader Adolf Hitler termed it “the final solution of the Jewish question.”
(Colombia Encyclopedia, 2008)
The exact time Hitler decided to implement the ‘Final Solution’ is still to this day a
‘The Holocaust’ marked the largest genocide recorded in modern history. Approximately 6 million Jews were slaughtered during the World War II time period. The mass killing of innocent Jews was the result of a complex web of economic, social, political and military courses of actions that merged during Hitler’s dictatorship of Germany.
Unsurprisingly the most common questions proposed when looking into the causes of ‘The Holocaust’ are how and why a seemingly westernized nation like Germany, who were very culturally and technologically advanced, were able to turn everyday civilians into murderers or justifiers of murder. However my essay will not be looking at the answers to these sociological questions, my essay will in fact look at another attention grabbing topic from ‘The Holocaust’ that which the Nazis termed the ‘Final Solution’. This was at the time what many people of Germany saw as the solution to dealing with the problems of Jews. I will be analysing historical information and try to establish a particular time to when the decision was made to exterminate the Jewish people of Europe.
For ease of reference the ‘Final Solution’ is defined as Nazi Germany’s plan during World War II to annihilate the Jewish people, resulting in the most deadly phase of the Holocaust, the destruction of Jewish communities in continental Europe. (Britannica Encyclopedia, 2009)
According to historians at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, ‘The Nazis frequently used euphemistic language to disguise the true nature of their crimes, they used the term ‘Final Solution’ to refer to their plan to annihilate the Jewish People’. Heinrich Himmler was the chief architect of the plan, and the German Nazi leader Adolf Hitler termed it “the final solution of the Jewish question.”
(Colombia Encyclopedia, 2008)
The exact time Hitler decided to implement the ‘Final Solution’ is still to this day a
Bibliography: The Encyclopedia Columbia, 2009 The Encyclopedia Britannia, 2008 Dawidowicz, L.S. The War Against The Jews, New York City, Bantam Books, 1975 Marrus, M. The Holocaust in History, Toronto, Key Porter Book Ltd, 2000 Browning, C. The Decision Concerning The ‘Final Solution’, New York, Schocken Books, 1989 Sereny, G. Albert Speer: His Battle With Truth, New York, Vintage Books, 1996 Hoess, R. Le Commandant d’Auschwitz parle, Paris, Editions La Découverte, 2004