JUNE 22, 1941

KILLING SQUADS DEPLOYED AGAINST JEWS

German mobile killing squads, called special duty units (Einsatzgruppen), are assigned to kill Jews during the invasion of the Soviet Union. These squads follow the German army, as it advances deep into Soviet territory, and carry out mass-murder operations. At first, the mobile killing squads shoot primarily Jewish men. Soon, wherever the mobile killing squads go they shoot all Jewish men, women, and children, without regard for age or gender. By the spring of 1943, the mobile killing squads will have killed more than a million Jews and tens of thousands of partisans, Roma (Gypsies), and Soviet political officials.

SEPTEMBER 29-30, 1941

ABOUT 34,000 JEWS KILLED AT BABI YAR

The Germans order the Jewish residents of Kiev to assemble on Melnik Street for resettlement outside the city. In reality, those who report are directed along Melnik Street toward the Jewish cemetery and the ravine, called Babi Yar. Jews are forced to hand over their valuables, disrobe, and move into the ravine in small groups. German killing squads and Ukrainian auxiliary units shoot them. The massacre continues for two days. About 34,000 Jews--men, women, and children--are killed in this operation. In the months that follow, thousands more Jews are shot at Babi Yar. Many non-Jews, including Roma (Gypsies) and Soviet prisoners of war, are also killed in the ravine.

DECEMBER 1, 1941

A KILLING SQUAD COMMANDER REPORTS 137,346 KILLED

In the so-called "Jaeger Report," SS Colonel Karl Jaeger reports on the killings his unit carried out in Lithuania between July 2 and December 1, 1941. He reports that his squad killed 137,346 Jewish men, women, and children. Jews in the cities of Kovno, Ukmerge, and Vilna are killed in a series of massacres throughout the summer of 1941. Almost all Jews living in small Lithuanian towns and villages are killed. Jaeger reports that only about 35,000 Jews remain, mostly as forced laborers in the Kovno, Vilna, and Siauliai ghettos.