Book about einsatzgruppen

[Mark Mac]

There is also "Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland" by Christopher Browning. If I am not mistaken the Einsatzgruppen were add hoc units and were made from Orpo, SD, SS...so this book should fall into the area you are looking.

Like many books I have, I have not had the time to read this book as of yet. Quick glances through it though point to an interesting read. From the first couple of pages, the author states that these Ordinary Men - police officers from the Hamburg area, were middleaged men, most with families were expected to rotate into military service of some sort or other. This unit was sent to Poland to conduct criminal patrol, but also assisted with the round up and massacre of Jews. Many of these Battalions also served in combat alongside the Heer and Waffen SS.

I hope this helps.

[Nico C]

There is also "Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland" by Christopher Browning. If I am not mistaken the Einsatzgruppen were add hoc units and were made from Orpo, SD, SS...so this book should fall into the area you are looking.

Like many books I have, I have not had the time to read this book as of yet. Quick glances through it though point to an interesting read. From the first couple of pages, the author states that these Ordinary Men - police officers from the Hamburg area, were middleaged men, most with families were expected to rotate into military service of some sort or other. This unit was sent to Poland to conduct criminal patrol, but also assisted with the round up and massacre of Jews. Many of these Battalions also served in combat alongside the Heer and Waffen SS.

I hope this helps.

Thanks, Marc!

This book is on my wish list.


Best,

[JohnB]

Nico,
There is also a book published about 10 years ago called The Einsatzgruppen Reports. It is simply a reprint of a notebook found in Germany right after the war documenting the activities of the Einsatzgruppen. I think I have a copy of the book and I will look up more information if you wish.
John

[Nico C]

Nico,
There is also a book published about 10 years ago called The Einsatzgruppen Reports. It is simply a reprint of a notebook found in Germany right after the war documenting the activities of the Einsatzgruppen. I think I have a copy of the book and I will look up more information if you wish.
John

That would be great, John!

Thanks

Best,

[Ron Weinand]

While taking a college course on the Holocaust a couple of years ago in my first retirement year, I wrote an extensive paper on the "Ordinary Men" by Browning and corresponded with him when my teacher said I should have my work published as it was quite a factual answer to his Ordinary Man concept.
My work involved the early service of SS Gen. Bruno Streckenbach, who was an early Allegemeine SS member of the Hamburg Police Department and taught and directed the Einzatzgruppen classes for Heydrich BEFORE their deployment in Poland in 1939. Hence, my question of Pol. Batt. 101 from Hamburg Police being "ordinary men' when the police personnel of Hamburg were so involved nationally as to be teaching the SS action groups on how to handle themselves in the field and their stated mission???
Several of the officers in the Pol. Batt. 101 would have had to serve with Streckenbach in the 1930s while Hamburg was a hot bed of Nazi Party members and Streckenbach was one of the leaders and on the police force. One would think their mental attitude and their beliefs would not have been ordinary, to say the least. I sent my paper to Browning, but have yet to receive a reply.
My college teacher is still trying to get me to publish it, but I don't know if I am willing to take the replys from the left press about questioning any well known work that has been acclaimed and goes hand in hand with Goldhagen.
Goldhagen is another topic. His work has received MUCH acclaim and a great amount of critisim. Not an enjoyable read, I found it to make great leaps of faith and total acceptance that some of his theories become fact and gospel without much evidence. While much of his work is truth and correct, much is way beyond what can be logically drawn from his conclusions. More work on substantiating his beliefs must be done for me to accept it.
JMO,
Ron Weinand
Weinand Militaria

[Chap15]

Ron,
Interesting point. I believe Browning would say that Hamburg was more RED than BROWN if you factor in all aspects. There were several nazis within 101 but the rank and file were not hard core anti-semites.

BTW, I have a police book for a soldat with 101. At the end of the war he ended in the sick ward. It has Gnade's sig. in it.

[Ron Weinand]

Streckenbach and the Hamburg Police

I can't help but believe that if you were involved with the Hamburg Police you had to have known Streckenbach and have been influenced by him. IF he was important enough to Heydrich to have been selected out of all of Germany to form and teach the action squads before the Polish campaign ended, he had to have been an important individual in the Reich, let alone the Hamburg area, so his influence would have been great.
Also, I believe his withdrawing from the Allegemeine SS and moving into an important roll in the Waffen SS and earning an RK with attachments might have saved him from too much stiff prosecution after the war as the courts did not treat him too badly post 1945.
JMO,
Ron Weinand
Weinand Militaria

[Bill D.]

Personally, I would reccomend "Masters of Death" as well as "Ordinary Men". I also reccomend reviewing the volume on the Einsatzgruppen trial published by the U.S. governemnt printing office as part of the Nuremburg proceedings, which was referred to above ("The Green Volume").

Finally, the presiding judge at the Einsatzgruppen trial was Michael Musmanno, a veteran of the war and a Pennsylvania judge. He wrote a book about the trial entitled "The Eichmann Kommandos". An internet search will probably turn up a used copy. As I recall, Justice Musmanno was the only non-jewish witness to testify against Adolf Eichmann in Israel.

[Chap15]

Finally, the presiding judge at the Einsatzgruppen trial was Michael Musmanno, a veteran of the war and a Pennsylvania judge. He wrote a book about the trial entitled "The Eichmann Kommandos". An internet search will probably turn up a used copy. As I recall, Justice Musmanno was the only non-jewish witness to testify against Adolf Eichmann in Israel.

At the trial there was also a German Protestant Pastor who interacted with Eichmanm regarding the deportations.

[Nico C]

Thanks for the info, guys

[Mil-Archive]

While taking a college course on the Holocaust a couple of years ago in my first retirement year, I wrote an extensive paper on the "Ordinary Men" by Browning and corresponded with him when my teacher said I should have my work published as it was quite a factual answer to his Ordinary Man concept.
My work involved the early service of SS Gen. Bruno Streckenbach, who was an early Allegemeine SS member of the Hamburg Police Department and taught and directed the Einzatzgruppen classes for Heydrich BEFORE their deployment in Poland in 1939. Hence, my question of Pol. Batt. 101 from Hamburg Police being "ordinary men' when the police personnel of Hamburg were so involved nationally as to be teaching the SS action groups on how to handle themselves in the field and their stated mission???
Several of the officers in the Pol. Batt. 101 would have had to serve with Streckenbach in the 1930s while Hamburg was a hot bed of Nazi Party members and Streckenbach was one of the leaders and on the police force. One would think their mental attitude and their beliefs would not have been ordinary, to say the least. I sent my paper to Browning, but have yet to receive a reply.
My college teacher is still trying to get me to publish it, but I don't know if I am willing to take the replys from the left press about questioning any well known work that has been acclaimed and goes hand in hand with Goldhagen.
Goldhagen is another topic. His work has received MUCH acclaim and a great amount of critisim. Not an enjoyable read, I found it to make great leaps of faith and total acceptance that some of his theories become fact and gospel without much evidence. While much of his work is truth and correct, much is way beyond what can be logically drawn from his conclusions. More work on substantiating his beliefs must be done for me to accept it.
JMO,
Ron Weinand
Weinand Militaria

Ron - that sounds very interesting as the Browning book is one I regard very highly I would be very interested to read more of your thesis on that if it is available.

For anyone who is interested the Einsatzgruppen case volume of the Nürnberg trials is available online here :

http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_L...als_Vol-IV.pdf

It's a big file (almost 55 MB) but very interesting reading so far. I'd love to get a non computer copy but guessing it'd cost an arm and a leg.

Has anyone read the French McClean 'The Field Men' book ?



Is this worth getting and how big are the bios ? To what level do they go and are any non officers mentioned by name ? I liked the style and content of 'Cruel Hunters' so if it is as good as that one then I will probably get it.

[Lee Luke]

I have read "The Holocaust" by Martin Gilbert. I liked it for the endless first-hand accounts. It mainly deals with the Einsatzgruppen and the key players who made the final steps to start the killing. It is written mainly from the Jewish perspective. The only thing I didn't like about it was that it left out a lot of the Police Battalion unit numbers.

"The Field Men" looks interesting.

[Mark C. Yerger]

The Green series trial volume for the EG trial which she has I'm told

and

Krausnick: "Die Truppe des Weltanschauungskrieges" (2 volumes)

The second is a massive study of Einsatzgruppe "A" and a bit higher on the academic food chain as far as depth of research than titles offered thus far.

[Mil-Archive]

Just put this one on pre-order :

'War, Pacification, and Mass Murder, 1939: The Einsatzgruppen in Poland '

with free p&p from bookdepository.com

http://www.bookdepository.com/War-Pa.../9781442231412

This important history explains and documents an often-neglected phase of Nazi Germany's war in the east. Anyone who needs a nuanced understanding of the first phase of the Holocaust and Operation Barbarossa should first study Operation Tannenberg, which is fully explored for the first time in this fine work. (Richard Breitman, American University)

For too long, histories of the Einsatzgruppen have neglected the territories bordering the German Reich. The editors of this essential collection have made available to students and scholars of the Holocaust and the Second World War a stunning array of German documents culled from U.S., German, Polish, and former Soviet archives. Carefully translated into English and usefully annotated, the reports and testimonies in this compact volume reveal that unscrupulous Nazi leaders and their subordinates in Poland were determined to wage war, ‘pacify’ the region, and initiate a program of mass murder as of the fall of 1939. (Wendy Lower, Claremont McKenna College)
About the Author
Jürgen Matthäus is director of the Applied Research Division at the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies of the USHMM. Jochen Böhler is a research fellow at the Imre Kertész Kolleg at Jena University, Germany. Klaus-Michael Mallmann is director of the Forschungsstelle Ludwigsburg at the Universität Stuttgart, Germany.

Still looking for a copy of 'Field men' that doesn't double the cost through ridiculous postage charges from US. 'Die Truppe des Weltanschauungskrieges' looks interesting but not sure I can justify the cost of that one (considering my level of German).

[Chris Boonzaier]

While not directly related to the topic... the following book is very interesting.... It contains transcripts of conversations of German POWs that were secretly recorded.... it cantains a bit on the Einsatzgruppen as seen by reuglar soldiers....

http://www.thedailybeast.com/article...ld-welzer.html

There are many eye opening things in the book, what I found most horrible were the regular Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe guys who accepted invitations to "come and shoot a few...."

But watching an execution paled in comparison to actually taking part in one. Luftwaffe Lieutenant Colonel von Müller-Rienzburg recalled:
Müller-Rienzburg: The SS issued an invitation to go and shoot Jews. All the troops went along with rifles and … shot them up. Each man could pick the one he wanted. Those were … of the SS, which will, of course, bring down bitter revenge.
Bassus: You mean to say it was sent out like an invitation to a hunt!
Müller-Rienzburg: Yes.


The story related by Luftwaffe First Lieutenant Fried, who accepted one of these invitations, calls forth unmistakable uneasiness in his interlocutor, Infantry First Lieutenant Bentz:
Bentz: What—you fired, too?
Fried: Yes, I did. Some of the people who were inside there said: “Here come the swine,” and swore and threw stones and things at them. There were women and children there, too!