From the very beginning, it was obvious that it was possible to implement the Final solution without the support of the local government. It was especially true in the General Government in Poland governed by Reichsleiter Hans Frank – Reichsminister without portfolio – who was also Adolf Hitler’s personal legal adviser (and a close friend) as well as the lawyer of the NSDAP.
This area was of extreme importance for the “Final Solution” as it contained over two million of Jews that had to be killed and was chosen for building four of six killing centers – in Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka and Majdanek. Two others – Chełmno and Auschwitz II were just outside the borders of the General Government.
After the occupation of Poland in 1939, its territory was split into three zones: the General Government in its center, Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany (Warthegau) in the west, and Polish areas annexed by the USSR in the east.
The territory was expanded substantially in 1941, after the German Invasion of the Soviet Union, to include the new District of Galicia. The area of the Generalgouvernement roughly corresponded with the Austrian part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth after the Third Partition of Poland in 1795.
The General Government was administered by a General-Governor. For the entire period of the General Government’s existence there was only one General-Governor: Dr. Hans Frank.
The NSDAP structure in General Government was Arbeitsbereich Generalgouvernement led by Frank – standard arrangement for all territories annexed into Germany after Anschluss.
The Office of the General-Governor was headed by Chief of the Government Josef Bühler, who was also the State Secretary (he was one of the attendees of Wannsee Conference). Since May 1940, Bühler also served as Frank’s deputy. Several other individuals had powers to issue legislative decrees in addition to the General-Governor, most notably the Higher SS and Police Leader.
Heydrich had to work closely with Hans Frank because, unlike in other occupied territories, because all branches of his administration were to be directed by the Governor General rather than by corresponding Reich ministries from Berlin.
After the war, Frank claimed that he was unaware of the extermination camps in the General Government until early 1944, which was untrue, of course. However, practically all coordination with the SS in Shoah was done by Bühler who had the necessary authority from Frank.
Wannsee Conference in 100 Facts
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RolandVT
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RolandVT
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Reich Foreign Office Was Fully Supportive of the Holocaust
Nazi leaders deeply, sincerely, passionately (and erroneously) believed that in order to win the existential war with “Judeo-Bolshevist” Soviet Union, they had to kill all Jews not only under German control, but under control of all Nazi allies (Italy, Slovakia, Croatia, Romania, Finland, Bulgaria and Hungary) and nominally independent Vichy France.
To make it happen, the Nazi government had to negotiate the corresponding agreements with the governments of these countries. Fortunately for the Nazis (and very unfortunately for the Jews), Reich Foreign Office was fully supportive of the Final Solution.
No surprise here – Reich Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop held the (real, not honorary) rank of Obergruppenführer (three-star general) in the SS and often showed up in the SS uniform (it bit him real hard after the war).
Ribbentrop spared no effort in trying to persuade the leaders of Nazi puppet states and other Axis powers to deport Jews to Nazi killing centers. However, in August 1941, when the question of whether to deport foreign Jews living in Germany arose, Ribbentrop initially argued against deportation as a way of maximizing the Foreign Office’s influence.
Later, Ribbentrop had Undersecretary Martin Luther (later an attendee of Wannsee Conference) negotiate agreements with the governments of Romania, Slovakia and Croatia to allow Jews holding citizenship of those states to be deported.
In September 1941, Reich Plenipotentiary for Nazi-occupied Serbia, Felix Benzler, reported to Ribbentrop that the SS had arrested 8,000 Serbian Jews, whom they were planning to execute en masse. He asked for permission to try to stop the massacre. Ribbentrop assigned the question to Luther, who ordered Benzler to co-operate fully in the shooting of Jews.
Even before Wannsee Conference, on December 8, 1941, Luther had his staff compose a memorandum which committed the Foreign Office to working with other countries to introduce antisemitic restrictions modeled on the Nuremberg Laws, and then to transport their Jews to the SS killing centers.
Following the conference, Luther’s department was involved with preparing and securing agreement at the diplomatic level for the deportation of Jews from the countries allied with Germany (Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia), as well as from the areas occupied by Germany.
To make it happen, the Nazi government had to negotiate the corresponding agreements with the governments of these countries. Fortunately for the Nazis (and very unfortunately for the Jews), Reich Foreign Office was fully supportive of the Final Solution.
No surprise here – Reich Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop held the (real, not honorary) rank of Obergruppenführer (three-star general) in the SS and often showed up in the SS uniform (it bit him real hard after the war).
Ribbentrop spared no effort in trying to persuade the leaders of Nazi puppet states and other Axis powers to deport Jews to Nazi killing centers. However, in August 1941, when the question of whether to deport foreign Jews living in Germany arose, Ribbentrop initially argued against deportation as a way of maximizing the Foreign Office’s influence.
Later, Ribbentrop had Undersecretary Martin Luther (later an attendee of Wannsee Conference) negotiate agreements with the governments of Romania, Slovakia and Croatia to allow Jews holding citizenship of those states to be deported.
In September 1941, Reich Plenipotentiary for Nazi-occupied Serbia, Felix Benzler, reported to Ribbentrop that the SS had arrested 8,000 Serbian Jews, whom they were planning to execute en masse. He asked for permission to try to stop the massacre. Ribbentrop assigned the question to Luther, who ordered Benzler to co-operate fully in the shooting of Jews.
Even before Wannsee Conference, on December 8, 1941, Luther had his staff compose a memorandum which committed the Foreign Office to working with other countries to introduce antisemitic restrictions modeled on the Nuremberg Laws, and then to transport their Jews to the SS killing centers.
Following the conference, Luther’s department was involved with preparing and securing agreement at the diplomatic level for the deportation of Jews from the countries allied with Germany (Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia), as well as from the areas occupied by Germany.
Scribo, ergo sum
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RolandVT
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It Did Happen Again
“Never Again”. Inmates of Buchenwald concentration camp put this phrase on a handmade sign right after they were liberated by the United States Army on April 11th, 1945. Buchenwald was a labor camp, not a death camp and thus was not a part of the Final Solution. However, this phrase quickly came associated with the Holocaust and even with the genocide in general. Any genocide.
Unfortunately, it did happen again – and very soon. Right after the end of the war in Europe, Stalin and its puppets in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania and Yugoslavia (the latter was actually more an ally than a puppet) commenced the program of total ethnical cleansing of these territories of its German population which lasted until 1950.
In terms of the number of deportees (14 million), this program dwarfed the Holocaust. According to official estimates by the German government and the German Red Cross, two million civilians died during these deportations (half of the Holocaust death toll).
It was a true genocide as these civilians were deported and murdered (often brutally) not because of what they did (they have not committed any crime), but because of who they were. Only because they were Germans. Right during the (in)famous IMT Nuremberg trial.
In just three years (1958-1961) Mao Zedong and his henchmen brutally murdered over 2.5 million Chinese. It was not a genocide; it was a democide, but the essence was the same. Men, women and even children have been murdered not because they have committed any crime (they didn’t), but because they belonged to a certain social group marked for annihilation by the Communist government.
Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot and his cronies carried out another democide, murdering between 1.4 million and 2.2 million in Cambodia in 1975-1979 (one of every four of Cambodians). And in 1994 the world witnessed a ‘classic’ genocide in Rwanda of the Tutsi tribe by the majority Hutu.
During approximately 100-day period from April 7 to mid-July 1994, an estimated one million Tutsi were killed (about as many as died in Auschwitz), constituting as much as 70% of the Tutsi and 20% of Rwanda’s total population. Two out of three…
Lesser genocides and democides (in terms of numbers of victims) occurred in North Korea, Vietnam, Nigeria, Iraq, Ethiopia, Sudan, Guatemala, Indonesia, Burundi, Bangladesh and Equatorial Guinea.
Unfortunately, it did happen again – and very soon. Right after the end of the war in Europe, Stalin and its puppets in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania and Yugoslavia (the latter was actually more an ally than a puppet) commenced the program of total ethnical cleansing of these territories of its German population which lasted until 1950.
In terms of the number of deportees (14 million), this program dwarfed the Holocaust. According to official estimates by the German government and the German Red Cross, two million civilians died during these deportations (half of the Holocaust death toll).
It was a true genocide as these civilians were deported and murdered (often brutally) not because of what they did (they have not committed any crime), but because of who they were. Only because they were Germans. Right during the (in)famous IMT Nuremberg trial.
In just three years (1958-1961) Mao Zedong and his henchmen brutally murdered over 2.5 million Chinese. It was not a genocide; it was a democide, but the essence was the same. Men, women and even children have been murdered not because they have committed any crime (they didn’t), but because they belonged to a certain social group marked for annihilation by the Communist government.
Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot and his cronies carried out another democide, murdering between 1.4 million and 2.2 million in Cambodia in 1975-1979 (one of every four of Cambodians). And in 1994 the world witnessed a ‘classic’ genocide in Rwanda of the Tutsi tribe by the majority Hutu.
During approximately 100-day period from April 7 to mid-July 1994, an estimated one million Tutsi were killed (about as many as died in Auschwitz), constituting as much as 70% of the Tutsi and 20% of Rwanda’s total population. Two out of three…
Lesser genocides and democides (in terms of numbers of victims) occurred in North Korea, Vietnam, Nigeria, Iraq, Ethiopia, Sudan, Guatemala, Indonesia, Burundi, Bangladesh and Equatorial Guinea.
Scribo, ergo sum
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RolandVT
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Ostministerium Was Not of Much Help
… simply because it did not have much power – almost all power in those territories belonged to Wehrmacht and to the SS and to the much lesser extent to the Nazi Party.
Ironically, it was Reinhard Heydrich who suggested (to Hermann Göring) that responsibility for the civilian government of occupied territories should be given to Alfred Rosenberg, the NSDAP chief racial theorist (after Adolf Hitler, of course). Frankly, it was a no brainer as Rosenberg was a Baltic German (he was born in Revel – now Tallinn in Estonia) and spoke fluent Russian.
The Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories (commonly known as the Ostministerium) was created by Adolf Hitler shortly after the German invasion of the Soviet Union to control the vast areas captured by the Wehrmacht in the Baltic states, Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia. Two Reichskommissariats were established: Ostland and Ukraine. Two more were planned but never materialized.
The Ostministerium was involved in the development and implementation of Generalplan Ost, which fell under its jurisdiction (but never really took off); however, in reality the SS (mostly RSHA) was in charge.
It was established on July 17, 1941 – although for unknown reason its creation was not publicly announced until November of that year. Rosenberg was appointed Reichsminister; Alfred Meyer served as his deputy and later represented him and Ostministerium at the Wannsee Conference.
Rosenburg’s plans were intended to win over the non-Jewish populations of the conquered territories, for the sake of minimizing anti-German resistance if nothing else, and wished to portray the Germans as liberators from Soviet tyranny.
The latter was true, of course; however, it turned out that the Nazi tyranny in many cases was worse (sometimes much worse) that the Soviet one. In other words, “brown medicine” turned out to be worse than “red disease”.
Ostministerium was supposed to provide support for the “Final Solution” in occupied territories of the USSR (with its own resources and by enlisting the help of local population) – hence the presence of its officials at Wannsee Conference.
However, its’ resources and power were limited (Wehrmacht and the SS pretty much ran the territories helped by NSDAP) – and the locals did not care much about German propaganda (anti-Semitic or other).
Consequently, Ostministerium in reality was not of much help in the “Holocaust Project” and by the end of 1944 faded into oblivion as territories were lost.
Ironically, it was Reinhard Heydrich who suggested (to Hermann Göring) that responsibility for the civilian government of occupied territories should be given to Alfred Rosenberg, the NSDAP chief racial theorist (after Adolf Hitler, of course). Frankly, it was a no brainer as Rosenberg was a Baltic German (he was born in Revel – now Tallinn in Estonia) and spoke fluent Russian.
The Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories (commonly known as the Ostministerium) was created by Adolf Hitler shortly after the German invasion of the Soviet Union to control the vast areas captured by the Wehrmacht in the Baltic states, Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia. Two Reichskommissariats were established: Ostland and Ukraine. Two more were planned but never materialized.
The Ostministerium was involved in the development and implementation of Generalplan Ost, which fell under its jurisdiction (but never really took off); however, in reality the SS (mostly RSHA) was in charge.
It was established on July 17, 1941 – although for unknown reason its creation was not publicly announced until November of that year. Rosenberg was appointed Reichsminister; Alfred Meyer served as his deputy and later represented him and Ostministerium at the Wannsee Conference.
Rosenburg’s plans were intended to win over the non-Jewish populations of the conquered territories, for the sake of minimizing anti-German resistance if nothing else, and wished to portray the Germans as liberators from Soviet tyranny.
The latter was true, of course; however, it turned out that the Nazi tyranny in many cases was worse (sometimes much worse) that the Soviet one. In other words, “brown medicine” turned out to be worse than “red disease”.
Ostministerium was supposed to provide support for the “Final Solution” in occupied territories of the USSR (with its own resources and by enlisting the help of local population) – hence the presence of its officials at Wannsee Conference.
However, its’ resources and power were limited (Wehrmacht and the SS pretty much ran the territories helped by NSDAP) – and the locals did not care much about German propaganda (anti-Semitic or other).
Consequently, Ostministerium in reality was not of much help in the “Holocaust Project” and by the end of 1944 faded into oblivion as territories were lost.
Scribo, ergo sum
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RolandVT
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Reich Chancellery Represented Adolf Hitler
The Third Reich was run by four powers: civilian government; NSDAP; the SS and Wehrmacht. All except the latter have been heavily involved in the “Jewish question” – and had their own “Jewish department”.
The SS was a de-facto lead agency in the “Holocaust Project” (and SS General Heydrich was its CEO); however, the other had to be involved as well to “make them happy” (normal bureaucratic practice). Hence the presence of their representatives at the Wannsee Conference.
There was one more – this time genuinely existential issue. Although officially Hitler had nothing to do with the Holocaust (and even denied knowledge of it), he had to be somehow represented in the whole project – including the Conference.
Hence, Heydrich had to get Reich Chancellery involved – the office of Chancellor (Hitler was still officially the Chancellor of German Reich). In practice, it meant that Hans Lammers – Chief of Reich Chancellery – had to be represented… somehow.
Hans Lammers joined the Nazi Party before it came to power – on March 1, 1932 and achieved rapid advancement. After Hitler was appointed Chancellor, Lammers was appointed Chief of the Reich Chancellery with the rank of Staatssekretär (rank second only to the minister). The latter was remedied on November 26 1937, when his rank in the Hitler cabinet was elevated to Reichsminister.
Centralization of power in Nazi Germany accorded to the Reich Chancellery and therefore to its head made Lammers become “one of the most important men in Nazi Germany”. From the vantage point of most government officers, Lammers seemed to speak on behalf of Hitler, the ultimate authority within the Reich.
However, he did not want to get officially involved in the “Final Solution” – so he sent Friedrich Kritzinger – head of his “Jewish division” instead. Contrary to a widespread misconception, the latter was no friend of Jews – as is evidenced by draconian anti-Jewish legislation drafted by his department.
he 11th Regulation of the Citizenship Law (issued on November 25, 1941) stipulated that all German Jews who had emigrated retrospectively lost their German citizenship, and it provided for the confiscation of their assets.
Reich Chancellery was involved in the Final Solution only to the extent of giving its (oral) approval. However, given that in German government system it represented Adolf Hitler, it was a lot – because bureaucratically it meant the approval given by Adolf Hitler himself.
The SS was a de-facto lead agency in the “Holocaust Project” (and SS General Heydrich was its CEO); however, the other had to be involved as well to “make them happy” (normal bureaucratic practice). Hence the presence of their representatives at the Wannsee Conference.
There was one more – this time genuinely existential issue. Although officially Hitler had nothing to do with the Holocaust (and even denied knowledge of it), he had to be somehow represented in the whole project – including the Conference.
Hence, Heydrich had to get Reich Chancellery involved – the office of Chancellor (Hitler was still officially the Chancellor of German Reich). In practice, it meant that Hans Lammers – Chief of Reich Chancellery – had to be represented… somehow.
Hans Lammers joined the Nazi Party before it came to power – on March 1, 1932 and achieved rapid advancement. After Hitler was appointed Chancellor, Lammers was appointed Chief of the Reich Chancellery with the rank of Staatssekretär (rank second only to the minister). The latter was remedied on November 26 1937, when his rank in the Hitler cabinet was elevated to Reichsminister.
Centralization of power in Nazi Germany accorded to the Reich Chancellery and therefore to its head made Lammers become “one of the most important men in Nazi Germany”. From the vantage point of most government officers, Lammers seemed to speak on behalf of Hitler, the ultimate authority within the Reich.
However, he did not want to get officially involved in the “Final Solution” – so he sent Friedrich Kritzinger – head of his “Jewish division” instead. Contrary to a widespread misconception, the latter was no friend of Jews – as is evidenced by draconian anti-Jewish legislation drafted by his department.
he 11th Regulation of the Citizenship Law (issued on November 25, 1941) stipulated that all German Jews who had emigrated retrospectively lost their German citizenship, and it provided for the confiscation of their assets.
Reich Chancellery was involved in the Final Solution only to the extent of giving its (oral) approval. However, given that in German government system it represented Adolf Hitler, it was a lot – because bureaucratically it meant the approval given by Adolf Hitler himself.
Scribo, ergo sum
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RolandVT
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Ministry of the Interior Was Involved for Bureaucratic Reasons
Since right after the Reichstag Fire on February 27, 1933, Reich Ministry of the Interior was fighting a bitter turf war with the SS… which the former ultimately (and quite predictably) lost.
However, in the meantime, it became (though temporarily) one of the most powerful entities in Nazi Germany. It was also heavily involved in the persecution of Jews prior to the Holocaust as it drafted the anti-Jewish legislation.
When Reich president Paul von Hindenburg appointed Hitler chancellor on January 1933, Ministry of the Interior was the only one given to NSDAP (Göring served as minister without portfolio until May 5).
Wilhelm Frick, former minister of the Interior and Education in Thuringia, was appointed Reichsminister of the Interior. Though Frick held a key position, especially in organizing the federal elections of March 1933, he initially had far less power than his counterparts in the rest of Europe.
Notably, he had no authority over the police; prior to Nazis taking power, in Germany law enforcement has traditionally been a state and local matter. Indeed, the main reason that Hindenburg and Franz von Papen agreed to give the Interior Ministry to the Nazis was that it was almost powerless at the time. Big mistake.
Frick’s power dramatically increased as a result of the Reichstag Fire Decree and the Enabling Act of 1933. The provision of the Reichstag Fire Decree giving the cabinet the power to take over state governments on its own authority was actually his idea; he saw the fire as a chance to increase his power and begin the process of Nazifying the country.
Ministry was responsible for drafting many of the Gleichschaltung laws that consolidated the Nazi regime. In April of 1933 Interior Minister Frick helped draft the law appointing Reichsstatthalter (Reich Governors) to take over the state governments. It also initiated and drafted the Law Against the Formation of Parties (enacted on July 14, 1933) that made the NSDAP the only legal party in Germany.
Under the 30 January 1934 “Law on the Reconstruction of the Reich”, which converted Germany into a highly centralized state, state parliaments were dissolved and the newly implemented Reichsstatthalter were made directly responsible to Frick. He also drafted the Law on the Abolition of the Reichsrat (February 14, 1934) that abolished the upper chamber of the parliament.
On May 1, 1934, Frick replaced Minister-President Göring as Prussian Minister of the Interior, which gave him control over the police in Prussia (not for long). By 1935, Interior Ministry had near-total control over local government.
It had the sole power to appoint the mayors of all municipalities with populations greater than 100,000 (except for the city states of Berlin and Hamburg, where Hitler reserved the right to appoint the mayors himself if he deemed it necessary).
The Ministry had considerable influence over smaller towns as well; while their mayors were appointed by the state governors, as mentioned earlier the governors were responsible to Frick.
Interior Ministry was instrumental in the racial policy of Nazi Germany by drafting laws against Jews, like the “Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service” in April of 1933 and the notorious Nuremberg Laws in September 1935.
In July 1933, Frick implemented the Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring including forced sterilizations, which later culminated in the killings of the Action T4 (Interior Ministry was heavily involved in this operation).
However, in 1936 Frick (predictably) fell from grace losing (no less predictably) the power struggle to Heinrich Himmler (the former was no match for the latter both politically and bureaucratically).
His power was greatly reduced in June 1936 when Hitler named Himmler the Chief of German Police, which effectively united the police with the SS. On paper, Frick was Himmler’s immediate superior… in reality, the police were now independent of Frick’s control (as it was prior to 1933), since the SS answered only to Hitler.
A long-running power struggle between the two culminated in Frick’s being replaced by Himmler as Reichsminister of the Interior in August 1943. However, in January of 1942, the Interior Ministry and Frick personally were still powerful – so Heydrich had to invite Frick’s representative to Wannsee Conference.
However, in the meantime, it became (though temporarily) one of the most powerful entities in Nazi Germany. It was also heavily involved in the persecution of Jews prior to the Holocaust as it drafted the anti-Jewish legislation.
When Reich president Paul von Hindenburg appointed Hitler chancellor on January 1933, Ministry of the Interior was the only one given to NSDAP (Göring served as minister without portfolio until May 5).
Wilhelm Frick, former minister of the Interior and Education in Thuringia, was appointed Reichsminister of the Interior. Though Frick held a key position, especially in organizing the federal elections of March 1933, he initially had far less power than his counterparts in the rest of Europe.
Notably, he had no authority over the police; prior to Nazis taking power, in Germany law enforcement has traditionally been a state and local matter. Indeed, the main reason that Hindenburg and Franz von Papen agreed to give the Interior Ministry to the Nazis was that it was almost powerless at the time. Big mistake.
Frick’s power dramatically increased as a result of the Reichstag Fire Decree and the Enabling Act of 1933. The provision of the Reichstag Fire Decree giving the cabinet the power to take over state governments on its own authority was actually his idea; he saw the fire as a chance to increase his power and begin the process of Nazifying the country.
Ministry was responsible for drafting many of the Gleichschaltung laws that consolidated the Nazi regime. In April of 1933 Interior Minister Frick helped draft the law appointing Reichsstatthalter (Reich Governors) to take over the state governments. It also initiated and drafted the Law Against the Formation of Parties (enacted on July 14, 1933) that made the NSDAP the only legal party in Germany.
Under the 30 January 1934 “Law on the Reconstruction of the Reich”, which converted Germany into a highly centralized state, state parliaments were dissolved and the newly implemented Reichsstatthalter were made directly responsible to Frick. He also drafted the Law on the Abolition of the Reichsrat (February 14, 1934) that abolished the upper chamber of the parliament.
On May 1, 1934, Frick replaced Minister-President Göring as Prussian Minister of the Interior, which gave him control over the police in Prussia (not for long). By 1935, Interior Ministry had near-total control over local government.
It had the sole power to appoint the mayors of all municipalities with populations greater than 100,000 (except for the city states of Berlin and Hamburg, where Hitler reserved the right to appoint the mayors himself if he deemed it necessary).
The Ministry had considerable influence over smaller towns as well; while their mayors were appointed by the state governors, as mentioned earlier the governors were responsible to Frick.
Interior Ministry was instrumental in the racial policy of Nazi Germany by drafting laws against Jews, like the “Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service” in April of 1933 and the notorious Nuremberg Laws in September 1935.
In July 1933, Frick implemented the Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring including forced sterilizations, which later culminated in the killings of the Action T4 (Interior Ministry was heavily involved in this operation).
However, in 1936 Frick (predictably) fell from grace losing (no less predictably) the power struggle to Heinrich Himmler (the former was no match for the latter both politically and bureaucratically).
His power was greatly reduced in June 1936 when Hitler named Himmler the Chief of German Police, which effectively united the police with the SS. On paper, Frick was Himmler’s immediate superior… in reality, the police were now independent of Frick’s control (as it was prior to 1933), since the SS answered only to Hitler.
A long-running power struggle between the two culminated in Frick’s being replaced by Himmler as Reichsminister of the Interior in August 1943. However, in January of 1942, the Interior Ministry and Frick personally were still powerful – so Heydrich had to invite Frick’s representative to Wannsee Conference.
Scribo, ergo sum
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RolandVT
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Roland Freisler Was Brought in to Provide Legal Cover
Few are aware of the fact that according to the laws of the Third Reich at that time, the Holocaust (as any other homicide) was a capital offence punishable by death. Adolf Hitler could have made it legal by issuing a written order (he did for the previous serial mass murder – Aktion T4) … but he didn’t.
So, Reinhard Heydrich had no other choice but to bring in (and to the Wannsee) someone from the Ministry of Justice (and from the courts) who would provide legal cover to the totally illegal (and thus totally criminal) “Holocaust project”.
And Roland Freisler was a perfect man for the job. He was an Alter Kämpfer (Old Fighter) as he joined NSDAP years before it came to power – in 1925 (allegedly switching from Bolshevism – not an uncommon thing in the 1920s).
He immediately gained a position of authority within the Party by using his legal training (he got his Doctorate in Law in 1922) to defend Party members and SA men who were regularly facing prosecutions for acts of political violence.
Soon he switched from practicing law to politics (happens all the time everywhere) and became the Deputy Gauleiter in Gau Hessen-Nassau Nord. In 1930, he was elected to the Hesse-Nassau provincial Landtag and in 1932 to Prussian Landtag. After the November 1933 German parliamentary election, he was elected as a deputy of the Reichstag, retaining his seat until his death.
In 1931, he made a very smart move that ultimately made him a stellar career in Nazi Germany (despite his allegedly Bolshevist past). He joined the Association of National Socialist German Legal Professionals, founded by Hans Frank – personal lawyer of Adolf Hitler and lawyer of NSDAP.
In February 1933, after Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor, Freisler was appointed Ministerial Director in the Prussian Ministry of Justice. He was placed in charge of the personnel office and – being a fervent and committed anti-Semite – used his authority to force out Jewish members of the staff.
In June, he was promoted to State Secretary in the Ministry. On July 31, Prussian Minister president Hermann Göring appointed him to the recently reconstituted Prussian State Council.
When the Prussian Ministry of Justice was merged with the Reich Ministry of Justice on April 1, 1935, Freisler became the State Secretary (rank second only to the Minister), where he served at the time of Wannsee Conference (hence the reason for inviting him).
In 1941, in a discussion at the “Führer Headquarters” about whom to appoint to replace Franz Gürtner, the Reich Justice Minister, who had died, Goebbels suggested Roland Freisler as an option; Hitler’s reply, referring to Freisler’s alleged “Red” past, was: “That old Bolshevik? No!”
Freisler was a committed Nazi ideologist and used his legal skills to put his ideology into enacting and enforcing German laws. He strongly advocated the creation of laws to punish Rassenschande (“race defilement”, the Nazi term for sexual relations between “Aryans” and “inferior races”), to be classed as “racial treason”. Freisler used racist laws in the United States (“Jim Crow”) as a model for anti-Jewish legislation in Germany.
In 1939, Freisler introduced the concept of ‘precocious juvenile criminal’ in the “Juvenile Felons Decree”. This provided the legal basis for imposing the death penalty and penitentiary terms on juveniles for the first time in German history.
On July 8 1940, the Justice Ministry received a written complaint from a senior local court judge protesting against the euthanasia killings of physically or mentally disabled individuals that had claimed his wards.
Freisler met with him and explained that the ministry was establishing orderly procedures for the program with “expert committees” and “grievance councils”, but he did not dispute the legality of the killings (he apparently was not aware that they were made legal by Hitler’s written order), arguing that the Nazi state had brought about a new concept of law.
This event made him a perfect candidate to provide a legal cover for the “Holocaust Project”. On 20 January 1942, Freisler, representing his boss – acting Reichsminister of Justice Franz Schlegelberger, attended the Wannsee Conference.
The official Wannsee Protocol does not contain any comments by Freisler. Most likely, they weren’t any – discussion of legal cover for the “Holocaust Project” were almost certainly conducted in private between him and Heydrich.
On the morning of February 3, 1945, Freisler was conducting a Saturday session of the much-feared People’s Court (he served as its President since August 20, 1942) when United States Army Air Force bombers attacked Berlin.
Hearing the air raid sirens, Freisler hastily adjourned the court and ordered that the prisoners be taken to an air raid shelter, but he stayed behind to gather files before leaving. A bomb struck the court building at 11:08,[6] causing a partial internal collapse, and a masonry column came crashing down on Freisler, crushing and killing him instantly.
So, Reinhard Heydrich had no other choice but to bring in (and to the Wannsee) someone from the Ministry of Justice (and from the courts) who would provide legal cover to the totally illegal (and thus totally criminal) “Holocaust project”.
And Roland Freisler was a perfect man for the job. He was an Alter Kämpfer (Old Fighter) as he joined NSDAP years before it came to power – in 1925 (allegedly switching from Bolshevism – not an uncommon thing in the 1920s).
He immediately gained a position of authority within the Party by using his legal training (he got his Doctorate in Law in 1922) to defend Party members and SA men who were regularly facing prosecutions for acts of political violence.
Soon he switched from practicing law to politics (happens all the time everywhere) and became the Deputy Gauleiter in Gau Hessen-Nassau Nord. In 1930, he was elected to the Hesse-Nassau provincial Landtag and in 1932 to Prussian Landtag. After the November 1933 German parliamentary election, he was elected as a deputy of the Reichstag, retaining his seat until his death.
In 1931, he made a very smart move that ultimately made him a stellar career in Nazi Germany (despite his allegedly Bolshevist past). He joined the Association of National Socialist German Legal Professionals, founded by Hans Frank – personal lawyer of Adolf Hitler and lawyer of NSDAP.
In February 1933, after Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor, Freisler was appointed Ministerial Director in the Prussian Ministry of Justice. He was placed in charge of the personnel office and – being a fervent and committed anti-Semite – used his authority to force out Jewish members of the staff.
In June, he was promoted to State Secretary in the Ministry. On July 31, Prussian Minister president Hermann Göring appointed him to the recently reconstituted Prussian State Council.
When the Prussian Ministry of Justice was merged with the Reich Ministry of Justice on April 1, 1935, Freisler became the State Secretary (rank second only to the Minister), where he served at the time of Wannsee Conference (hence the reason for inviting him).
In 1941, in a discussion at the “Führer Headquarters” about whom to appoint to replace Franz Gürtner, the Reich Justice Minister, who had died, Goebbels suggested Roland Freisler as an option; Hitler’s reply, referring to Freisler’s alleged “Red” past, was: “That old Bolshevik? No!”
Freisler was a committed Nazi ideologist and used his legal skills to put his ideology into enacting and enforcing German laws. He strongly advocated the creation of laws to punish Rassenschande (“race defilement”, the Nazi term for sexual relations between “Aryans” and “inferior races”), to be classed as “racial treason”. Freisler used racist laws in the United States (“Jim Crow”) as a model for anti-Jewish legislation in Germany.
In 1939, Freisler introduced the concept of ‘precocious juvenile criminal’ in the “Juvenile Felons Decree”. This provided the legal basis for imposing the death penalty and penitentiary terms on juveniles for the first time in German history.
On July 8 1940, the Justice Ministry received a written complaint from a senior local court judge protesting against the euthanasia killings of physically or mentally disabled individuals that had claimed his wards.
Freisler met with him and explained that the ministry was establishing orderly procedures for the program with “expert committees” and “grievance councils”, but he did not dispute the legality of the killings (he apparently was not aware that they were made legal by Hitler’s written order), arguing that the Nazi state had brought about a new concept of law.
This event made him a perfect candidate to provide a legal cover for the “Holocaust Project”. On 20 January 1942, Freisler, representing his boss – acting Reichsminister of Justice Franz Schlegelberger, attended the Wannsee Conference.
The official Wannsee Protocol does not contain any comments by Freisler. Most likely, they weren’t any – discussion of legal cover for the “Holocaust Project” were almost certainly conducted in private between him and Heydrich.
On the morning of February 3, 1945, Freisler was conducting a Saturday session of the much-feared People’s Court (he served as its President since August 20, 1942) when United States Army Air Force bombers attacked Berlin.
Hearing the air raid sirens, Freisler hastily adjourned the court and ordered that the prisoners be taken to an air raid shelter, but he stayed behind to gather files before leaving. A bomb struck the court building at 11:08,[6] causing a partial internal collapse, and a masonry column came crashing down on Freisler, crushing and killing him instantly.
Scribo, ergo sum
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RolandVT
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Alfred Meyer Was an Enigma
Not Alfred Meyer per se (there was nothing enigmatic about him as an individual or as a Nazi official), but his presence at the Wannsee Conference. To put it simply: what the hell he was doing there – and why?
This is a highly valid question, because Wannsee Conference was all about “Holocaust by Gas” (more precisely, about creating the infrastructure for the latter and making it happen).
More specifically, it was all about deporting the Polish and other European Jews to SS killing centers in occupied Poland and their subsequent serial mass murder in stationary gas chambers (mobile gas chambers in Chelmno were used to mass murder almost exclusively Polish Jews).
Alfred Meyer was the deputy of Alfred Rosenberg in Ostministerium which had no jurisdiction over occupied Poland – or any other European country under German control, for that matter.
It had jurisdiction only over German-occupied territories of the Baltic states, Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia – and in those territories all Jews were destined to be mass murdered locally – by mass shootings. And were.
Still, according to Wannsee Protocol (which is trustworthy – it only omitted a lot), Alfred Meyer expressed the opinion that preparatory measures for the Final Solution should be carried out immediately in his jurisdiction (i.e., in the occupied territories of the Soviet Union).
There is only one logical explanation: Wannsee Conference was about the whole “Holocaust Project”, not just the “Holocaust by Gas”. Presence of Rudolf Lange provides evidence that, indeed, that was the case. As does presence of Georg Leibbrandt who also worked for the Ostministerium.
A conservative and a monarchist, Meyer aspired to become a Prussian military officer. However, upon graduation, he entered the University of Lausanne to study law. After one term in Lausanne, he unexpectedly received an appointment as a Fahnenjunker (cadet officer) in 1912.
He passed his officer exam and was commissioned as a Leutnant on June 16, 1913. During World War I he fought on the Western Front, earning the Iron Cross first and second class and the Wound Badge.
Promoted to Oberleutnant in June 1916, he was wounded and captured by the French in April 1917. After he was released, the downsized Reichswehr had no room for him and he left the army in October 1920 with the rank of Hauptmann.
After the war, Meyer studied jurisprudence and political science at the Universities of Bonn and Würzburg. He graduated with a PhD in 1922 and joined the legal department of a Gelsenkirchen mining firm. In 1924, he joined the local Masonic lodge – which was very strange, given that the Nazis treated Freemasons only marginally better than the Jews.
Meyer joined NSDAP in 1928, which qualified him as Alter Kämpfer (Old Fighter) … and then went into politics (happens to lawyers all the time everywhere). In November 1929, he was also elected as the only Nazi party representative to the Gelsenkirchen city council where he remained until January 1931.
His Nazi career was fast and stellar: in September 1930, Meyer was elected to the Reichstag from electoral constituency 17, North Westphalia, and on 31 January 1931, he was appointed the Gauleiter of the newly-formed Gau Westphalia-North. He also became the editor of the local Party newspaper, the Westfälische Landeszeitung Rot-Erde.
In April of 1932, he was elected to the Prussian Landtag. Following the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, Meyer was appointed to Westphalia Provincial Landtag March, becoming its president in April.
On May 16th, Adolf Hitler appointed him as the federal Reichsstatthalter (Reich Governor) of the German States of Lippe and Schaumburg-Lippe. In November 1938 he was made Oberpräsident of the Prussian Province of Westphalia, thus uniting under his control the highest party and governmental offices in his jurisdictions. He was promoted to SA-Gruppenführer in April 1936 and to SA-Obergruppenführer in November 1938.
For unknown reason (such strange transfers happened in the Reich all the time), in July of 1941 he was named Ständiger Stellvertreter (permanent deputy) to Reichsminister Alfred Rosenberg in the newly-established Ostministerium.
Meyer was responsible for the departments of politics, administration and economics (the latter included utilization of slave labor).
On April 11, 1945, Meyer committed suicide… or so it seems. In mid-May 1945, a body, decomposed beyond recognition but later determined to be Meyer, was found in Hessisch Oldendorf by the River Weser. Next to the body was a pistol and a suicide note written in his handwriting.
What really happened to him, is not known for sure; however, no one has seen him or heard about him since.
This is a highly valid question, because Wannsee Conference was all about “Holocaust by Gas” (more precisely, about creating the infrastructure for the latter and making it happen).
More specifically, it was all about deporting the Polish and other European Jews to SS killing centers in occupied Poland and their subsequent serial mass murder in stationary gas chambers (mobile gas chambers in Chelmno were used to mass murder almost exclusively Polish Jews).
Alfred Meyer was the deputy of Alfred Rosenberg in Ostministerium which had no jurisdiction over occupied Poland – or any other European country under German control, for that matter.
It had jurisdiction only over German-occupied territories of the Baltic states, Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia – and in those territories all Jews were destined to be mass murdered locally – by mass shootings. And were.
Still, according to Wannsee Protocol (which is trustworthy – it only omitted a lot), Alfred Meyer expressed the opinion that preparatory measures for the Final Solution should be carried out immediately in his jurisdiction (i.e., in the occupied territories of the Soviet Union).
There is only one logical explanation: Wannsee Conference was about the whole “Holocaust Project”, not just the “Holocaust by Gas”. Presence of Rudolf Lange provides evidence that, indeed, that was the case. As does presence of Georg Leibbrandt who also worked for the Ostministerium.
A conservative and a monarchist, Meyer aspired to become a Prussian military officer. However, upon graduation, he entered the University of Lausanne to study law. After one term in Lausanne, he unexpectedly received an appointment as a Fahnenjunker (cadet officer) in 1912.
He passed his officer exam and was commissioned as a Leutnant on June 16, 1913. During World War I he fought on the Western Front, earning the Iron Cross first and second class and the Wound Badge.
Promoted to Oberleutnant in June 1916, he was wounded and captured by the French in April 1917. After he was released, the downsized Reichswehr had no room for him and he left the army in October 1920 with the rank of Hauptmann.
After the war, Meyer studied jurisprudence and political science at the Universities of Bonn and Würzburg. He graduated with a PhD in 1922 and joined the legal department of a Gelsenkirchen mining firm. In 1924, he joined the local Masonic lodge – which was very strange, given that the Nazis treated Freemasons only marginally better than the Jews.
Meyer joined NSDAP in 1928, which qualified him as Alter Kämpfer (Old Fighter) … and then went into politics (happens to lawyers all the time everywhere). In November 1929, he was also elected as the only Nazi party representative to the Gelsenkirchen city council where he remained until January 1931.
His Nazi career was fast and stellar: in September 1930, Meyer was elected to the Reichstag from electoral constituency 17, North Westphalia, and on 31 January 1931, he was appointed the Gauleiter of the newly-formed Gau Westphalia-North. He also became the editor of the local Party newspaper, the Westfälische Landeszeitung Rot-Erde.
In April of 1932, he was elected to the Prussian Landtag. Following the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, Meyer was appointed to Westphalia Provincial Landtag March, becoming its president in April.
On May 16th, Adolf Hitler appointed him as the federal Reichsstatthalter (Reich Governor) of the German States of Lippe and Schaumburg-Lippe. In November 1938 he was made Oberpräsident of the Prussian Province of Westphalia, thus uniting under his control the highest party and governmental offices in his jurisdictions. He was promoted to SA-Gruppenführer in April 1936 and to SA-Obergruppenführer in November 1938.
For unknown reason (such strange transfers happened in the Reich all the time), in July of 1941 he was named Ständiger Stellvertreter (permanent deputy) to Reichsminister Alfred Rosenberg in the newly-established Ostministerium.
Meyer was responsible for the departments of politics, administration and economics (the latter included utilization of slave labor).
On April 11, 1945, Meyer committed suicide… or so it seems. In mid-May 1945, a body, decomposed beyond recognition but later determined to be Meyer, was found in Hessisch Oldendorf by the River Weser. Next to the body was a pistol and a suicide note written in his handwriting.
What really happened to him, is not known for sure; however, no one has seen him or heard about him since.
Scribo, ergo sum
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RolandVT
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Georg Leibbrandt Was Another Enigma
Not Georg Leibbrandt per se (there was nothing enigmatic about him as an individual or as a Nazi official), but his presence at the Wannsee Conference. To put it simply: what the hell he was doing there – and why? Especially given the fact that there was another – more senior – representative of the same office – so Leibbrandt’s presence was redundant.
This is a highly valid question, because Wannsee Conference was all about “Holocaust by Gas” (more precisely, about creating the infrastructure for the latter and making it happen).
More specifically, it was all about deporting the Polish and other European Jews to SS killing centers in occupied Poland and their subsequent serial mass murder in stationary gas chambers (mobile gas chambers in Chelmno were used to mass murder almost exclusively Polish Jews).
Georg Leibbrandt was Ministerialdirektor in Ostministerium which had no jurisdiction over occupied Poland – or any other European country under German control, for that matter.
It had jurisdiction only over German-occupied territories of the Baltic states, Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia – and in those territories all Jews were destined to be mass murdered locally – by mass shootings. And were.
Still, he was there, although the Wannsee Protocol does not include any comments or suggestions from him.
There is only one logical explanation: Wannsee Conference was about the whole “Holocaust Project”, not just the “Holocaust by Gas” and that the former was so important that Heydrich invited two representatives of Ostministerium.
Leibbrandt was born to ethnic German parents in Hoffnungstal (today, Tsebrykove, Ukraine), near Odesa, in the Russian Empire. He excelled at foreign languages, learning Greek, Latin, Russian, Ukrainian and, later, French and English. In 1918, he served as an interpreter for German occupation troops in Ukraine.
In Germany, Leibbrandt studied theology, history and philosophy at the universities of Marburg, Tübingen and Leipzig where he ultimately was awarded a doctorate in 1927.
He wrote and published a book on German emigrants which got the attention of his compatriot Alfred Rosenberg (also born in the Russian Empire), the Nazi Party’s chief ideologist who headed the Party’s Foreign Policy Office.
Rosenberg offered Leibbrandt a position of head of the Eastern Division of the APA on condition that he becomes a Party member (which made sense). In September 1933, he became one – and got the job.
After Ostministerium was established in July of 1941, Leibbrandt was appointed Hauptabteilungsleiter (Main Department Leader) of its Political Department. By January 1942, Rosenberg recommended him for a promotion to Ministerialdirektor, which took effect in May. Leibbrandt served as the Ministry’s liaison for Ukrainian, Caucasian, Russian and other groups of émigrés.
What he had to do with the Shoah (except attending Wannsee Conference which was a conspiracy to commit genocide), is unknown. Probably did, because he previously wrote numerous speeches for Rosenberg containing strong antisemitic themes, which he also incorporated into his own speeches and writings.
On October 31, 1941, Leibbrandt had sent a letter to Hinrich Lohse, the Reichskommissar for Ostland, requesting an explanation for Lohse’s order forbidding the execution of Jews in Liepāja.
After the war, Leibbrandt was arrested by the British, and was interned at the former Stalag XI-B. Released in July 1947, he was arrested again two months later and compelled to testify as a witness at the Ministries Trial of former Nazi foreign policy officials.
Interrogated by Robert Kempner, U.S. Assistant Chief Counsel, Leibbrandt said he could not remember the Wannsee Conference (how convenient), and alleged telling Rosenberg that he “did not share the lunacy” (not true).
He remained in Allied custody until he was finally released in May 1949. In January 1950, he was formally investigated for being an accessory to murder by the Nuremberg-Fürth public prosecutor’s office but the case was dismissed in August 1950. In 1951, he underwent denazification proceedings at Kiel and he was classified as Category V, “exonerated”.
He died in 1982 at the ripe old age of 82 in Bonn of natural causes.
This is a highly valid question, because Wannsee Conference was all about “Holocaust by Gas” (more precisely, about creating the infrastructure for the latter and making it happen).
More specifically, it was all about deporting the Polish and other European Jews to SS killing centers in occupied Poland and their subsequent serial mass murder in stationary gas chambers (mobile gas chambers in Chelmno were used to mass murder almost exclusively Polish Jews).
Georg Leibbrandt was Ministerialdirektor in Ostministerium which had no jurisdiction over occupied Poland – or any other European country under German control, for that matter.
It had jurisdiction only over German-occupied territories of the Baltic states, Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia – and in those territories all Jews were destined to be mass murdered locally – by mass shootings. And were.
Still, he was there, although the Wannsee Protocol does not include any comments or suggestions from him.
There is only one logical explanation: Wannsee Conference was about the whole “Holocaust Project”, not just the “Holocaust by Gas” and that the former was so important that Heydrich invited two representatives of Ostministerium.
Leibbrandt was born to ethnic German parents in Hoffnungstal (today, Tsebrykove, Ukraine), near Odesa, in the Russian Empire. He excelled at foreign languages, learning Greek, Latin, Russian, Ukrainian and, later, French and English. In 1918, he served as an interpreter for German occupation troops in Ukraine.
In Germany, Leibbrandt studied theology, history and philosophy at the universities of Marburg, Tübingen and Leipzig where he ultimately was awarded a doctorate in 1927.
He wrote and published a book on German emigrants which got the attention of his compatriot Alfred Rosenberg (also born in the Russian Empire), the Nazi Party’s chief ideologist who headed the Party’s Foreign Policy Office.
Rosenberg offered Leibbrandt a position of head of the Eastern Division of the APA on condition that he becomes a Party member (which made sense). In September 1933, he became one – and got the job.
After Ostministerium was established in July of 1941, Leibbrandt was appointed Hauptabteilungsleiter (Main Department Leader) of its Political Department. By January 1942, Rosenberg recommended him for a promotion to Ministerialdirektor, which took effect in May. Leibbrandt served as the Ministry’s liaison for Ukrainian, Caucasian, Russian and other groups of émigrés.
What he had to do with the Shoah (except attending Wannsee Conference which was a conspiracy to commit genocide), is unknown. Probably did, because he previously wrote numerous speeches for Rosenberg containing strong antisemitic themes, which he also incorporated into his own speeches and writings.
On October 31, 1941, Leibbrandt had sent a letter to Hinrich Lohse, the Reichskommissar for Ostland, requesting an explanation for Lohse’s order forbidding the execution of Jews in Liepāja.
After the war, Leibbrandt was arrested by the British, and was interned at the former Stalag XI-B. Released in July 1947, he was arrested again two months later and compelled to testify as a witness at the Ministries Trial of former Nazi foreign policy officials.
Interrogated by Robert Kempner, U.S. Assistant Chief Counsel, Leibbrandt said he could not remember the Wannsee Conference (how convenient), and alleged telling Rosenberg that he “did not share the lunacy” (not true).
He remained in Allied custody until he was finally released in May 1949. In January 1950, he was formally investigated for being an accessory to murder by the Nuremberg-Fürth public prosecutor’s office but the case was dismissed in August 1950. In 1951, he underwent denazification proceedings at Kiel and he was classified as Category V, “exonerated”.
He died in 1982 at the ripe old age of 82 in Bonn of natural causes.
Scribo, ergo sum
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RolandVT
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Rudolf Lange Was the Essence of Wannsee Conference
Reinhard Heydrich brought SS-Sturmbannführer Rudolf Lange to tell all attendees that the Wannsee Conference was about serial mass murder of Jews. Period. It is also possible that he took part in more private discussions with Heydrich and two officials of Ostministerium: Alfred Meyer and Georg Leibbrandt on “Final Solution to the Jewish Question” in the USSR via “Holocaust by Bullets”.
Lange had the necessary experience for the latter: in November-December 1941 he was involved in the planning and carrying out the murder of 24,000 Latvian Jews from the Riga. This serial mass murder has come to be known as the Rumbula massacre. In addition to the Latvian Jews, another 1,000 Jews deported from Germany were also murdered.
Rudolf Lange studied law at the University of Halle, the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and the University of Jena, ultimately obtaining Doctorate in Law (not uncommon for officers of SS death squads). While at school, he joined the antisemitic fencing fraternity, Germania, and received several dueling scars.
In September 1936, Lange was hired by the Gestapo office in Berlin. In May 1938, just after the Anschluss with Austria, Lange was transferred to the new Gestapo office in Vienna where his duties involved “fighting the internal enemies”, specifically Jews and the Catholic Church.
He was involved in the persecution of Viennese Jews, including the brutal attacks, arrests and looting of property that occurred during the Kristallnacht pogrom of November 9-10 1938.
In June of 1941, Lange joined Einsatzgruppe A and in December became the commanding officer of Einsatzkommando (EK2). At the same time, he was also made the commander of the SiPo and SD in the newly established Generalbezirk Lettland (Latvia).
Matters of formal rank and titles were never clear in the Nazi occupation regime for Latvia, as the lines of authority within agencies and the relationship between one agency and others were ambiguous, overlapping, and unclear. Nevertheless, Lange is widely recognized as one of the primary perpetrators of the Holocaust in Latvia starting from July of 1941.
Lange died on February 23, 1945 (the last day of the Battle of Poznan). According to different sources, he either died in battle or committed suicide. He is buried in the military cemetery in Poznan.
Lange had the necessary experience for the latter: in November-December 1941 he was involved in the planning and carrying out the murder of 24,000 Latvian Jews from the Riga. This serial mass murder has come to be known as the Rumbula massacre. In addition to the Latvian Jews, another 1,000 Jews deported from Germany were also murdered.
Rudolf Lange studied law at the University of Halle, the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and the University of Jena, ultimately obtaining Doctorate in Law (not uncommon for officers of SS death squads). While at school, he joined the antisemitic fencing fraternity, Germania, and received several dueling scars.
In September 1936, Lange was hired by the Gestapo office in Berlin. In May 1938, just after the Anschluss with Austria, Lange was transferred to the new Gestapo office in Vienna where his duties involved “fighting the internal enemies”, specifically Jews and the Catholic Church.
He was involved in the persecution of Viennese Jews, including the brutal attacks, arrests and looting of property that occurred during the Kristallnacht pogrom of November 9-10 1938.
In June of 1941, Lange joined Einsatzgruppe A and in December became the commanding officer of Einsatzkommando (EK2). At the same time, he was also made the commander of the SiPo and SD in the newly established Generalbezirk Lettland (Latvia).
Matters of formal rank and titles were never clear in the Nazi occupation regime for Latvia, as the lines of authority within agencies and the relationship between one agency and others were ambiguous, overlapping, and unclear. Nevertheless, Lange is widely recognized as one of the primary perpetrators of the Holocaust in Latvia starting from July of 1941.
Lange died on February 23, 1945 (the last day of the Battle of Poznan). According to different sources, he either died in battle or committed suicide. He is buried in the military cemetery in Poznan.
Scribo, ergo sum