Deportations to the East
The following letter written by Franz Rademacher in February of 1942 is important for its clarity regarding the Nazi “final solution” of the Jewish question. Allied propaganda has enforced a sinister definition of the term “final solution” for over fifty years. In this document a number of points are made perfectly clear:
- The “final solution” was to be a plan for deportation to the island of Madagascar.
- Gruppenführer Heydrich was ordered by Hitler to carry out the “final solution.”
- Due to the war with the Soviet Union, the “final solution” was redefined from deportations to Madagascar to deportations to the east.
Richard A. Widmann
Letter by Franz Rademacher, Head of AA Referat D III (Jewish Affairs), to Harold Bielfeld, Head of AA Pol. X (Africa and Colonial Affairs), February 10, 1942.
In August 1940 I gave you for your files the plan for the final solution of the Jewish Problem, drafted by my office, for which purpose the Madagascar Island was to be demanded from France in the Peace Treaty, while the Reich Security Main Office was to be charged with the actual execution of the task. In accordance with the plan, Gruppenführer Heydrich has been ordered by the Führer to carry out the solution of the Jewish Problem in Europe.
In the meantime the war against the Soviet Union has offered the possibility of putting other territories at our disposal for the final solution. The Führer accordingly has decided that the Jews shall not be deported to Madagascar but to the East. Therefore it is no longer necessary that Madagascar be taken into consideration for the final solution.
Sources
- Akten zur Deutschen Auswärtigen Politik 1918-1945, Series E, vol. I, p. 403.
- Herbert A. Strauss, General Editor, “Jewish Immigrants of the Nazi Period in the USA,” Jewish Emigration from Germany 1933-1942: A Documentary History, Vol. 4, K.G. Saur, New York 1992, p. 647.
Author
Bibliographic information about this document: Akten zur Deutschen Auswärtigen Politik 1918-1945, Series E, vol. I, p. 403.
Other contributors to this document:
Editor’s comments: Taken from: Herbert A. Strauss, General Editor, "Jewish Immigrants of the Nazi Period in the USA" Vol. 4 - Jewish Emigration from Germany 1933-1942: A Documentary History, K.G. Saur, New York 1992, p. 647