House of the Wannsee Conference
Memorial and Educational Site


Memorial Site House of the Wannsee Conference   Memorial Site House of the Wannsee Conference   Exhibit room 9 "The Wannsee Conference"   The participants    Memorial Site House of the Wannsee Conference


 

Exhibition

Special exhibits

Texts about the Conference

Residential villa areas in
Wannsee, 1870-1945

 

Education

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Newsletter (in German)

Joseph Wulf Library

History of the House

Garden Marlier

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The Historical Site

 

In this house – a former industrialist’s villa built in 1914-15 and used from 1941 to 1945 by the SS as a conference centre and guest house – on 20 January 1942, fifteen high-ranking representatives of the SS, the NSDAP [Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei] and various ministries met to discuss their cooperation in the planned deportation and murder of the European Jews.

The SS representatives reported to the state secretaries present on the murder campaigns which had been carried out by German Einsatzgruppen in the Soviet Union since August 1941 and on the killing methods already in use.

 

 
Note: The Memorial Site is closed on 24 May 2012 till 1.00 p.m. !
 
 

 

What is today referred to as the "Wannsee Conference" was chaired by Reinhard Heydrich, Head of the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA). His deportation expert Adolf Eichmann drew up a protocol of the meeting, which was found in 1947 in the foreign ministry files. The Wannsee Protocol documents with alarming clarity the plan to murder all European Jews and the active participation of Germany’s public administration in this genocide.

 

 

►   The Wannsee Conference, January 20, 1942

 

►   Documents to the Wannsee Conference

 

•  Authorization letter of Hermann Göring to Reinhard Heydrich, July 31, 1941



 


Letters of invitation by Heydrich to the Conference:

 

to Martin Luther, Foreign Office of November 29, 1941 (in German) and of January 8, 1942 (in English)

to Otto Hofmann, Race and Settlement Main Office of November 29, 1941 (in English)
   and of
January 8, 1942 (in German)


 


  Letter in reply: Hofmann to Heydrich, December 4, 1941

 

 


 

  "Requests and ideas of the Foreign Office in connection with the intend final
    solution of the Jewish question in Europe
"
,
Memorandum for Understatesecretary Martin Luther for the meeting,
    December 9, 1941
 


 




 

  The participants of the Conference (pdf-file)

  Organigram of the participants at the Conference  (pdf-file: 206 KB)

 


 

•  Protocol of the Wannsee Conference
         
     text version

                pdf-file
         
      German original (*pdf-files)


 

  Circular by Heydrich about the beginning of the "Final solution of the Jewish question" of January 25, 1942 (in German)

 

•  Letter by Heydrich to the Head of the SS Personal Main Office SS Gruppenführer Schmitt, January 25, 1942 conc.
   "Final solution of the Jewish question" (in German)
 

  Letter by Heydrich to the Higher SS and Police leader state secretary Frank concerning the "Final solution of the Jewish
   question"
, January 25, 1942

 

  "Geheim-Schnellbrief" Eichmanns conc. "Evacuation of Jew" 31 january 1942 (in German)
 

•  Letter by Heydrich to Luther (Foreign Office) of February 26, 1942 in connection with sending the minutes of the
   conference
      
colour    (pdf-file: 399 KB)        black/white    (pdf-file: 174 KB)
 

  Note of the commander in chief of the security police and SD in Riga concerning the distribution of the copies, March 2, 1942.

 

•  Minutes of the first conference after the Wannsee Conference at the Reich
   Security Main Office [RSHA], March 6, 1942    

page 1    (63 KB)

page 4    (105 KB)   page 7    (97 KB)

page 2    (74 KB)  

page 5    (111 KB) page 8    (106 KB)

page 3    (98 KB) 

page 6    (113 KB) page 9    (90 KB)


• 
Note by Legationsrat Franz Rademacher, "Judenreferent" (Foreign Office, Dept. D III) to Understatesecretary
   Martin Luther, of March 7, 1942 conc. the treatment of the Jewish question (in German).
 

  Letter by Dr Franz Schlegelberger, acting Reichsminister of Justice, April 5, 1942 conc. "Final solution of the Jewish
    question
" (in German)
 

•  Letter by Rademacher, Foreign Office,  conc. "Future measures against Mischlinge I. and II. grades", June 11, 1942
 

Testimony of Adolf Eichmann about the Wannsee Conference and the methods to kill (Court trial, July 1961; audio-text in German:  7 min. 4 sec., mp3)
 
Testimony of Adolf Eichmann on the chain of command when the genocide began (Court trial, July 1961; audio-text in German:  4 min. 29 sec., mp3)
 
Testimony of Adolf Eichmann about his ordering as transport expert to Berlin (Court trial, May 1961; audio-text in German:  3 min. 46 sec, mp3)

 

•  Letter by Robert Kempner about the finding of the protocol
   (Frankfurt, January19, 1992)
(in German)
 


 

 
  Opening times

 Permanent exhibit:
 daily 10.00 a.m. - 6.00 p.m.
 except:

     Good Friday, May 1st, Ascension Day, October 3rd, December 24-26,              
     December 31st, January 1st

 Library:
 mo - fr 10.00 a.m. - 6.00 p.m.
 except:

     Good Friday, May 1st, Ascension Day, October 3rd, December 24-26,              
     December 31st, January 1st
 


- advance booking required for groups -

The entrance to the Memorial Site is free, but some events and special exhibitions have an admission charge.

The Educational Department offers group tours (in several languages), seminars and study days.
A guided tour and the participation at seminars or study days costs 2,00 EURO per adult with own income. Pupils, trainees and students are free of charge.

Groups of more than 10 are asked to book in advance with the secretariat (secretariat@ghwk.de).

All rooms of the exhibit and the library are wheelchair accessible.

 

update: April, 24, 2012 Imprint Besucherzähler  homepage

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