2021 - September - Berlin - Memorial Site - Haus der Wannsee Conference

The place is stunningly beautiful. Of course, it is beautiful because we are in a prime location on the banks of Lake Wannsee and the place is a villa. But even in the most beautiful places in the world, terrible things can be decided.

What we now know as the 'Wannsee Conference' was a meeting of 15 high-ranking SS officials and members of the Nazi government on January 20, 1942. The meeting was chaired by SS-Gruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich, and the reason for this gathering was the organization of the 'Final Solution to the Jewish Question'. What does that mean? It was about the complete extermination of the Jewish population in Europe (and to some extent beyond).

But let's not fool ourselves: The Wannsee Conference was not the beginning of this 'project', it was only the tip of the iceberg. Because anyone who thinks that the systematic murder of the Jews did not begin until this day is mistaken. There were already major efforts to expel, expropriate and, since the invasion of the Soviet Union, mass murders, including of Jews.

However, the Wannsee Conference was intended to organize the deportation of the Jewish population to the East and accelerate their extermination.

The documents related to this can be found in a file that miraculously was not destroyed by the Nazis shortly before the end of the war. Instead, these transcripts were found and analyzed by the Americans. It was only because of the conference location, on Lake Wannsee, that the meeting subsequently became known as the Wannsee Conference.

But it took a total of 50 years for the place to become a memorial site. It was not until 1992 that it was opened.

Already when entering the garden of the villa, there are excerpts from the minutes of the meeting on January 20, 1942. They are displayed on large panels outdoors, next to photos of the participants. The written words are so poignant and at the same time repulsive that they left an enormous impression on me, at least.

It is worth visiting this place for anyone. It is important and should not be forgotten.

For those who are looking for some relaxation after this admittedly heavy subject matter, I recommend visiting the Max Liebermann Villa a few hundred meters away. What you can admire there, you can read here....

https://vakantio.de/reisetante/2021-september-berlin-max-liebermann-villa