Operation Reinhard (Aktion Reinhard, Einsatz Reinhard, Aktion Reinhardt or Einsatz Reinhardt in German) was the code name given to the Nazi plan to murder Polish Jews in the former General Government and rob their possessions. During the operation, about 1.700.000 people were murdered, most of them Jews. Child survivors of the Holocaust before their liberation The Holocaust is the name applied to the systematic state-sponsored persecution and genocide of various ethnic, religious and political groups during World War II by Nazi Germany and collaborators. ... Raul Hilberg, a well-known historian of the Holocaust, identified four distinct Phases of the Holocaust. ... The racial policy of Nazi Germany was the set of rascist policies and laws implemented by Nazi Germany primarily against Jews. ... This poster reads: This person suffering from hereditary defects costs the community of the people 60,000 Reichsmark during his lifetime. ... Concentration camp in Nazi Germany. ... The following is a list of German concentration camps during World War II. are marked with pink, while major concentration camps of are marked with blue. ... German Jews have lived in Germany and contributed to German culture for over 1700 years, through both periods of tolerance and spasms of anti-Semitic violence, culminating in the Holocaust and the destruction of the Jewish community in Germany and much of Europe. ... A pogrom (from Russian: погром, meaning wreaking of havoc; in Russian гром means thunder) is a massive violent attack on a particular group; ethnic, religious or other, with simultaneous destruction of their environment (homes, businesses, religious centers). ... Die Kristallnacht, also known as die Reichskristallnacht (literally Imperial Crystal Night), die Pogromnacht and in English as the Night of Broken Glass, was a massive nationwide pogrom in Germany and Austria on the night of November 9, 1938 (including early hours of the following day). ... The IaÅŸi pogrom of June 27, 1941 was one of the most violent pogroms in Jewish history, launched by governmental forces in the Romanian city of IaÅŸi against its Jewish population, resulting in the brutal mass-murder of 13,266 Jews. ... The Massacre in Jedwabne or Jedwabne Pogrom was an event in June, 1941, during World War II where most of the Jewish population of the Polish village of Jedwabne was massacred, many of them burned alive, by their non-Jewish neighbors. ... Lviv is a city in western Ukraine, the capital city of the Lviv Oblast (province) and one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine. ... The name ghetto refers to an area where people from a given ethnic background or united in a given culture or religion live as a group, voluntarily or involuntarily, in milder or stricter seclusion. ... The Ghetto Heroes Memorial The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of the Jewish ghettos established by Nazi Germany in General Government during the Holocaust in World War II. In the three years of its existence, starvation, disease and deportations to concentration camps and extermination camps dropped the population of the... The Łódź Ghetto was the second-largest ghetto (after the Warsaw Ghetto) established for Jews in Nazi-occupied Poland. ... Deportation of Jews from the Kraków Ghetto, March 1943 The Jewish ghetto in Kraków (Cracow) was one of the five main ghettos created by the Nazis during their occupation of Poland during World War II. It was a staging point to begin dividing able workers from those who... Fortress plan, 1869 Terezín (German: Theresienstadt) is name of former military fortress and garrison town in Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. ... Einsatzgruppen (a German military term meaning mission groups, loosely translated as Task Force) were semi-military groups formed in Nazi Germany before and during World War II. These death squads belonged to the SS and followed the Wehrmacht in their attacks first on Poland and then the Soviet Union. ... The massacre at Babi Yar Babi Yar, Russian: , (Ukrainian: , Babyn Yar) is the name of a ravine situated in the Ukrainian city of Kiev. ... Rumbula Forest is a pine forest enclave in Riga, Latvia. ... Paneriai (Polish Ponary, German Ponaren) is a suburb of Vilnius, some 10 kilometres away from the city centre. ... The Odessa Massacre was the extermination of Jews and Communists in Odessa during the autumn of 1941. ... In a February 26, 1942 letter to Martin Luther (diplomat), Reinhard Heydrich follows up on the Wannsee Conference by asking Luther for administrative assistance in the implementation of the Endlösung der Judenfrage (Final Solution of the Jewish Question). ... The Wannsee Conference was the discussion by a group of Nazi officials about the Final Solution of the Jewish Question (Endlösung der Judenfrage). ... Operation Reinhard (Aktion Reinhard or Einsatz Reinhard) was the code name given to the Nazi plan to murder Polish Jews in the former General Gouvernement and the Bialystok area. ... Majdanek - crematorium Extermination camp (German Vernichtungslager) was the term applied to a group of death camps set up by Nazi Germany during World War II for the express purpose of killing the Jews of Europe, although members of some other groups whom the Nazis wished to exterminate, such as Roma... CheÅ‚mno concentration camp was a Nazi extermination camp that was situated 70 km from Łódź near a small village CheÅ‚mno nad Nerem (Kulmhof an der Nehr, in German), in Greater Poland (which was, in 1939, annexed and incorporated into Germany under the name of Reichsgau Wartheland). ... Belzec was the first of the Nazi German extermination camps created for implementing Operation Reinhard during the Holocaust. ... Sobibór was a Nazi extermination camp that was part of Operation Reinhard. ... Treblinka was an extermination camp operated by the Nazis as part of the Holocaust, the systematic murder of Jews and others. ... Auschwitz is the name loosely used to identify three main Nazi German concentration camps and 45-50 sub-camps. ... Other languages FAQs | Table free Welcome to Wikipedia, the free-content encyclopedia that anyone can edit. ... Å»ydowski ZwiÄ…zek Walki (Å»ZW, Polish for Jewish Fighting Union) was an underground organisation operating during World War II in the area of Warsaw Ghetto and fighting during Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. ... Ghetto Uprising refers to an armed struggle by people incarcerated in German Ghettos during World War II against the plans to resettle all the inhabitants to concentration and death camps. ... SS men burning houses The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, sometimes called the Warsaw Uprising 1943, was a Jewish insurrection in Polands Warsaw Ghetto against Nazi Germany during World War II. 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Gypsy arrivals in the Belzec death camp await instructions The Porajmos (also Porrajmos) literally Devouring, is a term coined by the Roma (Gypsy) people to describe attempts by the Nazi regime to exterminate most of the Roma peoples of Europe during the Holocaust. ... The German word Gleichschaltung listen ( ♫) (literally synchronising, synchronization) is used in a political sense to describe the process by which the Nazi regime successively established a system of totalitarian control over the individual, and tight coordination over all aspects of society and commerce. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... Once vibrant Eldorado gay night club in Berlin after being shut down, displaying banners promoting Hitler List 1. Prior to the Third Reich, Berlin was considered a liberal city, with many gay bars, nightclubs and cabarets. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... â–¶(?) (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945) was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 and Führer und Reichskanzler (Leader and Chancellor) of Germany from 1934 to his death. ... Adolf Eichmann, Germany 1940 Photo from United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Photo Archives. ... Heinrich Himmler â–¶(?) (October 7, 1900 – May 23, 1945) was the commander of the German Schutzstaffel (SS) and one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany. ... The infamous double-sig rune SS insignia. ... The Deaths Head emblem, often used as the insignia of the Gestapo The (?) (acronym of Geheime Staatspolizei; secret state police) was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. ... 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There are many famous Holocaust survivors who survived the Nazi genocides in Europe only to go on to achievements of great fame and notability. ... This is a list of people who helped victims to escape from the Nazi Holocaust during World War II, often called rescuers. The list is not exhaustive, concentrating on famous cases, or people who saved the lives of many potential victims. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Nazism. ... The General Government (in full General government for the occupied Polish areas, in German Generalgouvernement für die besetzten polnischen Gebiete) was the name given by Germany to the governing authority in Poland after its occupation by the Wehrmacht in September and October 1939. ...

Overview

It is hypothesized that the operation was named in memory of SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich, the coordinator of the Endlösung der Judenfrage (Final Solution of the Jewish Question) - the extermination of the Jews living in the European countries occupied by the German Wehrmacht during the Second World War. After the plans for the Final Solution were laid down at the Wannsee conference, Heydrich was attacked by members of the Czech underground resistance on May 27, 1942. He died of his injuries eight days later. This hypothesis has been disputed by some researchers, who argue that since the more mainstream designation of the operation was "Aktion Reinhardt" (with "t" after "d"), it could not have been named after Reinhard Heydrich. They argue that it has been named after State Secretary of Finance Fritz Reinhardt. But in many official documents Heydrich's name was written as "Reinhardt" [1]. And historians Witte and Tyas concluded: "...The only interesting reference to the Reich Ministry of Finance to be found in the archives of the IfZ is a Declaration on Oath by Bruno Melmer, Nürnberg, 11th February 1948 (NG-4983). Fritz Reinhardt is not mentioned at all. Another serious problem is that Melmer reported important events for May 1942 which actually took place in mid-August 1942. It will be difficult to explain why Einsatz or Aktion Reinhardt should have been named after a State Secretary whose ministry first became involved in the Aktion over two months after the first known occurrence of the code name..." Reinhard Heydrich as SS-Gruppenführer Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich (March 7, 1904 – June 4, 1942) was an SS-Obergruppenführer, chief of the Reich Main Security Office, and Reich governor of Bohemia and Moravia. ... Wehrmacht â–¶(?) was the name of the armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... In a February 26, 1942 letter to Martin Luther (diplomat), Reinhard Heydrich follows up on the Wannsee Conference by asking Luther for administrative assistance in the implementation of the Endlösung der Judenfrage (Final Solution of the Jewish Question). ... The Wannsee Conference was the discussion by a group of Nazi officials about the Final Solution of the Jewish Question (Endlösung der Judenfrage). ... Reinhard Heydrich as SS-Gruppenführer During World War II, Operation Anthropoid was the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazi “Protector of Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia” and the chief of Nazi´s final solution. ... May 27 is the 147th day (148th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 218 days remaining. ... This article is about the year. ...

Three extermination camps with gas chambers were constructed for Operation Reinhard: Treblinka, Sobibór and Belzec. At least 1.4 million people were exterminated in these camps, mostly by suffocation or poisoning by engine exhaust. Majdanek - crematorium Extermination camp (German Vernichtungslager) was the term applied to a group of death camps set up by Nazi Germany during World War II for the express purpose of killing the Jews of Europe, although members of some other groups whom the Nazis wished to exterminate, such as Roma... A gas chamber is a means of execution whereby a poisonous gas is introduced into a hermetically sealed chamber. ... Treblinka is a small village in the Mazowieckie voivodship (province) of Poland. ... Sobibór was a Nazi extermination camp that was part of Operation Reinhard. ... Belzec was the first of the Nazi German extermination camps created for implementing Operation Reinhard during the Holocaust. ...

Hoefle's telegram includes Lublin (Majdanek) among the Operation Reinhard camps.[2] Monument at Majdanek Memorial. ...

Operation Reinhard was devised as a more "humane" method of mass murder, but only for those conducting the killing. Conducting mass executions with firearms had a decidedly adverse effect on the morale of the SS units; therefore, Operation Reinhard used poisonous gas to mechanize the act of killing. It was the beginning of an industrialized mass murder unlike any previously known to mankind.

Chain of command

The head of Aktion Reinhard was SS-Brigadeführer Odilo Globocnik, (SS- and police chief of the Lublin district), appointed by Heinrich Himmler. SS-Sturmbannführer Hermann Höfle, chief of Hauptabteilung Reinhard (Main Department Reinhard), was responsible for personnel and organization of deportations, extermination camps and collection off the victims' valuables. Odilo Globocnik (April 21, 1904 - May 31, 1945) was a prominent Austrian Nazi and later an SS leader. ... Heinrich Himmler â–¶(?) (October 7, 1900 – May 23, 1945) was the commander of the German Schutzstaffel (SS) and one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany. ... Hermann Julius Höfle (1911 – 1962) was an SS-Sturmbannführer. ...

Polizei-Kriminalkommissar Christian Wirth and his staff of the euthanasia program (Aktion T4) comprised the core of the execution staff in the extermination camps in eastern Poland. The camp guards were mostly Soviet POWs, Ukrainian volunteers and Volksdeutsche who were trained at the Trawniki camp near Lublin. Christian Wirth, better known by the pseudonym RaD Man, is a computer artist and historian. ...

Operation Reinhard headquarters

Operation Reinhard headquarters were located in Lublin, the construction department in Zamosc. The clothes and belongings of the victims were stored and sorted in Lublin, at the unused hangars of Lublin Airfield.

Starting from November 1, 1941, three extermination camps were constructed to cope with the population of adjacent ghettos and other victims from surrounding areas: first Belzec, then Sobibor and finally Treblinka. They were located in the far east of Poland near the borders with Belarus and Ukraine. The camps were located near main railway lines, to facilitate prisoner transport, and in sparsely populated areas to preserve secrecy. As a guise, the victims were told that they were being transported east for resettlement and work. November 1 is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 60 days remaining. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Extermination process

The extermination process in Belzec, Sobibor and Treblinka was similar to the method used in the six euthanasia killing centers in Germany and Austria.

Victims would hand over their valuables, which became property of the German Reichsbank. They then undressed, and their clothes were searched for jewelry and other valuables. Victims were then marched into the gas chamber and packed tightly to minimize the available fresh air. Carbon monoxide gas was then discharged through gaspipes, killing the occupants. Their corpses were cremated.

Camp structure

The structure of all camps was nearly identical. From the reception area with ramp and undressing barracks, the Jews entered a narrow, camouflaged path (called sluice or tube) to the extermination area with gas chambers, pits and cremation grids. The SS and Trawnikis stayed in a separate area. Barbed wire fences, partially camouflaged with pine branches, surrounded the camp and separated the different parts. Unlike Auschwitz, no electric fences were used. Wooden watchtowers guarded the camp.

Approximately 2 million Jews lost their lives in Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka and Majdanek in the course of Operation Reinhard. Approximately 178,045,960 German Reichsmarks' worth of Jewish property (today's value: around 700,000,000 USD or 450,000,000 GBP) was stolen. This money went not only to German authorities, but also to single individuals (SS and police men, camp guards, non-Jewish inhabitants of towns and villages with ghettos or adjacent camps). A 100 Reichsmark banknote from Germany of 1935 (http://www. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... For details of notes and coins, see British coinage and British banknotes. ...

Operation Reinhard ended in November 1943. After their work in the concentration camps of Poland, most of the staff was sent to northern Italy for actions against remaining Jews and partisans. Many of the perpetrators turned up again in the concentration camp of San Sabba near Trieste. The group disintegrated after the surrender of the German Wehrmacht in Italy.