‘The Twisted Road to Auschwitz’ According to German historian Christian Gerlach, Hitler made the decision “in principle to murder all the Jews in Europe, either on or around December12, 1941. … At least that is when it was made public.” During a speech on December 12 to approximately 50 regional and “sectional” leaders of the Nazi Party, Joseph Goebbels, Reich minister of propaganda, reported: “Regarding the Jewish Question, the Führer has determined to clear the table.