Einsatzgruppen

During the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany in 1941, mobile killing units called Einsatzgruppen operated behind German military lines to secure newly occupied territory, covering the entire length of the eastern military front from the Baltic coast in the north to the Black Sea in the south. The Einsatzgruppen were special units of the German SiPo (Security Police) and SD (Sicherheitsdienst) under the command of RSHA chief Reinhard Heydrich. Aided by units of the SS, the Wehrmacht, and local authorities, Einsatzgruppen murdered between 1.5 and 2 million Jews, as well as Communist party officials, Roma, and others perceived as enemies in mass shooting operations, and later using gas vans.