''Einsatzgruppen'' (German for "task forces", ''"deployment groups"''; singular ''Einsatzgruppe''; official full name ''Einsatzgruppen der Sicherheitspolizei und des SD'') were ''
Schutzstaffel
The ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS; also stylized as ''ᛋᛋ'' with Armanen runes; ; "Protection Squadron") was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe duri ...
'' (SS) paramilitary
death squads of
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
that were responsible for mass killings, primarily by shooting, during World War II. The ''
Einsatzgruppen'' had a leading role in the implementation of the
Final Solution
The Final Solution (german: die Endlösung, ) or the Final Solution to the Jewish Question (german: Endlösung der Judenfrage, ) was a Nazi plan for the genocide of individuals they defined as Jews during World War II. The "Final Solution to th ...
of the
Jewish question
The Jewish question, also referred to as the Jewish problem, was a wide-ranging debate in 19th- and 20th-century European society that pertained to the appropriate status and treatment of Jews. The debate, which was similar to other " national ...
(''Die Endlösung der Judenfrage'') in territories conquered by Nazi Germany.
Under the direction of ''
Reichsführer-SS
(, ) was a special title and rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945 for the commander of the (SS). ''Reichsführer-SS'' was a title from 1925 to 1933, and from 1934 to 1945 it was the highest rank of the SS. The longest-servi ...
''
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...
and the supervision of SS-''
Obergruppenführer
' (, "senior group leader") was a paramilitary rank in Nazi Germany that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) and adopted by the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) one year later. Until April 1942, it was the highest commissio ...
''
Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( ; ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a high-ranking German SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust.
He was chief of the Reich Security Main Office (inclu ...
, the ''Einsatzgruppen'' operated in territories occupied by the German armed forces following the invasion of Poland in September 1939 and Operation Barbarossa (the invasion of the Soviet Union) in June 1941. Historian Raul Hilberg estimates that between 1941 and 1945 the ''Einsatzgruppen'' and related agencies and foreign auxiliary personnel killed more than two million people, including 1.3 million Jews. The total number of Jews murdered during the Holocaust is estimated at 5.5 to six million people.
After the close of the World War II, 24 senior leaders of the ''Einsatzgruppen'' were prosecuted in the Einsatzgruppen Trial in 1947–48, charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes. Fourteen death sentences and two life sentences were among the judgements. Four additional ''Einsatzgruppe'' leaders were later tried and executed by other nations.
Invasion of Poland
Seven ''Einsatzgruppen'' of battalion strength operated in Poland. Each was subdivided into four ''Einsatzkommandos'' of company strength.
* ''Einsatzgruppe'' I, commanded by SS-''Standartenführer'' Bruno Streckenbach, acted with 14th Army (Wehrmacht), 14th Army
* ''Einsatzgruppe'' II, SS-''Obersturmbannführer'' Emanuel Schäfer, acted with 10th Army (Wehrmacht), 10th Army
* ''Einsatzgruppe'' III, SS-''Obersturmbannführer und Regierungsrat'' Dr. :de:Herbert Fischer (Polizeibeamter), Herbert Fischer, acted with 8th Army (Wehrmacht), 8th Army
* ''Einsatzgruppe'' IV, SS-''Brigadeführer'' Lothar Beutel, acted with 4th Army (Wehrmacht), 4th Army
* ''Einsatzgruppe'' V, SS-''Standartenfürer'' Ernst Damzog, acted with 3rd Army (Wehrmacht), 3rd Army
* ''Einsatzgruppe'' VI, SS-''Oberführer'' Erich Naumann, acted in Wielkopolska
* ''Einsatzgruppe'' VII, SS-''Obergruppenführer'' Udo von Woyrsch and SS-''Gruppenführer'' Otto Rasch, acted in Upper Silesia and Cieszyn Silesia
Invasion of the Soviet Union and other countries
References
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* {{cite book , last = Weale , first = Adrian , author-link = Adrian Weale , title = Army of Evil: A History of the SS , year = 2010 , publisher = Penguin Group , location = New York; Toronto , isbn = 978-0-451-23791-0
Einsatzgruppen, *