In German, Endlösung the term used to designate the policies and methods employed by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime in Germany to effect the complete extermination of European Jewry between 1933 and 1945. The “Final Solution” was adopted after programs of severe political, economic, and social discrimination; the expropriation of property owned by Jews; and forced emigration failed to satisfy the urges of Hitler and the Nazi Party for racial purity. In the end, the “Final Solution” was never achieved, but some 6 million Jews and large numbers of other “undesirable” minorities (Slavs, Gypsies, homosexuals, Seventh Day Adventists, political dissidents, and others) from all over Europe were systematically murdered by the Nazis.
See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.
