of the SS, which was that the inmates were racial
inferiors to be treated only with contempt. There is evidence that
where manpower considerations permitted, Himmler wanted to rotate
guard battalions so that all members of the SS would be instructed as
to the proper attitude to take to inferior races. After 1942 when the
concentration camps were placed under the control of the WVHA they
were used as a source of slave labor. An agreement made with the
Ministry of Justice on 18 September 1942 provided that antisocial
elements who had finished prison sentences were to be delivered to
the SS to be worked to death. Steps were continually taken, involving
the use of the Security Police and SD and even the Waffen SS, to
insure that the SS had an adequate supply of concentration camp labor
for its projects. In connection with the administration of the
concentration camps, the SS embarked on a series of experiments on
human beings which were performed on prisoners of war or
concentration camp inmates. These experiments included freezing to
death, and killing by poison bullets. The SS was able to obtain an
allocation of Government funds for this kind of research on the
grounds that they had access to human material not available to other
agencies.
The SS played a particularly significant role in the persecution
of the Jews. The SS was directly involved in the demonstrations of 10
November 1938. The evacuation of the Jews from occupied territories
was carried out under the directions of the SS with the assistance of
SS Police units. The extermination of the Jews was carried out under
the direction of the SS Central Organizations. It was actually put
into effect by SS formations. The Einsatzgruppen engaged in wholesale
massacres of the Jews. SS Police units were also involved. For
example, the massacre of .Jews in the Warsaw ghetto was carried out
under the directions of SS Brigadefùhrer and Major General of
the Police Stroop. A special group from the SS Central Organization
arranged for the deportation of Jews from various Axis satellites and
their extermination was carried out in the concentration camps run by
the WVHA.
It is impossible to single out any one portion of
the SS which was not involved in these criminal activities. The
Allgemeine SS was an active participant in the persecution of the
Jews and was used as a source of concentration camp guards. Units of
the Waffen SS were directly involved in the killing of prisoners of
war and the atrocities in occupied countries. It supplied personnel
for the Einsatzgruppen, and had command over the concentration camp
guards after its absorption of the Totenkopf SS, which originally
control fed the system. Various SS Police units were e also widely
used in the atrocities in occupied countries and the extermination of
the Jews there. The SS Central Organization supervised the