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Development of Nazi policies - Coggle Diagram
Development of Nazi policies
Impact of operation Barbarossa
22 June Hitler launch operation Barbarossa - attack on the USSR
He now fighting war he had always wanted, Victory would give control of Europe but would provide opportunity to destroy Jewish Bolshevism and win lebensraum for the German master race
Colossal stakes involved war against USSR would be brutal and uncompromising war to the death
At 1st everything went well for Hitler - forces won major battles, captured millions of prisoners and occupied huge swathes of land.
As German troops went deeper into Russia, specials units of SS and police waged murder campaign against communist officials and Jews.
This was the Prelude to the holocaust: the systematic extermination of all European Jews.
Moves towards genocide
Einsatzgruppen orders
Although commanders of group briefed by Heydrich and ken in general terms what was expected of them - precise content of orders matter of controversy
At Nuremberg trials some of leaders say given order to kill all the Jews had been given just before start of campaign by Bruno Streckenbach, but later some leaders testified that they had received no orders until sometime in august or September 1941 when Steckenbach who was thought to be dead was found in a Soviet POW camp denied giving the orders before the campaign.
Einsatzgruppen actions in June-July 1941
Complicate matters further different groups did slightly different things a different times,
Generally after entering Russian towns rounded up and shot communist leaders and jews as part of a deliberate policy of 'pacification' and in retaliation for alleged partisan attacks on German troops
Leaders had been given task of liquidating potential enemies, including jews. However June-July by no means were all men and relatively few Jewish women and children killed. This suggests that there was no pre-invasion genocide order.
New orders
2 July Heydrich issued written instructions to commanders
Leading communist officials, 'jews in the service of the party or the state' and other extremist elements, e.g. saboteurs ,propagandists and agitators were to executed and pogroms by local people encouraged
17 July Heydrich ordered that all jews among Russian prisoners were to be executed by SS
While neither of these directives of proof of the existence of genocide it shows that the Nazis attitude was hardening
Final solution was still resettlement - to somewhere in the east
Evidence that Himmler wasn’t preparing for genocide, July 1941 plan suggest while he was preparing for a brief period of killing he still envisaged massive population movement
Mass slaughter
Browning think that Hitler elated over victories in USSR give signals to carry out 'racial cleansing' in mid-July 1941- as master of all of Europe no longer worry about world opinion.
Both Heydrich and Himmler in close proximity to his headquarters between 15 and 20 July - opportunity for Hitler to have confined new orders
Event now began to gather momentum
Late July Hitler committed 2 SS brigades to help overburdened Einsatzgruppen
August Himmler travelled through much of eastern territory - in position to confirm new policy - by late August killing of Jews was on a different scale
First experiments in mass murder using gas
Because - failure to reach any terms with Britain - ruled out Madagascar plan - Nazi regional leaders disliked the ghetto solution - Nazis had to consider other options
Nazi leaders not concerned about appalling conditions within ghettos - but Nazi regional leaders in Poland complain about number of Jews being forced into these constricted areas
Some point during 1941 advantages of a programme of mass killing Jews was beginning to be favoured over mass expulsion
Himmler aware technology for mass gassing was available - already tried in Germany - euthanasia programme
At what point was the decision to murder all European Jews masse taken?
Dawidowicz agues crucial decision must have been taken between December 1940 and March 1941 - believes that Operation Barbarossa and the disorder of war would provide Hitler with cover for unchecked commission of murder for her war and the annihilation of the Jews were independent.
2 problems with her argument - 1st the preparations for systematic murder of Jews did not begin until autumn 1941 - 3 months after USSR attack - 2nd Marrus points out systematic gassing of Jews didn’t begin until March 1942 more than 2 years since war started
During the early phases of the war in the USSR - Nazis favoured mass shootings - not just Jews poles, Russians and Gypsies - this work allocated to the Einsatzgruppen
Possible that 2 decisions made about fate of Jewry, one as early as March 1941 when decision made to eliminate Soviet Jews and a second probably in Sep 1941 when further decision was taken to murder all European Jews.
Development of extermination camps
Long standing often complex historical debate about 'Final Solution' - can tend to switch the focus dangerously away from what actually happened to why it happened.
One of the significant pointers was the order to the Germany army to use ruthless and energetic measures against Jews and anti-German resisters in the USSR after the German invasion began, and especially against the political officers of the communist party. This directive that was issued by German high command on 6 June 1941 was followed by the infamous directive from Goring to Heydrich of 31 July 1941 ordering Heydrich to solve the Jewish question.
Behind the German lines Einsatzgruppen finding the crude method of mass shootings an unsatisfactory one as always Himmler receptive to the sensitivities of his men. By Sept 1941 Einsatzgruppen C in possession of a truck that used exhaust gasses to kill its victims - Eichmann was recommending the use of carbon monoxide with which to gas people while they were taking showers.
More efficient methods were available to the Nazis by the autumn of 1941.
With technology decided upon - remained to find sites for mass gassings
1st death camp built at Chelmno in Poland - Gassing of jews began on 8 Dec 1941 - using exhausts from vans
At around same time gas trucks were also used to kill Jews in Semlin, Siberia after the German army had been 'embarrassingly' efficient in rounding up local Jews. The next death camp at Belzec again in Poland, was operational in Feb 1942 and the momentum of mass murder built up in that year with the opening of death camps at Sobibor, Majdanek and Treblinka all in Poland.