The Einsatzgruppen Trial: The Biggest Murder Trial in History

Following the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg in 1945, the United States conducted twelve additional trials against other significant members of the Nazi regime. One of these trials involved 24 defendants of the notorious mobile killing units (Einsatzgruppen) for their role in murdering Jews, Communists, and countless others during Nazi Germany’s campaign against the Soviet Union.
John Geiringer, a partner at Barack Ferrazzano law firm and a Co-Director of the Center for National Security and Human Rights Law at Chicago-Kent School of Law, joined us to deliver a compelling account of how the prosecution and defense responded to the challenge of prosecuting mass murder in a world where the concept of “genocide” was still in flux. He also examined the men who perpetrated some of the most brutal crimes of the Holocaust, and explore lessons we can learn from the Trials today.

[@-John-Doe-]

You can literally just read/watch/listen to Otto Ohlendorf’s trial in less time than this lecture. This guy can’t even pronounce the things he’s trying to talk about.

[@jenA9026]

So sad that so many murderers essentially got away with it 😢

[@michaeltowslee4111]

The murderers did get away with it. But, the pursuers of these murderers made their lives never completely secure.

[@1972dsrai]

Nothing new. Israel is getting away with it today which is ironic.

[@leannejordan4326]

They looked over their shoulders in fear for the rest of their lives, the world hated them and wanted them dead and the nazis knew this. It's not fair or just but it's more than nothing.

[@williamstewart7725]

Good presentation on a subject I had interest.

[@colmmcnulty5506]

Excellent presentation. Highly informative and engaging. Great resource for more able student of history. Will highlight it to my students here in NZ who are about to embark on an assignment on the Nuremburg Trial.

[@ROXCANADA2023]

read the books instead of listening to lectures that seem to me just propaganda

[@shaunmm2k]

Riveting and full of information. It gives movies and documentaries about WW2 and Nazi anything, historical context, which then adds gravitas and education about the depicted events you're watching.

[@marque22ful]

Could you please explain where Yaroslav Hunka fits in the picture? Waffen SS Galicia Unit?

[@donaldkepple4927]

Yes he said 2 million

[@michaeltowslee4111]

Eichmann got sprayed with the brains of a mother and child according to him and Wisclincy, his subordinate.

[@foucault8964]

He’s good. Great pres

[@michaelmallal9101]

Glad to see they were prosecuted if guilty.

[@davidhutchinson5233]

Was there ever any question? The Einsatzgruppen committed some of the worst atrocities during WWII on the eastern front.

[@elisaschulman2356]

Oh they were guilty Al right.

[@SethinBerlin]

Reichssicherheitshauptamt. Get rid of the extra m in haupt and it is a bit easier to pronounce 😀

[@brycecrousore1985]

Are my eyes and ears working? Did he just mention murdering 2 million by bullets and Skynyrd in the same sentence??

[@grantsmythe8625]

Perhaps you might listen again to understand why.

[@foucault8964]

He’s referring to the rhythm of the court.

[@janebeman6259]

He's of this generation.

[@charleskatz2606]

Well that song certainly slays me

[@ROXCANADA2023]

The T4 was a very different situation with a very different reason, it even had a research supporting the Catholic church point of view over all the history of the church done by a theologian from the church in order to do everything as it was supposed to be. I am not denying the Holocaust but why try to confuse people with something different. From now on I will listen everything very carefully to what he says

[@russellwillmoth9734]

The formation of Prussian blue in concrete is highly unlikely under normal conditions. Prussian blue (iron(III) ferrocyanide) is a specific compound that forms under particular chemical conditions, requiring the presence of both ferrocyanide ions and iron(III) ions. Concrete is primarily composed of cement, water, and aggregates like sand and gravel. While it’s true that concrete can contain various metallic compounds (including those of iron) due to the materials used or environmental exposure, the specific conditions needed for forming Prussian blue (particularly the presence of ferrocyanide ions) are not typically present in a concrete environment. Moreover, the alkaline nature of concrete (due to the presence of lime from cement) is not conducive to the formation of Prussian blue, which is more stable in acidic to neutral pH conditions.

[@Red1Green2Blue3]

What's your point?

[@michaelmallal9101]

The NKVD might have been doing the same, but no condemnation as they were allies? Similarly Yamashita was hung for war crimes in Singapore, whereas Zhukov was not for crimes in Berlin.

[@damonmelendez856]

Good question, ‘never again’ shouldn’t be limited to one group

[@LeeZaslofsky]

The Soviets did not commit genocide against any ethnic group, though they murdered many people. They did not assign specific units to go around massacring every single member of an ethnic/religious group simply for being members of that group. That was the only mission of the Einsatzgruppen: mass murder of an ethnic group, along with other people they decided had no right to live. The Americans the British (etc) owed many of their lives to the Soviet war effort, including the leadership of Stalin and Zhukov (and many others). The USSR caused 80% of German combat casualties; the other Allies caused 20%. There were 80 Soviet deaths in WWII for every US death. After the incredible suffering imposed on the Soviet people by the war; after the brilliant successes of their armies, after the destruction of the most horrific regime in the world, mostly because of the Soviet effort, you want to put Zhukov on trial? "The enemy of my enemy is my friend". That was the slogan that brought the Allies together, and which led to their victory.

[@-John-Doe-]

@@LeeZaslofsky​​⁠​​⁠ ⁠​​⁠ The Soviets were horrifically brutal and were never subjected to the same intelligence operation present in Germany for denazification. It was a purge of occupied Germany. They quite literally tried and killed anyone they could associate with a group. _(Sounds familiar)_ The singling out of the Jews ignores the entire problem with the National Socialists - they handed a state bureaucracy the power to write off people for euthanasia. _Anyone_ deemed unfit for work in labor camps and thus deemed _disabled._ They didn’t _only_ kill Jews, and the common figures for Jews _’liquidated’_ is extremely vaguely estimated from a review of a 1989 paper on ethnic populations in the Soviet Union. That review was written on the inherent problems with estimating Jewish populations. Modern socialists don’t want to acknowledge that mere dislike for Jews doesn’t make railways and death camps fall out of the sky. State Bureaucracies and unlimited power do. The _’Hidden Holocaust’_ is an entirely separate apparatus for killing from the euthanasia programs. If anyone cared to prevent such a tragedy from happening again, they would learn means by which it was executed. The means by which the party ideology was implemented are very distinct. The Rape of Berlin by the Soviets was sheer brutality.

[@davidhutchinson5233]

@@LeeZaslofsky Ignore him. Just another rationalization by comparison. They did this but they did that. It's so repugnant and ridiculous. Don't even bother engaging with someone like that.

[@LeeZaslofsky]

Not engaging with them has not worked.They have gone from strength to strength while people say "don't feed the trolls". If this fool doesn't learn anything from my little summary, maybe someone else will.

[@michaelmallal9101]

U didn't mention Vietnam. USA won't sign to ICC. 'Show me the man and I'll show you the crime''. - USSR Marshal Beria

[@BlutoandCo]

Whataboutism He didnt mention the millions of jews killed by russia both before and durint ww2.

[@swisscottagecleanairaction]

Why did you ignore Israel ?

[@Red1Green2Blue3]

Because the topic of this lecture is "The Einsatzgruppen Trial" (it's in the title). Why would he talk about Israel?

[@BlutoandCo]

Whataboutism

[@HabAnagarek]

Oof the German pronunciation

[@janloose8016]

I do agree, and certainly with the availability of all those free professional dictionary offering audio on pronunciation