| Description: Two principal German defendants of the Einsatzgruppen
"commandoes" trial in Nuernberg are SS Major General Otto Ohlendorf
and SS Brigadier General Heinz Jost (front to rear) shown in the
dock preparing their final pleas during a court recess. "The Einsatzgruppen units,"
the prosecution stated, "were special task
forces whose primary purpose was to accompany the German army
into the Eastern territories and exterminate Jews, Gypsies,
Soviet officials and other civilians regarded as 'racially and
politically undesirable' ". Ohlendorf, as commander of the Einsatzgruppen
D, which operated mainly in Southern Russia, and Jost, as
commander of Einsatzgruppen A operating mainly in the Baltic
region, have admitted ordering the execution of several hundred
thousand civilians. They are charged with committing war crimes
and crimes against humanity, and membership in the SS and SD,
adjudged criminal organizations by the International Military Tribunal. [Original Descriptive Caption] |
