What was Heinrich Himmler Saying to 100 SS Group Leaders in Posen

The document which is being reviewed contains excerpts from a speech that was given by Heinrich Himmler to approximately 100 SS Group Leaders who were in Posen, occupied Poland. This speech was given on October 4, 1943.

The speech informs the SS Group Leaders on what they are and are not to do. Himmler expresses to them that their loyalty is to those that are German by blood and to no one else. Whatever happens to other nations or races is of no consequence to him. The only concern he has for these other people is how they will serve them as slaves. To Himmler it does not matter how many of these people die as long as the task they are needed for is completed for the good of Germany. Himmler informs them that they are not to be cruel unless it is necessary. He then makes reference to treating these other people the way that they would treat animals. He informs them that the Germans are the only race that would treat an animal decently and that is how they should treat human animals. However if they make an attempt to worry about these other people or try to instill their beliefs in them that it would be a crime against their own people.

Himmler then turns his focus on the Jews. He makes it clear that the Jewish race being exterminated is a part of their plan. If anyone thinks that they know of a good Jew they are mistaken for there is no such thing. Though they have begun the extermination of the Jews it shall never be written about. It is their moral right to destroy these people who sought out their destruction first. The acts that they have and will perform come from a duty of love for their own people. Though it has hardened them they still remain decent people.

The author of this speech was Heinrich Himmler. Heinrich Himmler was an officer in WWI. Later Himmler was the propaganda leader for the NSDAP from 1925 to 1930. In 1929 he was selected to be the head of Hitler's body guards known as the SS. In 1936 after holding different positions of power he had proven himself worthy and was appointed to be the head of the Gestapo while still holding the position of Reichsfuhrer of the SS. From 1943 to 1945 he was also the Minister of the Interior. In addition to all of this Himmler oversaw the concentration and death camps in order to assure the extermination or the Jewish people.

The bias of the author was that the he believed the Aryan race was superior to all others. He wanted to breed a race of "supermen" by pairing select women with SS officers at a human stud farm known as Lebensborn. In addition he wanted to eliminate other races because they were inferior to the Aryans. The cause of his bias is unknown to me and I can only speculate that it may have come from such influences as Martin Luther, propaganda that was being spread as he matured into manhood, and personal influences such as Hitler.

Credibility in this case would depend on the perspective of each individual. His experience as a soldier, his high rank in organizations, his associations, and his gift for spreading propaganda effectively made him appear as being credible to many people. Despite that fact, it is my opinion no rational person with morals would think of him as being credible in reference to the elimination, extermination, or slavery of other races or nationalities.

The goal of his speech was to rationalize mass murder and the extermination of the Jews. His success can be seen when one considers that at least six million Jews and at least four million other people were killed because of the influence that he had.

After reading this document and doing further research I learned more about the career of Himmler. The ideas of "supermen" and a human stud farm were also introduced to me.

The importance of this document to a historian is that it allows them to see how Himmler was able to deceive and convince the SS that what they were doing was justified. This also shows that one of the goals of Himmler was to hide the events that were taking place from the rest of the world. In addition this is also evidence that the Holocaust did in fact take place despite the fact that some groups and individuals would try to convince the world that it never happened.