Einsatzgruppen | |
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The Einsatzgruppen was controlled by the Schutzstaffel (SS) | |
Agency overview | |
Formed | c. 1939 |
Jurisdiction | Nazi Germany Nazi-occupied Europe |
Employees | About 3,000 c. 1941 |
Minister responsible | Heinrich Himmler, Head of the SS |
Agency executives | Reinhard Heydrich, Head of the Einsatzgruppen (1939–1942) Dr. Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Head of the Einsatzgruppen (1943–1945) |
Parent agency | Allgemeine SS and Reich Main Security Office |
Footnotes | |
Murdered 2 million people, including 1.3 million Jews |
Einsatzgruppen were a paramilitary group in Nazi Germany. They were part of the Schutzstaffel (SS). They helped make The Holocaust happen by murdering about 12 million people throughout Europe. Almost all of the people they killed were civilians.
Sometimes, the Einsatzgruppen would kill only a few people at once. Other times, they would kill thousands of people in a few days. For example, at Babi Yar, the Einsatzgruppen killed 33,771 Jewish people in two days.