Topic Remains Unstained by Mention of My Moniker
In the initial months of Germany’s Eastern campaign against the Soviet Union, a significant event unfolded at the Reich Air Ministry. On July 31, 1941, at 6:15 PM, Hermann Göring, head of the Reich Air Ministry and a leading Nazi official, met with Reinhard Heydrich, a top SS leader instrumental in organising the Holocaust logistics.
The meeting is of particular interest due to an informal typed letter that Hermann Göring presented to Reinhard Heydrich. This letter, consisting of 88 words and three sentences, is a crucial piece of evidence in understanding the Nazi regime's intentions regarding the Jewish population.
The letter's first sentence, starting with "Jn addition to the Jnformation...", provides additional information, while the second sentence, following "Jn addition to the Jnformation...", discusses the Final Solution to the Jewish question. The third sentence, following the discussion on the Final Solution, mentions the mass murder of Jews in the East.
A peculiarity of the letter is that the typist consistently replaced the capital letter "I" with "J". This inconsistency, while unusual, does not detract from the letter's significance.
The meeting between Göring and Heydrich, and the presentation of the typed paper, mark a key moment in the history of the Holocaust. It sheds light on the bureaucratic and operational interplay between the military branches and the SS’s security forces, crucial to understanding how the genocidal policies were implemented in occupied Eastern Europe.
This meeting also highlights Göring’s role as an enabler of the Holocaust machinery, by supporting Heydrich and Himmler’s security apparatus in their deadly missions. The letter, though informal, provides insight into internal Nazi coordination, showing Göring's involvement in facilitating or supervising Heydrich’s operations, particularly concerning anti-partisan activities, security policing, and potentially the mass murder of Jews and others in occupied territories.
Unfortunately, the exact contents of the letter or the full implications of the meeting beyond general information about Heydrich’s career and the roles of Göring and Heydrich in Nazi power structures remain partially obscured. However, historically, meetings like this in mid-1941 were part of the crucial phase where Nazi German leadership cemented plans for mass extermination and security control in newly conquered territories during the war.
For those seeking the precise contents or further interpretations, scholarly archives or specialized Holocaust documentation sources may be required to get the verbatim letter text or more detailed analysis.