What role did the Einsatzgruppen play in the German war effort?
Because the fight between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany was a largely ideological one, and the Soviet Union was not a signatory of Geneva Convention agreements on the conduct of war, it was rightly assumed by Hitler that the Soviets would not fight by the rules. The Einsatzgruppen were police units assigned to the pacification of occupied territories in the east. Their duties included fighting anti-German partisan guerrillas, shooting captured communist ‘commissars’ and executing civilians in reprisal for acts of murder and sabotage committed by the guerrillas.
Because the fight between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany was a largely ideological one, and the Soviet Union was not a signatory of Geneva Convention agreements on the conduct of war, it was rightly assumed by Hitler that the Soviets would not fight by the rules. The Einsatzgruppen were police units assigned to the pacification of occupied territories in the east. Their duties included fighting anti-German partisan guerrillas, shooting captured communist ‘commissars’ and executing civilians in reprisal for acts of murder and sabotage committed by the guerrillas.
Because the fight between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany was a largely ideological one, and the Soviet Union was not a signatory of Geneva Convention agreements on the conduct of war, it was rightly assumed by Hitler that the Soviets would not fight by the rules. The Einsatzgruppen were police units assigned to the pacification of occupied territories in the east. Their duties included fighting anti-German partisan guerrillas, shooting captured communist ‘commissars’ and executing civilians in reprisal for acts of murder and sabotage committed by the guerrillas.
The Einsatzgruppen were not involved in the war effort. They existed to shoot Jews wherever they were found, especially in the “sweeps” of 1941 and 1943. As Mr. Justice Musmanno testified at the Eichmann Trial: “The purpose of the Einsatzgruppen was to murder Jews and deprive them of their property”.
Because the fight between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany was a largely ideological one, and the Soviet Union was not a signatory of Geneva Convention agreements on the conduct of war, it was rightly assumed by Hitler that the Soviets would not fight by the rules. The Einsatzgruppen were police units assigned to the pacification of occupied territories in the east. Their duties included fighting anti-German partisan guerrillas, shooting captured communist ‘commissars’ and executing civilians in reprisal for acts of murder and sabotage committed by the guerrillas.
