The Holocaust by Bullets

In June 1941, the Nazis invaded parts of Eastern Europe that had been controlled by the Soviet Union. Millions more Jews fell under Nazi control in these territories, and Nazi policy became more extreme. War created conditions that made large-scale violence easier and more routine. This allowed Nazi leaders to move from persecution to systematic mass murder.

As the Nazis advanced, they brought special mobile killing units made up of SS men. These killing units were called the Einsatzgruppen. They also brought German police forces called the Order Police.

The Einsatzgruppen and Order Police conducted mass shootings of the Jewish population of Eastern Europe. This operation is known today as the Holocaust by Bullets. It took place in Eastern European countries and parts of the Soviet Union between 1941 and 1944. Local police and government authorities in these countries helped the Einsatzgruppen and Order Police. Together they killed entire Jewish communities in face-to-face shootings. They gathered Jewish men, women and children in the town squares and marched them to pre-dug pits in nearby fields or forests. At these sites, they shot each victim directly into the pits. The victims were often abused and tortured before their deaths. The killings took place over many hours or even days. About 1.5 million Eastern European Jews were shot this way, near the places they lived.

Killing people at close range was reported to be hard on the men who carried out the mass shootings. Some members of the killing units chose not to take part. The men who refused to participate were usually given other duties. Their chances for promotion were sometimes affected, but they were not seriously punished.

Eventually, the Nazis decided that shooting people one by one was inefficient. It took a long time and required a lot of ammunition. By 1942, the Nazis turned to gas chambers in death camps as the primary method of killing Jews.