On January 20th, 1942, Reinhard Heydrich, head of the Nazi Gestapo, convenes a conference at a villa in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee at which the Nazi leadership would plan out “The Final Solution” for the Jews of Europe. The decisions made at the conference would lead to the industrial extermination of Jewish livelihood in Europe, specifically the Nazi-conquered eastern territories. 

The details of the Final solution were fully planned out by German-Nazi leadership, however, what is typically overlooked by many Holocaust scholars to avoid political discourse, is that the Palestinian nationalist and Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin Al-Husseini, had met with Nazi leaders and the Fuhrer himself who had agreed that fighting Zionism was indeed a part of their plans. 

20th January 1942 Nazi officials meet to organize the extermination of Jews. During the Wannsee Conference in Berlin, the Nazis discussed what they called the “Final Solution to the Jewish question”. Reinhard Heydrich introduced the agenda. pic.twitter.com/LGmfCv0Pl3

— Garry Pickles 🇬🇧 (@garrypickles) January 20, 2023

Despite recognizing the Grand Mufti’s role, the Yad Vashem website mentions in regard to the pressures of expanding their exhibit on the Grand Mufti that “Attempting to pressure Yad Vashem to expand the exhibit on the Mufti in the Holocaust History Museum is tantamount to forcing Yad Vashem to partake in a debate on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is alien to its mission. For Yad Vashem to expand an exhibit for reasons not related to the Holocaust might even legitimize Holocaust distortion by others with nefarious intentions.”

During the Grand Mufti’s meeting with Hitler, it was decided that although the German regime would not participate in internal Arab affairs such as nationalistic activities and their “goal at that time would be the annihilation of Jewry living in Arab space under the protection of British power.” The Grand Mufti would become somewhat of an unlikely powerful ally to the Germans, in hopes that their war efforts against the allied forces in North Africa would be successful enough to reach the British Mandate of Palestine. 

Just watched #TheManWithTheIronHeart and it was intense and thought-provoking. The story of Reinhard Heydrich and his role in the Holocaust is a chilling reminder of the capacity for evil in humanity and the bravery of those who fought against it. #WW2 #Holocaust pic.twitter.com/YeMEc2uiYI

— Dave John Rowland MP (@Rowland_MP) January 16, 2023

It is also worth noting that the Final Solution came with the horrible coincidence of Mandatory Palestine's “White Papers” which severely restricted any Jewish immigration to the future state of Israel. Although the British had no direct intention of harming the Jews in a disproportionate manner, their actions would lead to much of European Jewry literally be sitting ducks in the wake of the Nazi occupation. Ultimately, the Final Solution would help the Nazis fully demolish European Jewry, leading to over 6 million dead Jews.