No that is not true if you watch Conspiracy you will hear that the Germans actually had been killing off large groups of Jews ever since they invaded Russia the previous year. Where special SS murdersquads operated behind the lines killing Jews in conquered towns and villages.Also several other methods were discussed such as;relocation & migration(This is actually a very insightful moment about the Allied powers and their willingness to help the Jews),sterilisation via chemicals or radiation(which had already been used when Germany wanted to get rid of his mentally and physically challenged in the 1930's),execution,gassing through carbon monoxide(results of specially adapted vans was discussed during meeting) or by use of Zyklon B and gas chambers.
And as the movie Conspiracy also shows that the final solution was not the decision that Jews were going to be killed but rather which method should be used.Heydrich in the movie makes it very clear that his mandate clearly states that the best thing for the Germans to do was to kill the Jews and not talk about whether they should kill the Jews or not,they already had gotten beyond that point.No the purpose of the conference was to decide upon the method and the the criteria for a practical selection of who is Jewish based on the Nuremberg racial laws.And concentration camps had already had been in use in Germany ever since Hitler came to power in the 1930's.
The interesting thing that Conspiracy shows is that the genocide of the Jews did not started at some specified point in history but rather shows it to be a gradual process which ultimately resulted in the Nazis making the decision to utilise gas chambers for killing on a industrial scale.It shows that the purpose of the conference was to make a selection between the various ways the Germans already used to kill Jews and to get rid off ineffective methods and choose a singular efficient method.
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PoppyTransfusion
9 years ago
ultimately resulted in the Nazis making the decision to utilise gas chambers for killing on a industrial scale
This did not occur through happenstance. The Nazi military introduced gas chambers as a method for mass killing because of the effect upon soldiers from mass shootings of Jewish people in Russia and elsewhere of other groups deemed subhuman. The decision to mechanise murder was not a gradual development. It was a necessary military manoeuvre.
In the midst of winter I found there was, within me, an invincible summer
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Nexus71
9 years ago
This did not occur through happenstance. The Nazi military introduced gas chambers as a method for mass killing because of the effect upon soldiers from mass shootings of Jewish people in Russia and elsewhere of other groups deemed subhuman. The decision to mechanise murder was not a gradual development. It was a necessary military manoeuvre.
Correct this was also discussed in the movie Conspiracy as one of the reasons not to choose for mass executions(because it was demoralising for the men doing the executions as was discussed in Conspiracy).Another reason was that it would cost a lot of bullets which were needed elsewhere.I only wished to debunk the myth that the Germans suddenly decided in 1942 to start the mass killing of the Jews, while in fact the Germans were killing the Jews on mass scale in various ways prior to '42.The only thing that was decided at that infamous meeting was to choose for one single method of extermination which was the most effective without having too much of an impact on the war resources.
🇳🇱RIP Johan Cruijff
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PoppyTransfusion
9 years ago
Fair enough Nexus and on this we agree. Nonetheless 1942 would be a significant point in the Nazi intent to exterminate various groups, most notably the Jewish people. The film (Room 237) seized upon the mechanisation of genocide as something that struck a chord for Kubrick. I don't know much about Kubrick or the various analyses of his films and symbols, but I can see 1942 as a point of focus for someone entangled in the trauma of WW2's holocaust.
In the midst of winter I found there was, within me, an invincible summer
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Nexus71
9 years ago
In that light I think it really would have been interesting to see how Kubrick would have brought the whole subject of the Holocaust on the screen if he had done Aryan Papers.
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PoppyTransfusion
9 years ago
Me too. His is the work that never was and which I would have loved to have seen. It joins a list that includes Henri-Georges Clouzots Inferno and Joseph Conrad's novel of WW2 Poland. 
In the midst of winter I found there was, within me, an invincible summer
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Nexus71
9 years ago
What makes things extra interesting in the case of Aryan Papers is that Kubrick was quite far in the pre-production process.He already had chosen his female lead,Johanna ter Steege,for the movie and had already done some test-shoots with her.Dutch Actress ter Steege has spoken about meeting with Kubrick in interviews,and her experience working on that film.She always regretted never having the chance to make the film and certainly working further with Kubrick on that film had it been made.
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