A member of Einsatzgruppe D is just about to shoot a Jewish man kneeling before a filled mass grave in Vinnitsa, Ukraine, in 1942.

Einsatzgruppen (German for "task forces" or "intervention groups") were paramilitary groups operated by the SS before and during World War II. Their principal task, in the words of SS General Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski at the Nuremberg Trial, "was the annihilation of the Jews, Gypsies, and political commissars."^[1] They were a key component in Hitler's plans to implement his racial policies in the conquered territories. German soldiers of the Waffen-SS and the Reich Labor Service look on as a member of Einsatzgruppe D executes a Jew kneeling before a filled mass grave in Vinnitsa, Ukraine, in 1942. ... German soldiers of the Waffen-SS and the Reich Labor Service look on as a member of Einsatzgruppe D executes a Jew kneeling before a filled mass grave in Vinnitsa, Ukraine, in 1942. ... Vinnytsia, or Vinnytsya (Ukrainian Вінниця, Polish: Winnica) is a city in central Ukraine, located on the banks of Pivdennyi Buh River in 270 km far from the capital Kyiv. ... A paramilitary organization is a group of civilians trained and organized in a military fashion. ... SS or ss or Ss may be: The Schutzstaffel, a Nazi paramilitary force Steamship (SS) (ship prefix) The United States Secret Service A submarine not powered by nuclear energy (SS) (United States Navy designator), see SSN A Soviet/Russian surface-to-surface missile, as listed by NATO reporting name Shortstop... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Erich von dem Bach, born Erich von Zelewski and also known as Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski (March 1, 1899 - March 8, 1972) was a Nazi official and member of the SS with a rank of SS-Obergruppenführer. ... The Nuremberg Trials is the general name for two sets of trials of Nazis involved in World War II and the Holocaust. ... The Rroma people (pronounced rahma, singular Rrom) along with the closely related Sinti people are commonly known as Gypsies. ... Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945, standard German pronunciation in the IPA) was the Führer (leader) of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) and of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. ...

Formed from police forces of the Gestapo, Kripo, SD, and Waffen-SS officers, these death squads followed the Wehrmacht as it advanced eastwards into Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. On occupied territories, the Einsatzgruppen also utilized local populations to provide additional security and manpower when needed. The activities of the Einsatzgruppen were spread throughout a large pool of personnel from different branches of the SS and German State. This article or section includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... The Kriminalpolizei was the professional detective service of Germany between 1936 and 1945. ... Sicherheitsdienst (SD) sleeve insignia. ... Waffen-SS recruitment poster; Volunteer to the Waffen-SS The Waffen-SS was the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel. ... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... Wehrmacht   (armed forces, literally defence force(s)) was the name of the armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. ... Map of Eastern Europe Pre-1989 division between the West (grey) and Eastern Bloc (orange) superimposed on current national boundaries: Russia (dark orange), other countries of the former USSR (medium orange),members of the Warsaw pact (light orange), and other former Communist regimes not aligned with Moscow (lightest orange). ...

According to their own records, the Einsatzgruppen operatives were responsible for killing over one million Jewish people, almost exclusively civilians, without judicial review and later without semblance of legality (no reading of sentences of martial or administrative law), starting with the Polish intelligentsia and quickly progressing by 1941 to target primarily the Jews of Eastern Europe. The historian Raul Hilberg, however, estimates that between 1941 and 1945 the Einsatzgruppen murdered over 1.4 million Jews in open air shootings. Judicial review is the power of a court to review a a law or an official act of a government employee or agent for constitutionality or (in some jurisdictions) for the violation of basic principles of justice. ... The notion of an intellectual elite as a distinguished social stratum can be traced far back in history. ... Dr. Raul Hilberg Raul Hilberg (born June 2, 1926) is one of the best-known and most distinguished of the Holocaust historians. ...

There are many famous Holocaust survivors who survived the Nazi genocides in Europe and went on to achievements of great fame and notability. ... This is a list of victims of Nazism who were noted for their achievements. ... This is a list of people who helped Jewish people and others to escape from the Nazi Holocaust during World War II, often called rescuers. The list is not exhaustive, concentrating on famous cases, or people who saved the lives of many potential victims. ... Holocaust resources for main article The Holocaust. ... Book cover The Destruction of the European Jews is a three-volume work published in 1961 by historian Raul Hilberg. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Functionalism versus intentionalism is a historiographical debate about the origins of the Holocaust as well as most aspects of the Third Reich, such as foreign policy. ...

History

Einsatzgruppen can be traced back to the ad hoc Einsatzkommando formed by Reinhard Heydrich to secure government buildings and documents following the Anschluss in Austria in March 1938. The task of securing government buildings, the accompanying documentation and questioning senior civil servants in lands occupied by Germany was the Einsatzgruppen's original mission. In the summer of 1938, when Germany was preparing an invasion of Czechoslovakia scheduled for October 1, 1938, the Einsatzgruppen were founded. The intention was for Einsatzgruppen to travel in the wake of the German armies as they advanced into Czechoslovakia, securing government papers and offices. Unlike the Einsatzkommando, the Einsatzgruppen were to be armed and authorized to freely use lethal force to accomplish their mission. The Munich Agreement of 1938 prevented the war for which the Einsatzgruppen were originally founded, but as the Germans occupied the Sudetenland in the fall of 1938, the Einsatzgruppen moved into the Sudetenland to occupy offices formally belonging to the Czechoslovak state. After the occupation of the rest of the Czech portion of Czechoslovakia after March 15, 1939, the Einsatzgruppen were re-formed and were again used to secure offices formerly belonging to the Czechoslovak government. The Einsatzgruppen were never a standing formation; rather they were ad hoc units recruited mostly from the ranks of the SS, the SD, and various German police forces such as the Ordnungspolizei, the Gendarmerie, the Kripo and the Gestapo. Once the military campaign had ended, the Einsatzgruppen units were disbanded, though generally the same personnel were recruited again if the need arose for the Einsatzgruppen units to be re-activated. Reinhard Heydrich as SS-Gruppenführer. ... German troops march into Austria on 12 March 1938. ... For the annual global security meeting held in Munich, see Munich Conference on Security Policy Chamberlain holds the paper containing the resolution to commit to peaceful methods signed by both Hitler and himself on his return from Germany in September 1938. ... It has been suggested that Germans in Czechoslovakia (1918-1938) be merged into this article or section. ... SS or ss or Ss may be: The Schutzstaffel, a Nazi paramilitary force Steamship (SS) (ship prefix) The United States Secret Service A submarine not powered by nuclear energy (SS) (United States Navy designator), see SSN A Soviet/Russian surface-to-surface missile, as listed by NATO reporting name Shortstop... SD or sd is an acronym that may mean: Sales and Distribution, business San Diego, a U.S. city SanDisk, US-based multinational corporation which designs and markets flash memory card products SafeDisc, a CD/DVD copy protection solution by Macrovision Corporation Scooby Doo a brown dog Secure Digital, flash... Flag of the Ordnungspolizei The Ordnungspolizei (OrPo) was the name for the regular German police force that existed in Nazi Germany between the years of 1936 and 1945. ... A gendarmerie (pronounced ) is a military body charged with police duties among civilian populations. ... The Kriminalpolizei was the professional detective service of Germany between 1936 and 1945. ... This article or section includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ...

In May 1939, Adolf Hitler decided upon an invasion of Poland planned for August 25 of that year (later moved back to September 1). In response, Heydrich again re-formed the Einsatzgruppen to travel in the wake of the German armies. Unlike the earlier operations, Heydrich gave the Einsatzgruppen commanders carte blanche to kill anyone belonging to groups that the Germans considered hostile. Diners Club International, originally founded as Diners Club, was formed in 1950 by Frank X. McNamara, Ralph Schneider and Alfred Bloomingdale. ...

After the occupation of Poland in 1939, the Einsatzgruppen killed Poles belonging to the intelligentsia, such as priests and teachers. The Nazis considered all Slavic people as Untermenschen (subhuman), and wanted to use the Polish lower classes as servants and slaves. The mission of the Einsatzgruppen was therefore the forceful depoliticisation of the Polish people and the elimination of the groups most clearly identified with the Polish national identity. Following the German invasion of the Netherlands, Belgium, and France in May 1940, the Einsatzgruppen once again travelled in the wake of the Wehrmacht, but unlike their operations in Poland, the Einsatzgruppen operations in Western Europe in 1940 were within the original mandate of securing government offices and papers. Had Operation Sealion, the German plan for an invasion of the United Kingdom been launched, six Einsatzgruppen were scheduled to follow the invasion force to Britain. The Einsatzgruppen intended for "Sealion" were provided with a list (known as The Black Book after the war) of 2,820 people to be arrested immediately. Distribution of Slavic people by language The Slavic peoples are a linguistic and ethnic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in Europe, where they constitute roughly a third of the population. ... Untermensch (German: subhuman) is a term from Nazi racial ideology. ... Wehrmacht   (armed forces, literally defence force(s)) was the name of the armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. ... The borders of Western Europe were largely defined by the Cold War. ... Operation Sealion (Unternehmen (Undertaking) Seelöwe in German) was a World War II German plan to invade the United Kingdom. ... The Black Book was a product of the SS Einsatzgruppen. ...

After the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the Einsatzgruppen's main assignment was to kill Communist officers and Jews on a much larger scale than in Poland. These Einsatzgruppen were under control of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA) (Reich Security Main Office); i.e., under Reinhard Heydrich and his successor Ernst Kaltenbrunner. The original mandate set by Heydrich for the four Einsatzgruppen sent into the Soviet Union as part of Operation Barbarossa was to secure the offices and papers of the Soviet state and Communist Party; liquidate all of the higher cadres of the Soviet state; and to instigate and encourage pogroms against all local Jewish populations. As the Einsatzgruppen advanced into the Soviet Union, after July 1941, the Einsatzgruppen increasingly engaged in the mass murders of the local Jews themselves rather than encouraging pogroms. Initially, the Einsatzgruppen generally limited themselves to shooting Jewish men; but as the summer wore on, increasingly all Jews regardless of age or sex were shot. The most murderous of the four Einsatzgruppen was Einsatzgruppe A, which operated in the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania formerly occupied by the Soviets. Einsatzgruppe A was the first Einsatzgruppen that attempted to systematically exterminate all Jews in its area. After December 1941, the other three Einsatzgruppen began what Raul Hilberg has called the "second sweep", which lasted into the summer of 1942, where they attempted to emulate Einsatzgruppe A by likewise systematically killing all Jews in their areas. Reinhard Heydrich as SS-Gruppenführer. ... SS-Obergruppenführer Dr. Ernst Kaltenbrunner Ernst Kaltenbrunner (October 4, 1903 – October 16, 1946) was a senior Nazi official during World War II. He was executed for war crimes and crimes against humanity. ... The current version of this article or section is written in an informal style and with a personally invested tone. ... The Russian word pogrom (погром) refers to a massive violent attack on people with simultaneous destruction of their environment (homes, businesses, religious centers). ... Dr. Raul Hilberg Raul Hilberg (born June 2, 1926) is one of the best-known and most distinguished of the Holocaust historians. ...

They murdered more than 1.5 million Jews, Communists, prisoners of war, and Roma (Gypsies) in total. They also assisted Wehrmacht units and local anti-Semites in killing half a million more. They were mobile forces in the beginning of the invasion, but settled down after the occupation. In addition, the Einsatzgruppen were often used in anti-partisan operations in the occupied Soviet Union. Languages Romani, languages of native region Religions Christianity, Islam Related ethnic groups South Asians (Desi) The Roma (singular Rom; sometimes Rroma, Rrom) or Romanies are an ethnic group living in many communities all over the world. ...

Method of killing

The Einsatzgruppen typically followed close behind Wehrmacht army formations, marching into cities and towns where large numbers of Jews were known to live. Once they entered a town, they issued orders to Jews and non-Jewish Communists to assemble for deportation out of the town. Those who refused were hunted down. Wehrmacht   (armed forces, literally defence force(s)) was the name of the armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. ...

Those who were gathered would then be sent to designated sites outside the cities and towns. Usually these massacre sites were graves dug in advance, shallow pits, or deep ravines (including one at Babi Yar, just outside Kiev), where executioners were already waiting with orders to kill them with machine guns or pistol shots to the head. The killers would also seize the clothing and other belongings of the victims, and some victims were forced to strip naked just before their execution. Once dead, the victims' graves would be buried with hand shovels or bulldozers to cover up the crimes. Often however the victims were only injured and not actually dead so they would be subsequently buried alive. Several of the few survivors recount this in their tales. (Martin Gilbert, The Holocaust) Babi Yar (Ukrainian: Бабин яр, Babyn yar; Russian: Бабий яр, Babiy yar) is a ravine in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, located between the Frunze and Melnykov streets and between the St. ... Map of Ukraine with Kiev highlighted Coordinates: Country Ukraine Oblast Kiev City Municipality Raion Municipality Government  - Mayor Leonid Chernovetskyi Elevation 179 m (587. ...

The Einsatzgruppen were assisted by other Axis forces, including designated members of the Wehrmacht and the Waffen SS. In the Baltics and Ukraine, they also recruited local anti-Semites and other collaborators to help with the killing. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

The Jäger Report

Map titled "Jewish Executions Carried Out by Einsatzgruppe A" from the December 1941 Jäger Report. Marked "Secret Reich Matter," the map shows the number of Jews shot in the Baltic region, and reads at the bottom: "the estimated number of Jews still on hand is 128,000."

The Einsatzgruppen kept track of many of their massacres, and one of the most infamous of these official records is the Jäger Report, covering the operation of Einsatzkommando 3 over five months in Lithuania. Written by the commander of Einsatzkommando 3, Karl Jäger, it includes a detailed list summarizing each massacre, totalling 137,346 victims, and states "…I can confirm today that Einsatzkommando 3 has achieved the goal of solving the Jewish problem in Lithuania. There are no more Jews in Lithuania, apart from working Jews and their families." After the war, despite these records, Jäger lived in West Germany under his own name until arrested for war crimes in 1959, when he committed suicide. Image File history File links Coffinmap. ... Image File history File links Coffinmap. ... Karl Jäger was born in Schaffhausen, Switzerland (20 September 1888 - June 1959). ...

After the war

The ultimate authority for the Einsatzgruppen, which answered directly to Heinrich Himmler and Adolf Hitler, were the SS and Police Leaders who oversaw all Einsatzgruppen activities and reports in their given area. At the close of the Second World War a number of SS and Police Leaders, who had overseen activities in Eastern Europe and Russia, simply disappeared, were executed for war crimes, or committed suicide before capture. As far as the lower ranks, a large number were killed in combat, were killed by inmates when/if they could get their hands on them, were captured in combat and executed (on the eastern front) or imprisoned and died in Russian camps. The rest of the lesser ranks who simply returned to Germany or other countries were not formally charged (due to the large numbers of them) and simply returned to civilian life. Heinrich Luitpold Himmler ( ; October 7, 1900 – May 23, 1945) was the commander of the German Schutzstaffel (SS) and one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany. ... Hitler redirects here. ... Higher SS and Police Leaders were senior Nazi Party officials that commanded large units of the SS during and prior to the Second World War. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

At the conclusion of World War II, senior leaders of the Einsatzgruppen were put before United States occupation courts, variably charged with crimes against humanity, war crimes, and membership in the SS (which had been declared a criminal organization), in what became known as the Einsatzgruppen Trial of the Subsequent Nuremberg Trials. Fourteen death sentences and five life sentences were among the judgments, although only four executions were carried out, on June 7, 1951, and the rest of these sentences were commuted. This article is in need of attention. ... In the context of war, a war crime is a punishable offense under International Law, for violations of the laws of war by any person or persons, military or civilian. ... SS or ss or Ss may be: The Schutzstaffel, a Nazi paramilitary force Steamship (SS) (ship prefix) The United States Secret Service A submarine not powered by nuclear energy (SS) (United States Navy designator), see SSN A Soviet/Russian surface-to-surface missile, as listed by NATO reporting name Shortstop... Otto Ohlendorf testifying on his own behalf. ... Chief prosecutor Telford Taylor opens the prosecution case in the Krupp Trial The Subsequent Nuremberg Trials (or, more formally, the Trials of War Criminals before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals (NMT)) were a series of twelve U.S. military trials for war crimes against surviving members of the military, political, and... June 7 is the 158th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (159th in leap years), with 207 days remaining. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ...

Organization

1927 map of Bessarabia from Charles Upson Clarks book Bessarabia (Basarabia in Romanian, Бесарабія in Ukrainian, Бессарабия in Russian, Бесарабия in Bulgarian, Besarabya in Turkish) is a historical term for the geographic entity in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the East and the Prut River on the West. ... Motto: Процветание в единстве - Prosperity in unity Anthem: Нивы и горы твои волшебны, Родина - Your fields and mounts are wonderful, Motherland Location of Crimea (red) on the map of Ukraine. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Caucasus Mountains. ... Otto Ohlendorf Otto Ohlendorf (February 4, 1907 - June 8, 1951) was an SS-Gruppenführer and head of the interior division of the SD. Nazi Official Born in Hoheeggelsen bei Hildersheim near Hannover the son of a farm owner, he joined the Nazi party in 1925 (member #6631) followed by... Army Group South (Heeresgruppe Süd in German) was a German Army Group during World War II. Germany used two army groups to invade Poland in 1939: Army Group North and Army Group South. ...

See also

• Massacres by Einsatzgruppen:
  • Babi Yar
  • Rumbula
  • Paneriai
  • Odessa Massacre
  • Jäger Report
• Systematic persecution, genocide and extermination:
  • Holocaust
  • Porajmos - extermination of Roma (Gypsy)
  • World War II atrocities in Poland
• Generalplan Ost - Nazi master plan for Eastern Europe:
  • Operation Barbarossa
  • Operation Tannenberg
• Plans of Einsatzgruppen:
  • The Black Book - planned persecution in Great Britain-see also Dr Franz Six article.
  • "Einsatzkommando Egypt"-planned extermination of Palestinian Jews-see Amin al-Husayni article.
  • Wannsee Conference-planned extermination of Jewish residents of England; Finland; Ireland; Portugal; Sweden; Switzerland; Spain; Turkey.
• Individuals:
  • Felix Landau, a Hauptscharführer SS who served in an Einsatzkommando, a "central figure in the Nazi program of the extermination of Galician Jews"^[2] known for his daily diary.

Babi Yar (Ukrainian: Бабин яр, Babyn yar; Russian: Бабий яр, Babiy yar) is a ravine in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, located between the Frunze and Melnykov streets and between the St. ... Rumbula Forest is a pine forest enclave in Riga, Latvia. ... Paneriai (Polish: , German: ) is a suburb of Vilnius, situated about 10 kilometres away from the city centre. ... The Odessa Massacre was the extermination of Jews and Communists in Odessa during the autumn of 1941. ... The Jäger Report was written by Karl Jäger, commander of Einsatzkommando 3, a unit of Einsatzgruppen A which was attached to Army Group North during Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. ... For other uses, see Holocaust (disambiguation) and Shoah (disambiguation). ... Roma arrivals in the Belzec extermination camp await instructions The Porajmos (also Porrajmos) literally Devouring, or Samudaripen (Mass killing) is a term coined by the Roma (Gypsy) people to describe attempts by the Nazi regime to exterminate most of the Roma peoples of Europe during The Holocaust. ... Languages Romani, languages of native region Religions Christianity, Islam Related ethnic groups South Asians (Desi) The Roma (singular Rom; sometimes Rroma, Rrom) or Romanies are an ethnic group living in many communities all over the world. ... This article details the attrocities and crimes against humanity committed in Poland during the World War II. Over 6 millions of Polish citizens perished during the course of the war, most of them civilians, killed by the actions of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The current version of this article or section is written in an informal style and with a personally invested tone. ... Operation Tannenberg (German: Unternehmen Tannenberg) was the codename for one of the extermination actions directed at the Polish people during World War II, part of the Generalplan Ost. ... The Black Book was a product of the SS Einsatzgruppen. ... SS-Brigadeführer Franz Six Dr. Franz Alfred Six (August 12, 1909 in Mannheim - July 9, 1975 in Bozen-Bolzano) first rose to prominence as dean of the faculty of Economics of the University of Berlin. ... Einsatzkommando is a German military term with the literal translation of mission commando, roughly equivalent to the English term task force. The Nazi-era Einsatzkommando refers to a subgroup of the four Einsatzgruppen, killing squads in Operation Barbarossa that were responsible for carrying out mass executions behind the German lines. ... Mohammad Amin al-Husayni Mohammad Amin al-Husayni (ca. ... The Wannsee Conference was a meeting of senior officials of the Nazi German regime, held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee on January 20, 1942. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the Queen England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Unified  -  by Athelstan 967 AD  Area  -  Total 130,395 km²  50,346 sq mi  Population  -  2007 estimate 50... Felix Landau was a SS Hauptscharführer, a member of an Einsatzkommando during World War II, based first in Lviv and later in Drohobycz. ... SS-Hauptscharführer insignia Hauptscharführer was a Nazi paramilitary rank which was used by the Schutzstaffel (SS) between the years of 1934 and 1945. ... Galician Jewish cemetery in Buchach, western Ukraine, 2005 Galician Jews or Galitzianer Jews are a subdivision of the Ashkenazim geographically originating from Galicia, from western Ukraine (current Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil regions) and from the south-eastern corner of Poland (Podkarpackie and Lesser Poland voivodeships). ...

References

Sources

• The Origins of the Final Solution, Christopher Browning, 2004
• Masters of Death, Richard Rhodes, 2002

Christopher R. Browning (born May 22, 1944) is an American historian of the Holocaust. ... Richard Rhodes (born July 4, 1937) is an American author of fiction and verity, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Making of the Atomic Bomb in 1986, and most recently, John James Audubon: the Making of an American in 2004. ...

External links

• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum article on Einsatzgruppen
• Real Einsatzgruppen execution footage
• The Einsatzgruppen (einsatzgruppenarchives.com)
• The Einsatzgruppen (shoaheducation.com)
• Einsatzgruppen at the Holocaust Encyclopedia.
• Einsatzgruppen (rumbula.org)
• The Motivation and Actions of the Einsatzgruppen (militaryhistoryonline.com)
  • Essays and Stories About the Holocaust by Walter S. Zapotoczny
• Copy of the Einsatzgruppen Operational Situation Report USSR No. 101. Sonderkommando 4a in collaboration with Einsatzgruppe HQ and two Kommandos of police regiment South, executed 33,771 Jews in Kiev on September 29 and 30, 1941. (nizkor.org)