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New Page 1 The Einsatzgrϋppen

 

Einsatzgruppen Execution

The Aftermath

Scenes of Einsatzgruppen murder

  The Einsatzgruppen were special SS mobile formations tasked with carrying out the mass murder of Jews, communist functionaries, and others deemed unfit to live by the Nazis.   They were first seen in action in Austria and the annexed parts of Czechoslovakia in 1938, as German forces occupied all (in the case of Austria) or certain regions (in the case of Czechoslovakia) of these countries in relatively peaceful annexations to the Reich.

An SD/ SS Unit Somewhere in Russia

 

Death on a Kiev Street

For the Polish campaign in 1939, Reinhard Heydrich, Chief of  Reich Security, formed 6 major Einsatzgruppen der Sicherheitspolizei; five of these units were attached to the advancing German army, whilst the other unit was designated for service in the Posen (Poznan) district.   The total strength of the Einsatzgruppen during the Polish campaign, was approximately 2,700 men. Their prime role was the arrest of the politically unreliable, confiscation of weapons, police intelligence and actions against Jews.   From 1 September to 25 October 1939, over 500 towns and villages were burned and over 16,000 people were executed by the Einsatzgruppen.   Far more infamous were the Einsatzgruppen which were formed in the spring of 1941 for the campaign against Russia. Adolf Hitler issued an order that the Security Police and Security Services would assist the army in combating resistance behind the front lines. 

The Einsatzgruppen commanders were carefully selected by Heydrich from the best educated and most fanatical Nazis.

 

Read more about the Einsatzgruppen here:http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/einsatz/index.html

 

The Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team

www.HolocaustResearchProject.org