Even before the construction of infamous extermination camps like Auschwitz-Birkenau and Sobibor, Nazi Germany had already initiated the systematic genocide of those deemed "enemies" of the Reich, primarily Jews, as well as Roma and Sinti populations. The mass murder campaign escalated dramatically with the launch of Operation Barbarossa on June 22, 1941, when Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. In the wake of advancing Wehrmacht forces, four SS mobile killing units known as the Einsatzgruppen (A, B, C, and D) followed, tasked with securing occupied territories and implementing the Final Solution in its initial phase.
The Einsatzgruppen were responsible for the deaths of around 2 million Jews, often through mass shootings carried out in forests, ravines and fields, in what is refered to as the "Holocaust by bullets." One of the most infamous examples of these atrocities was the Babi Yar massacre near Kyiv, Ukraine, where 33.771 Jewish men, women and children were murdered over two days on September 29 and 30, 1941. These units were supported by local collaborators, reserve police battalions and auxiliary forces, further amplifying the scale of the killings.
The Anschluss of Austria in March 1938 marked a significant milestone, serving as a prelude to the subsequent formation of the Einsatzgruppen. This move allowed the Nazis to solidify their control and influence, laying the groundwork for the dark operations to come.
Despite Hitler's assurances at Munich, in March 1939, Germany violated the agreement and occupied Czechoslovakia. That became the catalyst for the full mobilization of the Einsatzgruppen. With the directive of SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich, chief of the Reichs Sicherheits Haupt Amt (RSHA), the first Einsatzgruppen were established. Operating under the administration of the SS (Schutzstaffel), their initial purpose was multifaceted: to occupy newly acquired territories, gather crucial intelligence, and eliminate perceived threats to the Nazi regime.
As the dark clouds of World War II gathered, the objectives of the Einsatzgruppen underwent a chilling transformation. With the invasion of Poland on September 1st, 1939, their orders shifted from occupation and intelligence to the gruesome task of mass execution. Polish leaders, scholars, clergy, educators, and nobility found themselves targeted for ruthless elimination.
However, it was during Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, that the Einsatzgruppen reached a sinister pinnacle. Sent to Russia, they unleashed a reign of terror on "undesirables," including Jews, Roma (Eastern European Gypsies), communist leaders, and Russian officers. The scope of their operations escalated dramatically, leaving an indelible mark of horror on history.
The orders provided to the Einsatzgruppen were deliberately vague, allowing them considerable discretion to interpret and eliminate the "Enemies of the Reich" in whatever manner they saw fit. This flexibility gave them the freedom to employ ruthless tactics and instill fear to accomplish their dark objectives.
SS-Brigadeführer Bruno Streckenbach (February 7, 1902 - October 28, 1977) was responsible for recruiting and training the Einsatzgruppen members. These units were readied for deployment on the Eastern Front, undergoing preparation at the Border Police School in Pretzsch on the Elbe, situated approximately 150 kilometers southwest of Berlin in Germany.
Given the limited capacity of the training camp, some personnel were accommodated in nearby towns. Beyond conventional military instruction, the men received comprehensive lectures covering diverse subjects. These ranged from understanding the "Russian mentality" to insights into partisan warfare, and precautions against prevailing diseases in the region.
In June, the leaders of the Einsatzgruppen received personal guidance from Reinhard Heydrich regarding their forthcoming responsibilities on the Eastern Front. However, the precise details of these instructions remain undisclosed.
Despite commanding an auxiliary force of 10.000 police officers and 33.000 local collaborators, the Einsatzgruppen still lacked the manpower to carry out the complete extermination of Jews across Eastern Europe. As a result, other SS units and branches of the German military were mobilized to assist in the genocide. Key participants included:
Various SS Brigades, operating behind the frontlines to support mass executions.
The Fegelein Cavalry Division, led by Hermann Fegelein (Eva Braun's brother-in-law through his marriage to her sister Gretl), was active in clearing operations in the marshes of Polesia.
The Arājs Kommando, a notorious death squad led by Latvian Nazi collaborator Viktors Arājs and made up of ethnic Latvian volunteers.
The Wiking Division, which carried out massacres across Ukraine.
Reserve Police Battalions, who played a central role in roundups and shootings of Jews.
The SS Sturmbrigade Dirlewanger, a unit comprised of convicted criminals, notorious for its extreme cruelty and led by Oskar Dirlewanger a known psychopath and child molester.
Even the Wehrmacht (German army) and the Kriegsmarine (Navy) participated in the extermination operations, providing support or engaging directly in killing actions.
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Surprisingly, members of the Einsatzgruppen experienced battle fatigue, mental anguish and severe alcoholism due to the mass shootings of innocent men, women and children. In 1941, during a trip to Russia, SS Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler discovered this psychological toll and tasked Arthur Nebe of Einsatzgruppe B to find less stressful methods of killing.
A plan was formed to develop more efficient and emotionally detached ways of mass killing. On October 13th, 1941, Heinrich Himmler instructed SS and Police Leader Odilo Globočnik in Lublin to initiate the construction of the first extermination camp at Bełżec in occupied Poland.
It was composed of personnel from the Gestapo, the Sicherheitsdienst (SD), the Kriminalpolizei (Criminal Police), the Ordnungspolizei (Regular Police), and the Waffen-SS.
Death
Ohlendorf was convicted of crimes against humanity and spent three years in detention before being hanged at the Landsberg Prison in Bavaria on 7 June 1951
The Einsatzgruppen or Nazi mobile killing squads carried out some of the most horrific war crimes in Eastern Europe during World War II. Alongside auxiliaries and collaborators, they orchestrated mass shooting massacres that claimed the lives of nearly 2 million Jews.
Unlike the industrialized killing in concentration camps, the Einsatzgruppen’s atrocities were carried out face-to-face, leaving behind haunting evidence of one of the darkest chapters in human history. Understanding these mass shootings is essential to grasp the full scope of the Holocaust and the devastating impact of Nazi genocide across occupied territories.
Between 1941 and 1942, SS-Standartenführer Walter Rauff played a key role in developing and deploying one of the Nazi regime’s most chilling tools of mass murder: the gas van. These mobile gas chambers were designed to kill victims through carbon monoxide poisoning and marked an early shift from mass shootings to more "efficient," industrialized methods of extermination. The first known use of gas vans occurred at the Chełmno extermination camp in occupied Poland.
Over time, these vehicles became a central method of execution, responsible for the deaths of an estimated 700.000 people. Victims, most often Jews, but also Roma (commonly referred to at the time as "Gypsies"), people with disabilities, and others labeled “undesirable”, were told they were being relocated or transported for labor. Instead, they were loaded into sealed compartments in the vans. Once the doors were shut, exhaust fumes from the engine were pumped inside, killing those trapped within minutes.
Although often associated with Nazi atrocities, the concept of the gas van was not originally their invention. In 1936, Soviet secret police (NKVD) reportedly used a similar method on a small scale. Isay Berg, a senior NKVD official, is said to have overseen the conversion of vans used to execute prisoners in Moscow. However, while the Soviets kept their use limited and secret, the Nazis refined, expanded, and industrialized the process to an unprecedented scale.
The use of gas vans represents a terrifying moment in history when technology and bureaucracy were merged to commit systematic, state-sponsored murder. These mobile death chambers were direct precursors to the fixed gas chambers later used at Auschwitz, Sobibor, Treblinka, and other extermination camps. They serve as grim symbols of the cold, calculated machinery behind the Holocaust, and a warning of how quickly cruelty can be scaled when ideology, innovation, and indifference collide.
Haunting images depict the grim reality of the crimes committed by the Einsatzgruppen, mobile killing squads formed by Nazi Germany during World War II. In this images, uniformed members of the Einsatzgruppen are shown carrying out mass executions of innocent civilians, including men, women and children.
Men from an unidentified unit execute a group of Soviet civilians kneeling by the side of a mass grave
Following World War II, the Einsatzgruppen trials were held to bring to justice the leaders and members of the notorious Nazi death squads known as the Einsatzgruppen. The Einsatzgruppen trial was known as 'Nuremberg Military Tribunal II, Case 9: 'Einsatzgruppen Trial'. in total there were 12 other trials against the perpetrators of the Nazi regime.
Michael A. Musmanno
Presiding, United States Naval Reserve, County of Allegheny, Pennsylvania.
John J. Speight
Member, prominent member of the Alabama Bar.
Richard D. Dixon
Member, Judge of the Superior Court of the State of North Carolina.
Conducted between September 29, 1947 and April 10, 1948 in Nuremberg, Germany, these trials were part of the broader Subsequent Nuremberg Trials organized by the United States. A total of 24 Einsatzgruppen leaders and key personnel were charged with war crimes, crimes against humanity and membership in a criminal organization.
The trials resulted in multiple convictions, with sentences ranging from imprisonment to death. They played a crucial role in exposing the brutal realities of the Holocaust and established important legal precedents for prosecuting crimes against humanity. The Einsatzgruppen trials stand as a powerful reminder of the need for accountability and the pursuit of justice in the face of mass atrocities.
Defendant Otto Ohlendorf commander of Einsatzgruppe D and responsible for around 90.000 deaths (standing behind the microphone), formally pleads "not guilty".
Benjamin Ferencz (March 11, 1920 – April 7, 2023) was honorably discharged on Christmas 1945 from the U.S. Army as a sergeant. Soon after returning to New York, he was recruited to join Telford Taylor’s legal team as a prosecutor, with the simulated rank of colonel for the Subsequent Nuremberg Trials.
In early 1946, while examining documents near Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport, Ferencz uncovered detailed reports of the Einsatzgruppen’s mass murder of over one million people starting in June 1941. He flew to Nuremberg, demanding these crimes be prosecuted.
Despite initial hesitation due to limited resources, Taylor appointed Ferencz Chief prosecutor of the Einsatzgruppen Trial, his first major case at the age of 27. All 24 indicted defendants were convicted; 13 received death sentences, with four executions carried out, among the last on German soil.
Chief Prosecutor Benjamin Ferencz during the Einsatzgruppen Trial (Case #9) of the Subsequent Nuremberg Proceedings.
