Einsatsgruppen

The Einsatzgruppen were killing squads that were put use by the the SS in the Eastern Front. They were mobile killing units that would go through towns systematically killing all citizens that the Nazis deamed unfit, this consisted of mostly Jewish people, but the aged, ill and handicaped were included as well.

At first the Einsatzgruppen would shoot their victims execution style, but not before making many dig their own graves. Eventually the high command of the SS started to be concerned about the long term affects that the continued killing at such close contact would have on his soldiers. They were concerned that this type of hand to hand 'combat' would have an adverse, long-term pshycological affect on the men. In response to this concern mobile gassing units were devised. Large vans with the exhaust siphoned into the back of them would drive around for as long as it took to kill the people inside. Depending on the number of victims this usually took 20 to 30 miutes.

The Einsatzgruppen are the precursor to the systematic killing that took place in the concentration camps. They were some of the most brutal units of men in all of the war.