Einsatzgruppe B Commander Behind Nazi Crimes: Erich Naumann #ww2 #history #documentary

Erich Naumann was a senior SS officer and commander of Einsatzgruppe B, one of the mobile killing units responsible for mass murder across Eastern Europe during the Second World War. Born in 1905 in Meissen, Germany, Naumann joined the Nazi Party in 1929 and the SA shortly afterward, later transferring to the SS and its intelligence branch, the SD. His rise within the Nazi security apparatus coincided with Adolf Hitler’s consolidation of power and the expansion of Germany’s repressive state. Naumann first gained prominence during the German invasion of Poland in 1939, where he commanded Einsatzgruppe VI and participated in Operation Tannenberg, a campaign targeting the Polish intelligentsia and perceived enemies of Nazi rule. Thousands were executed in mass shootings, setting a precedent for the genocidal policies that would follow in the East. After Operation Barbarossa began in June 1941, Naumann replaced Arthur Nebe as commander of Einsatzgruppe B, which operated primarily in Belarus and western Russia. Under his leadership, the unit carried out systematic mass shootings of Jews, Soviet officials, and civilians in cities such as Minsk and Smolensk, often with assistance from local collaborators. Reports submitted by Naumann documented tens of thousands of executions, and his unit also used gas vans as mobile killing facilities. By late 1942, Einsatzgruppe B had murdered well over one hundred thousand people. Later assigned to the Netherlands, Naumann oversaw security operations and supported Operation Silbertanne, a series of retaliatory assassinations against suspected resistance members. Captured after the war, Naumann was tried at the Einsatzgruppen Trial in Nuremberg. Unrepentant, he defended his actions as wartime necessity. Convicted of crimes against humanity, he was sentenced to death and executed by hanging in Landsberg Prison in June 1951. His career exemplifies the central role of Einsatzgruppen commanders in the Holocaust. Narrator: Marchand Steenkam