Aktion Reinhard
Aktion Reinhard was the code name for the German plan to murder all the Jews in the Generalgouvernement. Though planning for Aktion Reinhard began in October and November 1941 and Heinrich Himmler appointed Odilo Globocnik as the program's head, the plan was later named in memory of Reinhard Heydrich who was assassinated by members of the Czech resistance in May 1942.
The plan included not only the killing of the Jews in the Generalgouvernement but also the confiscation of their property. To enact Aktion Reinhard, the Germans built three death camps: Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka. Besides a staff of 450 Germans, the Nazis also used hundreds of Ukrainian auxiliaries who were specially trained in the SS training camp at Trawniki.
Aktion Reinhard officially began in March 1942 and ended with the mass killings of Aktion Erntefest in November 1943. Though Aktion Reinhard only lasted 21 months, more than two million Jews were killed under this program.
