Editing Einsatzgruppen

{{Evil Organization
|Box title    = Evil Organization
|name = Evil Organization
|Image        = Einsatzgruppen.jpeg
|size   = 
|fullname = Einsatzgruppen
|alias = Task Forces
|origin = Germany
|foundation = 1939
|headquarters = Berlin, Germany
|commanders = [[Reinhard Heydrich]] (1939 - 1942)<br>[[Ernst Kaltenbrunner]] (1942 - 1945)
|agents = ''See below''
|skills = 
|goals = Eliminate enemies of the Nazi regime
|type of villains = Death Squad|type of villain=Death Squad|crimes=[[Mass murder]]<br>[[Genocide]]<br>[[Crimes against humanity]]<br>[[Ethnic cleansing]]<br>[[Anti-Semitism]]<br>[[Xenophobia]]<br>[[Persecution of Christians]]<br>[[Terrorism]]<br>}}The '''''Einsatzgruppen''''' (German: "task forces", "special-ops units") were paramilitary [[death squad]]s formed under the direction of [[Reinhard Heydrich]] and operated by the ''[[Schutzstaffel]]'' (SS) before and during [[World War II]]. Their principal task (during the war), according to SS General [[Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski]], at the Nuremberg Trials: "was the annihilation of the Jews, Gypsies, and Soviet political commissars". They were a key component in the implementation of the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question" (German: Die Endlösung der Judenfrage) in the conquered territories. These killing units should be viewed in conjunction with [[the Holocaust]].

During the war these units were formed mainly of men from the ''[[Ordnungspolizei]]'' (Orpo), the Waffen-SS and local volunteers, e.g. militia groups, and led by [[Gestapo]], Kripo, and SD officers. These death squads followed the Wehrmacht as it advanced eastwards through Eastern Europe en route to the Soviet Union. In occupied territory, the Einsatzgruppen also used the local populace for additional security and manpower when needed. The activities of the Einsatzgruppen were spread through a large pool of soldiers from the branches of the SS and the German Reich. Einsatzgruppen were under the control of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA) ([[Reich Main Security Office]]); i.e., Reinhard Heydrich (until his death) and later his successor [[Ernst Kaltenbrunner]].

The Einsatzgruppen were responsible for the murders of over 1,000,000 people, and they were the first [[Nazi]] organizations to commence mass killing of Jews as an organized policy.

==Personnel==
=== Invasion of Poland ===

Seven ''Einsatzgruppen'' of battalion strength operated in Poland. Each was subdivided into four ''Einsatzkommandos'' of company strength.{{sfn|Weale|2010|p=225}}

* ''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. 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]]{{sfn|Weale|2010|p=225}}

=== Invasion of the Soviet Union and other countries ===

{| class="wikitable"
|+Organisation
|-
! Einsatzgruppe
! colspan="2"  style="width:160pt;"|Leader
! Subgroups
|- valign="top"
| '''''Einsatzgruppe'' A'''<br />([[Baltic states]]){{sfn|Rhodes|2002|p=12}}
| SS-''Brigadeführer''<br />Dr. [[Franz Walter Stahlecker]]<br />(until 23 March 1942)
|[[File:Franz Walter Stahlecker.jpg|100px]]
|
* ''Sonderkommandos'' 1a and 1b (German for special forces; not to be confused with the ''[[Sonderkommando]]s'' in the concentration camps)
* ''Einsatzkommandos'' 2 and 3. Attached to [[Army Group North]]
|- valign="top"
| '''''Einsatzgruppe'' B'''<br />([[Belarus]]){{sfn|Rhodes|2002|p=12}}
| SS-''Brigadeführer''<br />[[Artur Nebe]]<br />(until October 1941)
| [[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101III-Alber-096-34, Arthur Nebe.jpg|100px]]
|
* ''Sonderkommandos'' 7a and 7b
* ''Einsatzkommandos'' 8 and 9
* A special force under Dr. [[Franz Six]] in case [[Moscow]] was captured. Attached to [[Army Group Center]]
|- valign="top"
| '''''Einsatzgruppe'' C'''<br />(Northern and central [[Ukraine]]){{sfn|Rhodes|2002|p=12}}
| SS-''Gruppenführer''<br />Dr. [[Otto Rasch]]<br />(until October 1941)
|[[File:Otto Rasch at the Nuremberg Trials.jpg|100px]]
|
* ''Sonderkommandos'' 4a and 4b (''Sonderkommando'' 4 a was commanded by [[Paul Blobel]])
* ''Einsatzkommandos'' 5 and 6. Attached to [[Army Group South]]
|- valign="top"
| '''''Einsatzgruppe'' D'''<br />([[Bessarabia]], Southern Ukraine, [[Crimea]], and [[Caucasus]]){{sfn|Rhodes|2002|p=12}}
| SS-''Gruppenführer''<br />Prof. [[Otto Ohlendorf]]<br />(until June 1942)
| [[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-J08517, Otto Ohlendorf.jpg|100px]]
|
* ''Sonderkommandos'' 10a and 10b
* ''Einsatzkommandos'' 11a, 11b, and 12. Attached to [[11th Army (Wehrmacht)|11th Army]]
|- valign="top"
| '''''Einsatzgruppe'' E'''<br />([[Croatia]]){{sfn|MacLean|1999|p=23}}
| SS-''Obersturmbannführer'' Ludwig Teichmann, SS-''Standartenführer'' Günther Herrmann, SS-''Standartenführer'' [[Wilhelm Fuchs]]
|
| Five ''Einsatzkommandos'' located in [[Vinkovci]], [[Sarajevo]], [[Banja Luka]], [[Knin]], and [[Zagreb]]
|- valign="top"
| '''''Einsatzgruppe'' F'''<br />([[Army Group South]]){{sfn|Museum of Tolerance}}
|
|
|
|- valign="top"
| '''''Einsatzgruppe'' G'''<br />([[Romania]], [[Hungary]], [[Ukraine]]){{sfn|MacLean|1999|p=23}}
| SS-''Standartenführer'' Dr. Josef Kreuzer
|
| ''Einsatzkommandos'' 11 and 12
|- valign="top"
| '''''Einsatzgruppe'' H'''<br />([[Slovakia]]){{sfn|Longerich|2010|p=419}}
|
|
|
|- valign="top"
| '''''Einsatzgruppe'' K'''<br />(with [[5th Panzer Army]] in the [[Ardennes offensive]]){{sfn|Dams|Stolle|2012|p=168}}
| SS-''Oberführer'' Dr. [[Emanuel Schäfer]]
|
|
|- valign="top"
| '''''Einsatzgruppe'' L'''<br />(with [[6th Panzer Army]] in the [[Ardennes offensive]]){{sfn|Dams|Stolle|2012|p=168}}
| SS-''Standartenführer'' Dr. [[Ludwig Hahn]]
|
|
|- valign="top"
| '''''Einsatzgruppe'' Griechenland''' (Greece){{sfn|Conze, Frei et al.|2010}}
| SS-''Sturmbannführer'' Dr. Ludwig Hahn
|
|
|- valign="top"
| '''''Einsatzgruppe'' Iltis''' ([[Carinthia (Slovenia)]]){{sfn|Crowe|2007|p=267}}
| SS-''Standartenführer'' [[Paul Blobel]]
|
|
|- valign="top"
| '''''Einsatzkommando'' Luxemburg''' (Luxembourg){{sfn|Museum of Tolerance}}
|
|
|
|- valign="top"
| '''''Einsatzgruppe'' Norwegen''' (Norway){{sfn|Larsen|2008|p=xi}}
| SS-''Oberführer'' Dr. Franz Walter Stahlecker
|
|
|- valign="top"
| '''''Einsatzgruppe'' Serbien''' (Yugoslavia){{sfn|Shelach|1989|p=1169}}
| SS-''Standartenführer'' [[Wilhelm Fuchs]], SS-Gruppenführer'' August Meysner''
|
|
|- valign="top"
| '''''Einsatzgruppe'' for Special Purposes'''<br />(eastern Poland){{sfn|Rhodes|2002|p=12}}
|  SS-''Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Polizei''<br />[[Karl Eberhard Schöngarth]]
|
|
|- valign="top"
| '''''Einsatzkommando'' Tilsit''' (Lithuania, Poland){{sfn|Longerich|2010|p=197}}
|
|
|
|- valign="top"
| '''''Einsatzgruppe'' Tunis''' ([[Tunis]]){{sfn|Mallmann|Cüppers|Smith|2010|p=130}}
| SS-''Obersturmbannführer'' [[Walter Rauff]]
|
|
|- valign="top"
| Proposed '''''Einsatzgruppe'''''<br />([[United Kingdom]]){{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=783}}
| SS-''Standartenführer''<br />Dr. [[Franz Six]]
| [[File:Six-franz-nuremberg.jpg|100px]]
|
* Proposed. Six ''Einsatzkommandos'' would have been located in [[London]], [[Manchester]], [[Birmingham]], [[Bristol]], [[Liverpool]], and either [[Edinburgh]] or [[Glasgow]]. These death squads would have been charged with the elimination of civilian resistance members and Jews in the [[United Kingdom]]. Due to the cancellation of the planned invasion of Britain ([[Operation Sealion]]), the units never saw active service.
|- valign="top"
| Proposed '''''Einsatzgruppe'''''<br />([[Middle East]]){{sfn|Weale|2010|p=386}}
| SS-''Obersturmbannführer''<br />Walter Rauff
|
|
* Proposed [[Einsatzgruppe Egypt|''Einsatzgruppe'' Egypt]] – planned for Jews resident in the Middle East, including [[British Mandate of Palestine|Palestine]]. Never organised.
|}
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