Lemkin wrote the book in 1941 and 1942 and submitted it for publication in early 1942. Due to a contract dispute, its publication was delayed to 1944. This contributed to the Holocaust's centrality in the conception of genocide, as some parts of the book date to 1943 or 1944.

In the book, Lemkin argued that Hitler's main goal was not the conquest of Europe, but its demographic restructuring such that Germany could still dominate the continent in the