A secret meeting is held in order to determine the method by which the Nazi government is to implement Adolf Hitler's policy — that the German sphere of influence should be free of Jews, including those in the occupied terrorities of Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Czechoslovakia and France. As the film opens, various officials from different German agencies arrive and mingle at a lakeside villa in Wannsee, where SS-Obersturmbannführer Adolf Eichmann, SS Officer for Jewish Affairs, has meticulously planned the meeting. Among those present:
- Wilhelm Stuckart, a lawyer representing the Interior Ministry and co-author of the anti-semitic Nuremberg laws
- Friedrich Wilhelm Kritzinger, deputy head of the Reich Chancellery
- Gerhard Klopfer, a lawyer from the Nazi Party Chancellery
- Martin Luther, Foreign Ministry liaison to the SS
- Heinrich Müller, Gestapo Chief and Eichmann's immediate superior
- Reinhard Heydrich, Heinrich Himmler's second-in-command in the SS, who begins by explaining the purpose of the meeting.
It is quickly established by those present that there is a significant "Jewish problem", in that the Jews of Europe cannot be efficiently contained, nor can they be forced onto other countries. Kritzinger interrupts at several points to opine that the meeting is pointless, given that the Jewish Question had previously been settled, but Heydrich promises to revisit his concerns. A discussion follows of the possibilities of sterilization, and of the exemptions for mixed race Jews who have one or more non-Jewish grandparents. At this point, Stuckart loses his temper and insists that a sturdy legal framework is paramount, and that
ad hoc application of standards will lead to administrative chaos. He also chides Klopfer for his simplistic portrayal of Jews as subhuman beasts, simultaneously painting his own picture of Jews as clever, manipulative and untrustworthy.
Heydrich calls a break in the proceedings, and takes Stuckart aside to warn him about the consequences of his stubbornness, implying that others in the SS will take an unwanted interest in his actions. When the meeting reconvenes, Heydrich steers the discussion in the direction of wholesale extermination using gas chambers. This causes consternation among many of the attendees, notably Kritzinger, who objects on the grounds that Hitler had given him personal guarantees that extermination of the Jews was not being considered, and representatives of the General Government administration, who are shocked to discover that the SS have been building death camps and making preparations for the "Final Solution" under their noses.
By this time it has become clear to everyone at the meeting that they have been called together not to discuss the problem but to be given orders by the SS, who are intent on wresting control of the operation from other agencies such as the Interior Ministry and the Reich Chancellery.
Eichmann now describes the method that will be used, i.e. the gassing of Jews. Many have already been killed in specially-designed trucks and his figures include tens of thousands of victims. He even describes their bodies as coming out "pink", at which point one of the officials is suddenly taken ill. He later puts it down to a bad cigar.
A break is called and this time it is Kritzinger's turn to be taken aside and intimidated by Heydrich, who warns that Kritzinger is influential but not invulnerable. Heydrich tells Kritzinger that he wants not only consent but active support, and Kritzinger realizes that any hopes he had of assuring livable conditions for the Jewish population are unrealistic. In return, he tells Heydrich a cautionary tale about a man consumed by hatred of his father, so much so that his life loses its meaning once his father dies; Heydrich later reflects that a similar fate awaits them if they allow their lives to revolve around antisemitism.
Heydrich then recalls and concludes the meeting, giving clear directives that the SS are to be obeyed in all matters relating to the elimination of the Jews. He also asks for explicit assent and support from each official, one by one. After giving careful instructions on the secrecy of the minutes and notes of the meeting, they are adjourned and begin to depart.
As the servants at the villa tidy away the remains of the meeting, and the officials depart, a brief account of the fate of each one is given.
