Ss Einsatzgruppen: Nazi Death: Squads, 1939-1945
The units were divided into four main groups assigned to specific military regions: Primary Commander(s) Operational Area Attached Army Group Walther Stahlecker Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia) Army Group North Einsatzgruppe B Arthur Nebe / Erich Naumann Belarus / Minsk region Army Group Center Einsatzgruppe C Otto Rasch Ukraine / Kyiv (Babi Yar) Army Group South Einsatzgruppe D Otto Ohlendorf Southern Ukraine / Crimea Source: CUNY Research . Key Phases of Terror
: Followed the Wehrmacht to execute perceived enemies of the Reich. This period saw the transition from targeting specific leaders to the wholesale slaughter of entire Jewish communities. SS Einsatzgruppen: Nazi Death Squads, 1939-1945
: It is estimated these units murdered over 2 million people, including approximately 1.3 million Jews, primarily through mass shootings—a phase often called the “Holocaust by Bullets” . Organizational Structure The units were divided into four main groups
: Initially tasked with "neutralizing" hostile elements during the invasion of Poland (1939), their role expanded during Operation Barbarossa (1941) to the systematic mass murder of Jews, Romani people, and Soviet political commissars. : It is estimated these units murdered over