Considered to be the mastermind behind the concept of concentration camps, Heinrich Himmler was an important figure in Hitler’s army. During 1933, Himmler set up the first concentration camp in Dachau. (Evans, 817)  As mentioned earlier, these camps were used for political prisoners and those who opposed the Nazi government. A few years later, Himmler extended the range of persons who qualified for the camp, with the support of Hitler, of course.

Hitler had given his commission for the “Final Solution,” however he needed individuals to carry out the work. Himmler possessed the qualifications required to fulfill Hitler’s bidding. “It was Himmler, not Heydrich, who in December 1939 plotted out a scheme for ‘crematorium-delousing’ units in concentration camps.” (Breitman, 75) Prior to the crematorium, killings were carried out in the form of shootings, however the Nazis performing the executions were psychologically scarred.

Himmler was called the ‘architect of genocide’ because “he devised or selected the preferred, even essential, means by which, it was carried out: the extermination factory, where death came or was supposed to come deceptively, smoothly and efficiently.” (Breitman, 75) Himmler played a crucial role in making the concentration camp, a primary tool for industrial killing in the Nazi attempt to fulfill their vision of a judenrein Europe.

In the video, Heinrich Himmler is giving a speech to senior SS officers about the evacuation and extermination of Jews. The speech took place at the Golden Hall in Posen.