EinsatzgruppenBy: Nick Maritato

Purpose

Einsatzgruppen was formed as a special task force.

Their mission was to arrest political enemies of Germany.

Later, when the “ Final Solution” was put into place, the Einstazgruppen became a group of professional killers.

Leaders

Reinhardt Heydrich: First commander to order the immediate execution of Jews on sight.

Heinrich Himmler: Ordered troops to kill all insurgents; anyone who they thought endangered German life or property.

Front of Death

Einsatzgruppen operated behind the Eastern Front.

The countries of Poland, Russia and East Prussia made up the Eastern Front.

All throughout the Eastern Front massacres were common.

The Massacres

Men, women and children were killed. People were stripped naked and required

to hand over all valuables. They were then instructed to dig a ditch

which would become their grave. Then, one by one, the people would be

shot in the head and fall into their grave. By the end of the war, troops had mobile

gas vans which they could use to kill instead of shooting their victims in the head.

The Troops

Einsatzgruppen were made up of SS, Gastapo, and volunteers from the German army.

Many troops suffered horrible psychological effects from the killings they participated in.

Some went crazy and ended up in asylums; others took their own lives!

Many of the officers in charge were prosecuted in the infamous Nurnberg Trials.

The Numbers

In three years,Einsatzgruppen members had killed over 1.5 million Jews, gypsies, and political leaders.

Approximately only 2995 of the troops were involved in the killings.

That means each member of the Einsatzgruppen killed approximately 507 people each!

Sources

Resnick, Abraham. The Holocaust. San Diego, CA: Lucent, 1991. Print.Rice, Earle. The Final Solution. San Diego, CA: Lucent, 1998. Print.An Introduction to the Einsatzgruppen." The Holocaust History Project Homepage. Web. 07 Feb. 2011. <http://www.holocaust-history.org/intro-einsatz/>.