Einsatzgruppen

Einsatzgruppen were mobile paramilitary death squads of the SS and police that operated in Nazi-occupied territories during the early years of World War II. Formed to implement the regime’s racial and political policies, they were tasked with mass murder behind the front lines, targeting Jews, Romani people, Soviet political opponents, partisans, and other groups deemed enemies of the Nazi state. Their operations began in Poland in 1939 and intensified in the Soviet Union after the invasion of 1941.

Organization and operations: The four main groups, designated A, B, C, and D, along with associated subunits, mobilized with the advancing Wehrmacht during the invasion of Poland and Operation Barbarossa. They carried out large-scale shootings in towns and rural areas, establishing temporary killing sites and burying victims in mass graves. The killings were systematic and bureaucratic, conducted by units composed of SS personnel, police, and sometimes local collaborators. Notable massacres associated with the groups include the Babi Yar killings near Kyiv in 1941 and the mass executions at Rumbula near Riga in 1941.

Impact and legacy: Estimates of total deaths attributed to the Einsatzgruppen range from about 1 to 2 million people, predominantly Jews, but also including Roma, Soviet civilians and POWs, and political adversaries. The actions of the Einsatzgruppen are considered a central component of the Holocaust, illustrating the role of mobile killing units in Nazi genocide. After the