The final workshop of The Police and the Holocaust project brought the delegation back to Vienna for a focused examination of the persecution of Austrian Jews and the role of police institutions at the local level.
For many participants, the historical context and extent of police involvement in these crimes were largely unknown prior to the workshop. The program began with a guided walking tour of Vienna, including visits to sites documented in historical photographs—such as a street where Jewish women were forced to scrub the pavement under public humiliation.
Mapping the Radicalization Process
To visualize the progression of Nazi crimes, participants worked together to construct a timeline of events from 1933 to 1945 on an eight-meter-long sheet of paper. By documenting developments step by step, the group traced the parallel escalation of war, radicalization, and antisemitic policy, fostering discussion about how genocide unfolded incrementally.
Facilitators then introduced an organizational chart detailing the structure of the SS and German police under Nazi rule. Understanding that the police were fully integrated into the SS system and placed under the authority of Heinrich Himmler proved to be a key moment of reflection for many participants. An expert contribution by Thomas Köhler of the Villa ten Hompel helped clarify the institutional transformation of the police during the Nazi era.
From “Euthanasia” to Aktion Reinhardt
A central focus of the workshop was the transfer of personnel, knowledge, and methods from the so-called “euthanasia” murders within the German Reich to the Aktion Reinhardt extermination camps in occupied Poland. Participants examined how both techniques of mass murder and individual perpetrators moved eastward, contributing directly to the systematic murder of European Jewry.
Maps of deportation destinations in eastern Poland—sites visited by the group in May 2025—were presented to contextualize these crimes geographically and institutionally.
The workshop concluded with a reflective session in which participants connected the historical lessons of the project with their current professional responsibilities as police officers, underscoring the enduring relevance of Holocaust education in strengthening democratic policing and safeguarding Jewish life in Europe.
