In their attempt to find a solution to what antisemites of the previous century called the ‘Jewish Question’, the Nazis took extreme measures. Their racial policies took priority over everything. First they tried to isolate the Jews from society and force them to emigrate. When this failed, they decided on what they termed the Endlösung - the ‘Final Solution’ of the Jewish Question. This meant total annihilation of the Jews of Europe. Every man, woman and child was to be murdered.

No-one knows when the decision was made to destroy all the Jews, but when the ghettos were established, Heydrich spoke about them being ‘one step towards the final aim’. Certainly by the middle of 1941, preparations were being made for the implementation of this catastrophic policy.