The Einsatzgruppen: Operational Situation Report USSR No. 132
(November 12, 1941)
The Chief of the Security Police and the Security Service
Berlin,
November 12, 1941
55 copies
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(51st copy)
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- Einsatzgruppe C
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- Dniepropetrovsk
Execution activity
The number of executions carried out by Sonderkommando 4a has meanwhile increased to 55,432.
Among those executed by Sonderkommando 4a in the latter half of October 1941 until the date of this report, in addition to a comparatively small number of political functionaries, active Communists, people guilty of sabotage, etc., the larger part were again Jews. A considerable part of these were Jewish prisoners-of-war handed over by the German Army at Borispol, at the request of the Commander of the Borispol POW camp. On October 14, 1941 a platoon of Sonderkommando 4a shot 752 Jewish prisoners-of-war, among them some commissars and 78 wounded Jews handed over by the camp physician.
At the same time, the platoon executed 24 partisans and Communists arrested by the local commander at Borispol. It should be noted that due largely to the energetic help of the German Army authorities in Borispol these activities in Borispol were carried out smoothly.
Another platoon of Sonderkommando 4a was active at Lubny. Without any opposition, it executed 1,363 Jews, Communists, and partisans, among them 53 prisoners-of-war and a few Jewish rifle-women. Before the war, Lubny had 35,000 inhabitants, among them 14,000 Jews. A recent census undertaken by the local municipal administration showed that of 20,000 inhabitants allegedly only 1,500 Jews can be listed.
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Sonderkommando 4b is stationed in Poltava, according to a report dated October 16, 1941. Slaviansk is to be it's next location. The work of Sonderkommando 4b, influenced partly by weather and road conditions, was mainly limited to the area of Poltava. In the week from October 4, 1941 to October 10, 1941, a total of 186 persons were executed, among them 21 political functionaries, four people guilty of sabotage and looting, and 161 Jews. In addition, the task of the Sonderkommando included searches and pursuits of former leading Communist functionaries and members of the executive committee of the Poltava district.
Everywhere in the area of Sonderkommando 4b, full understanding was shown by the German Army for the activity of the Sonderkommando in connection with the security service and the police.
The number of people executed by Einsatzkommando 5 amounted to 15,110 on October 20, 1941. Of this number, 20 political functionaries, 21 people guilty of sabotage and looting, and 1,847 Jews were shot between October 13, 1941 and October 19, 1941. On October 18, 1941, 300 insane Jews from the Kiev lunatic asylum were liquidated. This represented a particularly heavy psychological burden for the members of Einsatzkommando 5 who were in charge of this operation.
A large part of the work of Einsatzkommando 5 is dealing with denunciations which are reported daily in great numbers by all classes of the population. These necessitate subsequent interrogations and investigations.
Between September 23, 1941 and October 4, 1941, 85 political functionaries, 14 people guilty of sabotage and looting, and 179 Jews were executed in Dniepropetrovsk.
137 trucks full of clothes made available as a result of the campaign against the Jews of Zhitmoir and Kiev were put at the disposal of the National Socialist People's Welfare Organization (1) for further disposal. The greater part of these articles, after having been disinfected, were distributed among ethnic Germans. From this supply, a field hospital of the Waffen-SS, among others, was able to meet its requirements of woolen blankets, etc. [for the bitter cold winter months].
(1) Nationalsozialistsche Wohlfahrtspflege (NSW)
(The Einsatzgruppen Reports by Yitzak Arad, Shmuel Krakowski and Shmuel Spector, editors. p. 227-9)
Source: The Nizkor Project