Einsatzkommando
Encyclopedia
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Nazi German Einsatzkommandos were a sub-group of five Einsatzgruppen
Einsatzgruppen
Einsatzgruppen were SS paramilitary death squads that were responsible for mass killings, typically by shooting, of Jews in particular, but also significant numbers of other population groups and political categories...
mobile killing squads—up to 3,000 men each—usually composed of 500-1,000 functionaries of the SS and Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
, whose mission was to kill Jews, Romani, communists and the NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
collaborators in the captured territories often far behind the advancing German front. After the outbreak of war with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
known as Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
, the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
began to retreat so fast, that the large Einsatzgruppen had to be split into dozens of smaller commandos (Einsatzkommandos), responsible for systematically killing Jews and, among others, Soviet political activists behind the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
lines. Several Einsatzkommando officers were tried and hanged after the war (see Einsatzgruppen Trial
Einsatzgruppen Trial
The Einsatzgruppen Trial 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...
).
As a military term, the German Einsatzkommando (Operational Command) is roughly equivalent to the English task force and is still in use for German paramilitary organizations, such as SEK
Spezialeinsatzkommando
Spezialeinsatzkommandos are the special response units of the German state police forces. German SEKs are full-time units whose members do not perform any other duties, and are essentially the equivalent of American SWAT Teams...
and Einsatzkommando Cobra
EKO Cobra
EKO Cobra is Austria's foremost counter-terrorism special operations tactical unit. It is not part of the Austrian Federal Police but is directly under the control of the Austrian Federal Ministry for the Interior.-History:...
.
Organization of the Einsatzgruppen
Einsatzgruppen (German: "task forces", "special-ops units") were paramilitary groups originally formed under the direction of Reinhard HeydrichReinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich , also known as The Hangman, was a high-ranking German Nazi official.He was SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei, chief of the Reich Main Security Office and Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia...
, Chief of the SD
Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
, and Sicherheitspolizei
Sicherheitspolizei
The Sicherheitspolizei , often abbreviated as SiPo, was a term used in Nazi Germany to describe the state political and criminal investigation security agencies. It was made up by the combined forces of the Gestapo and the Kripo between 1936 and 1939...
(Security Police, SiPo) in 1938. They were operated by the Schutzstaffel
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
(SS). Per a Hitler-Himmler directive, the Einsatzgruppen were re-formed in anticipation of the assault on Russia
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
. The Einsatzgruppen were once again under the control of Reinhard Heydrich as Chief of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA—Reich Main Security Office); after his death they were under the control of his successor, Ernst Kaltenbrunner
Ernst Kaltenbrunner
Ernst Kaltenbrunner was an Austrian-born senior official of Nazi Germany during World War II. Between January 1943 and May 1945, he held the offices of Chief of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt , President of Interpol and, as a Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei und Waffen-SS, he was the...
.
Hitler ordered the SD and the Security Police to help the Wehrmacht break native resistance behind the Wehrmacht's fighting front. The Quartermaster General of the Army, General Eduard Wagner
Eduard Wagner
General Eduard Wagner was a German Artillery officer who was the quartermaster-general of the German Army and a member of the resistance to Adolf Hitler....
(representing Keitel, Chief of the Supreme Command of the Wehrmacht
Oberkommando der Wehrmacht
The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht was part of the command structure of the armed forces of Nazi Germany during World War II.- Genesis :...
) met Heydrich and agreed to the activation, commitment, command, and jurisdiction of Security Police and SD units in the Wehrmachts table of operations and equipment (TOE): in the rear operational areas, the Einsatzgruppen were to function in administrative sub-ordination to the field armies in order to effect the tasks assigned them by Heydrich. Their principal task (during the war), according to SS General Erich von dem Bach, at the Nuremberg Trials: "was the annihilation of the Jews, Gypsies, and Soviet political commissars". They were a key component in the implementation of the "Final Solution of the Jewish question" (German: Die Endlösung der Judenfrage) in the conquered territories. These killing units should be viewed in conjunction with the Holocaust.
The military commanders knew the task of the Einsatzgruppen. The Einsatzgruppen depended upon their sponsoring army commander for billet
Billet
A billet is a term for living quarters to which a soldier is assigned to sleep. Historically, it referred to a private dwelling that was required to accept the soldier....
, food, and transportation. Relations between the regular army and the SiPo and the SD were close. Einsatzgruppen commanders reported that the understanding by Wehrmacht commanders of Einsatzgruppen tasks made their operations considerably easier.
In the beginning, four Einsatzgruppen were formed, each attached to an Army group: Einsatzgruppe A to Army Group North
Army Group North
Army Group North was a German strategic echelon formation commanding a grouping of Field Armies subordinated to the OKH during World War II. The army group coordinated the operations of attached separate army corps, reserve formations, rear services and logistics.- Formation :The Army Group North...
; Einsatzgruppe B to Army Group Center, Einsatzgruppe C to Army Group South
Army Group South
Army Group South was the name of a number of German Army Groups during World War II.- Poland campaign :Germany used two army groups to invade Poland in 1939: Army Group North and Army Group South...
, and Einsatzgruppe D to the 11th German Army. Einsatzgruppen officers were drawn from the SD, the Waffen-SS
Waffen-SS
The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
, the Criminal Police (Kripo)
Kriminalpolizei
is the standard term for the criminal investigation agency within the police forces of Germany, Austria and the German-speaking cantons of Switzerland. In Nazi Germany during 1936, the Kripo became the Criminal Police Department for the entire Reich...
, and the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
. The enlisted men were from the Waffen-SS, the regular police
Ordnungspolizei
The Ordnungspolizei or Orpo were the uniformed regular police force in Nazi Germany between 1936 and 1945. It was increasingly absorbed into the Nazi police system. Owing to their green uniforms, they were also referred to as Grüne Polizei...
, the Gestapo, and the locally-recruited police. When occasion demanded, Wehrmacht commanders bolstered the strength of the Einsatzgruppen with their own regular-army troops.
Organization Einsatzgruppen in Poland
In 1939 during Invasion of Poland eight Einsatzgruppe were active during Operation TannenbergOperation Tannenberg
Operation Tannenberg was the codename for one of the extermination actions directed at the Polish people during World War II, part of the Generalplan Ost...
and Intelligenzaktion
Intelligenzaktion
Intelligenzaktion was a genocidal action of Nazi Germany targeting Polish elites as part of elimination of potentially dangerous elements. It was an early measure of the Generalplan Ost. About 60,000 people were killed as the result of this operation...
:
- Einsatzgruppe I (under command – SS-Standartenführer Bruno StreckenbachBruno StreckenbachBruno Heinrich Streckenbach held the rank of SS-Brigadeführer , when he was the head of Amt I : Administration and Personnel of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt , but eventually achieved the rank of SS-Gruppenführer both in Allgemeine-SS and Waffen-SS...
, acted with 14th Army- Einsatzkommando 1/I: SS-Sturmbannführer Ludwig Hahn
- Einsatzkommando 2/I: SS-Sturmbannführer Bruno MüllerBruno MüllerBruno Müller was a German rower who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics.In 1928 he won the gold medal with his partner Kurt Moeschter in the coxless pairs competition.-External links:*...
- Einsatzkommando 3/I: SS-Sturmbannführer Alfred Hasselberg
- Einsatzkommando 4/I: SS-Sturmbannführer Karl Brunner
- Einsatzgruppe II (under command – SS-Obersturmbannführer Emanuel SchäferEmanuel SchäferEmanuel Schäfer was an SS-Oberführer and a protégé of Reinhard Heydrich in Nazi Germany....
, acted with 10th Army- Einsatzkommando 1/II: SS-Obersturmbannführer Otto Sens
- Einsatzkommando 2/II: SS-Sturmbannführer Karl-Heinz Rux
- Einsatzgruppe III (under command – SS-Obersturmbannführer und Regierungsrat dr. Hans Fischer (SS officer), acted with 8th Army
- Einsatzkommando 1/III: SS-Sturmbannführer Wilhelm Scharpwinkel
- Einsatzkommando 2/III: SS-Sturmbannführer Fritz Liphardt
- Einsatzgruppe IV (under command – SS-Brigadeführer Lothar BeutelLothar BeutelLothar Beutel was a German pharmacist and Schutzstaffel officer who worked on behalf of the Sicherheitsdienst....
, acted with 4th Army- Einsatzkommando 1/IV: SS-Sturmbannführer und Regierungsrat Helmut Bischoff
- Einsatzkommando 2/IV: SS-Sturmbannführer und Regierungsrat Walter Hammer
- Einsatzgruppe V (under command – SS-Standartenfürer Ernst Damzog, acted with 3rd Army
- Einsatzkommando 1/V: SS-Sturmbannführer und Regierungsrat Heinz Gräfe
- Einsatzkommando 2/V: SS-Sturmbannführer und Regierungsrat Robert Schefe
- Einsatzkommando 3/V: SS-Sturmbannführer und Regierungsrat Walter Albath
- Einsatzgruppe VI (under command – SS-Oberführer Erich NaumannErich NaumannErich Naumann was an SS-Brigadeführer, member of the SD. Naumann was responsible for genocide in eastern Europe as commander of Einsatzgruppe B and considered a war criminal.-Early life and career:...
, acted on Wielkopolska area- Einsatzkommando 1/VI: SS-Sturmbannführer Franz Sommer
- Einsatzkommando 2/VI: SS-Sturmbannführer Gerhard FleschGerhard FleschGerhard Friedrich Ernst Flesch was a German Nazi executed for war crimes, specifically the torture and murder of members of the Norwegian resistance movement....
- Einsatzgruppe z. B.V (under command – SS-Obergruppenführer Udo von WoyrschUdo von WoyrschUdo Gustav Wilhelm Egon von Woyrsch was a high ranking Nazi, who rose to the rank of SS Obergruppenführer and was responsible for numerous murders during The Holocaust.- Early life :...
i SS-Oberfürer Otto RaschOtto RaschSS-Brigadeführer Otto Rasch was a high-ranking Nazi official in the occupied Eastern territories, commanding Einsatzgruppe C until October 1941. As a commanding officer, he was a Holocaust perpetrator and mass murderer.-Biography:Rasch was born in Friedrichsruh, northern Germany...
, acted on Upper SilesiaUpper SilesiaUpper Silesia is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia. Since the 9th century, Upper Silesia has been part of Greater Moravia, the Duchy of Bohemia, the Piast Kingdom of Poland, again of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown and the Holy Roman Empire, as well as of...
and Cieszyn SilesiaCieszyn SilesiaCieszyn Silesia or Těšín Silesia or Teschen Silesia is a historical region in south-eastern Silesia, centered around the towns of Cieszyn and Český Těšín and bisected by the Olza River. Since 1920 it has been divided between Poland and Czechoslovakia, and later the Czech Republic... - Einsatzkommando 16 (under command – SS-Sturmbannführer dr. Rudolf Tröger, acted on PomeraniaPomeraniaPomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
.
Einsatzgruppe A
Einsatzgruppe A—attached to the Army Group NorthArmy Group North
Army Group North was a German strategic echelon formation commanding a grouping of Field Armies subordinated to the OKH during World War II. The army group coordinated the operations of attached separate army corps, reserve formations, rear services and logistics.- Formation :The Army Group North...
—was assembled in Gumbinnen—in east Prussia—on 23 June 1941. Stahlecker—the first commander of the unit—ordered it to concentrate along the Lithuanian border. Soviet troops withdrew from the Lithuanian temporary capital
Temporary capital of Lithuania
The temporary capital of Lithuania was the official designation of the city of Kaunas in Lithuania during the interwar period. It was in contrast to the declared capital in Vilnius , which was under Polish control from 1920 until 1939...
Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
(Kovno) the day before, and the city was taken over by Lithuanians during the anti-Soviet uprising
Lithuanian 1941 independence
The June Uprising was a brief period in the history of Lithuania between the first Soviet and Nazi occupations in June 1941. Approximately one year earlier, on June 15, 1940, the Red Army invaded Lithuania and the unpopular Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic was soon established. Political...
. On 25 June, the Einsatzgruppe entered Kaunas with the units of the German army.
Commanders:
- SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Polizei Dr. Franz Walter StahleckerFranz Walter StahleckerFranz Walter Stahlecker was Commander of the Sicherheitspolizei and the Sicherheitsdienst for the Reichskommissariat Ostland in 1941/42...
(22 June 1941–23 March 1942) - SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Polizei Heinz JostHeinz JostHeinz Jost was an SS Brigadeführer and a Generalmajor of Police...
(29 March–2 September 1942) - SS-Oberführer und Oberst der Polizei Dr. Humbert Achamer-PifraderHumbert Achamer-PifraderHumbert Achamer-Pifrader was an SS Colonel and Commander of the Einsatzgruppe A from September 1942 to September 1943.-Biography:...
(10 September 1942–4 September 1943) - SS-Oberführer Friedrich Panzinger (5 September 1943–6 May 1944)
- SS-Oberführer und Oberst der Polizei Dr. Wilhelm FuchsWilhelm FuchsOberführer und Oberst der Polizei Wilhelm Fuchs was a Nazi Einsatzkommando leader. From April 1941 to January 1942 he commanded Einsatzgruppe Serbien. From 15 September 1943 through 27 May 1944 he commanded Einsatzkommando 3....
(6 May–10 October 1944)
Sonderkommando 1a
- SS-Obersturmbannführer Dr. Martin SandbergerMartin SandbergerMartin Sandberger was an SS Standartenführer and commander of Sonderkommando 1a of the Einsatzgruppe, as well as commander of the Sicherheitspolizei and SD in Estonia. He played an important role in the mass murder of the Jews in the Baltic states...
(June 1941 – 1943) - SS-Obersturmbannführer Bernhard Baatz (1 August 1943–15 October 1944)
Sonderkommando 1b
- SS-Oberführer und Oberst der Polizei Erich EhrlingerErich EhrlingerErich Ehrlinger was a member of the Nazi SS who, as commander of Special Detachment 1b, was responsible for mass murder in the Baltic states and Belarus.He was also the commander of the Security Police and the...
(June–November 1941) - SS-Sturmbannführer Walter Hoffmann (As Deputy) – (January–March 1942)
- SS-Obersturmbannführer Dr. Eduard StrauchEduard StrauchEduard Strauch was an SS-Obersturmbannführer, commander of Einsatzkommando 2, commander of two Nazi organizations, the Security Police , or Sipo, and the Security Service , first in Belarus – then called White Russia or White Ruthenia – and later in Belgium...
(March–August 1942) - SS-Sturmbannführer Dr. Erich Isselhorst (30 June–1 October 1943)
Einsatzkommando 1a
- SS-Obersturmbannführer Dr. Martin SandbergerMartin SandbergerMartin Sandberger was an SS Standartenführer and commander of Sonderkommando 1a of the Einsatzgruppe, as well as commander of the Sicherheitspolizei and SD in Estonia. He played an important role in the mass murder of the Jews in the Baltic states...
(June 1942 – 1942) - SS-Obersturmbannführer Karl Tschierschky (1942)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Dr. Erich Isselhorst (November 1942–June 1943)
- SS-Obersturmbannführer Bernhard Baatz (June-August 1943)
Einsatzkommando 1b
- SS-Sturmbannführer Dr. Hermann Hubig (June-October 1942)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Dr. Manfred Pechau (October-November 1942)
Einsatzkommando 2
- SS-Obersturmbannführer Rudolf BatzRudolf BatzRudolf Batz was an SS Sturmbannführer. From 1 July to 4 November, 1941 he was the leader of Einsatzkommando 2 and as such was responsible, along with others, for the mass murder of Jews in the Baltic states.- Life :...
(June–4 November 1941) - SS-Obersturmbannführer Dr. Eduard StrauchEduard StrauchEduard Strauch was an SS-Obersturmbannführer, commander of Einsatzkommando 2, commander of two Nazi organizations, the Security Police , or Sipo, and the Security Service , first in Belarus – then called White Russia or White Ruthenia – and later in Belgium...
(4 November–2 December 1941) - SS-Sturmbannführer Dr. Rudolf LangeRudolf LangeDr. Martin Franz Erwin Rudolf Lange was a prominent Nazi police official. He served as commander of the SD and SIPO in Riga, Latvia...
(3 December 1941–1944) - SS-Sturmbannführer Dr. Manfred Pechau (October 1942)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Reinhard Breder (26 March 1943–July 1943)
- SS-Obersturmbannführer Oswald Poche (30 July 1943–2 March 1944)
Einsatzkommando 3
- SS-Standartenführer Karl JägerKarl JägerKarl Jäger was a Swiss-born SS-Standartenführer and Einsatzkommando leader who perpetrated acts of genocide.-Early life and career:...
(June 1941–1 August 1943) - SS-Oberführer und Oberst der Polizei Dr. Wilhelm FuchsWilhelm FuchsOberführer und Oberst der Polizei Wilhelm Fuchs was a Nazi Einsatzkommando leader. From April 1941 to January 1942 he commanded Einsatzgruppe Serbien. From 15 September 1943 through 27 May 1944 he commanded Einsatzkommando 3....
(15 September 1943–27 May 1944) - SS-Sturmbannführer Hans-Joachim Böhme (11 May–July 1944)
Jäger Report
The Jäger Report is the most precise surviving chronicle of the activities of one Einsatzkommando. It is a tally sheet of the actions of Einsatzkommando 3 — a running total of their killings of 136,421 Jews (46,403 men 55,556 women, 34,464 children), 1,064 Communists, 653 mentally disabled, and 134 others, from 2 July-1 December 1941. A second, major sweep occurred in 1942, before death camp killing replaced Einsatzkommando open-pit executions. Einsatzkommando 3 operated in the Kovno (KaunasKaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
) district, west of Vilna (Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
) in contemporary Lithuania.(See also Rollkommando Hamann
Rollkommando Hamann
Rollkommando Hamann was a small mobile unit that committed mass murders of Lithuanian Jews in the countryside in July–October 1941. The unit was also responsible for a large number of murders in Latvia from July through August, 1941...
)
Einsatzgruppe B
The operational command of Einsatzgruppe B – attached to the Army Group Center – was established a few days after the invasion of the Soviet UnionOperation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
, under the command of SS-Gruppenführer
Gruppenführer
Gruppenführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA.-SS rank:...
Arthur Nebe
Arthur Nebe
SS-Gruppenführer Arthur Nebe was a member of the NSDAP party with card number 574,307. In July 1931, he joined the SS and his membership number was 280,152. His early career included the Berlin position of Police Commissioner in the 1920s...
. It departed from the city of Poznań
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
(Posen) on 24 June 1941, with 655 men from the Security Police, Gestapo, Kripo
Kriminalpolizei
is the standard term for the criminal investigation agency within the police forces of Germany, Austria and the German-speaking cantons of Switzerland. In Nazi Germany during 1936, the Kripo became the Criminal Police Department for the entire Reich...
, SD, Waffen-SS and the 2nd Company of Reserve Police Battalion 9. On 30 June 1941 Himmler visited the newly-formed Bezirk Bialystok
Bezirk Bialystok
The Bezirk Bialystok , also Belostok was an administrative unit that existed during the World War II occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany...
district and pronounced that more forces were needed in the area, due to potential risks of partisan warfare. The chase after the Red Army's rapid retreat left behind a security vacuum, which required urgent deployment of additional personnel.
Scrambling to meet the "new threat" Gestapo headquarters in Zichenau (Ciechanów
Ciechanów
Ciechanów is a town in north-central Poland with 45,900 inhabitants . It is situated in Masovian Voivodeship . It was previously the capital of Ciechanów Voivodeship.-History:The grad numbered approximately 3,000 armed men....
) formed a lesser known unit called the kommando SS Zichenau-Schroettersburg which departed from sub-station Schröttersburg (Płock) under the command of SS-Obersturmführer Hermann Schaper, with the mission to kill Jews, communists and the NKVD collaborators across the local villages and towns. On July 3 additional formation of Schutzpolizei arrived in Białystok, summoned from the General Government. It was led by SS-Hauptsturmführer Wolfgang Birkner
Wolfgang Birkner
SS-Hauptsturmführer Wolfgang Birkner was a Nazi war criminal and Holocaust perpetrator. He was a member of the NSDAP party with card number 3,601,309, and...
, veteran of Einsatzgruppe IV from the Polish Campaign of 1939. The relief unit, called Kommando Bialystok, was sent in by SS-Obersturmbannfuhrer Eberhard Schöngarth on orders from the Reich Main Security Office, due to reports of Soviet guerrilla activity in the area with Jews being of course immediately suspected of helping them out. On 10 July 1941, Schaper's unit was split into smaller Einsatzkommandos due to requirements of Operation Barbarossa. On 14 November 1941, Gruppenführer Nebe told Berlin that, up until then, 45,000 persons had been eliminated. A further report, dated 15 December 1942, established that the Einsatzgruppe B had shot a total of 134,298 people. After 1943, the mass killings of Einsatzgruppe B diminished, and the unit was decommissioned in August 1944.
Commanders:
- SS-Gruppenführer und Generalmajor der Polizei Arthur NebeArthur NebeSS-Gruppenführer Arthur Nebe was a member of the NSDAP party with card number 574,307. In July 1931, he joined the SS and his membership number was 280,152. His early career included the Berlin position of Police Commissioner in the 1920s...
(June–November 1941) - SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Polizei Erich NaumannErich NaumannErich Naumann was an SS-Brigadeführer, member of the SD. Naumann was responsible for genocide in eastern Europe as commander of Einsatzgruppe B and considered a war criminal.-Early life and career:...
(November 1941–March 1943) - SS-Standartenführer Horst-Alwin Böhme (12 March–28 August 1943)
- SS-Oberführer und Oberst der Polizei Erich EhrlingerErich EhrlingerErich Ehrlinger was a member of the Nazi SS who, as commander of Special Detachment 1b, was responsible for mass murder in the Baltic states and Belarus.He was also the commander of the Security Police and the...
(28 August 1943–April 1944) - SS-Oberführer und Oberst der Polizei Heinrich Seetzen (28 April–August 1944)
- SS-Standartenführer Horst-Alwin Böhme (12 August 1944)
Around 5 July 1941, Arthur Nebe
Arthur Nebe
SS-Gruppenführer Arthur Nebe was a member of the NSDAP party with card number 574,307. In July 1931, he joined the SS and his membership number was 280,152. His early career included the Berlin position of Police Commissioner in the 1920s...
consolidated Einsatzgruppe B near Minsk, establishing a headquarters and remaining there for some two months. The Gruppenführer
Gruppenführer
Gruppenführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA.-SS rank:...
determined that Sonderkommando
Sonderkommando
Sonderkommandos were work units of Nazi death camp prisoners, composed almost entirely of Jews, who were forced, on threat of their own deaths, to aid with the disposal of gas chamber victims during The Holocaust...
7a and Sonderkommando 7b and the Vorkommando Moskau would follow the Army Group Center, while Einsatzkommandos 8 and 9 clean up to the sides of the spearhead. In compliance, Einsatzkommando 8 reached Bialystok on 1 July, passed through Slonim
Slonim
Slonim is a city in Hrodna Voblast, Belarus, capital of the Slonim District. It is located at the junction of the Shchara and Isa rivers, 143 km southeast of Hrodna. The population in 2008 was 50,800.-Etymology and historical names:...
and Baranovichi
Baranovichi
Baranovichi , is a city in the Brest Province of western Belarus with a population of 173,000. It is a significant railway junction and home to a state university.-Overview:...
, and began systematic mass killing operations in southern Bielorussia.
On 5 August, Gruppenführer Nebe moved his Einsatzgruppen command to Smolensk
Smolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...
, where the Vorkommando Moskau was concentrated. On 6 August, Einsatzkommando 8 reached Minsk, remaining there until 9 September 1941. From Minsk, it reached Mogilev
Mogilev
Mogilev is a city in eastern Belarus, about 76 km from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and 105 km from the border with Russia's Bryansk Oblast. It has more than 367,788 inhabitants...
, which became its general headquarters, and from there Einsatzkommando 8 effected successive killings in Bobruisk, Gomel, Roslav, and Klinzy systematically attacking the local Jewish communities, and killing the inhabitants.
Meanwhile, Einsatzkommando 9 was put to work; they had left Treuburg, in eastern Prussia, and reached Vilna on 2 July. Their main theater of mass killing operations were Grodno and Bielsk-Podlaski (Biala-Podlaska). On 20 July it moved its headquarters to Vitebsk, and then exterminated the citizens of Polotzk, Nevel, Lepel, and Surazh. The command progressed to Vtasma, and from there they killed the communities of Gshatsk and Mozhaisk in the Moscow vicinity. The Soviet counter-offensive forced the Einsatzkommando to withdraw to Vitebsk on 21 December 1941. Anticipating the fall of Moscow
Battle of Moscow
The Battle of Moscow is the name given by Soviet historians to two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between October 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive effort frustrated Hitler's attack on Moscow, capital of...
, the Vorkommando Moskau advanced to Maloyaroslavets
Maloyaroslavets
Maloyaroslavets is a town in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Luzha River , southwest of Moscow and northeast of Kaluga. Population: 21,200 ....
, earlier captured by the Wehrmacht on 18 October 1941. In practice, Sonderkommandos 7a and 7b operated behind the vanguard of the army. The actions were fast, in order to prevent the Jews from escaping the advancing German Army. To the south and east of Smolensk and Minsk, the two Sonderkommandos left a wake of dead civilians, from Veliki-Luki, Kalinin
Kalinin
Kalinin , or Kalinina , is a Russian surname, derived from the word kalina , and may refer to:People with the surname...
, Orsha
Orsha
Orsha is a city in Belarus in Vitebsk voblast on the fork of the Dnieper and Arshytsa rivers.-Facts:*Location: *Population: 125,000 *Phone code: +375 216*Postal codes: 211030, 211381–211394, 211396–211398-History:...
, Gomel, Chernigov and Orel
Orel
Orel or Oryol can refer to:*Oryol, a city in Russia, the administrative center of Oryol OblastIt can also refer to:*Alexander Oryol , Soviet military leader and admiral...
, to Kursk
Kursk
Kursk is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym Rivers. The area around Kursk was site of a turning point in the Russian-German struggle during World War II and the site of the largest tank battle in history...
.
Sonderkommando 7a
Sonderkommando 7a led by Walter Blume, was attached to the 9th Army under General Adolf StraußAdolf Strauß
Adolf Strauß was a German Generaloberst . He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross...
. SK 7a entered Vilna on 27 June and remained there until 3 July. Soon Vilna was in the command sphere of Einsatzgruppe A, and Sonderkommando 7a was transferred to Kreva
Kreva
Kreva is a township in Hrodna Voblast, Belarus.-History:The Kreva Castle, constructed of brick, was built by the Grand Duke Gediminas of Lithuania at the borderland of Lithuanian ethnic lands. After his death in 1341, Kreva became the patrimony of his son and successor, Algirdas...
near Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
. The Sonderkommando was active in Vilna, Nevel
Nevel
Nevel is a town and the administrative center of Nevelsky District of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located on Lake Nevel southeast of Pskov. Population:...
, Gorodoik, Vitebsk
Vitebsk
Vitebsk, also known as Viciebsk or Vitsyebsk , is a city in Belarus, near the border with Russia. The capital of the Vitebsk Oblast, in 2004 it had 342,381 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth largest city...
, Welish, Rzhev
Rzhev
Rzhev is a town in Tver Oblast, Russia, southwest of Staritsa and from Tver, on the highway and railway connecting Moscow and Riga. It is the uppermost town situated on the Volga River. Population:...
, Vyazma
Vyazma
Vyazma is a town and the administrative center of Vyazemsky District of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River, about halfway between Smolensk and Mozhaysk. Throughout its turbulent history, the city defended western approaches to the city of Moscow...
, Kalinin
Kalinin
Kalinin , or Kalinina , is a Russian surname, derived from the word kalina , and may refer to:People with the surname...
, and Klinzy. It executed 6,788 people.
- SS-Standartenführer Walter Blume (June–September 1941)
- SS-Standartenführer Eugen Steimle (September–December 1941)
- SS-Hauptsturmführer Kurt Matschke (December 1941–February 1942)
- SS-Obersturmbannführer Albert Rapp (February 1942–28 January 1943)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Helmut Looss (June 1943–June 1944)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Gerhard Bast (June-October/November 1944)
Sonderkommando 7b
The Sonderkommando was active in Brest-Litovsk, Kobrin, PruzhanyPruzhany
Pruzhany is a town in Brest Voblast, Belarus. Pruzhany is the center of a district in Brest Region, Belarus. Its population is about 20.000 people. The town is located at the confluence of the Mukha River and the Vets Canal, which give the start to Mukhavets River.-History:Pruzhany has been known...
, Slonim
Slonim
Slonim is a city in Hrodna Voblast, Belarus, capital of the Slonim District. It is located at the junction of the Shchara and Isa rivers, 143 km southeast of Hrodna. The population in 2008 was 50,800.-Etymology and historical names:...
, Baranovichi
Baranovichi
Baranovichi , is a city in the Brest Province of western Belarus with a population of 173,000. It is a significant railway junction and home to a state university.-Overview:...
, Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
, Orsha
Orsha
Orsha is a city in Belarus in Vitebsk voblast on the fork of the Dnieper and Arshytsa rivers.-Facts:*Location: *Population: 125,000 *Phone code: +375 216*Postal codes: 211030, 211381–211394, 211396–211398-History:...
, Klinzy, Briansk, Kursk
Kursk
Kursk is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym Rivers. The area around Kursk was site of a turning point in the Russian-German struggle during World War II and the site of the largest tank battle in history...
, Tserigov, and Orel
Oryol
Oryol or Orel is a city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, located on the Oka River, approximately south-southwest of Moscow...
. It executed 6,788 people.
- SS-Sturmbannführer Günther Rausch (June 1941 – January/February 1942)
- SS-Obersturmbannführer Adolf Ott (February 1942–January 1943)
- SS-Obersturmbannführer Josef Auinger (July 1942–January 1943)
- SS-Obersturmbannführer Karl-Georg Rabe (January/February 1943–October 1944)
Sonderkommando 7c
See also Vorkommando Moskau- SS-Sturmbannführer Friedrich-Wilhelm BockFriedrich-Wilhelm BockSS-Oberführer Friedrich-Wilhelm Bock was a German Waffen-SS officer who during his career commanded three SS-divisions, the 9.SS-Panzer-Division Hohenstaufen, the 4.SS-Polizei-Panzergrenadier-Division and the Latvian 19.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS...
(June 1942) - SS-Hauptsturmführer Ernst Schmücker (June 1942–1942)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Wilhelm Blühm (1942–July 1943)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Hans Eckhardt (July–December 1943)
Einsatzkommando 8
The Einsatzkommando was active in Volkovisk, BaranovichiBaranovichi
Baranovichi , is a city in the Brest Province of western Belarus with a population of 173,000. It is a significant railway junction and home to a state university.-Overview:...
, Babruysk
Babruysk
Babruysk or Bobruysk is a city in the Mahilyow Voblast of Belarus on the Berezina river. It is a large city in Belarus with a population of approximately 227,000 people . The name Babruysk probably originates from the Belarusian word babyor , many of which used to inhabit the Berezina...
, Lahoysk, Mogilev
Mogilev
Mogilev is a city in eastern Belarus, about 76 km from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and 105 km from the border with Russia's Bryansk Oblast. It has more than 367,788 inhabitants...
, and Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
. It executed 74,740 people.
- SS-Obersturmbannführer Dr. Otto BradfischOtto BradfischOtto Bradfisch was an economist, a jurist, an SS Obersturmbannführer , Leader of Einsatzkommando 8 of Einsatzgruppe B of the Security Police and the SD, and Commander of the Security Police in Litzmannstadt and Potsdam.- School and training :Dr...
(June 1941–1 April 1942) - SS-Sturmbannführer Heinz Richter (1 April–September 1942)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Dr. Erich Isselhorst (September–November 1942)
- SS-Obersturmbannführer Hans-Gerhard Schindhelm (7 November 1942–October 1943)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Alfred Rendörffer (?)
Einsatzkommando 9
The Einsatzkommando was active in Vilna, Grodno, LidaLida
Lida is a city in western Belarus in Hrodna Voblast, situated 160 km west of Minsk. It is the fourteenth largest city in Belarus.- Etymology :...
, Bielsk-Podlaski, Nevel
Nevel
Nevel is a town and the administrative center of Nevelsky District of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located on Lake Nevel southeast of Pskov. Population:...
, Lepel, Surazh
Surazh
Surazh is a town and the administrative center of Surazhsky District, Bryansk Oblast, Russia, located on the Iput River southwest of Bryansk. Population: 1,599 ....
, Vyazma
Vyazma
Vyazma is a town and the administrative center of Vyazemsky District of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River, about halfway between Smolensk and Mozhaysk. Throughout its turbulent history, the city defended western approaches to the city of Moscow...
, Gzhatsk, Mozhaisk, Vitebsk
Vitebsk
Vitebsk, also known as Viciebsk or Vitsyebsk , is a city in Belarus, near the border with Russia. The capital of the Vitebsk Oblast, in 2004 it had 342,381 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth largest city...
, Smolensk
Smolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...
, and Varena
Varena
Varėna is a city in Dzūkija, Lithuania.-History:The town was founded in 1862 near the Warsaw – Saint Petersburg Railway, south of Sena Varėna . At that time it was a small settlement, but following steady development it eventually became the center of the district in 1950. In the interbellum...
. It executed 41,340 people.
- SS-Obersturmbannführer Alfred Filbert (June–20 October 1941)
- SS-Obersturmbannführer Oswald Schäfer (October 1941–February 1942)
- SS-Obersturmbannführer Wilhelm Wiebens (February 1942–January 1943)
- SS-Obersturmbannführer Dr. Friedrich Buchardt (January 1943–October 1944)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Werner Kämpf (October 1943–March 1944)
Vorkommando Moskau
The Vorkommando—also known as Sonderkommando 7c—was to operate in MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, until it became apparent that Moscow would not fall; it was incorporated to Sonderkommando 7b, where it was active in Smolensk
Smolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...
and executed 4,660 people.
- SS-Brigadeführer Professor Dr. Franz SixFranz SixDr. Franz Alfred Six was a Nazi official who rose to the rank of SS-Brigadeführer. He was appointed by Reinhard Heydrich to head department Amt VII, Written Records of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt...
(20 June–20 August 1941) - SS-Obersturmbannführer Waldemar KlingelhöferWaldemar KlingelhöferWaldemar Klingelhöfer ; died about 1980) was an SS-Sturmbannführer and convicted war criminal.-Early life:...
(August–September 1941) - SS-Obersturmbannführer Dr. Erich Körting (September–December 1941)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Dr. Friedrich Buchardt (December 1941–January 1942)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Friedrich-Wilhelm BockFriedrich-Wilhelm BockSS-Oberführer Friedrich-Wilhelm Bock was a German Waffen-SS officer who during his career commanded three SS-divisions, the 9.SS-Panzer-Division Hohenstaufen, the 4.SS-Polizei-Panzergrenadier-Division and the Latvian 19.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS...
(January–June 1942)
Einsatzgruppe C
The Einzatzgruppe was attached to the Army Group SouthArmy Group South
Army Group South was the name of a number of German Army Groups during World War II.- Poland campaign :Germany used two army groups to invade Poland in 1939: Army Group North and Army Group South...
and executed 118,341 people.
- SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Polizei Dr. Dr. Otto RaschOtto RaschSS-Brigadeführer Otto Rasch was a high-ranking Nazi official in the occupied Eastern territories, commanding Einsatzgruppe C until October 1941. As a commanding officer, he was a Holocaust perpetrator and mass murderer.-Biography:Rasch was born in Friedrichsruh, northern Germany...
(June–October 1941) - SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Polizei Max Thomas (October 1941–29 April 1943)
- SS-Standartenführer Horst-Alwin Böhme (6 September 1943–March 1944)
Einsatzkommando 4a
The Einsatzkommando was active in LvivLviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
, Lutsk
Lutsk
Lutsk is a city located by the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast and the administrative center of the surrounding Lutskyi Raion within the oblast...
, Rovno, Zhytomyr
Zhytomyr
Zhytomyr is a city in the North of the western half of Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Zhytomyr Oblast , as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Zhytomyr Raion...
, Pereyaslav, Yagotyn, Ivankov, Radomyshl
Radomyshl
Radomyshl is a historic city in the Zhytomyr Oblast of northern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Radomyshl Raion , and is located on the left bank of Teteriv River, a right tributary of Dnieper River....
, Lubny
Lubny
Lubny is a city in the Poltava Oblast of central Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Lubensky Raion , the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast...
, Poltava
Poltava
Poltava is a city in located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Poltava Oblast , as well as the surrounding Poltava Raion of the oblast. Poltava's estimated population is 298,652 ....
, Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
(Babi Yar
Babi Yar
Babi Yar is a ravine in the Ukrainian capital Kiev and a site of a series of massacres carried out by the Nazis during their campaign against the Soviet Union. The most notorious and the best documented of these massacres took place on September 29–30, 1941, wherein 33,771 Jews were killed in a...
), Kursk
Kursk
Kursk is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym Rivers. The area around Kursk was site of a turning point in the Russian-German struggle during World War II and the site of the largest tank battle in history...
, Kharkiv
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
and executed 59,018 people.
- SS-Standartenführer Paul BlobelPaul BlobelPaul Blobel was a German Nazi war criminal, an SS-Standartenführer and a member of the SD. Born in the city of Potsdam, he participated in the First World War, where by all accounts he served well and was decorated with the Iron Cross first class...
(June 1941–13 January 1942) - SS-Obersturmbannführer Erwin Weinmann (13 January–27 July 1942)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Eugen Steimle (August 1942–15 January 1943)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Friedrich Schmidt (January–February 1943)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Theodor Christensen (March–December 1943)
Einsatzkommando 4b
The Einsatzkommando was active in LvivLviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
, Tarnopol(modern Ternopil
Ternopil
Ternopil , is a city in western Ukraine, located on the banks of the Seret River. Ternopil is one of the major cities of Western Ukraine and the historical region of Galicia...
), Kremenchug, Poltava
Poltava
Poltava is a city in located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Poltava Oblast , as well as the surrounding Poltava Raion of the oblast. Poltava's estimated population is 298,652 ....
, Slaviansk, Proskurov, Vinnytsia
Vinnytsia
Vinnytsia is a city located on the banks of the Southern Bug, in central Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Vinnytsia Oblast.-Names:...
, Kramatorsk
Kramatorsk
Kramatorsk is a city in the eastern Ukraine within Donetsk Oblast. Its population is about 200,000 people, including surrounding settlements under Kramatorsk City Council government....
, Gorlovka and Rostov
Rostov
Rostov is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population:...
. It executed 6,329 people.
- SS-Obersturmbannführer Günther Herrmann (June–October 1941)
- SS-Obersturmbannführer Fritz Braune (2 October 1941–21 March 1942)
- SS-Obersturmbannführer Dr. Walter Hänsch (March-July 1942)
- SS-Obersturmbannführer August Meier (July–November 1942)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Friedrich Sühr (November 1942–August 1943)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Waldemar Krause (August 1943–January 1944)
Einsatzkommando 5
The Einsatzkommando was active in LvivLviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
, Skvyra
Skvyra
Skvyra is a town in the Kiev Oblast of central Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Skvyra Raion , and is currently a municipality of raion subordinance. Skvyra currently has a population of about 18,009 and an area of ....
and Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
(Babi Yar
Babi Yar
Babi Yar is a ravine in the Ukrainian capital Kiev and a site of a series of massacres carried out by the Nazis during their campaign against the Soviet Union. The most notorious and the best documented of these massacres took place on September 29–30, 1941, wherein 33,771 Jews were killed in a...
). It executed 46,102 people.
- SS-Oberführer Erwin Schulz (June-August 1941)
- SS-Sturmbannführer August Meier (September 1941–January 1942)
Einsatzkommando 6
The Einsatzkommando was active in LvivLviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
, Zolochiv
Zolochiv
Zolochiv is a town located in the Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Zolochiv Raion ....
, Zhytomyr
Zhytomyr
Zhytomyr is a city in the North of the western half of Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Zhytomyr Oblast , as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Zhytomyr Raion...
, Proskurov(modern Khmelnytskyi), Vinnytsia
Vinnytsia
Vinnytsia is a city located on the banks of the Southern Bug, in central Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Vinnytsia Oblast.-Names:...
, Dnipropetrovsk
Dnipropetrovsk
Dnipropetrovsk or Dnepropetrovsk formerly Yekaterinoslav is Ukraine's third largest city with one million inhabitants. It is located southeast of Ukraine's capital Kiev on the Dnieper River, in the south-central region of the country...
, Kryvyi Rih
Kryvyi Rih
Kryvyi Rih or Krivoy Rog is a city in central Ukraine. It is situated in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, to the southwest of the oblast's administrative center, Dnipropetrovsk, at the confluence of the Inhulets and Saksahan rivers...
, Stalino and Rostov
Rostov
Rostov is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population:...
. It executed 5,577 people.
- SS-Standartenführer Dr. Erhard KrögerErhard KroegerErhard Kroeger or “Kröger” was a Latvian-born Baltic German SS officer involved in the resettlement of Baltic Germans before World War II, and later attached to General Vlasov and the German sponsored Russian Liberation Army of World War II.-Early years:Erhard Kroeger grew up in Riga, Latvia, a...
(June-November 1941) - SS-Sturmbannführer Robert Möhr (November 1941 – September 1942)
- SS-Obersturmbannführer Ernst BibersteinErnst BibersteinErnst Emil Heinrich Biberstein was an SS-Obersturmbannführer , member of the SD and...
(September 1942–May 1943) - ?
- SS-Sturmbannführer Friedrich Sühr (August–November 1943)
Einsatzgruppe D
The Einsatzgruppe was attached to the 11th Army.- SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Polizei Dr. Otto OhlendorfOtto OhlendorfOtto Ohlendorf was a German SS-Gruppenführer and head of the Inland-SD , a section of the SD. Ohlendorf was the commanding officer of Einsatzgruppe D, which conducted mass murder in Moldova, south Ukraine, the Crimea, and, during 1942, the north Caucasus...
(June 1941–July 1942) - SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Polizei Walter Bierkamp (July 1942–March 1943)
Einsatzkommando 10a
- SS-Oberführer und Oberst der Polizei Heinrich Seetzen (June 1941–July 1942)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Dr. Kurt Christmann (August 1942–July 1943)
Einsatzkommando 10b
- SS-Obersturmbannführer Alois Persterer (June 1941–December 1942)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Eduard Jedamzik (December 1942–February 1943)
Einsatzkommando 11a
- SS-Obersturmbannführer Paul Zapp (June 1941 – July 1942)
- Fritz Mauer (July–October 1942)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Dr. Gerhard Bast (November-December 1942)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Werner Hersmann (December 1942–May 1943)
Einsatzkommando 11b
- SS-Sturmbannführer Hans Unglaube (June–July 1941)
- SS-Obersturmbannführer Bruno Müller (July-October 1941)
- SS-Obersturmbannführer Karl Rudolf Werner BrauneWerner BrauneKarl Rudolf Werner Braune was a German member of the Nazi police and military organization known as the Schutzstaffel, or, more commonly, by its German initials, SS. He held the rank of Obersturmbannführer...
(October 1941–September 1942) - SS-Obersturmbannführer Paul Schultz (September 1942–February 1943)
Einsatzkommando 12
- SS-Obersturmbannführer Gustav Nosske (June 1941–February 1942)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Dr. Erich Müller (February–October 1942)
- SS-Obersturmbannführer Günther Herrmann (October 1942–March 1943)
Einsatzgruppe E
Commanders:- SS-Obersturmbannführer Ludwig Teichmann (August 1941–April 1943)
- SS-Standartenführer Günther Herrmann (April 1943–1944)
- SS-Oberführer und Oberst der Polizei Wilhelm Fuchs (October-November 1944)
Einsatzkommando 10b
- SS-Obersturmbannführer und Oberregierungsrat Joachim Deumling (March 1943–January 1945)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Franz Sprinz (January–May 1945)
Einsatzkommando 11a
- SS-Sturmbannführer und Regierungsrat Rudolf Korndörfer (May–September 1943)
- SS-Obersturmbannführer Anton Fest (September 1943–1945)
Einsatzkommando 16
Commando was a part of Mass murders in PiaśnicaMass murders in Piaśnica
The mass murders in Piaśnica were a set of mass executions carried out by Germans, during World War II, between the fall of 1939 and spring of 1940 in Piasnica Wielka in the Darzlubska Wilderness near Wejherowo. Standard estimates put the number of victims at between twelve thousand and fourteen...
known as "Pommern Katyń". In few mass executions
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
between the fall of 1939 and spring of 1940 in Piasnica Wielka summary was executed 23 000 Polish inteligentsia.
- Gestapo SS-ObersturmbannführerObersturmbannführerObersturmbannführer was a paramilitary Nazi Party rank used by both the SA and the SS. It was created in May 1933 to fill the need for an additional field grade officer rank above Sturmbannführer as the SA expanded. It became an SS rank at the same time...
Rudolf Tröger (1939-1940) - SS-Obersturmbannführer und Oberregierungsrat Johannes Thümmler (July–September 1943)
- SS-Obersturmbannführer Joachim Freitag (September 1943–October 1944)
Einsatzkommando Agram
- SS-Sturmbannführer und Regierungsrat Rudolf Korndörfer (September 1943)
Einsatzgruppe Serbien
- SS-Oberführer und Oberst der Polizei Wilhelm FuchsWilhelm FuchsOberführer und Oberst der Polizei Wilhelm Fuchs was a Nazi Einsatzkommando leader. From April 1941 to January 1942 he commanded Einsatzgruppe Serbien. From 15 September 1943 through 27 May 1944 he commanded Einsatzkommando 3....
(April 1941–January 1942) - SS-Oberführer Emanuel SchäferEmanuel SchäferEmanuel Schäfer was an SS-Oberführer and a protégé of Reinhard Heydrich in Nazi Germany....
(January 1942)
Einsatzkommando Tunis
- Einsatzkommando headed by SS officer Walter RauffWalter RauffWalter Rauff , was an SS officer in Nazi Germany, attaining the grade of Colonel in June 1944...
in TunisTunisTunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
.
Planned Einsatzkommando units
- Einsatzkommando-6 – planned for the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
(EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
) and headed by Dr. Franz SixFranz SixDr. Franz Alfred Six was a Nazi official who rose to the rank of SS-Brigadeführer. He was appointed by Reinhard Heydrich to head department Amt VII, Written Records of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt... - Einsatzkommando ÄgyptenEinsatzgruppe EgyptEinsatzgruppe Egypt was a special mobile SS death squad, which was to carry out a mass killing of Jews in British mandate of Palestine similar to the way they operated in eastern Europe...
– planned for Jewish residents in the Middle EastMiddle EastThe Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, including Palestine (IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
today).
See also
- Einsatzkommando FinnlandEinsatzkommando FinnlandEinsatzkommando Finnland was a German paramilitary unit active in northern Finland and northern Norway during World War II, while Finland was fighting the Continuation War against the Soviet Union with the support of Nazi Germany...
- Einsatzgruppen TrialEinsatzgruppen TrialThe Einsatzgruppen Trial 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...
- KrasnodarKrasnodarKrasnodar is a city in Southern Russia, located on the Kuban River about northeast of the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. It is the administrative center of Krasnodar Krai . Population: -Name:...
Trial of July 1943