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The '''Wannsee Conference''' took place in the [[Berlin]] suburb of Wannsee, [[Germany]] in late January 1942 during [[World War II]]. It was called to announce and coordinate secret plans with several high-level [[Nazi]] ministers and functionaries the implementation of the [[Holocaust]], or the attempt to murder all [[European]] [[Jews]].<ref>http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/holocaust/h-wannsee.htm</ref> The conference was chaired by [[Reinhard Heydrich]], SS Reichfuhrer [[Heinrich Himmler]]'s chief deputy. Heydrich had been commissioned by Reichmarshall [[Hermann Göring]] in late July 1941,<ref>Göring had been designated [[Hitler]]'s successor after deputy Fuhrer [[Rudolf Hess]]'s flight to [[England]] in May 1941, hence the order from Göring was interpreted to mean the Reich Marshall outranked the Reich Fuhrer in the Nazi hierarchy, although the Fuhrer outranked a Field Marshall in the regular German military.</ref> shortly after the commencement of [[Operation Barbarossa]], the invasion of the Soviet Republics of [[Ukraine]], [[Belarus]], [[Russia]], the [[Baltic states]] and [[Caucuses]], to formulate a "Final Solution to the Jewish Question". Heydrich and his chief assistant, [[Adolf Eichmann]], had worked out plans with many details between July 1941 and January 1942, or between the time Hitler violated the [[Molotov-Ribbentrop pact]] by invading the [[Soviet Union]], and Hitler's declaration of war against the [[United States]] following the [[Japanese]] attack on [[Pearl Harbor]] which brought about a general state of world war. Documentation of what was discussed at the secret conference survived the war in the form of minutes transcribed by Eichmann. 

The '''Wannsee Conference''' took place in the [[Berlin]] suburb of Wannsee, [[Germany]] in late January 1942 during [[World War II]]. It was called to announce and coordinate secret plans with several high-level [[Nazi]] ministers and functionaries the implementation of the [[Holocaust]], or the attempt to murder all [[European]] [[Jews]].<ref>http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/holocaust/h-wannsee.htm</ref> The conference was chaired by [[Reinhard Heydrich]], SS Reichfuhrer [[Heinrich Himmler]]'s chief deputy. Heydrich had been commissioned by Reichmarshall [[Hermann Göring]] in late July 1941,<ref>Göring had been designated [[Hitler]]'s successor after deputy Fuhrer [[Rudolf Hess]]'s flight to [[England]] in May 1941, hence the order from Göring was interpreted to mean the Reich Marshall outranked the Reich Fuhrer in the Nazi hierarchy, although the Fuhrer outranked a Field Marshall in the regular German military.</ref> shortly after the commencement of [[Operation Barbarossa]], the invasion of the Soviet Republics of [[Ukraine]], [[Belarus]], [[Russia]], the [[Baltic states]] and [[Caucuses]], to formulate a "Final Solution to the Jewish Question".  

Having driven most Jews out of Germany in the pre-war years, only about 36,000 remained. With the invasions of [[Poland]] and [[Western Europe]], the Nazi occupying forces considered themselves challenged once again with administering territories with large Jewish populations, not only of native populations but many Jewish refugees from Germany in the 1930s. Additionally, Eichmann calculated that 11 million [[Jews]] lived in the Soviet Republics which the Germans had invaded to create ''[[Lebensraum]]'' (living room or living space).  

 

Having driven most Jews out of Germany in the pre-war years, only about 36,000 remained. With the invasions of [[Poland]] and [[Western Europe]], the Nazi regime considered itself challenged once again with administering territories with large Jewish populations, not only of populations with Jews resident in those occupied territories but also many Jewish refugees from Germany in the 1930s. Additionally, Eichmann calculated that 11 million [[Jews]] lived in the Soviet Republics which the Germans had invaded to create ''[[Lebensraum]]'' (living room or living space).  

The conference itself did not take very long, highlighting the eagerness and willingness of the Nazis to carry out the [[Holocaust]].

The conference itself did not take very long, highlighting the eagerness and willingness of the Nazis to carry out the [[Holocaust]].