Reich Chancellery meeting of 12 December 1941
Encyclopedia
The Reich Chancellery meeting of 12 December 1941 was a meeting between Adolf Hitler
and the highest ranking officials of the Nazi party. Almost all important party leaders were present, to hear Hitler declare the imminent destruction of the Jewish race; yet it remains less known than the later Wannsee Conference
.
and Gauleiter
refers to an earlier statement he had made on 30 January 1939:
"If the world of international financial Jewry, both in and outside of Europe, should succeed in plunging the Nations into another world war, the result will not be the Bolshevization of the world and thus a victory for Judaism. The result will be the extermination of the Jewish race in Europe."
With the entry of Japan
and the United States
into the Second World War on 7 December 1941 and the declaration of war on the US by Nazi Germany
on 11 December, the war, especially in regard to the above statement, had become truly a World War.
Adolf Hitler announced this declaration of war on 11 December in the German Reichstag
, a speech broadcast on radio as well.
The next day, in the afternoon of 12 December 1941, he had a meeting with the most important Nazi leaders.
. Because the meeting took place in private rooms rather than Hitler's office, no official record of it exists. However, entries in the diaries of Goebbels and Frank confirm it.
Joseph Goebbels
noted Hitler's words in his records:
Apart from the fact that the "European war" had turned into a "World War", another reason for this shift must been seen in the fact that the entry of the USA into the war meant that the Jewish population had lost its value for Hitler as hostages against this war entry and he was finally free to act according to his long-term plans.
The much more well-known Wannsee Conference
in January 1942, was the next step along the Nazis plans to exterminate the Jews. However, unlike this meeting, it was mostly attended by senior bureaucrats. It also undermines claims that Hitler was ignorant of The Holocaust
and that it was carried out by subordinates without his knowledge.
The meeting marked a turning point in the Nazi regime's attitude towards the Jewish people. It was part of a shift from propaganda, intimidation and attacks to outright and planned extermination. The latter step had already been taken in some parts of Eastern Europe
as early as September 1941.
Known to have been absent from this meeting were Hermann Göring
, who held no party office, and Reinhard Heydrich
.
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and the highest ranking officials of the Nazi party. Almost all important party leaders were present, to hear Hitler declare the imminent destruction of the Jewish race; yet it remains less known than the later Wannsee Conference
Wannsee Conference
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. The purpose of the conference was to inform administrative leaders of Departments responsible for various policies relating to Jews, that Reinhard Heydrich...
.
Background
The announcement Hitler made on 12 December to the ReichsleiterReichsleiter
Reichsleiter , was the second highest political rank of the NSDAP next only to the office of Führer. Reichsleiter also served as a paramilitary rank, for the Nazi Party and was the highest position attainable in any Nazi-Organisation.The Reichsleiter reported directly to Adolf Hitler, in whose...
and Gauleiter
Gauleiter
A Gauleiter was the party leader of a regional branch of the NSDAP or the head of a Gau or of a Reichsgau.-Creation and Early Usage:...
refers to an earlier statement he had made on 30 January 1939:
"If the world of international financial Jewry, both in and outside of Europe, should succeed in plunging the Nations into another world war, the result will not be the Bolshevization of the world and thus a victory for Judaism. The result will be the extermination of the Jewish race in Europe."
With the entry of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
into the Second World War on 7 December 1941 and the declaration of war on the US by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
on 11 December, the war, especially in regard to the above statement, had become truly a World War.
Adolf Hitler announced this declaration of war on 11 December in the German Reichstag
Reichstag (Weimar Republic)
The Reichstag was the parliament of Weimar Republic .German constitution commentators consider only the Reichstag and now the Bundestag the German parliament. Another organ deals with legislation too: in 1867-1918 the Bundesrat, in 1919–1933 the Reichsrat and from 1949 on the Bundesrat...
, a speech broadcast on radio as well.
The next day, in the afternoon of 12 December 1941, he had a meeting with the most important Nazi leaders.
The meeting
On the afternoon of 12 December 1941, Hitler ordered the leading members of the Nazi party to a meeting in his private rooms at the Reich ChancelleryReich Chancellery
The Reich Chancellery was the traditional name of the office of the Chancellor of Germany in the period of the German Reich from 1871 to 1945...
. Because the meeting took place in private rooms rather than Hitler's office, no official record of it exists. However, entries in the diaries of Goebbels and Frank confirm it.
Joseph Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
noted Hitler's words in his records:
Apart from the fact that the "European war" had turned into a "World War", another reason for this shift must been seen in the fact that the entry of the USA into the war meant that the Jewish population had lost its value for Hitler as hostages against this war entry and he was finally free to act according to his long-term plans.
The much more well-known Wannsee Conference
Wannsee Conference
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. The purpose of the conference was to inform administrative leaders of Departments responsible for various policies relating to Jews, that Reinhard Heydrich...
in January 1942, was the next step along the Nazis plans to exterminate the Jews. However, unlike this meeting, it was mostly attended by senior bureaucrats. It also undermines claims that Hitler was ignorant of The Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
and that it was carried out by subordinates without his knowledge.
The meeting marked a turning point in the Nazi regime's attitude towards the Jewish people. It was part of a shift from propaganda, intimidation and attacks to outright and planned extermination. The latter step had already been taken in some parts of Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
as early as September 1941.
Attendance
Attendance in this meeting was obligatory for Nazis in high party offices. No official list of the people who attended this meeting exists, but the following leaders of Nazi Germany, out of the about 50 present, are known to have been there:- Adolf HitlerAdolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
- Heinrich HimmlerHeinrich HimmlerHeinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
- Joseph GoebbelsJoseph GoebbelsPaul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
- Martin BormannMartin BormannMartin Ludwig Bormann was a prominent Nazi official. He became head of the Party Chancellery and private secretary to Adolf Hitler...
- Hans FrankHans FrankHans Michael Frank was a German lawyer who worked for the Nazi party during the 1920s and 1930s and later became a high-ranking official in Nazi Germany...
Known to have been absent from this meeting were Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
, who held no party office, and Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich , also known as The Hangman, was a high-ranking German Nazi official.He was SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei, chief of the Reich Main Security Office and Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia...
.
Sources
- Approaches to Auschwitz: The Holocaust and Its Legacy by Richard L. Rubenstein and John K. Roth, publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
- The Holocaust: Critical Concepts in Historical Studies by David CesaraniDavid CesaraniDavid Cesarani OBE is an English historian who specialises in Jewish history, especially the Holocaust. He has also written several biographies, notably Arthur Koestler: The Homeless Mind.-Early life:...
and Sarah Kavanaugh, publisher: RoutledgeRoutledgeRoutledge is a British publishing house which has operated under a succession of company names and latterly as an academic imprint. Its origins may be traced back to the 19th-century London bookseller George Routledge...
, 2004, ISBN 9780415275095 - The Holocaust History Project - December 12, 1941 by Götz AlyGötz AlyGötz Aly is a German journalist, historian and social scientist.-Biography:After attending the German School of Journalists, Aly studied history and political science in Berlin...
and Christian Gerlach, translated from an article on 13 December 1997 in the Berliner ZeitungBerliner ZeitungThe Berliner Zeitung, founded in 1945, is a German center-left daily newspaper based in Berlin, published by Berliner Verlag. It is the only East German paper to achieve national prominence since unification. In 2003, the Berliner was Berlin's largest subscription newspaper—the weekend...
External links
- Yad Vashem website The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority
- Hitler's Genocide Order: 5 Days After Pearl Harbor? The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
- article on the German historian Christian Gerlach's research on the Reich Chancellery meeting of 12 December 1941