Massacres of the Pyp swamps “Jat ‘

Posted on by
before-content-x4

I massacres of the Pyp swamps “Jat ‘ (in German: Pryate sumps cleaning ) were a series of mass murders, [first] made by the German military forces, against Jewish civilians in Belarus and Ukraine, during July-August 1941. The leader of the SS Heinrich Himmler ordered these operations, were carried out by the Wehrmacht units of both the army and the Waffen SS: to these units He was ordered to kill as many Jews as possible, in a region around the swamps of the Pryp “Jat ‘, including nine Raiions of the RSS Bielorussa and three Raiions of the Ukrainian RSS.

after-content-x4

These massacres are considered the first planned mass murders of civilians perpetrated by Nazi Germany. [2] At least 13788 people were killed in the first phase, while in the second phase 3500 people were killed among Jewish men and boys. [3] The main system used in executions was the mass shooting, after gathering the local population, alternative methods were also tried including drowning in the swamps.

The villages of Dvarets, Khochan ‘, Azyadry, Starazhowsy and Kremna were completely destroyed by a fire while Turaw was partially destroyed.

The operation was ordered by the Reichsführer -ss Heinrich Himmler, was conducted by the SS cavalry brigade, as well as by the 162nd infantry division and the 252nd infantry division of the Wehrmacht, under the general command of the Hsspf Erich von dem Bach. [4] Started on July 28, 1941 and lasting until August, [5] The operation took place in two phases, with the second phase that began on August 14th. There are no data on the losses of SS troops in relations. [2] The German documents captured on the operation reached Moscow in January 1942 and were published in the note of the People’s Commissioner for Foreign Relations of the USSR, issued on April 27. This note was addressed to all the countries with which the USSR had entertained diplomatic relationships.

It is believed that the international echo and the shock caused by this diffusion have pushed the Nazis to hide or destroy the other materials involved in this operation. [2]

On July 19, 1941, the 1st and 2nd SS Cavalry Regiment were assigned to the General Command of the HSSPF Erich von Dem Bach. The start date of the operation is considered July 28, 1941. [6] On that day the two SS cavalry regiments were transferred to Baranavichy for the “systematic raking of the pryp” Jat ‘”. [3] Shortly thereafter, Himmler ordered the formation of the SS cavalry brigade under the command of Hermann Fegelein from the 1st and 2nd cavalry regiment of the SS. [3] In addition, Himmler ordered Von dem Bach to present him with the plan of the extermination operation. [7] The “special order” of Himmler of 28 July 1941 imposed on Von Dem Bach to exterminate the population of the “Jat ‘” Pryp Region of the Pyp “with an unpleasant attitude towards the Germans”, [8] That is, to shoot men, deport women and children, confiscate cattle and food, burn homes. On the contrary, the population “showing a pleasant attitude towards the Germans” had to be “spared” and even partially armed. [8]

The orders of Himmler for the operation were passed to Fegelein through the SS-Brigadefuhrer Kurt Knoblauch on July 28 in Liakhovichi, in Belarus. Fegelein interpreted these orders as follows: the uniform enemies had to be taken prisoner and those found without uniform had to be shot. Jewish males, with the exception of a few qualified workers such as doctors and leatherers, would have been shot. [9] Fegelein divided the territory to be covered in two sections separated by the Pripyat river, with the 1st regiment that took northern half and the 2nd regiment. [ten] The regiments made their way from the east to the west through the assigned territory and presented daily relationships on the number of people killed or prisoner. [ten]

Himmler notified to Fegelein, through a telegram on 1 August, that the number of victims was too low. A few days later, Himmler issued the regiment order no. 42, which provided for the killing of all male Jews over the age of 14, while women and children had to be pushed into the swamps and drowned. In this way the units of Fegelein were among the first in the Holocaust to wipe out entire Jewish communities. [11] Since the water in the swamps was too low and some areas had no swamps, it turned out to be not very practical to drown women and children, and therefore in the end they were also shot. [twelfth]

after-content-x4

The first phase [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The forces of the 1st cavalry regiment moved from Baranavichy in the direction of Lyakhavichy-Hantsavichy, Baranavichy-Ivatsevichy-Byaroza-Patzhany by raking the territory to the south, south-east and south-west until it reaches the Pripyat river. The forces of the 2nd cavalry regiment moved by Lutsk in the directions of Kamen’-Kashirski-Drahichyn-Ivanva and Sarny-Luninyets-Pinsk forcing the territory to the south and north of the Pripyat river, until they gather with the 1st regiment.

By coordinating with the movements of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment of the SS, the einsatzgruppe B led the mass extermination of the Jewish population to Pinsk. In addition, several elements of the 1st and 2nd SS cavalry regiment formed the main force to block the Soviet forces that broke through the encirclement near the Slutesk – Babruysk highway on July 27. [2]

The second phase [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The forces of the SS cavalry brigade moved from the initial line of the Baranavichy – Luninyets railway to the east, leading the “cleaning” of the right and left shores of the Pripyat river keeping south of the R -1 motorway (Brest – Slutsk – Babruysk) .

During this phase, on August 21, 1941 near Turaw, the 2nd regiment fought one or two battalions of regular and irregular Soviet troops. According to the report of 29 August, the losses of the German brigade were 23 deaths and injured while the losses of Soviet troops were from 600 to 700 deaths and 10 prisoners.

Over the following days the 1st regiment raced the Starobin region-Lyuban-Ptsich, and the 2nd Regiment advanced east of the Kol’NA-Lyakhavichy line (Knyaz’-Vozyera) towards the Ptsich river. The second phase of the operation ended on August 29th [2] or on August 31st. [4] Fegelein’s final report on the operation, dated 18 September, says that 14178 Jews, 1001 partisans and 699 soldiers of the red army with losses of 17 deaths, 36 injured and 3 missing killed. [13] [14]

The historian Henning Pieper estimates that the actual number of Jews killed was closer to 23700 people. [15]

  1. ^ With the definition of Alexey Litvin, which believes that the previous definition of operation, given by V. Lazyebnikaw and V. Pase, “operation … against the units surrounded by red army, partisans and local population”, is excessively generalized and so Imprecise.
  2. ^ a b c d It is (Litvin 2003)
  3. ^ a b c Miller, p. 309 .
  4. ^ a b (Lazebnikaw and pass)
  5. ^ Pieper and pp. 79, 119 .
  6. ^ Pieper, p. 79 .
  7. ^ This plan has not been found, the information about it has been reconstructed. Litvin, 2003
  8. ^ a b Turonek, P. 101 .
  9. ^ Pieper and pp. 80-81 .
  10. ^ a b Pieper, p. 81 .
  11. ^ Pieper and pp. 86, 88-89 .
  12. ^ Pieper and pp. 89-90 .
  13. ^ Pieper and pp. 119-120 .
  14. ^ Miller, p. 310 .
  15. ^ Pieper, p. 120 .
  • (Lazyebnikaw and Pase) Lazibnikov VS, Posa US Pripyat Swamps // Belarusian Soviet Encyclopedia, V.8. p 604.
  • (Litvin 2003) Alexey Litvin. Killers // Soviet Belarus NO.226 (21892), 02.12.2003. – Newspaper’s archive in the net .
  • Michael Miller, Leaders of the SS and German Police, Vol. 1 , San Jose, CA, R. James Bender, 2006, ISBN 978-9-3297-0037-2.
  • Henning Pieper, Fegelein’s Horsemen and Genocidal Warfare: The SS Cavalry Brigade in the Soviet Union , Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, Palgrave Macmillan, 2015, ISBN 978-1-137-45631-1.
  • Jerzy Turonek, Belarus under German occupation , Warsaw – Wrocław, verse, 1989, p. 186.

after-content-x4