The Villa, The Lake, The Meeting: Wannsee And The Final Solution

At a villa on the shore of the Wannsee, a lake in suburban Berlin, on 20th January 1942 one of the most terrible meetings in human history convened. Chaired by Reinhard Heydrich and organised and minuted by Adolf Eichmann, it brought together representatives of all the principal Nazi agencies in eastern Europe.

The conference was born of frustration with the clumsy, chaotic way in which Jews were being killed and the amateurish mix of methods used. Pooling the expertise of those present, Heydrich created the plan that would let Europe "be combed through from west to east" for Jews and which would put the Final Solution on a rational and industrial footing.