hucks216 Posted November 27, 2010 Posted November 27, 2010 And now another one of my favourite acquisitions of the year although it is connected with the darker side of WW 2 history. It is a Polizei Dienstpass to a member of Polizei Btl 303 which as part of Polizei Rgt Sud participated in the Jewish massacre at Babi Yar, and as the dates & Einsatz slips show, this man was there at the time although in what capacity he participated is not known as far as I am aware.
hucks216 Posted November 27, 2010 Author Posted November 27, 2010 Erich Karrasch was an NCO in Polizei Btl 303 which he had joined on 9th September 1940 at a time when it was stationed in the Generalgouvernement. Two days after the start of Operation Barbarossa Polizei Btl 303 was sent to Russia as part of Polizei Regiment Sud (the other two battalion's in this regiment were Pol.Btls. 45 & 314). Polizei Regiment Sud was assigned to Einsatzgruppen C and participated in the numerous Aktions against the Jewish populations of the newly conquered lands. Reports show: 25 August: Pol.Rgt Sud shot 1,324 Jews 27 August: Pol.Rgt Sud shot 1,463 Jews ...and so on through the remainder of August & September including shooting 3,145 Jews at Zhitomir on 19th September. However it was on the dates of 29 & 30th September that Pol.Rgt Sud firmly placed its name in the history of the Holocaust with the massacre of over 33,000 Jews at Babi Yar.
hucks216 Posted November 27, 2010 Author Posted November 27, 2010 The following is taken from Masters Of Death: The SS Einsatzgruppen by Richard Rhodes (ISBN: 1-903985-56-0) (Pages 174-178): Jeckeln had planned the Babi Yar Aktion along the same basic lines as the Kamenets-Podolsky massacre. When the first Jews approached the Jewish cemetery on the morning of 29th September 1941, Sonderkommando 4a, two commandos of Polizei Rgt Sud [Polizei Btl’s 45 & 303] and Ukrainian militia were waiting for them. Testimony from a truck driver (name of Hoefer): “Once undressed, the Jews were led into Babi Yar. Two or three narrow entrances led to this ravine through which the Jews were channelled. When they reached the bottom of the ravine they were seized by members of the Schutzpolizei [the Polizei Btl’s] and made to lie down on top of Jews who had already been shot. This all happened very quickly. The corpses were literally in layers. A police marksman came along and shot each Jew in the neck with a submachine gun at the spot where he was lying….There was a ‘packer’ at either entrance to the ravine. These ‘packers’ were Schutzpolizisten whose job it was to lay the victim on top of the other corpses so that al the marksman had to do as he passed was fire a shot.” An Einsatzgruppen report on 2nd October 1941 summarized the Babi Yar Aktion brazenly, not even bothering to justify it as retaliation [for the recent explosions in Kiev after German forces had occupied the city]: Sonderkommando 4a in collaboration with the group staff and two commandos of Police Regiment South on 29th & 30th September 1941 executed 33,771 Jews in Kiev.
hucks216 Posted November 27, 2010 Author Posted November 27, 2010 (edited) After Babi Yar, the unit continued to murder Jews in numerous towns and villages including Vinnitsa, Poltava & Dnepropetrovsk. By the end of January 1942 they were executing Jews in the region around Kharkov. In August 1942 Karrasch finally left Polizei Btl 303 and in November was posted to the Wasserschutzpolizei training school at Stettin. After completing his training he was assigned to a variety of Wassershutzpolizei units, first in Russia and then at various locations around the Adriatic, including Trieste conducting anti-partisan operations. It is very possible that he was involved in further Holocaust related activities as his unit came under the overall command of HSSPF Trieste Odilo Globocnik who transferred a number of those involved in Aktion Reinhard to the region with him. What happened to him after May 1944 is not revealed by the Dienstpass and if he survived the war why he would keep such an incriminating piece of documentation is anyone's guess.. Edited November 27, 2010 by hucks216
hucks216 Posted November 27, 2010 Author Posted November 27, 2010 Two of the separate slips of paper show that Karrasch participated in 'Cleaning' operations in Kiev between 23/09/1941 & 15/10/1941 thereby proving that he was with Polizei Btl 303 during the Aktion at Babi Yar although it is impossible to know whether he was one of the 'Packers', shooters or whether he took part in some other related task. Karrasch's performance with Pol.Btl 303 was assessed as 'Very Good'. He was awarded the Eastern Front Medal.
hucks216 Posted November 27, 2010 Author Posted November 27, 2010 Feldpost Numbers: 38101B - 1./Pol.Btl 303 36524 - Stab/Pol.Rgt Sud 41265 - Wasserschutzpolizei Asowsches Meer I have been able to identify some of the signatures that relate to Polizei Btl 303 & Polizei Rgt Sud either on the Einsatz slips or in the Dienstpass: 1st Kompanie Pol.Btl 303 – Kompaniefuhrer: Oberleutnant Oswald Altendorf Hauptmann d. Schupo Walter Lindeck Polizei Rgt Sud: Hauptmann d.Sch Hermann Berentsen
hucks216 Posted November 27, 2010 Author Posted November 27, 2010 POLIZEI BATAILLON 303 Place of origin: Bremen-Oberneuland Formed in: Bremen, from the Polizei-Ausbildungs-Bataillon "Bremen" Activation date: November 1940 Battalion Commander: Maj. Heinrich Hannibal Disbanding/reorganization date: reorganized in July 1942 – it become II/Pol.-Rgt. 10 Involvement in Crimes: 1) Verified participations Stara Kostantinova area (*) Mop-ups, executions – 26-30 July 1941 – 814 victims – Jews, soviet soldiers Chudniv Slaughter – beginning of September 1941 – about 100 victims – Jews Zhitomir Slaughter – 18/19 September 1941 – about 3.145 victims – Jews Babi Yar Slaughter – 29/30 September 1941 – 33.771 victims – Jews Miropol and Zolotonosha Slaughters – October/November 1941 – about 1.000 victims – Jews Unspecified places 28 executions at least – Summer/Autumn 1941 – 2.583 victims – Jews Unspecified place Slaughter – Autumn 1941 – about 1.000÷1.500 victims – Jews 2) Alleged participation Baranovka, Dubrovka and Izyaslav Slaughters – 25 August 1941 – 1.342 victims – Jews Unspecified place, between Rovno and Zhitomir Slaughter – 27 August 1941 – 549¸ 914 victims – Jews Unspecified place, between Rovno and Zhitomir Slaughter – 28 August 1941 – 369 victims – Jews Unspecified place, between Rovno and Zhitomir Slaughter – 1 September 1941 – 88 victims – Jews Schepetowka Slaughter – 2 September 1941 – 45 victims – Jews Khazhin Slaughter – 4 September 1941 – 4.144 victims – Jews Unspecified place, between Rovno and Zhitomir Slaughter – 6 September 1941 – 144 victims – Jews Unspecified place, between Rovno and Zhitomir Slaughter – 11 September 1941 – 1.548 victims – Jews Unspecified place, between Rovno and Zhitomir Slaughter – 12 September 1941 – 1.255 victims – Jews (*) Not directly involved Source: http://www.ordnungspolizei.org/index...mid=55&lang=en
Paul R Posted November 27, 2010 Posted November 27, 2010 I am sure that the Allies would have been very interested in this man. I wonder what became of him?
joe campbell Posted November 28, 2010 Posted November 28, 2010 i wonder how well he slept at night.... very interesting and unusual piece. thanks for the information supplied with it. joe
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