The EinsatzgruppenMobile SS death squads that followed Nazi forces into captured territory to round up and execute Jewish people and other minorities. were mobile Nazi death squads that were responsible for carrying out mass shootings and other atrocities in Eastern Europe during World War II. Formed by Heinrich Himmler and led by Reinhard Heydrich, these units operated under the Nazi SS and followed the advancing German Army into the Soviet Union after the launch of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941.
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What Was the Holocaust?
The Holocaust is one of the most important events of the 20th century and is perhaps the most significant genocideA mass killing of a group of people carried out because of their ethnic, religious, or racial identity. in human history. A genocide is a mass killing of a group of people for ethnic, religious or racial reasons. The term ‘holocaust’ refers to death by fire in reference to the way that people were executed during the event.  It unfolded during the reign of Adolf Hitler in Germany and the major events of World War II. During the Holocaust, which occurred from 1933 to 1945, over 11 million people were executed. In total, 6 million were Jewish people, while the other 5 million included several other groups, including: disabled people, homosexuals, communists, Soviet and Polish prisoners of war, Roma, and other religious and ethnic minorities.
Einsatzgruppen in the Holocaust – Summary
One of the ways that the Nazi regime carried out the Holocaust was with the einsatzgruppen. The einsatzgruppen were Schutzstaffel (SS) death squads that captured and killed Jewish and other minorities during the events of World War II and the Holocaust. In general, the death squads followed directly behind the front line Nazi forces as they conquered territory throughout Europe as part of World War II. Once the Nazi forces had captured an area, the einsatzgruppen would begin the process of rounding up any undesirable people living in the region and carry out their executions. Since the einsatzgruppen were part of the larger SS structure, their actions were under the direction of the head of the SS, Heinrich Himmler.
The einsatzgruppen were used extensively in the eastern areas of World War II following Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland in September of 1939. In his book, Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler identified his strategy to capture more lebensraumA German word meaning ‘living space,’ referring to Hitler’s goal of seizing eastern land for German settlers to farm and expand the population. (or ‘living space’) for the German people. Hitler believed that Germany needed more living space in order to harvest more food to allow the German population to increase at a faster rate. In his book, he stated his desire to use land to the east of Germany to fulfill this purpose. Specifically, Hitler was referring to Poland and the Soviet Union which had large populations at the time. Hitler’s plan was to capture the Soviet Union through Operation Barbarossa, which was the name for the Nazi German invasion of 1941. To complete Hitler’s goal of securing living space for German settlers, the einsatzgruppen were to begin the process of executing the people deemed undesirable by the Nazi regime, including: Jewish people, Roma, and large populations of Polish prisoners of war. After doing so, the remaining Polish and Soviet people were to be turned into a form of slave labor for the Nazi settlers.
Today the einsatzgruppen are remembered for their horrible atrocities. For example, after capturing people the death squads would then take them to remote areas in order to carry out a mass killing by firing squad. The people about to be executed would arrive to find a mass graveA single burial pit holding the bodies of many victims, which the einsatzgruppen dug in advance or forced victims to dig themselves before executions. already dug or would first need to dig their own grave. They would be forced to line up at the edge of the mass grave as the death squads began firing at them. Historians estimate that the einsatzgruppen executed over 2 million people in this manner, including 1.3 million Jewish people.
The largest mass execution carried out by the einsatzgruppen occurred in the Soviet Union in an area called Babi Yar. The execution took place in a ravine from September 29th to the 30th, 1941. The Germans had captured the area on September 19th of that year and the einsatzgruppen worked quickly to carry out the execution of 33,771 victims. The Germans had told Jewish people in the city of Kiev to report to a German outpost on September 29th. Since many of these people were unaware of earlier executions, they reported believing they were going to be deported out of the Soviet Union. Instead, they were marched north of Kiev and into the ravine. Once there, they were made to strip naked and lay down on the ground in rows as the einsatzgruppen shot them in the back of the head. Because the execution lasted over two days, people were forced to lie on top of the bodies of those killed earlier. Nazi guards and Ukrainian police, who assisted the einsatzgruppen, kept watch to ensure no one escaped.
The einsatzgruppen were one step of the larger ‘Final SolutionThe Nazi regime’s overall plan to systematically murder Jewish people and other groups across occupied Europe.’ but were significant because they highlighted the brutality of the Nazi regime.
What did Jewish people told to report to a German outpost on September 29th, 1941, believe would happen to them at Babi Yar?
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Key Vocabulary
Einsatzgruppen
Genocide
Schutzstaffel
Lebensraum
Operation Barbarossa
Final Solution
Mass grave
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the word “einsatzgruppen” mean?
The word “einsatzgruppen” is German and means “task forces” or “deployment groups.” The name described mobile units that moved into newly captured land to hunt down targeted people. They were part of the SS, the Nazi security force led by Heinrich Himmler.
Who created and led the einsatzgruppen?
Heinrich Himmler formed the einsatzgruppen, and Reinhard Heydrich led them directly. Both men held high positions in the SS, which controlled these death squads. The units answered to the larger SS command structure during the war.
How many people did the einsatzgruppen kill?
Historians estimate the einsatzgruppen executed over 2 million people, including about 1.3 million Jewish victims. Most were killed by mass shootings at remote sites. Victims were often forced to dig graves before they were shot at the edge of them.
What happened at Babi Yar?
Babi Yar was the site of the largest single massacre carried out by the einsatzgruppen. It took place in a ravine near Kiev on September 29 and 30, 1941. During those two days, 33,771 people were shot and killed there.
Why did the einsatzgruppen operate mainly in Eastern Europe?
The einsatzgruppen followed the German army east to help clear land for German settlers. Hitler wanted “living space,” or lebensraum, in Poland and the Soviet Union. These squads killed targeted groups so the remaining people could be forced into slave labor.
How did the einsatzgruppen fit into the Final Solution?
The einsatzgruppen were an early step in the Nazi plan known as the Final Solution. Their mass shootings came before the large death camps became the main killing method. Their actions showed the extreme brutality of the Nazi regime.
Cite This Article
To cite this article as a source, use one of the formats below.
MLA: Beck, Elias. “Einsatzgruppen in the Holocaust: A Detailed Summary.” HistoryCrunch, 16 September 2026, https://historycrunch.com/einsatzgruppen-in-the-holocaust/.
APA: Beck, E. (2026). Einsatzgruppen in the Holocaust: A Detailed Summary. HistoryCrunch. https://historycrunch.com/einsatzgruppen-in-the-holocaust/
Chicago: Beck, Elias. “Einsatzgruppen in the Holocaust: A Detailed Summary.” HistoryCrunch. September 16, 2026. https://historycrunch.com/einsatzgruppen-in-the-holocaust/
Sources
- Max Hastings, Inferno / All Hell Let Loose.
- Imperial War Museum
- The National WWII Museum
- Gerhard L. Weinberg, A World at Arms.
