Episode 641: Heinrich Himmler Part V - Einsatzgruppen Day | Last Podcast On The Left Brief

Key Takeaways

Heinrich Himmler systematically orchestrated industrialized murder through the Einsatzgruppen.
The Einsatzgruppen evolved from early 'action groups' to dedicated extermination squads.
Kristallnacht marked a shift to state-sanctioned pogroms against Jews in Germany.
Operation Barbarossa and the 'Final Solution' led to millions of deaths in Eastern Europe.
Mobile gas vans were an early attempt at industrialized killing before mechanical issues.
The Babi Yar massacre saw 33,771 Jewish civilians murdered in two days in September 1941.
Psychological impact on Einsatzgruppen members led to high rates of suicide.
Himmler's control involved blackmail, strict rules, and a focus on 'Aryan blood' propagation.
Local collaborators significantly aided Einsatzgruppen in massacres across Lithuania.

Heinrich Himmler oversaw Nazi expansion into Austria and Czechoslovakia, acquired without direct warfare.
Germany's economic instability necessitated seizing Austria's resources, leading Himmler's SS to take over the Austrian government.
Reinhard Heydrich, Himmler's second-in-command, formed Gestapo 'action groups' to consolidate control.

In January 1939, Hitler declared readiness for world war, targeting "international Jewry" and paving the way for the invasion of Poland.
By June 1939, total war plans finalized, Himmler utilized concentration camp slave labor for his long-term plan to enslave Eastern Europeans.
Hitler and Joseph Stalin formed a non-aggression pact in August 1939 to divide Poland, a strategic move for Hitler's Lebensraum.

After invading Poland, Hitler directed Himmler to expel over 8 million non-Germans; SS transported Jews and Poles, with 100,000 perishing.
The Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS collaborated on war crimes during the invasion, though the Wehrmacht focused on military objectives.
Approximately 50,000 Polish civilians were killed and 714 mass executions of soldiers and police occurred during the invasion.

As the Wehrmacht distanced itself from mass killings, Hitler tasked Himmler to find an alternative, leading Heydrich to resurrect the Einsatzgruppen.
The Einsatzgruppen were ordered to eliminate specific groups, including politicians, communists, and all Jews.
Himmler initiated Action T4, using the Einsatzgruppen to execute disabled Germans in occupied Poland, forcing political prisoners to dig mass graves.

The invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa) marked a significant escalation, leading to an estimated 40 million deaths.
Following the invasion, Einsatzgruppen were deployed to exterminate Jews in Belarus and drive women into swamps.
The 'final solution' included Romani and communists, with Nazis viewing the US treatment of Native Americans as a model for conquest.

Heinrich Himmler sought industrialized murder methods to minimize psychological toll on Nazi perpetrators.
Early attempts with dynamite on kidnapped mental patients in reinforced dugouts failed due to excessive splatter.
Chemist Albert Widman developed mobile gas chambers using modified vans, which killed up to 87,000 Jews between December 1941 and June 1942.

In June 1941, Einsatzgruppe A captured Kaunas, Lithuania, finding significant local collaboration.
600 Lithuanian collaborators aided in burning synagogues and Jewish homes, murdering 1,500 Jews on the first night and 2,300 the next.
Collaborators played music during body disposal; surviving Jews were forced to dig mass graves and then killed.

Reinhard Heydrich believed he could outperform Himmler and Hitler, even plotting to depose Hitler.
Nazi units surprised towns at dawn, using attack dogs, and killing able-bodied males first.
On September 29, 1941, Einsatzgruppen C murdered 33,771 Jewish civilians at Babi Yar Ravine in Ukraine, the single worst massacre of the war.

After the initial massacre, Babi Yar was used for regular 'Corpse Days', accumulating 100,000 to 150,000 corpses by November 1943.
Heinrich Himmler had a mistress, Hedwig Potast, from 1938, who reportedly was "very, very involved" and shared his beliefs.
Himmler and Potast lived in a luxurious home in Hitler's neighborhood, fathering two children despite Himmler's marriage.

Each of the seven Einsatzgruppen units was responsible for potentially 20,000 murders per month.
Perpetrators experienced severe psychological impacts, including crying fits, impotence, violent outbursts, and high rates of suicide.
Brutality in Minsk included a mock beauty contest for Jewish girls before their execution.