What does the term “Final Solution” mean and what is its origin?
The term “Final Solution” (Endlosung) refers to Germany’s plan to murder all the Jews of Europe. The term was used at the Wannsee Conference (Berlin; January 20,1942) where German officials discussed its implementation. • Question: When did the “Final Solution” actually begin? While thousands of Jews were murdered by the Nazis or died as a direct result of discriminatory measures instituted against Jews during the initial years of the Third Reich, the systematic murder of Jews did not begin until the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. • Question: How did the Germans define who was Jewish? On November 14, 1935, the Nazis issued the following definition of a Jew: Anyone with three Jewish grandparents; someone with two Jewish grandparents who belonged to the Jewish community on September 15, 1935, or joined thereafter; was married to a Jew or Jewess on September 15, 1935, or married one thereafter; was the offspring of a marriage or extramarital liaison with a Jew on or aft
