Western Civilization II / Unit 17 WC2 1623 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Gas Vans, Zyklon B, and Wannsee
Captions available
The idea
In late nineteen forty-one the leadership chose murder. Himmler ordered experiments: gas vans with carbon monoxide, then Zyklon B tested on Soviet prisoners at Auschwitz. In January forty-two at Wannsee the Final Solution was coordinated: work Europe's Jews to death or exterminate them.
In practice
Eichmann's memo: the Jews "can no longer be fed".
Where people slip
Auschwitz opened forty, Majdanek forty-one; the anchor says forty.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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