Einsatztruppen

The Einsatztruppen were mobile killing units of the Nazi SS during World War II, directly responsible for the mass murder of millions of people, primarily Jews, but also Romani people, disabled individuals, communists, and others deemed undesirable by the Nazi regime.

Established in 1938, the Einsatzgruppen were initially tasked with conducting police actions, suppressing opposition to the Nazi regime, and enforcing anti-Semitic policies in Nazi-occupied territories. The units were formed into four main groups, designated A to D, with each group responsible for a specific geographic sector.

The Einsatztruppen carried out mass shootings and massacres against civilian populations, with estimates suggesting that they killed over one million people between 1941 and 1943. Their victims were often executed in mass graves, with the Einsatztruppen using various methods, including shooting, hanging, and poisoning.

In addition to mass murder, the Einsatztruppen were also responsible for the confiscation of property, the deportation of people to concentration camps, and the implementation of other policies aimed at eliminating certain groups considered a threat to the Nazi regime. Members of the Einsatztruppen often received military and administrative support from local authorities, including serving officers from the German military and other agencies.

The Einsatztruppen were significantly involved in the Holocaust, particularly during the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. While hundreds of thousands of people were killed in the first year of the offensive, it's estimated that a large majority of this process took place during the second year in which they massacred over 1 million Jews. These numbers make the Einsatztruppen pivotal in the large-scale mass murder orchestrated by the Nazi regime during World War II.