Wehrmacht Involvement in Extermination Actions in the Crimea

The Wehrmacht's role in the extermination of Jews in Crimea can be summarized in three forms of evidence. Firstly, Manstein gave an order on November 20, 1941, that was clearly incendiary, filled with biological racism and indicating a willingness to condone mass killing on racial grounds. Secondly, the fourteen command HQ[1]subordinated to Korueck 553 (11th Army Rear Army Command) issued killing reports that showed a willingness not just to hand over Jews to the SD but also to kill them using their own military police. Thirdly, documents and testimonies describe the involvement of the command HQ and their soldiers in providing transport and manpower to the Einsatzkommandos.

Manstein Trial Documents: Further Debunking of the Paget Meme

Following the excellent article on Simferopol by Hans here and the older debunking of the Paget/Manstein meme by Roberto here, the article below examines the exhibits presented at the Manstein trial, the proceedings of which have been digitized by Yad Vashem in 62 files in the record group TR.4. I will deal with documents in their date order; most of them were discussed at trial in the transcripts digitized at TR.4/58 and TR.4/59.