Allied units Implicated in War Crimes

[Strategic_Art]

edited: name of camp corrected, source added, description of events. This concerns crimes comitted by the No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando. Which respective national unit was responsible isn't known, but my guess goes it might have been Troop 3 (designated on paper as "X" or "Misc" under nationality, but consisting of refugees from Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia). No. 10 had seperate units made up of Dutch, Belgian, Norwegian, Polish, French nationals and the one consisting of German/central European Jewish and non-Jewish refugees, the latter of which were often attached to allied interrogation units or transferred to special Commando Interrogation Units. If it was not the "No. 3" troop, the candidate for the perpetrators might have been Belgian commando's.

The account:

No. 10 tp at Ahrensbok liberated Neustadt concentration camp, which was almost as appalling as Belsen. They also found emaciated survivors and sonme dead who had been marched from Buchenwald concentation camp; after making their SS guards dig their own graves, the commandos shot them.

Source: "No. 10 (Inter Allied) Commando 1942-45: Britain's Secret Commando" written by Nick van der Bijl (BEM) and illustrated by Rob Chapman, from the "Elite" range from Osprey Publications.

[David Thompson]

Strategic_Art -- If you have the information, step right up and post it.

[Strategic_Art]

I edited the message to include all available info.

[David Thompson]

Thanks, Strategic_Art.

[Pingpongtweet]

Eight Air Force, Fall 1944. Deliberate strafing of German civilians for the sake of lowering the German civilian morale.

Chuck Jeager relates to the orders he was given in his autobiography. I checked the book once and it checks out, this post pretty much covers it but I cant swear that it is verbatim.
http://www.h-net.org/~german/discuss/perps/776.html

On the following page he states "I'm certainly not proud of that particular strafing mission against civilians"

[Pingpongtweet]

37th Marine Depot Unit, Okinawa, 1945, Rape.
Possibly up to 10,000 were raped.
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/01/world ... inawa.html?

[Marcus]

A discussion was split off into a new thread: War crimes of US 45 Infantry Division and Marines

/Marcus

[f-wolf]

Britain's secret torture centre

The interrogation camp that turned prisoners into living skeletons.

German spa became a forbidden village where Gestapo-like techniques were used.

The Guardian, Saturday 17 December 2005

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/dec/1 ... opstories3

[David Thompson]

Thanks very much for that link, and welcome to the forum!

[Radar]

Another excellent book is „Avenging Eagles“ Forbidden tales of the 101st Airborne Division in WW2 written by Mark Brando.
(ISBN 2006902027)
Mark is a member of the WW2 Airborne Demonstration Team and historian. He interviewed over 35 year’s members of the 101st. I didn’t expect a book like this from somebody who has very closed ties to the unit. All the stories are true and no fiction.

[Caldric]

I I am rather amazed this subject or topic is still alive.

Of course all armies break the Laws of Warfare but we must keep it in perspective... There is and always will be a difference between battlefield rage and cold blooded extermination. Hell Germany was exterminating its own children prior to WWII because they had Downs Syndrome or other birth defects such as a mental illness or a physical defect. They exterminated people with problems at least it is estimated 250,000 german citizens who were born with some defect or another.

Yes the Western Allies sometimes committed unforgivable acts of barbarism. Yet they were far better than Germany or the USSR, and let us be clear throwing the crimes of Communistic Russia in with Western Allied Armies is not only wrong but there can be no reasoning behind it. Because who knows how we the USA would react if the war was wage across the USA? With Germany burning, exterminating and raping their way across the USA your daughters whored out for every soldier to come by? We would most likely have Nuked Berlin 2 times at least if capable and that is war but Germany took war to a barbaric level that is unacceptable to Western Ideals they were not part of Western society when they entered WWII they broke all laws of Warfare they thought themselves outside of the rules because they thought they could never lose the war it was "Destiny" and they ate it up and destroyed for it. However the USSR has its own crimes to answer for that have nothing to do with the Western Allies.

FDR sent a letter to all European powers in 1939 pleading with them not to use airpower/artillery to attack civilian targets. As Germany firebombed and exterminated Warsaw. Not to mention London.

As for German POW's it was either feed the civilians or the POW's in Germany Ike made the correct choice and I am no fan of Ike but the fact is his documents during the time show he diverted food from POW camps to civilian population. How many times did Germany or Japan do that? Never

"Destiny" was to the German political and military machine simply a means to an end and their actions were dishonorable and against every rule ever created regarding Land Warfare and its laws. It is easy to define any means with the word "Destiny" any crime is forgotten it is a word used to excuse any crime. Manifest Destiny anyone?

I think of 90 children locked in a school in Ukraine and dying of thirst and hunger while the German High Command discussed their fate....... They were taken to the woods and exterminated by German Ukrainian auxiliaries as if that made it easier, because the German troops refused the order? Most of those auxiliaries would die at the front our drink themselves into suicide.

Show me where American Troops took 90 German children starving and dying of dehydration into the woods and shot them with high-powered rifles and then discuss War Crimes to me.

[Crazy_Ivan]

I think some of the links above are proof that it was not always battlefield rage, a war crime is a war crime no matter how you cut it, do the allies have carte blanche because they were in the right? What the Germans did was infinitely worse and on a much larger scale but please don't be an appologist for the allies because they are the good guys.

[Caldric]

7Well lets start with that yes the US and Allies comitted crimes, keep in mind I am still waiting for information of American or Allied soldiers taking 90 starving Children under 12 to the woods and shooting them into a grave. Does that compare with shooting SS soldiers at Dachau? Not even remotely.

Have you acutally read the above thesis? Do you understand that the opening of it starts with a criminal who shot POW's in the USA? He was a criminal and he was prosecuted for his crimes. Unlike the the Baltic Exterminators an arm of the German Military. Tell me which unit in Western Armies compared to the Einsatzgruppen?

There is a difference between Allied localized crimes and German extermination, to even put them on the same level is silly to me.


In 1989, Lt. Col. Sparks wrote an account of the role of the 45th Infantry Division in the liberation of Dachau. His description of what happened at the wall is as follows:

As I watched, about fifty German troops were brought in from various directions. A machine gun squad from Company I was guarding the prisoners. After watching for a few minutes, I started for the confinement area (the concentration camp), after taking directions from one of my soldiers. After I had walked away for a short distance, I heard the machine gun guarding the prisoners open fire. I immediately ran back to the gun and kicked the gunner off the gun with my boot. I then grabbed him by the collar and said: "What the hell are you doing?" He was a young private about 19 years old (Private William C. Curtin) and was crying hysterically. His reply to me was: "Colonel, they were trying to get away." I doubt that they were, but in any event he killed about twelve of the prisoners and wounded several more. I placed a noncom on the gun and headed towards the confinement area.



The photograph above shows 27-year-old Lt. Col. Felix Sparks firing a pistol into the air, while at the same time, he is holding up his left hand as a signal to the American soldiers to stop shooting.

In his 1989 account of the liberation of Dachau, Sparks wrote the following regarding the number of SS soldiers who were killed in the Dachau massacre:

It was the foregoing incident which has given rise to wild claims in various publications that most or all of the German prisoners captured at Dachau were executed. Nothing could be further from the truth, The total number of German guards killed at Dachau during that day most certainly did not exceed fifty, with thirty probably being a more accurate figure

Perhaps seeing train upon train of starved and murdered civilian just happened to get the SS what they deserved. Warcrime? More like justice to me.

There is a major difference from soldiers seeing stock piles of human corpses and shooting germans and the Jager reports as shown below.

To me to compare the Allied Armies (western) to Germany is a crime itself. Yes they killed and they shot POW's but they don't deserve sucn infamy as below. That was Germany's. To say they were in the same league is insulting to me.

You will notice if you actually read it that at the start it is Adult Men.... Then women more and more... and by August 1941 after so much blood they don't even care anymore and the children are added to the stack of human's exterminated. Compare that to Dachau?

What do I think of this issue not a whole lot.





Complete list of executions carried out in the EK 3 area up to 1 December 1941

Security police duties in Lithuania taken over by Einsatzkommando 3 on 2 July 1941.

(The Wilna [Vilnius] area was taken over by EK 3 on 9 Aug. 1941, the Schaulen area on 2 Oct. 1941. Up until these dates EK 9 operated in Wilna and EK 2 in Schaulen.)

On my instructions and orders the following executions were conducted by Lithuanian partisans:4.7.41 Kauen-Fort VII 416 Jews, 47 Jewesses 463
6.7.41 Kauen-Fort VII Jews 2,514

Following the formation of a raiding squad under the command of SS-ObersturmfŸhrer Hamman and 8-10 reliable men from the Einsatzkommando, the following actions were conducted in cooperation with Lithuanian partisans:



7.7.41 Mariampole Jews 32
8.7.41 Mariampole 14 Jews, 5 Comm. officials 19
8.7.41 Girkalinei Comm. officials 6
9.7.41 Wendziogala 32 Jews, 2 Jewesses, 1 Lithuanian
(f.), 2 Lithuanian Comm., 1 Russian Comm. 38
9.7.41 Kauen-Fort VII 21 Jews, 3 Jewesses 24
14.7.41 Mariampole 21 Jews, 1 Russ., 9 Lith. Comm. 31
17.7.41 Babtei 8 Comm. officials (incl. 6 Jews) 8
18.7.41 Mariampole 39 Jews, 14 Jewesses 53
19.7.41 Kauen-Fort VII 17 Jews, 2 Jewesses, 4 Lith.
Comm., 2 Comm. Lithuanians (f.),
1 German Comm. 26
21.7.41 Panevezys 59 Jews, 11 Jewesses, 1
Lithuanian (f.), 1 Pole, 22 Lith.
Comm., 9 Russ. Comm. 103
22.7.41 Panevezys 1 Jew 1
23.7.41 Kedainiai 83 Jews, 12 Jewesses, 14 Russ.
Comm., 15 Lith. Comm., 1 Russ.
O-Politruk 125
25.7.41 Mariampole 90 Jews, 13 Jewesses 103
28.7.41 Panevezys 234 Jews, 15 Jewesses, 19 Russ.
Comm., 20 Lith. Comm. 288


Total carried forward 3,384
sheet 2
Total carried forward 3,384


29.7.41 Rasainiai 254 Jews, 3 Lith. Comm. 257
30.7.41 Agriogala 27 Jews, 11 Lith. Comm. 38
31.7.41 Utena 235 Jews, 16 Jewesses, 4 Lith.
Comm., 1 robber/murderer 256
31.7.41 Wendziogala 13 Jews, 2 murderers 15
1.8.41 Ukmerge 254 Jews, 42 Jewesses, 1 Pol.
Comm., 2 Lith. NKVD agents, 1
mayor of Jonava who gave order
to set fire to Jonava 300
2.8.41 Kauen-Fort IV 170 Jews, 1 US Jewess, 33 Jewesses,
4 Lith. Comm. 209
4.8.41 Panevezys 362 Jews, 41 Jewesses, 5 Russ. Comm.,
14 Lith. Comm. 422
5.8.41 Rasainiai 213 Jews, 66 Jewesses 279
7.8.41 Utena 483 Jews, 87 Jewesses, 1 Lithuanian
(robber of corpses of German soldiers) 571
8.8.41 Ukmerge 620 Jews, 82 Jewesses 702
9.8.41 Kauen-Fort IV 484 Jews, 50 Jewesses 534
11.8.41 Panevezys 450 Jews, 48 Jewesses, 1 Lith. 1 Russ. 500
13.8.41 Alytus 617 Jews, 100 Jewesses, 1 criminal 719
14.8.41 Jonava 497 Jews, 55 Jewesses 552
15-16.8.41 Rokiskis 3,200 Jews, Jewesses, and J. Children,
5 Lith. Comm., 1 Pole, 1 partisan 3207
9-16.8.41 Rasainiai 294 Jewesses, 4 Jewish children 298
27.6-14.8.41 Rokiskis 493 Jews, 432 Russians, 56 Lithuanians
(all active communists) 981
18.8.41 Kauen-Fort IV 689 Jews, 402 Jewesses, 1 Pole (f.),
711 Jewish intellectuals from Ghetto
in reprisal for sabotage action 1,812
19.8.41 Ukmerge 298 Jews, 255 Jewesses, 1 Politruk,
88 Jewish children, 1 Russ. Comm. 645
22.8.41 Dunanburg 3 Russ. Comm., 5 Latvian, incl. 1
murderer, 1 Russ. Guardsman, 3 Poles,
3 gypsies (m.), 1 gypsy (f.), 1 gypsy
child, 1 Jew, 1 Jewess, 1 Armenian
(m.), 2 Politruks (prison inspection
in Dunanburg 21


Total carried forward 16,152
sheet 3
Total carried forward 16,152


22.8.41 Aglona Mentally sick: 269 men, 227 women,
48 children 544
23.8.41 Panevezys 1,312 Jews, 4,602 Jewesses, 1,609
Jewish children 7,523
18-22.8.41 Kreis Rasainiai 466 Jews, 440 Jewesses, 1,020
Jewish children 1,926
25.8.41 Obeliai 112 Jews, 627 Jewesses, 421
Jewish children 1,160
25-26.8.41 Seduva 230 Jews, 275 Jewesses, 159
Jewish children 664
26.8.41 Zarasai 767 Jews, 1,113 Jewesses, 1 Lith.
Comm., 687 Jewish children, 1 Russ.
Comm. (f.) 2,569
28.8.41 Pasvalys 402 Jews, 738 Jewesses, 209
Jewish children 1,349
26.8.41 Kaisiadorys All Jews, Jewesses, and Jewish
children 1,911
27.8.41 Prienai All Jews, Jewesses, and Jewish
Children 1,078
27.8.41 Dagda and
Kraslawa 212 Jews, 4 Russ. POW's 216
27.8.41 Joniskia 47 Jews, 165 Jewesses, 143
Jewish children 355
28.8.41 Wilkia 76 Jews, 192 Jewesses, 134
Jewish children 402
28.8.41 Kedainiai 710 Jews, 767 Jewesses, 599
Jewish children 2,076
29.8.41 Rumsiskis and
Ziezmariai 20 Jews, 567 Jewesses, 197
Jewish children 784
29.8.41 Utena and Moletai 582 Jews, 1,731 Jewesses, 1,469
Jewish children 3,782
13-31.8.41 Alytus and
environs 233 Jews 233
1.9.41 Mariampole 1,763 Jews, 1,812 Jewesses, 1,404
Jewish children, 109 mentally sick,
1 German subject (f.), married to a
Jew, 1 Russian (f.) 5090


Total carried over 47,814
sheet 4
Total carried over 47,814


28.8-2.9.41 Darsuniskis 10 Jews, 69 Jewesses, 20
Jewish children 99
Carliava 73 Jews, 113 Jewesses, 61
Jewish children 247
Jonava 112 Jews, 1,200 Jewesses, 244
Jewish children 1,556
Petrasiunai 30 Jews, 72 Jewesses, 23
Jewish children 125
Jesuas 26 Jews, 72 Jewesses, 46
Jewish children 144
Agriogala 207 Jews, 260 Jewesses, 195
Jewish children 662
Jasvainai 86 Jews, 110 Jewesses, 86
Jewish children 282
Babtei 20 Jews, 41 Jewesses, 22
Jewish children 83
Wendziogala 42 Jews, 113 Jewesses, 97
Jewish children 252
Krakes 448 Jews, 476 Jewesses, 97
Jewish children 1,125
4.9.41 Pravenischkis 247 Jews, 6 Jewesses 253
Cekiske 22 Jews, 64 Jewesses, 60
Jewish children 146
Seredsius 6 Jews, 61 Jewesses, 126
Jewish children 193
Velinona 2 Jews, 71 Jewesses, 86
Jewish children 159
Zapiskis 47 Jews, 118 Jewesses, 13
Jewish children 178
5.9.41 Ukmerge 1,123 Jews, 1,849 Jewesses, 1,737
Jewish children 4,709
25.8-6.9.41 Mopping up in:
Rasainiai
Georgenburg 16 Jews, 412 Jewesses, 415
Jewish children
all Jews, all Jewesses, all
Jewish children 843

412
9.9.41 Alytus 287 Jews, 640 Jewesses, 352
Jewish children 1,279
9.9.41 Butrimonys 67 Jews, 370 Jewesses, 303
Jewish children 740
10.9.41 Merkine 223 Jews, 640 Jewesses, 276
Jewish children 854
10.9.41 Varena 541 Jews, 141 Jewesses, 149
Jewish children 831
11.9.41 Leipalingis 60 Jews, 70 Jewesses, 25
Jewish children 155
11.9.41 Seirijai 229 Jews, 384 Jewesses, 340
Jewish children 953
12.9.41 Simnas 68 Jews, 197 Jewesses, 149
Jewish children 414
11-12.9.41 Uzusalis Reprisal against inhabitants who
fed Russ. partisans; some in
possession of weapons 43
26.9.41 Kauen-F.IV 412 Jews, 615 Jewesses, 581
Jewish children (sick and
suspected epidemic cases) 1,608


Total carried over 66,159
sheet 5
Total carried over 66,159


2.10.41 Zagare 633 Jews, 1,107 Jewesses, 496
Jewish children (as these Jews were
being led away a mutiny rose, which
was however immediately put down;
150 Jews were shot immediately; 7
partisans wounded) 2,236
4.10.41 Kauen-F.IX 315 Jews, 712 Jewesses, 818
Jewish children (reprisal after
German police officer shot in ghetto) 1,845
29.10.41 Kauen-F.IX 2,007 Jews, 2,920 Jewesses, 4,273
Jewish children (mopping up ghetto
of superfluous Jews) 9,200
3.11.41 Lazdijai 485 Jews, 511 Jewesses, 539
Jewish children 1,535
15.11.41 Wilkowiski 36 Jews, 48 Jewesses, 31
Jewish children 115
25.11.41 Kauen-F.IX 1,159 Jews, 1,600 Jewesses, 175
Jewish children (resettlers from
Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt am main) 2,934
29.11.41 Kauen-F.IX 693 Jews, 1,155 Jewesses, 152
Jewish children (resettlers from
from Vienna and Breslau) 2,000
29.11.41 Kauen-F.IX 17 Jews, 1 Jewess, for contravention
of ghetto law, 1 Reichs German who
converted to the Jewish faith and
attended rabbinical school, then 15
terrorists from the Kalinin group
34
EK 3 detachment in Dunanburg
in the period 13.7-21.8.41: 9,012 Jews, Jewesses and Jewish
children, 573 active Comm.
9,585
EK 3 detachment in Wilna:
12.8-1.9.41 City of Wilna 425 Jews, 19 Jewesses, 8 Comm. (m.),
9 Comm. (f.) 461
2.9.41 City of Wilna 864 Jews, 2,019 Jewesses, 817
Jewish children (sonderaktion because
German soldiers shot at by Jews) 3,700


Total carried forward 99,084
sheet 6
Total carried forward 99,804


12.9.41 City of Wilna 993 Jews, 1,670 Jewesses, 771
Jewish children 3,334
17.9.41 City of Wilna 337 Jews, 687 Jewesses, 247
Jewish children and 4 Lith. Comm. 1,271
20.9.41 Nemencing 128 Jews, 176 Jewesses, 99
Jewish children 403
22.9.41 Novo-Wilejka 468 Jews, 495 Jewesses, 196
Jewish children 1,159
24.9.41 Riess 512 Jews, 744 Jewesses, 511
Jewish children 1,767
25.9.41 Jahiunai 215 Jews, 229 Jewesses, 131
Jewish children 575
27.9.41 Eysisky 989 Jews, 1,636 Jewesses, 821
Jewish children 3,446
30.9.41 Trakai 366 Jews, 483 Jewesses, 597
Jewish children 1,446
4.10.41 City of Wilna 432 Jews, 1,115 Jewesses, 436
Jewish children 1,983
6.10.41 Semiliski 213 Jews, 359 Jewesses, 390
Jewish children 962
9.10.41 Svenciany 1,169 Jews, 1,840 Jewesses, 717
Jewish children 3,726
16.10.41 City of Wilna 382 Jews, 507 Jewesses, 257
Jewish children 1,146
21.10.41 City of Wilna 718 Jews, 1,063 Jewesses, 586
Jewish children 2,367
25.10.41 City of Wilna 1,776 Jewesses, 812 Jewish children 2,578
27.10.41 City of Wilna 946 Jews, 184 Jewesses, 73
Jewish children 1,203
30.10.41 City of Wilna 382 Jews, 789 Jewesses, 362
Jewish children 1,553
6.11.41 City of Wilna 340 Jews, 749 Jewesses, 252
Jewish children 1,341
19.11.41 City of Wilna 76 Jews, 77 Jewesses, 18
Jewish children 171
19.11.41 City of Wilna 6 POW's, 8 Poles 14
20.11.41 City of Wilna 3 POW's 3
25.11.41 City of Wilna 9 Jews, 46 Jewesses, 8 Jewish
children, 1 Pole for possession of arms
and other military equipment 64
EK 3 detachment in Minsk from
28.9-17.10.41:

Pleschnitza
Bischolin
Scak
Bober
Uzda 620 Jews, 1,285 Jewesses,
1,126 Jewish children and 19
Comm. 3,050
--------
133,346
Prior to EK 3 taking over security police duties, Jews liquidated
by pogroms and executions (including partisans) 4,000
-----------
Total 137,346



Today I can confirm that our objective, to solve the Jewish problem for Lithuania, has been achieved by EK 3. In Lithuania there are no more Jews, apart from Jewish workers and their families.
.
.
Depending on the number of Jews a place for the graves had to be found and then the graves dug. The distance from the assembly point to the graves was on average 4 to 5 Km. The Jews were transported in detachments of 500 to the execution area, with a distance of at least 2 Km between them."

.
.
.
I consider the Jewish action more or less terminated as far as Einsatzkommando 3 is concerned. Those working Jews and Jewesses still available are needed urgently and I can envisage that after the winter this workforce will be required even more urgently. I am of the view that the sterilization program of the male worker Jews should be started immediately so that reproduction is prevented. If despite sterilization a Jewess becomes pregnant she will be liquidated.
.
.
.
(signed) Jager
SS-StandartenfŸhrer

[Caldric]

I have heard and watched US Marine's from WWII describe something during the war he witnessed and he confessed or just stated as plain as the wood is wood.

"I was sitting on the road and I seen this stretcher come by and on it laid a young Marine and he was cut to pieces and desecrated obviously after his death, from that time on I never took a prisoner we would interrogate the Japanese and shoot them in the head afterwards there was no quarter asked nor given."

Be careful of the warfare you wish to wage because it may come back to you ten fold. If it were an eye for an eye there would be no Germans today. Simple fact

[Caldric]

The numbers numb the mind and you think it can't be real it must be fake!


Then there it is for the whole world to see

http://www.einsatzgruppenarchives.com/jagerimages.html