Ensatzgruppen

**Einsatzgruppen**
Who: The Einsatzgruppen were a special German task force of the SS. Their official full name was **//Einsatzgruppen der Sicherheitspolizei und des SD.//** The Einsatzgruppen was run by Heinrich Himmler and Reichsfuhrer They were divided into five sub groups usually consisting of about 3,000 men.
 * by tenisha poteate**

When: They were created in 1939 and were operating very fast and effectively by July,1941.

What: Their duties were to deal with the "undesirables" of the occupied countries. This was aimed at Jewish people although many others were killed based on their race or religious view in addition where the Einsatzgruppen saw fit. Due to this they were the reason for countless deaths during this period.

How: In order to fulfill their purpose of killing numerous amounts of people the Einsatzgruppen had to find effective methods in disposing of them. Their main two methods consisted of mass shootings and gas trucks. In the mass shootings the scenarios vary accordingly in how the people arrive their. They are either arrested, captured, or told they’re being relocated. From their they are forced to dig their own graves or if it’s a mass grave and already dug they will just be placed in front of it so that when they’re shot they fall right into it. In the gassing trucks the Jews were forced into the truck with no escape. From there the exhaust was expelled into the truck causing them all to suffocate to death. The gassing trucks were introduced as a more effective way to kill people as opposed to mass shootings as well as to help the Einsatzgruppen become emotionally hit by all the murders they were carrying out considering they were killing a large number of woman and children.

**Felix Landau** was a part of Einsatzgruppen//. He worked in// **Lviv (Lwow)** and then in **Drohobycz**. He recorded some of his experiences in a journal some listed below:

" **Lwow** - 5 July 1941 ... There were hundreds of Jews walking along the street with blood pouring down their faces, holes in their heads, their hands broken and their eyes hanging out of their sockets. They were covered in blood. Some were carrying others who had collapsed. We went to the citadel; there we saw things that few people have ever seen. At the entrance to the citadel there were soldiers standing guard. They were holding clubs as thick as a man's wrist and were lashing out and hitting anyone who crossed their path. The Jews were pouring out of the entrance. There were rows of Jews lying one on top of the other like pigs, whimpering horribly. The Jews kept streaming out of the citadel completely covered in blood. We stopped and tried to see who was in charge of the Kommando. Nobody. Someone had let the Jews go. They were just being hit out of rage and hatred...   **Drohobycz** - 12 July 1941 ... At 6:00 in the morning I was suddenly awoken from a deep sleep. Report for an execution. Fine, so I'll just play executioner and then gravedigger, why not?... Twenty-three had to be shot, amongst them ... two women ... We had to find a suitable spot to shoot and bury them. After a few minutes we found a place. The death candidates assembled with shovels to dig their own graves. Two of them were weeping. The others certainly have incredible courage... Strange, I am completely unmoved. No pity, nothing. That's the way it is and then it's all over... Valuables, watches and money are put into a pile... The two women are lined up at one end of the grave ready to be shot first... As the women walked to the grave they were completely composed. They turned around. Six of us had to shoot them. The job was assigned thus: three at the heart, three at the head. I took the heart. The shots were fired and the brains whizzed through the air. Two in the head is too much. They almost tear it off... "

The Einsatzgruppen carried out many mass murders two of the most well known being Babi Yar and Rumbula. At Babi Yar 33,771 people were killed in two days. It took place on September, 29-30th, 1941. This event was noted as being the largest two day massacre during the Holoacaust. At Rumbula 25,000 were killed in two days November, 30th, 1941 and December, 8th, 1941. The Jewish people were transported to the Rumbula forest by train. About 24,000 of the victims were Latvian Jews while the other thousand were German Jews. The massacre was fulfilled by Einsatzgruppen A with some help from Arajs Kommando. Friedrich Jeckeln was in charge of the whole operation as he also planned it out.