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Regt.
st. Qtrs., Aug. 12, 1941
22nd
SS-Cavalry Regiment
Mounted
Unit
Report
On
the Course of the Aktion
in
the Pripet [Marshes]
from
July 27 to August 11, 1941
Impressions
of the battle: None
Population:
Mainly Ukrainian; Byelorussians in second place; in third
place Poles and Russians; only a very few of the latter. The
Jews are mainly in the larger places, where they make up a
high percentage of the population, in some cases from 50-80
percent, but in others as little as 25 percent....
In
many cases when the troops moved in we found that, according
to a Ukrainian practice, a table with a white cloth had been
prepared with bread and salt that was offered to the
commanders. In one case there was even a small band of
musicians to welcome the troops....
Type
of land: The whole area
consists of large marshes interspersed with patches of sand,
so that the ground is not very fertile. There are some better
places, but others were all the poorer....
...Jewish
doctors were preferred. In the towns and villages it was also
noticeable that only Jewish artisans were found. There was a
large number of Jewish émigrés from the Altreich
[Germany before 1938] and the Ostmark [Austria]....
Pacification:
Pacification was carried out through the commanders of units
or companies who contacted the local mayors and discussed all
matters concerning the population. On these occasions the
numbers and composition of the population, i.e., Ukrainians,
Byelorussians, etc., were checked. Further, whether there were
still Communists in the locality or secret members of the Red
Army, or others who had been active Bolsheviks. In most cases
local residents also reported that they had seen gangs or
other suspicious persons. Where such individuals were still in
the locality, they were detained and, after a brief
interrogation, they were either released or shot....
Jewish
looters were shot. Only a few skilled workers employed in the
Wehrmacht repair workshops were permitted to remain.
The
driving of women and children into the marshes did not have
the expected success, because the marshes were not so deep
that one could sink. After a depth of about a meter there was
in most cases solid ground (probably sand) preventing complete
sinking....
...The
Ukrainian clergy were very cooperative and made themselves
available for every Aktion.
It
was also conspicuous that in general the population was on
good terms with the Jewish sector of the population.
Nevertheless they helped energetically in rounding up the
Jews. The locally recruited guards, who consisted in part of
Polish police and former Polish soldiers, made a good
impression. They operated energetically and took part in the
fight against looters....
The
total number of looters, etc., shot by the Mounted Units was
6,526....
signed
Magill
SS
Sturmbannfuehrer
Kriegstagebuch
des Kommandostabes Reichsfuehrer SS ("War
Diary of the Kommandostaff Reichsfuehrer SS"),
Vienna, 1965, pp. 217-220. |
