20 Dec. 45
will hear from other reports of these Einsatz groups as
we go along in this presentation. In other words, "Einsatz"
means "special action" or "action groups," and they
were organized to cover certain geographical areas behind the immediate
front lines.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, but they were groups, were they, of the Gestapo?
COL. STOREY: The Gestapo and the SD.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, that is part of the Gestapo.
COL. STOREY: There were some of the Kripo in it too.
Now the next document is 1104-PS, dated October 30, 1941. This document
shows on that date the Commissioner of the territory of Sluzk wrote a
report to the Commissioner General of Minsk, in which he severely
criticized the actions of the Einsatzkommandos of the Sipo and the SD
operating in his area for the murder of the Jewish population of that
area, and I quote from the English translation, on Page 4 of that
document, beginning at the first paragraph after the colon:
"On 27 October, in the morning at
about 8 o'clock, a first lieutenant of the Police Battalion Number 11,
from Kovno, Lithuania, appeared and introduced himself as the adjutant
of the battalion commander of the Security Police. The first
lieutenant explained that the police battalion had received the
assignment to effect the liquidation of all Jews here in the town of
Sluzk within 2 days. The battalion commander with his battalion in
strength of four companies, two of which were made up of Lithuanian
partisans, was on the march here and the action would have to begin
instantly. I replied to the first lieutenant that I had to discuss the
action in any case first with the commander. About half an hour later
the police battalion arrived in Sluzk. Immediately after the arrival a
conference with the battalion commander took place according to my
request. I first explained to the commander that it would not very
well be possible to effect the action without previous preparation,
because everybody had been sent to work and that it would lead to
terrible confusion. At least it would have been his duty to inform me
a day ahead of time. Then I requested him to postpone the action 1
day. However, he refused this with the remark that he had to carry out
this action everywhere in all towns and that only 2 days were allotted
for Sluzk. Within those 2 days the town of Sluzk had by all means to
be cleared of Jews."
That
report was made to the Reich Commissioner for the Eastern Territories
through Gauleiter Hinrich Lohse, at Riga. Your Honors will recall that
he was referred to in another presentation.