The Einsatzgruppen were responsible for murdering well
over a million people after the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. This
method of killing was considered too slow by the Nazi leadership. They were
also concerned about the effects it had on the soldiers and SS taking part in
the shooting. This was when gassing methods were developed.
A conference about the ‘Final Solution’ took place at Wannsee (a suburb
of Berlin) in January 1942. Its purpose was to inform government officials of
their role in the destruction of the Jews. Their aim was to kill all 11 million
Jews throughout Europe, including the 330,000 living in England.
One of the concerning aspects of this whole tragedy is how ordinary people in
society became involved, either directly, or as facilitators of this systematic
mass murder of their fellow human beings.
Poster
found in one of the camps, quoting from a speech made in the Reichstag by Hitler
before the war in January 1939. It reads:
“If the international Jewish financiers once again start a World War...the
result will be the annihilation of the Jews in Europe.”
