Nazi Regime
Hitler was appointed as the Chancellor of Germany in 1932, but very quickly rose to obtain ultimate authority in Germany.
The Enabling Act gave Hitler full authority over the government. This turned out to be a crucial event, as Hitler was able to effectively eliminate any opposing political party within the German government. By July of 1933, the Nazi party had ultimate authority over Germany.
Energized by this, Hitler turned his attention not only toward the complete rule over Germany, but the rest of Europe. His quest for world domination was only beginning. It is very important to know that Hitler was not alone in this. Below are some tidbits of his closest partners.
Hover over each box for information
Heinrich Himmler
Hitler's Second Hand Man
Heinrich Himmler
The main leader of the military arm of the Nazi Party, and the assistant chief of the Gestapo (the secret police). Himmler was able over time to consolidate his control over all police forces of the Reich.
The power he would ultimately wield would rival that of the German army; it would also prove highly effective in eliminating all opposition to Hitler and the party, as well as in carrying out the Fuhrer’s Final Solution.
Reinhard Heydrich
"The Butcher of Prague"
Reinard Heydrich
Also known as "The Hangman," he was one of the most brutal figures in Nazi Germany.
Reinhard Heydrich was one of the main architects of the “Final Solution.” He was chief of Security, the SS, and the police agency most directly concerned with implementing the Nazi plan.
Adolf Eichmann
"The Final Solution Creator"
Adolf Eichmann
Eichmann steadily rose in the military hierarchy, and he was sent to Vienna with the mission of ridding the city of Jews. He set up an efficient Jewish deportment center and in 1939 was sent to Prague on a similar mission.
In January 1942, Eichmann met with top Nazi officials for the purpose of planning a “final solution of the Jewish question." The Nazis decided to exterminate Europe’s Jewish population.
"The Final Solution"
Eichmann was appointed to coordinate the identification, assembly, and transportation of millions of Jews from occupied Europe to the Nazi death camps, where Jews were gassed or worked to death. He carried this duty out with horrifying efficiency, and between three to four million Jews perished in the extermination camps. Close to 2 million were executed elsewhere.
To put it simply, the "Final Solution" was the laid out plan to bring an organized approach to "eliminating" Jews throughout all of Europe as efficient as possible. The three people that are highlighted on this page (Eichmann, Himmler, Heydrich) played a huge role in putting the plan in place for a "mass extermination."
The entire intention of this is to show how Nazi Germany was organized, driven, and collaborative amongst each other when it came to laying out plans for such a horrific event. Adolf Hitler was not alone. It took a large group of deeply committed people to carry out the "Nazi Mission."
But Why..? How Could This Happen?
Citations:
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/eichmann-captured
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/himmler_heinrich.shtml
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/himmler-commits-suicide
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/reinhard-heydrich-in-depth
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/reinhard-heydrich-bio
https://www.ushmm.org/information/exhibitions/museum-exhibitions/permanent/final-solution-1940-to-1945
http://auschwitz.org/en/history/before-the-extermination/the-final-solution
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/first-moments-hitlers-final-solution-180961387/