Nazi policy of extermination in the Soviet Union 1941-1944 Cueppers.pdf · Nazi "euthanasia", murder of the Roma • A total of about 17,000 paents of psychiatric hospitals in the

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Martin Cüppers

Nazi policy of extermination in the Soviet Union 1941-1944

Dimension and perpetrators

Prepara&ons•  Hitler21.7.1940instruc&ontoWehrmachtcommandersforprepara&onsforwaragainstSovietUnion;planningas"Blitzkrieg“.

•  Subsequently,extensivenego&a&onsbetweentheWehrmachtandtheSSinordertoreachbroadagreement.

•  AseriesofcriminalordersfromtheWehrmachtmarkthecharacteroftheforthcomingcampaign.–  „Kriegsgerichtsbarkeitserlass“,13.5.1941–  „RichtlinienüberdasVerhaltenderTruppeinRussland“,19.5.1941

–  „RichtlinienzurBehandlungpoli&scherKommissare“,6.6.1941•  Inaddi&on,the"HungerPlan"providedthatmany"10millionpeople"woulddieasaresultoftheexploita&onofthecountry,whichwasconsiderednecessaryforwar.

•  Racistandan&-Semi&corienta&onwasanintegralpartoftheen&rewarfare.

•  Thisalsosystema&callyabolishedthedis&nc&onbetweenmilitaryopera&onsandmurderousoccupa&onpolicy.

Consequences

•  27millionvic&msontheSovietside

•  8,4millionRedArmysoldierskilledincombat•  15millioncivilianskilled

50,000capturedRedArmysoldiersatMilerovoinMay1942withoutfood

ThefateofSovietprisonersofwar

•  Atotalofabout5.7millionRedArmysoldiersinGermancap&vityasprisonersofwar.

•  3.3milliondiedun&ltheendofthewar,i.e.nearly58percent.

•  Vic&msofinsufficientsupply,butalsoshoo&ngs,countlessexcesses.

Ø MassmortalityendedwiththefailureoftheGerman"Blitzkrieg"strategyandtheneedforforcedlaborersforthewareconomy.

Oerbke1941,inscripBon„deathcandidate“,

InGermancap&vityasprisonersofwardied:

•  DuringWorldWarI-1,434,000Russiansoldiers-5,4%

•  DuringWorldWarII-232,000Bri&shandUSsoldiers-3,6%

•  DuringWorldWarII-5,700,000RedArmysoldiers-57,9%

VicBmsofthefamineblockadeinLeningrad

Leningrad

•  EnclosureofthecitybyHeeresgruppeNordinSeptember1941.

•  Atthat&metherewereabout3millionpeopleinthecity.

•  Systema&cGermanblockade,preven&onofeverypossiblesupply,preven&onofescapeacempts.

•  Dura&onoftheblockadeun&l18.1.1944,almost900days.

Ø Totalnumberofdeathses&matedatabout1millionpeople

Nazistarva&onpolicyandthe"par&sanwarfare"

•  Millionsofothervic&msamongtheSovietcivilianpopula&onasaresultofsystema&cfooddepriva&on

•  Asaconsequenceofthecon&nuouslyradicalized"par&sanwarfare"– hundredsofvillagesexterminated– hundredsofthousandsofciviliansshottodeath

DeportaBonofcivilianpopulaBonthroughWaffenSS,1943

AunitoftheWaffenSSburnsdownavillage,1943

Murderousforceddisplacement7-12/1943

Nazi"euthanasia",murderoftheRoma

•  Atotalofabout17,000pa&entsofpsychiatrichospitalsintheGerman-occupiedterritoriesoftheSovietUnionwereshotorsuffocatedingasvans.

•  Ofenatthesame&measthekillingofJewsintheSovietUnion,SSandpoliceunitsmurderedabout30,000Roma.

ShoahintheSovietUnion

•  Thousandsofshoo&ngs•  Rangefromafewvic&mstotheNazirepor&ngof33,771peopleshotinBabynJar,Kiev

•  Totalnumberofvic&ms2.4million

˃  Newresearchandmedia&onapproachesprovidemoredetailedknowledgeofthedimension

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ShooBngsquadofsecuritypoliceandSD

Protagonistsoftheextermina&onpolicy

•  3,000membersofthefour“Einsatzgruppen”,SipoandSD•  194259BataillonsOrderPolice•  DivisionsandthreeBrigadesWaffenSS•  Wehrmachtwithmul&plesupportandwithunitssuchasthe707.InfantryDivisiondirectlyinvolved.

•  ThousandsofofficialswithintheNaziciviladministra&on.•  Bytheendof1942,300,000na&vesupportersin„Schutzmannschafen“

Ø Severalhundredthousandpeopledirectlyinvolved

PropagandacallforfemaleSSvolunteers

Women'spar&cipa&on

•  In1945,theGestapoheadquartersinBerlinandViennahadreached40%femalestaff.

•  Approximately2,400femaleSSvolunteersworkedasstaffandmessagingassistantsintheWaffenSS.

•  Approximately10,000womenworkedinthecivilianadministra&onoftheGermanoccupiedSovietUnion.

•  Thousandsofwivesaccompaniedtheirhusbands.totheGerman-occupiedEast.

SS-Stubaf.GustavLombard,SScavalryregiment1:

•  “The‘Entjudung’(De-Jewifica&on’)ofthespaceallocatedtothesquadronspar&cularlyextendstothevillagesofChomsk,Motol,Telechany,SwietaWolkaandHancewicze.”

SS-Stubaf.FranzMagill,SScavalryregiment2

•  “Drivingwomenandchildrenintotheswampsdidnothavethesuccessitwassupposedtohave,becausetheswampswerenotsodeepthattheycouldsinkin.Aferadepthof1metre,inmostcases,onecametofirmground(probablysand),sothatsinkingwasnotpossible.”

•  Stubaf.FranzMagill:MurderofmenandboysØ Redeployment

•  Stubaf.Lombard:"Entjudung"ofhisopera&onalareaØ AwardIronCross,promo&on

Ø GenesisoftheHolocaustasasystemoftrialanderror.Thus,themostradicalsolu&onwasachievedthroughasystemofrecogni&onandrejec&on.

Ø WithinafewweeksSSEinsatzgruppen,policebacalionsandlocalcollaboratorstookoverthemurderousprac&ce;theShoahintheSovietUnionhadbecomeareality.

•  InBialystokbyPB309on27.6.1941murderof2,000Jews,predominantlymen.

•  Beginningof8/1941inPinskabout11,000vic&ms,menandboys.

•  26-28August1941HSSPFFriedrichJeckelninKamenez-Podolsk23,000vic&ms.

•  29-30.9.1941Sk4aunderPaulBobelinBabynJar33,771vic&ms.

Ø Bri&shintercep&onspecialistsrealizedGerman"compete"forhighestmurderrates

Hitler25.10.1941toHimmlerundHeydrich:

•  Repe&&onofhisprophecyfromJanuary1939and:

•  "Don'ttellmewecan'tsendthemintothemud!Whocaresaboutourpeople?It'sgoodtobeprecededbythehorrorofextermina&ngtheJews.TryingtocreateaJewishstatewillbeafailure.Wewillrewritehistoryfromtheracepointofview."