the Commissar Order
On 6th June, 1941, the Commissar Order was issued from the Fuehrer Headquarters as " TOP SECRET. Transmission only by officer ! " and was captioned, "Directives for the Treatment of Political Commissars" It was as follows:
"In the fight against Bolshevism it is not to be expected that the enemy will act in accordance with the principles of Humanity or of the International Law. In particular, a vindictive, cruel and inhuman treatment of our prisoners must be expected on the part of the political Commissars of all types, as they are the actual leaders of the resistance.
"The troops must realize :
"(1) In this fight, leniency and considerations of International Law are out of place in dealing with these elements. They con-stitute a danger for their own safety and the swift pacification of the conquered territories.
"(2) The originators of barbarous Asiatic methods of warfare are the political commissars. They must therefore be dealt with most severely, at once and summarily.
"Therefore, they are to be liquidated at once when taken in combat or offering resistance.
"For the rest the following directives will apply:
"I. Combat Zone
(1) Political commissars who oppose our troops will be treated in accord-ance with the ' decree concerning the application of martial law in the Barbarossa area.' This applies to commissars of any type and grade, even if they are only suspected of resistance, sabotage or of instigation thereto.
Reference is made to the ' directive concerning the conduct of the troops in Russia.'
(2) Political commissars as organs of the enemy troops are recognizable by special insignia-red star with interwoven gold hammer and sickle on the sleeves-(for particulars see ' The Armed Forces of the USSR,' High Command of the Armed Forces/General Staff of the Army, Qu IV, Section Foreign Armies East (II) No. 100/41 secret, of 15th January, 1941, appendix 9 d). They are to be segregated at once, e.g. still on the battlefield, from the prisoners of war. This is necessary to prevent them from influencing the prisoners of war in any way. These commissars will not be recognized as soldiers, the protection of prisoners of war by International Law does not apply to them. They will be liquidated after segregation.
(3) Political commissars who have not committed or are not suspected of hostile acts will not be harmed for the time being. Only after deeper penetration of the country will it be possible to decide whether officials who were left behind may stay where they are or will be handed over to the Sonderkommandos. Preferably the latter should decide on this point.
Page 25
As a matter of principle, in deciding the question whether 'guilty or not guilty,' the personal impression which the commissar makes of his mentality and attitude will have precedence over facts which may be unprovable.
(4) In cases 1 and 2, a short message (message form) about the incident will be sent:
(a) by divisional units to divisional headquarters (Intelligence Officer).
(b) by troops directly under the command of a corps, an army or an army group or a Panzer group, to the respective headquarters (Intelligence Officer).
(5) None of the above-mentioned measures must obstruct the operations. Methodical searches and mopping-up actions, therefore, will not be carried out by the troops.
II In the Communications Zone
"Commissars who are arrested in the communications zone on account of a doubtful'attitude will be handed over to the Einsatzgruppen and/or Einsatzkommandos of the Security Police (Security Service)"
III. Limitations of Courts-Martial and Summary Courts
"The courts-martial and summary courts of the regimental and other commanders must not be entrusted with the execution of the measures as per I and II."
On 8th June, 1941, von Brauchitsch sent out a supplement of two additional clauses to be added to the original, viz., to I, Number 1,
"Action taken against a political commissar must be based on the fact that the person in question has shown by a special, recognisable act or attitude that he opposes or' will in future oppose the Wehrmacht."
to I, Number 2,
"Political commissars attached to the troops should be segregated and dealt with by order of an officer, inconspicuously and outside the proper battle zone."
On 24th May, 1941, however, von Brauchitsch formulated the Maintenance of Discipline order, in which as a supplement to the Fuehrer Order it is said:
"Subject : Treatment of Enemy Civilians and Criminal Acts of Members of the Wehrmacht against Enemy Civilians.
Attached Fuehrer decree is (hereby) announced. It is to be dis-tributed in writing down to the commanders with jurisdiction of their own ; beyond that, the principles contained in it are to be made known orally.
"Supplements to I :
"I expect that all counter intelligence measures of the troops will be carried out energetically, for their own security and the speedy pacification of the territory won. It will be necessary to take into account the
Page 26
variety of ethnic strains within the population, its overall attitude, and the degree to which they have been stirred up.
"Movement and combat against the enemy' s armed forces are the real tasks of the troops. It demands the fullest concentration and the highest effort of all forces. This task must not be jeopardized in any place. Therefore, in general, special search and mopping-up operations will be out of question for the combat troops.
"The directives of the Fuehrer concern serious cases of rebellion, in which the most severe measures are required.
"Criminal acts of a minor nature are, always in accordance with the combat situation, to be punished according to detailed orders from an officer (if possible, a post commander) by resorting to provisional . meusures (for instance), temporary detention at reduced rations, roping-up on a tree, assignment to labour).
"The C.-in-C's of the Army Groups are requested to obtain my approval prior to the re-instatement of Wehrmacht jurisdiction in the pacified territories. The C.-in-C's of the Armies are expected to make suggestions in this respect in time.
"Special instructions will be issued about the treatment to be given to political dignitaries.
"Supplements to II :
"Under all circumstances it will remain the duty of all superiors to prevent arbitrary excesses of individual members of the Army and to prevent in time the troops becoming unmanageable. It must not come to it that the individual soldier commits or omits any act he thinks proper toward the indigenous population ; he must rather feel that ip every case he is bound by the orders of his oficers. I consider it very important that this be clearly understood down to the. lowest unit. Timely action by every officer, especially every company commander, etc., must help to maintain discipline, the basis of our successes.
"Occurrences with regard to ' I ' and ' II,' and which are of special importance, are to be reported by the troops to the OKH as special events.
(Signed) VON BRAUCHITSCH"
the Kommunisten Order,
the Commando Order and
Night and Fog Decree.
This decree replaced the unsuccessful Nazi policy of taking hostages to undermine underground activities. Suspected underground agents and others would now vanish without a trace into the night and fog.
SS Reichsführer Himmler issued the following instructions to the Gestapo.
"After lengthy consideration, it is the will of the Führer that the measures taken against those who are guilty of offenses against the Reich or against the occupation forces in occupied areas should be altered. The Führer is of the opinion that in such cases penal servitude or even a hard labor sentence for life will be regarded as a sign of weakness. An effective and lasting deterrent can be achieved only by the death penalty or by taking measures which will leave the family and the population uncertain as to the fate of the offender. Deportation to Germany serves this purpose."
Field Marshall Keitel issued a letter stating…
"Efficient and enduring intimidation can only be achieved either by capital punishment or by measures by which the relatives of the criminals do not know the fate of the criminal…The prisoners are, in future, to be transported to Germany secretly, and further treatment of the offenders will take place here; these measures will have a deterrent effect because - A. The prisoners will vanish without a trace. B. No information may be given as to their whereabouts or their fate."
On 3 March 1941, Jodl, Chief of the Wehrmacht Operations Staff, informed his high officers that: "This campaign is more than a struggle at arms, it will lead to a conflict of ideologies". The Eastern campaign was therefore a struggle of extermination; it was necessary to distance oneself from the standpoint of soldierly comradeship
On 6th June, 1941, the Commissar Order was issued from the Fuehrer Headquarters as " TOP SECRET. Transmission only by officer ! " and was captioned, "Directives for the Treatment of Political Commissars" It was as follows:
"In the fight against Bolshevism it is not to be expected that the enemy will act in accordance with the principles of Humanity or of the International Law. In particular, a vindictive, cruel and inhuman treatment of our prisoners must be expected on the part of the political Commissars of all types, as they are the actual leaders of the resistance.
"The troops must realize :
"(1) In this fight, leniency and considerations of International Law are out of place in dealing with these elements. They con-stitute a danger for their own safety and the swift pacification of the conquered territories.
"(2) The originators of barbarous Asiatic methods of warfare are the political commissars. They must therefore be dealt with most severely, at once and summarily.
"Therefore, they are to be liquidated at once when taken in combat or offering resistance.
"For the rest the following directives will apply:
"I. Combat Zone
(1) Political commissars who oppose our troops will be treated in accord-ance with the ' decree concerning the application of martial law in the Barbarossa area.' This applies to commissars of any type and grade, even if they are only suspected of resistance, sabotage or of instigation thereto.
Reference is made to the ' directive concerning the conduct of the troops in Russia.'
(2) Political commissars as organs of the enemy troops are recognizable by special insignia-red star with interwoven gold hammer and sickle on the sleeves-(for particulars see ' The Armed Forces of the USSR,' High Command of the Armed Forces/General Staff of the Army, Qu IV, Section Foreign Armies East (II) No. 100/41 secret, of 15th January, 1941, appendix 9 d). They are to be segregated at once, e.g. still on the battlefield, from the prisoners of war. This is necessary to prevent them from influencing the prisoners of war in any way. These commissars will not be recognized as soldiers, the protection of prisoners of war by International Law does not apply to them. They will be liquidated after segregation.
(3) Political commissars who have not committed or are not suspected of hostile acts will not be harmed for the time being. Only after deeper penetration of the country will it be possible to decide whether officials who were left behind may stay where they are or will be handed over to the Sonderkommandos. Preferably the latter should decide on this point.
Page 25
As a matter of principle, in deciding the question whether 'guilty or not guilty,' the personal impression which the commissar makes of his mentality and attitude will have precedence over facts which may be unprovable.
(4) In cases 1 and 2, a short message (message form) about the incident will be sent:
(a) by divisional units to divisional headquarters (Intelligence Officer).
(b) by troops directly under the command of a corps, an army or an army group or a Panzer group, to the respective headquarters (Intelligence Officer).
(5) None of the above-mentioned measures must obstruct the operations. Methodical searches and mopping-up actions, therefore, will not be carried out by the troops.
II In the Communications Zone
"Commissars who are arrested in the communications zone on account of a doubtful'attitude will be handed over to the Einsatzgruppen and/or Einsatzkommandos of the Security Police (Security Service)"
III. Limitations of Courts-Martial and Summary Courts
"The courts-martial and summary courts of the regimental and other commanders must not be entrusted with the execution of the measures as per I and II."
On 8th June, 1941, von Brauchitsch sent out a supplement of two additional clauses to be added to the original, viz., to I, Number 1,
"Action taken against a political commissar must be based on the fact that the person in question has shown by a special, recognisable act or attitude that he opposes or' will in future oppose the Wehrmacht."
to I, Number 2,
"Political commissars attached to the troops should be segregated and dealt with by order of an officer, inconspicuously and outside the proper battle zone."
On 24th May, 1941, however, von Brauchitsch formulated the Maintenance of Discipline order, in which as a supplement to the Fuehrer Order it is said:
"Subject : Treatment of Enemy Civilians and Criminal Acts of Members of the Wehrmacht against Enemy Civilians.
Attached Fuehrer decree is (hereby) announced. It is to be dis-tributed in writing down to the commanders with jurisdiction of their own ; beyond that, the principles contained in it are to be made known orally.
"Supplements to I :
"I expect that all counter intelligence measures of the troops will be carried out energetically, for their own security and the speedy pacification of the territory won. It will be necessary to take into account the
Page 26
variety of ethnic strains within the population, its overall attitude, and the degree to which they have been stirred up.
"Movement and combat against the enemy' s armed forces are the real tasks of the troops. It demands the fullest concentration and the highest effort of all forces. This task must not be jeopardized in any place. Therefore, in general, special search and mopping-up operations will be out of question for the combat troops.
"The directives of the Fuehrer concern serious cases of rebellion, in which the most severe measures are required.
"Criminal acts of a minor nature are, always in accordance with the combat situation, to be punished according to detailed orders from an officer (if possible, a post commander) by resorting to provisional . meusures (for instance), temporary detention at reduced rations, roping-up on a tree, assignment to labour).
"The C.-in-C's of the Army Groups are requested to obtain my approval prior to the re-instatement of Wehrmacht jurisdiction in the pacified territories. The C.-in-C's of the Armies are expected to make suggestions in this respect in time.
"Special instructions will be issued about the treatment to be given to political dignitaries.
"Supplements to II :
"Under all circumstances it will remain the duty of all superiors to prevent arbitrary excesses of individual members of the Army and to prevent in time the troops becoming unmanageable. It must not come to it that the individual soldier commits or omits any act he thinks proper toward the indigenous population ; he must rather feel that ip every case he is bound by the orders of his oficers. I consider it very important that this be clearly understood down to the. lowest unit. Timely action by every officer, especially every company commander, etc., must help to maintain discipline, the basis of our successes.
"Occurrences with regard to ' I ' and ' II,' and which are of special importance, are to be reported by the troops to the OKH as special events.
(Signed) VON BRAUCHITSCH"
the Kommunisten Order,
the Commando Order and
Night and Fog Decree.
This decree replaced the unsuccessful Nazi policy of taking hostages to undermine underground activities. Suspected underground agents and others would now vanish without a trace into the night and fog.
SS Reichsführer Himmler issued the following instructions to the Gestapo.
"After lengthy consideration, it is the will of the Führer that the measures taken against those who are guilty of offenses against the Reich or against the occupation forces in occupied areas should be altered. The Führer is of the opinion that in such cases penal servitude or even a hard labor sentence for life will be regarded as a sign of weakness. An effective and lasting deterrent can be achieved only by the death penalty or by taking measures which will leave the family and the population uncertain as to the fate of the offender. Deportation to Germany serves this purpose."
Field Marshall Keitel issued a letter stating…
"Efficient and enduring intimidation can only be achieved either by capital punishment or by measures by which the relatives of the criminals do not know the fate of the criminal…The prisoners are, in future, to be transported to Germany secretly, and further treatment of the offenders will take place here; these measures will have a deterrent effect because - A. The prisoners will vanish without a trace. B. No information may be given as to their whereabouts or their fate."
On 3 March 1941, Jodl, Chief of the Wehrmacht Operations Staff, informed his high officers that: "This campaign is more than a struggle at arms, it will lead to a conflict of ideologies". The Eastern campaign was therefore a struggle of extermination; it was necessary to distance oneself from the standpoint of soldierly comradeship
