fireofice wrote:The German word "vernichtet" is translated as "exterminate" here, but it usually means "to destroy; to ruin; to wreck".
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vernichten
So "extermination" seems to be a mistranslation. Saying that the Jews have to be "destroyed" or "ruined" or "wrecked" doesn't really give the impression that they must all be killed down to the last Jew. Of course, killing some Jews would indeed be a part of this process of "ruining" them. And that the judge doesn't fell pity for the Jews killed is not indicative of an extermination plan either.
In German military language (von Clausewitz) 'Vernichten' means to disable capability. If you destroy/vernichtet an army, you disable it's ability to do you any further harm. And yes, that can include killing the soldiers or taking them prisoner. Such umbrella terms are of course useful in giving them meanings they not necessarily have.