Figure 1.--.

Operation 1005 was the SS effort to cover up the physical evidence of the Holocaust--2-3 million bodies burried in thosands of locations throughout Eastern Europe. When the NAZIs launched upon the killing phase of the Holocaust, the idea of destoying the evidence was not aajor concern. The Whermacht dominated Europe and Hitler and Himmler expected the Wehrmacht would destroy the Soviet Red Army in a short summer campaign. There seemed to be no real need to bother with destroying the evidence. After the Soviet counter offensive before Moscow (December 1941) and then the Stalingrad disaster (January 1943), the situation in the East changed dramatically. And Himmler began to destroy the evidence. We are not sure if he discussed this with Hitler as it confronted the possibility that Germany might lose the War. Himmler ordered that the bodies of the victims be dug up and cremated--Aktion 1005. The largest number of bodies were located around the death camps, but there were large numbers of locations where smaller numbers of bodies were burried. That is not to say small numbers of bodies of course, only smaller than the mountains of bodiess buried around the Reinhard camps. The Reinhard camps, unlike Auschwitz, did not have crematoria to destroy the evidence of the killing operation. Bodies at the camps through 1942 bodies were buried or burned in huge pits which left evidence of the massive killing operatin in tact. The NAZIs were not too woried about this when they were sure they would win the War. As German fortunes wained in the battledied, it became more of a concern. This became even more apparent when the Germans found the bodies of Polish officers killed in the Katyn Forest by the NKVD (around late-1942). Propaganda Chief Goebbels began using the discovery in his propaganda broadcasts (April 1943). The SS at the Reinhard camps in early-1943 began using above ground pyres to incinerate the corpses this was faster and destroyed the evidence. The problem for the NAZIs was they had let million of corpses buried in counless sites scattered all over Eastern Europe. The SS-Einsatzgruppen in the Soviet Union were responsible for most of these sites. SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich gave SS-Standartenführer Paul Blobel command of Aktion 1005 (March 1942). Blobel was not only a military, but was involved with the Einsatzgruppen, including the killing operation at Babi Yar outside Kiev. The assisination of Heydrich by SOE British-Czech operatives (June 1942) delayed the operation. SS-Gruppenführer Heinrich Müller, head of the Gestapo, gave Blobel his orders (late-June 1942). The primary goal was to destroy the evidence of the killing of Jews, NAZI buchery was not limited only to Jews. The men chosen for Operation 1005 were SiPo/SD men sworn to secrecy. Aktion 115 set out to also destroy the evidence of non-Jewish killed by the Einsatzgruppen in the Soviet Union. [Arad. Operation] Blobel decided to begin his work closder to home at the Chelmno death camp. He experimented with various approsaches to destroying the buried corpses. Incendiary bombs were used to to destroy exhumed bodies, but set off forest fires. After some experimentation, Blobel concluded that the bodies had to be exhumed and stacked in giant pyres on iron grills. This meant constructing pyres with with alternating layers of corpses and firewood on railway tracks. Bone fragments which remained were crushed in a grinding machine. The remaining ash was reburried. The operation commenced at Sorbibor even as the killing operations were in progress. Leichenkommando exhumed the bodies from the many mass graves around the camp and burned them. The Jewish prisoners forced to do this were then shot. The process was repeated at Belzec (December 1942) and then Treblinka. Operation 1005 faced a more difficult task further east as there were many more sites and they were widely scattered. What Himmler hoped to avoid was illustrated when a Wehrmacht officer discovered the mass graves of Polish officers shot by the Soviet NKVD in 1940. The Germans announced the discovery (April 1943). Goebbels launched a major propaganda campaign. Blobel undaunted returned to the major killing sites at Babi Yar, Ponary and the Ninth Fort. Blobel reached Babi Yar (August 1943). He found the Jewish corpses covered by more recent NAZI victims (POWs, opartisans, and civilians). Finally Blobel reached sites in Belorussia and the Baltics. Red Army troops entering Estonisa in 1944 found the Operation 1005 pyres still burning. Blobel and his commnd reported to SS Col . Adolf Eichmann in Hungary that the mission of Kommando 1005 had been completed (1944). He had destroyed evidence at the larger sites, but the killing was so massive and too widespread to have destoyed all of the evidence. As many as 60,000 people, mostly Jews, are believed to have been used in the process and then killed. At the Nuremberg trials he insisted that he "only" killed 10,000-15,000 people. As Soviet forces moved into Poland, SS-Obergruppenführer Wilhelm Koppe, head of the Reichsgau Wartheland (occupied western Poland) ordered that each of the General Government's five districts set up an Aktion 1005 group to begin "cleaning" mass graves. The operations were still in progress when Red Army units overran many of the sites.

Purpose

Changing Military Situation

After the Soviet counter offensive before Moscow (December 1941) and then the Stalingrad disaster (January 1943), the situation in the East changed dramatically. And Himmler sought to destroy the evidence. We are not sure if he discussed this personally with Hitler as it confronted the possibility that Germany might lose the War. Himmler ordered that the bodies of the victims be dug up and cremated--Aktion 1005. The NAZIs were not too woried about this when they were sure they would win the War. As German fortunes wained on the battle field, it became more of a concern.

Katyn Forrest (April 1943)

This became even more apparent when the Germans found the bodies of Polish officers killed in the Katyn Forest by the NKVD (April 1943). The disciovery of the biodies of Poliah Army officers shot by the Soviet NKVD in the Katyn Forest hughlight the averse consequences of these sites being discovered. Gobbels made it a propagabd circus with a Red Cross investigation. And it cause problems among the Allies. The Propaganda Chief Goebbels began using the discovery in his propaganda broadcasts. What Himmler hoped to avoid was illustrated when a Wehrmacht officer discovered the mass graves of Polish officers shot by the Soviet NKVD in 1940. The Germans announced the discovery (April 1943). Goebbels launched a major propaganda campaign.

Locations

The largest number of bodies were located around the death camps, but there were large numbers of locations where smaller numbers of bodies were burried. That is not to say small numbers of bodies of course, only smaller than the mountains of bodiess buried around the Reinhard camps. The Reinhard camps, unlike Auschwitz, did not have crematoria or adequste crematoria to destroy the evidence of the killing operation. Bodies at the camps through 1942 bodies were buried or burned in huge pits which left evidence of the massive killing operation in tact. The SS at the Reinhard camps in early-1943 began using above ground pyres to incinerate the corpses this was faster and destroyed the evidence. The problem for the NAZIs was they had let million of corpses buried in counless sites scattered all over Eastern Europe. The SS-Einsatzgruppen in the Soviet Union were responsible for most of these sites.

Assignment

SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich gave SS-Standartenführer Paul Blobel command of Aktion 1005 (March 1942). Blobel was not only a militarybman , but was involved with the Einsatzgruppen, including the killing operation at Babi Yar outside Kiev. The assisination of Heydrich by SOE British-Czech operatives (June 1942) delayed the operation. SS-Gruppenführer Heinrich Müller, head of the Gestapo, gave Blobel his orders (late-June 1942). The primary goal was to destroy the evidence of the killing of Jews, NAZI buchery was, however, not limited only to Jews. The men chosen for Operation 1005 were SiPo/SD men sworn to secrecy.

Operations

Aktion 1005 set out to also destroy the evidence of non-Jewish killed by the Einsatzgruppen in the Soviet Union. [Arad. Operation] Blobel decided to begin his work closder to home at the Chelmno death camp. He experimented with various approsaches to destroying the buried corpses. Incendiary bombs were used to to destroy exhumed bodies, but set off forest fires. After some experimentation, Blobel concluded that the bodies had to be exhumed and stacked in giant pyres on iron grills. This meant constructing pyres with with alternating layers of corpses and firewood on railway tracks. Bone fragments which remained were crushed in a grinding machine. The remaining ash was reburried. The operation commenced at Sorbibor even as the killing operations were in progress. Leichenkommando exhumed the bodies from the many mass graves around the camp and burned them. The Jewish prisoners forced to do this were then shot. The process was repeated at Belzec where manyn of the Galatian Jews were murdered. And then they went to mwork maround Treblinka. Operation 1005 faced a more difficult task further east as there were many more sites and they were widely scattered. Blobel undaunted returned to the major killing sites at Babi Yar, Ponary and the Ninth Fort. Blobel reached Babi Yar (August 1943). He found the Jewish corpses covered by more recent NAZI victims (POWs, partisans, and civilians). Finally Blobel reached sites in Belorussia and the Baltics. Red Army troops entering Estonisa in 1944 found the Operation 1005 pyres still burning.

Completion

Blobel and his command reported to SS Col . Adolf Eichmann in Hungary that the mission of Kommando 1005 had been completed (1944). He had destroyed evidence at the larger sites, but the killing was so massive and too widespread to have destoyed all of the evidence. As many as 60,000 people, modstly Jews, are believed to have been used in the process and then killed. At the Nuremberg trials he insisted that he "only" killed 10,000-15,000 people. As Soviet forces moved into Poland, SS-Obergruppenführer Wilhelm Koppe, head of the Reichsgau Wartheland (occupied western Poland) ordered that each of the General Government's five districts set up an Aktion 1005 group to begin "cleaning" mass graves. The operations were still in progress when Red Army units overran many of the sites.

Sources

Arad. Operation

Created: 8:32 PM 6/24/2011
Last updated: 8:32 PM 6/24/2011