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Vanguard of Genocide: The Einsatzgruppen in the Soviet Union

Osmar, Christopher M.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1281029869

Abstract Details

2010, Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, History (Arts and Sciences).
This thesis examines the involvement of the leaders of the Einsatzgruppen in the development of the Holocaust in the Soviet Union. The Einsatzgruppen participated in the 1941 German invasion of the Soviet Union, executing Communists, Jews, Roma, and mentally handicapped persons behind German lines. Though no plan for the uninhibited annihilation of all Soviet Jews existed at the outset of the war, the Einsatzgruppen continually included more Jews in the groups targeted for execution in response to a perceived threat from the Soviet Jewish community. This thesis approaches the question of the role of the Einsatzgruppen leaders in the radicalization of the Einsatzgruppen task by analyzing the defense strategies employed by twenty-two Einsatzgruppen officers in The United States of America v. Otto Ohlendorf et. al., one of the twelve subsequent trials held at Nuremberg after World War II. It concludes that unclear orders, fear of Soviet Jews, the brutality of the war, and interaction with superiors drove the leaders of the Einsatzgruppen to expand upon their task until it reached the proportions of a genuine genocide.
Dr. Norman Goda, PhD (Advisor)
Dr. Steven Miner, PhD (Committee Member)
Dr. T. David Curp, PhD (Committee Member)
133 p.
European History; International Law; Judaic Studies; Law; Military History; Russian History
Einsatzgruppen; Nuremberg trials; Ohlendorf; Holocaust; Blobel; Ferencz

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Osmar, C. M. (2010). Vanguard of Genocide: The Einsatzgruppen in the Soviet Union [Master's thesis, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1281029869

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Osmar, Christopher. Vanguard of Genocide: The Einsatzgruppen in the Soviet Union. 2010. Ohio University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1281029869.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Osmar, Christopher. "Vanguard of Genocide: The Einsatzgruppen in the Soviet Union." Master's thesis, Ohio University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1281029869

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.