Operational Situation Report USSR No.
38 The Chief of the Security Police and the SD, Berlin,
July 30, 1941
45 copies
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(45th copy)
1. Political Survey:
b. Occupied territories
Russian-Poland
The Commander of the security police and the SD in Cracow reports from the
occupied territories:
I. Activity report:
At the time of the report, another 416 persons, most of them Jews, were shot
because of Communist activity, such as Communist commissars in the Red Army,
murderers of Ukrainians who had nationalistic views or as agents of the NKVD.
More than 1,000 persons were arrested because of similar offences or for
lootings, gang-raids, etc.
The offices of the party committees, NKVD and border guard were constantly
searched. Prior to their retreat, the Russians were able to destroy or take
with them in some cases all of their documents. Some of the files and maps
were seized and are still being evaluated. A gun repairshop of the NKVD with
1,000 guns, 2 H.M.G.'s, and 70 boxes with ammunition, was discovered in Lvov
and removed. The searches for NKVD agents are becoming more and more
difficult as they are constantly changing their quarters.
15 persons were arrested in Lvov because of activity as part of the Polish
terrorist group ZWZ.
With the arrest of NKVD agent Sekunda in Lvov, assistant to the well-known
captain Orlov, the names of persons who had been sent as spies into the
General Gouvernement after special training were revealed.
II. Situation report
(former Russian-Poland)
Jews:
Behavior continues to be offensive and provocative. In the rear areas, some
of the Jews who had fled are returning. Illicit trading is stopped, markets
in smaller towns are full of Jews hoarding. A "Jewish Community" has been
established in Lvov by an official order. Their task: taxation, registration
of Jewish population, and organization of social self-help.
Reports of the Einsatzgruppen and kommandos:
Einsatzgruppe C
Location: Zhitomir
Reports:
Arson is still frequent. In agreement with General Reinhardt and with German
Army support a major action was carried out which ended with the arrest of
200 Communists and Jews. After having established the personal data and
examining the cases, 180 Communists and Jews were shot. The interrogations
have again shown that, like in other towns, the important personalities are
no longer there. It is, however, possible that for the time being, Jews in
particular remain in hiding in the surrounding areas of the town. They will
be caught when the villages are systematically searched in the near future.
A 12-year-old Jew was brought forward who admitted to having set fire to a
whole street. He admitted during the investigation that his parents and a
third person had incited him.
According to a report of EK 4a constant sabotage activity is going on in
Zwiahel (Novograd-Volynskiy). The German Army now drives all the civilians
together and, as retaliatory measures, carries out executions. In
cooperation with the German Army and the Ukrainians, 34 political
commissars, agents, etc. were plucked from civil-prisoner camps. In the
meantime, they have been finished off. Two of them pretended to have
important information about an arms cache in the forest. However, it became
obvious on the way there that the two Russians intended to deliver the
Kommando into the hands of the Russians and that they did not mean to locate
the cache at all. Thereupon the two were shot on the spot. A short time
later, we could observe about 100 Russians fleeing hurriedly into the
forest. On the march back, a large arms cache was actually discovered.
In Proskurov the entire documentation is either destroyed or removed. All
officials have disappeared. 22 political prisoners were found dead, they
were obviously starved in a cellar. Many Ukrainians and Poles have been
deported.
Considering the situation, the relationship of Volkdeutsche [ethnic Germans]
towards the Ukrainians was good. There exists, however, a pronounced lack of
confidence on the part of the Volkdeutsche towards the Ukrainians. This
rests on the fact that they are and will be a minority in the future.
Executions:
Proskurov - 146; Vinnista - 146; Berdichev - 148; Shepetovka - 17; Zhitomir
- 41; Khorostov - 30.
In this last place, 100 Jews were slain by the population.
Sources: NARA Translation by Hermann Feuer Copyright: H.E.A.R.T 2007 |