Otto Ohlendorf testifying on his own behalf.

The Einsatzgruppen Trial (or, officially, The United States of America vs. Otto Ohlendorf, et. al.) was the ninth of the twelve trials for war crimes the U.S. authorities held in their occupation zone in Germany in Nuremberg after the end of World War II. These twelve trials were all held before U.S. military courts, not before the International Military Tribunal, but took place in the same rooms. The twelve U.S. trials are collectively known as the "Subsequent Nuremberg Trials" or, more formally, as the "Trials of War Criminals before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals" (NMT). Image File history File links Otto_Ohlendorf_Testimony. ... Image File history File links Otto_Ohlendorf_Testimony. ... 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... A war crime is a punishable offense, under international (criminal) law, for violations of the law of war by any person or persons, military or civilian. ... Motto: E pluribus unum (1789 to present) (Latin: Out of Many, One) In God We Trust (1956 to present) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York, New York Official language(s) None at federal level; English de facto Government • President • Vice President Federal republic... Hl. ... Combatants Allies: • Poland, • UK & Commonwealth, • France/Free France, • Soviet Union, • USA, • China, ...and others Axis: • Germany, • Italy, • Japan, ...and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total: 50 million Full list Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total: 12 million Full list World War II... The Nuremberg Trials is the general name for two sets of trials of Nazis involved in World War II and the Holocaust. ... 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...

The case

The Einsatzgruppen were special units of the SD, the Reichssicherheitsdienst. These were veritable death squads, operating in general behind the frontline in eastern Europe. They indiscriminately killed Jews and non-cooperating civilians in large numbers. From 1941 to 1943 alone, they murdered more than one million Jews and tens of thousands of "partisans", Roma, disabled persons, political commisars, and others. The 24 defendants in this trial were all officers (all but three commissioned officers) of these Einsatzgruppen and faced severe mass murder charges. The tribunal stated in its judgement: Einsatzgruppen (a German military term meaning mission groups, loosely translated as Task Force) were semi-military groups formed in Nazi Germany before and during World War II. These death squads belonged to the SS and followed the Wehrmacht in their attacks first on Poland and then the Soviet Union. ... 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 Secure Digital, flash memory card format used in... A death squad is an extra-judicial group whose members execute or assassinate persons they believe to be politically unreliable or undesirable. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1941 calendar). ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) is a common year starting on Friday. ... The Roma people (singular Rom; sometimes Rroma, Rrom), often referred to as Gypsies, are an ethnic group who live primarily in Europe. ... In military organizations, a commissioned officer is a member of the service who derives authority directly from a sovereign power, and as such holds a commission from that power. ... This article deals with mass killings which are not considered genocide. ...

"... in this case the defendants are not simply accused of planning or directing wholesale killings through channels. They are not charged with sitting in an office hundreds and thousands of miles away from the slaughter. It is asserted with particularity that these men were in the field actively superintending, controlling, directing, and taking an active part in the bloody harvest." —[1]

The judges in this case, heard before Military Tribunal II-A, were Michael A. Musmanno (presiding judge) from Pennsylvania, John J. Speight from Alabama, and Richard D. Dixon from North Carolina. The Chief of Counsel for the Prosecution was Telford Taylor; the Chief Prosecutor for this case was Benjamin B. Ferencz. The indictment was filed initially on July 3 and then amended on July 29, 1947 to also include the defendants Steimle, Braune, Hänsch. Strauch, Klingelhöfer, and von Radetzky. The trial lasted from September 29, 1947 until April 10, 1948. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Official language(s) None Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 33rd 119,283 km² 255 km 455 km 2. ... Official language(s) English Capital Montgomery Largest city Birmingham Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 30th 135,775 km² 306 km 531 km 3. ... Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 28th 139,509 km² 805 km 240 km 9. ... Telford Taylor Telford Taylor (February 24, 1908 - May 22, 1998) was a U.S. lawyer best known for his role in the Counsel for the Prosecution at the Nuremberg Trials after World War II, his opposition against Senator McCarthy in the 1950s, and his outspoken criticism of the U.S... Benjamin B. Ferencz was born in the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania in 1920. ... In the common law legal system, an indictment is a formal charge of having committed a serious criminal offence. ... July 3 is the 184th day of the year (185th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 181 days remaining. ... July 29 is the 210th day (211th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 155 days remaining. ... 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... September 29 is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years). ... April 10 is the 100th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (101st in leap years). ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ...

Indictment

1. Crimes against humanity through persecutions on political, racial, and religious grounds, murder, extermination, imprisonment, and other inhumane acts committed against civilian populations, including German nationals and nationals of other countries, as part of an organized scheme of genocide.
2. War crimes for the same reasons, and for wanton destruction and devastation not justified by military necessity.
3. Membership in criminal organizations, the SS, the SD, or the Gestapo, which had been declared criminal organizations previously in the international Nuremberg Military Tribunals.

All defendants were charged on all counts. All defendants pleaded "not guilty". The tribunal found all of them guilty on all counts, except Rühl and Graf, who were found guilty only on count 3. This article is in need of attention. ... Genocide is defined by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG) article 2 as any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, as such: Killing members of the group; Causing... A war crime is a punishable offense, under international law, for violations of the law 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... 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 Secure Digital, flash memory card format used in... The Deaths Head emblem similar to Skull and crossbones, often used as the insignia of the Gestapo The (help· info) (contraction of Geheime Staatspolizei; secret state police) was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. ... 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...

Defendants

Note 1: Rasch had to be removed from the courtroom during the arraignment due to his poor health; he was arraigned separately on September 22, 1947. 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... 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... SS-Gruppenführer collar patch SA-Gruppenführer rank insignia Volkssturm Gruppenführer insignia Gruppenführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA. SA Rank Translated as “Group Leader”, a Gruppenführer was typically in charge of... 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 Secure Digital, flash memory card format used in... 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. ... Brigadeführer was an SS rank that was used in Nazi Germany between the years of 1932 and 1945. ... Erich Naumann Erich Naumann (April 29, 1905 - June 7, 1951) was an SS-Brigadeführer, member of the SD and commanding officer of Einsatzgruppe B. Early life and Career Born April 29, 1905 in Meissen, Saxony, Erich Naumann left school at the age of sixteen and obtained employment in a... The Deaths Head emblem similar to Skull and crossbones, often used as the insignia of the Gestapo The (help· info) (contraction of Geheime Staatspolizei; secret state police) was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. ... February 5 is the 36th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Dr. Franz Six first rose to prominence as dean of the faculty of Economics of the University of Berlin. ... Categories: People stubs ... SS-Standartenführer insignia Standartenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in both the SA and the SS. First created as a title in 1925, in 1928 the rank became one of the first commissioned Nazi ranks and was bestowed upon those SA and SS officers... SS-Obersturmbannführer Rank Patch SA-Obersturmbannführer Rank Patch Obersturmbannführer was a paramilitary Nazi Party rank which was used by both the SA and the SS. The title was first created as an SA rank in 1932 after an expansion of the SA created the need for an... SS-Obersturmbannführer Rank Patch SA-Obersturmbannführer Rank Patch Obersturmbannführer was a paramilitary Nazi Party rank which was used by both the SA and the SS. The title was first created as an SA rank in 1932 after an expansion of the SA created the need for an... Emil Haussmann served as an SS Sturmbannführer; an officer in Einsatzkommando 12 of Einsatzgruppe D. One of 24 officers indicted during the Einsatzgruppen Trial, Haussmann committed suicide before the arraignment on July 31, ]]1947]] - the only defendant who thus escaped being sentenced. ... Sturmbannführer Collar Patch Sturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party which was used by both the Sturmabteilung (SA) and the Schutzstaffel (SS). ... Arraignment is a common law term for the formal reading of a criminal complaint, in the presence of the defendant, to inform him of the charges against him. ... July 31 is the 212th day (213th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 153 days remaining. ... Hauptsturmführer was a Nazi rank of the SS which was used between the years of 1934 and 1945. ... Obersturmführer collar insignia Obersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi party that was used by the Schutzstaffel and also as a rank of the SA. Translated as “Senior Storm Leader”, the rank of Obersturmführer was first created in 1932 as the result of an expansion of... SS-Untersturmführer insignia Untersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the German Schutzstaffel first created in July 1934. ... September 22 is the 265th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (266th in leap years). ...

Note 2: Strauch suffered an epileptic attack during the arraignment on September 15, 1947. His defense later tried to get him removed from the trial on medical grounds, but the tribunal dismissed this, stating that Strauch's testimonies (which he did give subsequently) were coherent and showed no reason why he shouldn't be mentally capable to stand trial. Epilepsy in animals and List of people believed to have epilepsy cover topics complementary to this article, which deals with epilepsy in the general human population. ... September 15 is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years). ...

Note 3: While Fendler was found guilty on all counts, the tribunal considered the evidence presented insufficient to prove that he ordered or helped plan the killings. He seems to have held primarily an office post.

Note 4: Rühl was found guilty only on count 3; regarding counts 1 and 2, the tribunal found him not guilty, stating that as a subaltern officer, he was not responsible for the atrocities committed by Einsatzgruppe D and in no position to prevent them, and although he knew of the killings, it could not be proved that he directly participated in them.

Note 5: Graf was found guilty only of membership in the SD. He had actually been expelled from the SS for "general indifference to the organization" [2] and later had tried to be relieved from the SD [3]. On counts 1 and 2, he was also found not guilty, because as a noncommissioned officer, he had never held any command post, and in fact even refused one once. (ibid.)

Of the 14 death sentences, only four were carried out; the others were commuted to prison terms of varying lengths in 1951. In 1958, all convicts were released from prison. 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Quotes

From the tribunal's judgment:

A member of Einsatzgruppe D shoots a Jew kneeling before a filled mass grave in Vinnitsa, Ukraine, in 1942.

"[The facts] are so beyond the experience of normal man and the range of man-made phenomena that only the most complete judicial inquiry, and the most exhaustive trial, could verify and confirm them. Although the principle accusation is murder, [...] the charge of purposeful homicide in this case reaches such fantastic proportions and surpasses such credible limits that believability must be bolstered with assurance a hundred times repeated." —[4]

"...a crime of such unprecedented brutality and of such inconceivable savagery that the mind rebels against its own thought image and the imagination staggers in the contemplation of a human degradation beyond the power of language to adequately portray." —[5]

"The number of deaths resulting from the activities with which these defendants have been connected and which the prosecution has set at one million is but an abstract number. One cannot grasp the full cumulative terror of murder one million times repeated.

"It is only when this grotesque total is broken down into units capable of mental assimilation that one can understand the monstrousness of the things we are in this trial contemplating. One must visualize not one million people but only ten persons — men, women, and children, perhaps all of one family — falling before the executioner's guns. If one million is divided by ten, this scene must happen one hundred thousand times, and as one visualizes the repetitious horror, one begins to understand the meaning of the prosecution's words, 'It is with sorrow and with hope that we here disclose the deliberate slaughter of more than a million innocent and defenseless men, women, and children.'" —[6]

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. ...

See also

• Commissar order, an order stating that Soviet political commissars were to be shot on the battlefield.

The commissar order was an order given by Adolf Hitler prior to Operation Barbarossa that any captured Soviet political officer be immediately shot. ... Soviet redirects here. ...

References

• Trial proceedings from the Mazal Library.
• Description from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
• Another description.