Wannsee House and the Holocaust
Encyclopedia
Wannsee House and the Holocaust by Steven Lehrer
tells the story of the elegant suburban Berlin villa where the Wannsee Conference
took place on January 20, 1942. At that meeting, Reinhard Heydrich
announced the plans for the deportation and extermination of all Jews in German-occupied territory. This to be coordinated with the representatives from the Nazi state agencies present at the meeting.
A prosperous drug manufacturer, Ernst Marlier
, built the Wannsee Villa in 1914, but was forced to sell in 1921 because of business and legal problems. The buyer was Friedrich Minoux
, a wealthy German industrialist and partner of Hugo Stinnes
. Minoux was later convicted of swindling the Berlin Gasworks, the largest fraud of the Nazi era. From his jail cell in Berlin, Minoux sold the Wannsee Villa to the Stiftung Nordhav
, a foundation controlled by Reinhard Heydrich
, whose Berlin home was nearby. After World War II, a Holocaust survivor and historian, Joseph Wulf
, campaigned in vain to have the Wannsee Villa made into a Holocaust memorial. Bitterly frustrated, Wulf committed suicide in 1974. In 1992, the Berlin Senate finally made the Wannsee Villa into a memorial.
"The German decision to make the Wannsee House a shrine to victims is another part of the society's effort to remember its past. This book ensures that Wannsee will not be forgotten."
Steven Lehrer
Steven Lehrer is a physician and writer, known for medical research and for his English translation of Else Ury.-Early years and education:Lehrer was born in Los Angeles...
tells the story of the elegant suburban Berlin villa where the 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...
took place on January 20, 1942. At that meeting, 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...
announced the plans for the deportation and extermination of all Jews in German-occupied territory. This to be coordinated with the representatives from the Nazi state agencies present at the meeting.
A prosperous drug manufacturer, Ernst Marlier
Ernst Marlier
Ernst Ferdinand Emil Marlier was a German pharmaceutical manufacturer who built the Wannsee Villa, where the Wannsee Conference was held.-Early years:...
, built the Wannsee Villa in 1914, but was forced to sell in 1921 because of business and legal problems. The buyer was Friedrich Minoux
Friedrich Minoux
Friedrich Minoux was a German industrialist and financier who is best known for being one of the owners of the Wannsee House, where the namesake conference that would decide the fate of millions at the hands of the Nazis during World War II was held in early 1942.-Early life:Born in the Pfalz...
, a wealthy German industrialist and partner of Hugo Stinnes
Hugo Stinnes
-Life and career:Stinnes was born in Mülheim, in the Ruhr Valley, North German Confederation. His father was also named Hugo, and his grandfather Matthias Stinnes had founded a modest enterprise in Mülheim....
. Minoux was later convicted of swindling the Berlin Gasworks, the largest fraud of the Nazi era. From his jail cell in Berlin, Minoux sold the Wannsee Villa to the Stiftung Nordhav
Stiftung Nordhav
Reinhard Heydrich founded the Stiftung Nordhav in 1939 to obtain real estate for the SS.-Founding and Purpose:The name Nordhav came from an old German term for the North Sea. Heydrich established the Stiftung Nordhav on 30 July 1939. The State Secretary Wilhelm Stuckart recognized the foundation 3...
, a foundation controlled by 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...
, whose Berlin home was nearby. After World War II, a Holocaust survivor and historian, Joseph Wulf
Joseph Wulf
Joseph Wulf was a German-Polish-Jewish historian and Holocaust survivor.-Early life:...
, campaigned in vain to have the Wannsee Villa made into a Holocaust memorial. Bitterly frustrated, Wulf committed suicide in 1974. In 1992, the Berlin Senate finally made the Wannsee Villa into a memorial.
"The German decision to make the Wannsee House a shrine to victims is another part of the society's effort to remember its past. This book ensures that Wannsee will not be forgotten."