Nazi Death Squads

This is an excellent series on the Einsatzgruppen (special action groups) which followed the German army when it invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941. What is remarkable about this new series is the wide usage of documentary film footage of actual murders and horrific actions, as well as interviews with witnesses and survivors of this genocide. It shows how it was not just the SS and German troops who perpetrated this mass murder but Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Latvian, etc. locals who were recruited, hired, or volunteered for this project. You may watch all four episodes on the above link. I have recorded three of the four episodes in the superb series from the American Heroes Channel (AHC). On July 25 all four episodes will be re-broadcast.

Up to this new series, the best film documentary on the Einsatzgruppen is The Nazis’ Secret Killing Squads, A & E Documentary, Bill Kurtis Investigative Reports, 1999. It focuses upon the Einsatzgruppen and their SS leadership’s prosecution at the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal by the heroic Benjamin Ferencz.

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