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The Einsatzgruppen Reports: Selections from the Dispatches of the Nazi Death Squads
Selections from the Dispatches of the Nazi Death Squads' Campaign Against the Jews in Occupied Territories of the Soviet Union: January 1941-January 1943
- GenresHolocaust
378 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1989
67 people want to read
About the author
Yitzhak Arad
11 books10 followersYitzhak Arad is an Israeli historian, author, retired IDF brigadier general and a former Soviet partisan, director of Yad Vashem from 1972 to 1993. He specialised in the history of the Holocaust.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 17, 2026
Many people seem to think the Nazis are the sole aggressors in the Holocaust, but Nazi killing operations depended not only on German forces, but also on varying degrees of local collaboration. The reports frequently describe local populations, particularly in places like Ukraine, as welcoming German forces and, in many cases, actively participating in anti Jewish violence. At the same time, they occasionally note hesitation, often rooted in fear that Soviet forces might return and that the Jews would get their revenge.
The role of the Wehrmacht is also addressed, especially from 1941 to early 1942. While there was tension between the Wehrmacht and the SS, and the army was generally less directly involved in systematic killing, it was not entirely separate from these actions. This complicates the notion that responsibility lay solely with SS units and highlights the broader institutional involvement in Nazi crimes.
Another feature of the reports is the constant justification given for acts of violence. Killings are framed as retaliation, security measures, or punishment for minor infractions. The language reduces victims to categories and violations, such as failing to wear a required identifying marker or being caught outside a ghetto without permission. There are also blatant lies and or exaggerations in the reports, saying how a group of Jews were caught setting a house or building ablaze, so therefore 100+ must be “liquidated” in retaliation.
The reports also make clear that Jews were not the only victims. Political opponents, communists, partisans, Romani people, the mentally and physically disabled, and Soviet prisoners of war were all targeted and killed. However, Jews remained the primary focus, and the scale of their murder is consistently emphasized throughout the documentation.
This additional context comes from a few different historical sources:
It is also important to understand how these reports were created and used. They were sent by the four Einsatzgruppen, A, B, C, and D, to Heydrich’s Reich Security Main Office, documenting their progress in clearing areas of Jews. Between June 1941 and April 1942, nearly 200 of these reports were issued. They did not only target adult men, but also included women, children, and the elderly. The reports also serve as direct documentation of mass murder on a massive scale. For example, one report details the killing of over 33,000 Jews in Kyiv at Babi Yar in just two days.
The language used throughout the reports is deliberately euphemistic. Terms such as “treated appropriately,” “liquidated,” and “cleansed” are used to describe mass killings, masking the reality of what was actually happening.
After the war, these documents were discovered in Berlin and later used as key evidence in the Nuremberg Trials, specifically in the Einsatzgruppen Case. Their existence provided undeniable proof of the scale, organization, and intent behind these crimes.
Reading these reports highlights the central role of what is often called the “Holocaust by bullets” in the Soviet Union. While extermination and concentration camps are widely recognized as symbols of the Holocaust, these documents emphasize how many victims were killed earlier through mass shootings, ghetto conditions, and the liquidation of entire communities. Arad’s compilation makes it clear that understanding these events is essential to grasping the full scope of the Holocaust.
The role of the Wehrmacht is also addressed, especially from 1941 to early 1942. While there was tension between the Wehrmacht and the SS, and the army was generally less directly involved in systematic killing, it was not entirely separate from these actions. This complicates the notion that responsibility lay solely with SS units and highlights the broader institutional involvement in Nazi crimes.
Another feature of the reports is the constant justification given for acts of violence. Killings are framed as retaliation, security measures, or punishment for minor infractions. The language reduces victims to categories and violations, such as failing to wear a required identifying marker or being caught outside a ghetto without permission. There are also blatant lies and or exaggerations in the reports, saying how a group of Jews were caught setting a house or building ablaze, so therefore 100+ must be “liquidated” in retaliation.
The reports also make clear that Jews were not the only victims. Political opponents, communists, partisans, Romani people, the mentally and physically disabled, and Soviet prisoners of war were all targeted and killed. However, Jews remained the primary focus, and the scale of their murder is consistently emphasized throughout the documentation.
This additional context comes from a few different historical sources:
It is also important to understand how these reports were created and used. They were sent by the four Einsatzgruppen, A, B, C, and D, to Heydrich’s Reich Security Main Office, documenting their progress in clearing areas of Jews. Between June 1941 and April 1942, nearly 200 of these reports were issued. They did not only target adult men, but also included women, children, and the elderly. The reports also serve as direct documentation of mass murder on a massive scale. For example, one report details the killing of over 33,000 Jews in Kyiv at Babi Yar in just two days.
The language used throughout the reports is deliberately euphemistic. Terms such as “treated appropriately,” “liquidated,” and “cleansed” are used to describe mass killings, masking the reality of what was actually happening.
After the war, these documents were discovered in Berlin and later used as key evidence in the Nuremberg Trials, specifically in the Einsatzgruppen Case. Their existence provided undeniable proof of the scale, organization, and intent behind these crimes.
Reading these reports highlights the central role of what is often called the “Holocaust by bullets” in the Soviet Union. While extermination and concentration camps are widely recognized as symbols of the Holocaust, these documents emphasize how many victims were killed earlier through mass shootings, ghetto conditions, and the liquidation of entire communities. Arad’s compilation makes it clear that understanding these events is essential to grasping the full scope of the Holocaust.
April 4, 2026
The Einsatzgruppen were officially created in order to carry out security missions,including fighting partisans(what we call terrorists today.)
The Einsatzgruppen committed killings for reasons such as anti-partisan warfare(terrorism), including killing certain jews in association with this,but there was no genocidal plans nor genocide.It just happened that a great percentage of "partisans" were jews.
According to historian Bernd Bonwetsch,partisans grew from 90,000 in 1941 to approximately half a million in 1944.(Figures based on both Soviet and contemporary Reich German sources)
Reprisal killings were common practice (to a certain degree) and not against international law.
Partisans commited horrific atrocities against soldiers and civilians caught unaware.They fought an unlawful warfare.
Some partisan units were as large as entire divisions.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews