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Policing the Boundaries of “Germandom” in the East: SS Ethnic German Policy and Odessa's “Volksdeutsche,” 1941–1944

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2010

Eric C. Steinhart
Eric C. Steinhart
Affiliation:
Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
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On the morning of October 21, 1941, the custodian of Odessa's Museum of Western Civilization summoned twenty-three-year-old Eugenie Anissimoff and her middle-aged mother to lead an unusual and most demanding tour group. Having fled the besieged metropolis weeks earlier to their former residence in suburban Odessa, the two women had returned to their bombed-out apartment in the recently occupied city. Homeless, the pair had sought refuge with the museum's caretaker, an old family friend. Unable to communicate with the delegation of SS and Wehrmacht officers who queued for admission, the Russian-speaking janitor hoped that the two Volksdeutsche women would help to disarm the menacing visitors by granting them a German-language tour. Although ostensibly to inspect the building for booby traps, the visit's true purpose became clear as the Germans began loading paintings, rugs, and even a golden saddle into their vehicles. At the conclusion of the tour-cum-robbery, the group's leader, SS-Obersturmführer Dr. Klaus Siebert, thanked the two women and complimented their excellent German. Hearing of their dire situation, Siebert advised Anissimoff and her mother to register for support at the local SS-run Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle, or Ethnic German Liaison Office (hereafter VoMi), bureau in a former music conservatory on Novovlaskaia Street.

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Central European History , Volume 43 , Issue 1 , March 2010 , pp. 85 - 116
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Copyright © Conference Group for Central European History of the American Historical Association 2010

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References

* In accordance with German privacy law, all personal names not already in the public domain are given anonymously. I thank Dr. Peter Black, Professor Christopher R. Browning, Dr. Martin Dean, Dr. Wendy Lower, and the anonymous peer reviewers for Central European History for their invaluable comments on the manuscript. I am grateful to the Conference of Jewish Material Claims against Germany, the German Academic Exchange Service, the Holocaust Educational Foundation, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Department of History for their generous support.

1 “SS Offizier Akte Klaus Siebert,” United States National Archives and Records Administration (hereafter NARA), Record Group (hereafter RG) 242, A3343 SSO-135B, 483–551.

2 “Aussage von E.S.,” November 12, 1963, Staatsarchiv der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg (hereafter Staatsarchiv Hamburg), 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 5, 725. “50 000 Juden aus Odessa. Tatsachenbericht von Walter Vahldieck,” Holokost i Suchasnist': studiï v Ukraïni i sviti 2, no. 4 (2008): 110.

3 “RuSHA Akte Walter Güldner,” NARA, RG 242, A3343 RS B5393, 2426–2652.

4 “SS Offizier Akte Erich-Meinert Claasen,” NARA, RG 242, A3343 SSO-129, 11–15.

5 “Aussage von E.S.,” November 12, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 5, 725. “Einbürgerungsantrag Eugenie Beck,” NARA, RG 242, A3342 EWZ50 A037, 2110–2132.

6 Beginning in the late 1950s and early 1960s, pioneering scholars such as Alexander Dallin and Gerald Reitlinger charted the general contours of German occupation policy in the Soviet Union. Dallin, Alexander, German Rule in Russia, 1941–1945: A Study of Occupation Policies, 2nd ed. (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1981)CrossRefGoogle Scholar. Reitlinger, Gerald, The House Built on Sand: The Conflicts of German Policy in Russia (New York: The Viking Press, 1960)Google Scholar. While the overarching narrative that Dallin and Reitlinger penned a half-century ago remains viable, recent research on the German occupation of the Soviet Union has nuanced and systematized the Third Reich's utopian plans for occupied Soviet territory. See, for example, Wendy Lower's research on Zhytomyr. Lower, Wendy, “‘On Him Rests the Weight of the Administration’: Nazi Civilian Rulers and the Holocaust in Zhytomyr,” in The Shoah in Ukraine: History, Testimony, Memorialization, ed. Brandon, Ray and Lower, Wendy (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2008), 224–247Google Scholar. Lower, Wendy, “‘Anticipatory Obedience’ and the Nazi Implementation of the Holocaust in the Ukraine: A Case Study of Central and Peripheral Forces in the Generalbezirk Zhytomyr, 1941–1944,” Holocaust Genocide Studies 16 (2002): 1–22CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

7 Karel C. Berkhoff and Wendy Lower have recently published on Ukraine under German rule. Berkhoff, Karel C., Harvest of Despair: Life and Death in Ukraine under Nazi Rule (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2004)Google Scholar. Lower, Wendy, Nazi Empire-Building and the Holocaust in Ukraine (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2005)Google Scholar.

8 Dallin, Alexander, Odessa, 1941–1944: A Case Study of Soviet Territory Under Foreign Rule, 2nd ed. (Iaşi: Center for Romanian Studies, 1998), 278Google Scholar. Ekkehard Völkl's more recent examination of Odessa under Romanian rule notes the VoMi's role in the city but focuses on other aspects of the occupation. Völkl, Ekkehard, Transnistrien und Odessa (1941–1944) (Regensburg: Buchdruckerei Michael Laßleben), 1996Google Scholar.

9 Ancel, Jean, Transnistria, 1941–1942: The Romanian Mass Murder Campaigns, trans. Gold, Karen, 3 vols. (Tel-Aviv: The Goldstein-Goren Diaspora Research Center, 2003)Google Scholar. Ioanid, Radu, The Holocaust in Romania: The Destruction of Jews and Gypsies Under the Antonescu Regime, 1940–44 (Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2000)Google Scholar.

10 Heinemann, Isabel, “Rasse, Siedlung, Deutsches Blut.” Das Rasse- und Siedlungshauptamt der SS und die Rassenpolitische Neuordnung Europas, Moderne Zeit (Göttingen: Wallstein, 2003), 420–21Google Scholar. Lumans, Valdis O., Himmler's Auxiliaries: The Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle and the German National Minorities of Europe, 1933–1945 (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1993), 244–49Google Scholar. Ancel, Transnistria, 1941–1942, vol. 1, 292–338. Angrick, Andrej, Besatzungspolitik und Massenmord. Die Einsatzgruppe D in der südlichen Sowjetunion 1941–1943 (Hamburg: Hamburger Edition, 2003), 254–294Google Scholar.

11 Buchsweiler, Meir, Volksdeutsche in der Ukraine am Vorabend und Beginn des Zweiten Weltkriegs—ein Fall doppelter Loyalität?, trans. Achlama, Ruth (Tel-Aviv: Schriftenreihe des Instituts für Deutsche Geschichte, Universität Tel-Aviv, 1984)Google Scholar. Fleischhauer, Ingeborg, Das Dritte Reich und die Deutschen in der Sowjetunion, Schriftenreihe der Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte (Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 1983)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

12 Bergen, Doris L., “The Nazi Concept of ‘Volksdeutsche’ and the Exacerbation of Anti-Semitism in Eastern Europe, 1939–45,” Journal of Contemporary History 29, no. 4 (1994): 569–582CrossRefGoogle Scholar. Bergen, Doris L., “The ‘Volksdeutschen’ of Eastern Europe, World War II, and the Holocaust: Constructed Ethnicity, Real Genocide,” Germany and Eastern Europe: Cultural Identities and Cultural Differences; Yearbook of European Studies 13 (1999): 70–93Google Scholar. Bergen, Doris L., “The Volksdeutsche of Eastern Europe and the Collapse of the Nazi Empire, 1944–1945,” in The Impact of Nazism: New Perspectives on the Third Reich and Its Legacy, ed. Bergen, Doris L., Steinweis, Alan E., and Rogers, Daniel E. (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2003), 101–128Google Scholar. Bergen, Doris L., “The Volksdeutschen in German Propaganda,” German Studies Review 31, no. 3 (2008): 447–470Google Scholar. Chad Bryant's recent study of Prague under Nazi rule yields similar findings. Bryant, Chad Carl, Prague in Black: Nazi Rule and Czech Nationalism (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007)Google Scholar.

13 Bergen notes that “Nazi officials proved willing both to unmake Volksdeutschen who deviated from prescribed behaviors and to create new members of the group as needed for cannon fodder or other purposes.” Bergen, “The Volksdeutsche of Eastern Europe and the Collapse of the Nazi Empire,” 104.

14 Angrick, Besatzungspolitik und Massenmord, 254–294. Martin Dean, “Soviet Ethnic Germans and the Holocaust in the Reich Commissariat Ukraine, 1941–1944,” in The Shoah in Ukraine, ed. Brandon and Lower, 248–271. Lower, Wendy, “Hitler's ‘Garden of Eden’ in Ukraine: Nazi Colonialism, Volksdeutsche, and the Holocaust, 1941–44,” in Gray Zones: Ambiguity and Compromise in the Holocaust and Its Aftermath, ed. Petropoulos, Jonathan and Roth, John K. (New York: Berghahn Books, 2005), 185–204Google Scholar.

15 Lower, “‘On Him Rests the Weight of the Administration,’” 225.

16 On Transnistria, see Dallin, Odessa, 1941–1944; Deletant, Dennis, “Ghetto Experience in Golta, Transnistria, 1942–1944,” Holocaust and Genocide Studies 18, no. 1 (2004): 1–26CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Dennis Deletant, “Transnistria and the Romanian Solution to the ‘Jewish Problem,’” in The Shoah in Ukraine, ed. Brandon and Lower, 156–189; and Völkl, Transnistrien und Odessa.

17 “SS Offizier Akte Martin Assmann,” NARA, RG 242, A3343 SSO-019, 21932–50. “Protokol doprosa / M.A.,” June 7, 1945, Landesarchiv Nordrhein-Westfalen Staatsarchiv Münster (hereafter Staatsarchiv Münster), Nr. 2902, 30. Broszat, Martin, “Das Dritte Reich und die rumänische Judenpolitik,” in Gutachten des Instituts für Zeitgeschichte (Munich: Institut für Zeitgeschichte, 1958), 161Google Scholar.

18 “Protokol doprosa / M.A.,” June 7, 1945, Staatsarchiv Münster, Nr. 2902, 39.

19 “SS Offizier Akte Walter Vahldieck,” NARA, RG 242, A3343 SSO-202B, 1900–1971. “50 000 Juden aus Odessa. Tatsachenbericht von Walter Vahldieck,” Holokost i Suchasnist': studiï v Ukraïni i sviti 2, no. 4 (2008): 110.

20 “Protokol doprosa / M.A.,” June 7, 1945, Staatsarchiv Münster, Nr. 2902, 55–56.

21 Shortly before his death, former VoMi chief Werner Lorenz asserted to the West German police that Himmler had removed Hoffmeyer from his chain of command before Sonderkommando R's deployment to the occupied Soviet Union. “Vernehmung von Werner Lorenz,” April 16, 1973, Staatsarchiv Münster, Nr. 2787, 102. Although technically correct, Lorenz's effort to distance himself from Sonderkommando R distorted his intimate involvement in the unit during its deployment to the Soviet Union. As the records of wartime British signals intelligence indicate, Hoffmeyer reported to Lorenz both in Berlin and in Ukraine on a variety of issues ranging from ethnic German school construction to SS personnel shortages. “German Police Decodes: No. 2 Traffic: Addenda to G.P.D. 891 (20.6.42),” August 13, 1942, British National Archives [BNA], HW 16, Piece 46, 1. “German Police Decodes Nr. 2 Traffic: 10.10.42,” October 15, 1942, BNA, HW 16, Piece 36, 1. “German Police Activities in the Soviet Union, Summary Covering the Period of 1 August-31st August 1942,” September 7, 1942, BNA, HW 16, Piece 6, 9. In April 1944, Lorenz chastised Hoffmeyer for failing to keep him abreast of the SS's hectic evacuation of Volksdeutsche from Transnistria. “German Police Decodes No. 1 Traffic: 18.4.44,” April 26, 1944, BNA, HW 16, Piece 40, 3.

22 “Der SS-Richter beim Reichsführer-SS und Chef der Deutschen Polizei Feldkommandostelle an den Höhern SS- und Polizeiführer Rußland-Süd SS-Obergruppenführer u. General der Polizei Prützmann,” August 12, 1942, BAL, B162/2292, 134. “Protokol doprosa / M.A.,” October 24, 1944, Staatsarchiv Münster, Nr. 2902, 95.

23 Ancel, Transnistria, 1941–1942, vol. 1, 300.

24 “Rundanweisung Nr. 5,” October 13, 1941, Bundesarchiv Berlin (hereafter BB), R59/66, 148, “Einheit Feldpost Nr. 10528 / Betr.: Munitionsverbrauch und Gebrauch von Schußwaffen,” March 14, 1942, BB, R59/66, 111. “Rundanweisung Nr. 14 / Betr.: Feier des Tages der nationalen Erhebung,” January 20, 1942, BB, R59/66, 125.

25 “Protokol doprosa / M.A.,” June 7, 1945, Staatsarchiv Münster, Nr. 2902, 31. “Protokol doprosa / M.A.,” June 7, 1945, Staatsarchiv Münster, Nr. 2902, 112. “Aussage von H.G.,” August 1, 1962, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 NSG 0589–001, Band 2, 91.

26 “Aussage von E.C.,” August 6, 1962, BAL, B162/2293, 171. “Copie de pe adresa Nr. 67148 din 11 Sept. 1941 a Ministerului Afacerilor Străine Dir politică către M.St.M.,” September 11, 1941, USHMM, RG-31.004M, Reel 2, Fond 2242, Opis 1, Ed. Hr. 1081, 13.

27 “50 000 Juden aus Odessa. Tatsachenbericht von Walter Vahldieck,” Holokost i Suchasnist': studiï v Ukraïni i sviti 2, no. 4 (2008): 110.

28 “German Police Decodes Nr. 2 Traffic: 26.1.43,” February 2, 1943, BNA, HW 16, Piece 37, Part 1, 2.

29 “SS Offizier Akte Hans-Joachim Goerbig,” NARA, RG 242, A3343 SSO-019A, 64–65. “RuSHA Akte Hans-Joachim Goerbig,” NARA, RG 242, A3343 RS B5213, 930–50. “Aussage von H.J.G.,” August 1, 1962, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–001, Band 2, 102.

30 “Aussage von E.M.C.,” August 6, 1962, BAL, B162/2293, 173.

31 “Aussage von E.F.,” December 15, 1966, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–004, Band 8, 1361.

32 Claasen correctly judged the advancement opportunities that a VoMi career afforded. Along with other SS NCOs, Claasen received a commission as an Untersturmführer in early 1943. From April to August 1944, he trained at the SS Junkerschule in Bad Tölz. “‘Betr.: Ernennung der Angehörigen des Rußland-Kommandos des Hauptamtes Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle zu Fachführern der Waffen-SS’ in SS Offizier Akte Fritz Dankert,” NARA, RG 242, A3343 SSO-135, 1018. “SS Offizier Akte Erich-Meinert Claasen,” NARA, RG 242, A3343 SSO-129, 11–13. “Aussage von E.M.C.,” August 6, 1962, BAL, B162/2293, 171.

33 “Verantwortliche Vernehmung von E.A.H.K.,” June 4, 1962, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–001, Band 1, 120.

34 Sonderkommando R's personnel limitations were so severe that in February 1942 VoMi headquarters in Berlin warned that there were no available personnel to deploy to Ukraine. “German Police Decodes: 25.2.42,” February 28, 1942, BNA, HW 16, Piece 46, 2.

35 “Aussage von H.K.,” January 28, 1963, BAL, B162/2301, 122.

36 “Aussage von E.M.C.,” August 6, 1962, BAL, B162/2293, 176. “Aussage von E.S.,” November 12, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 5, 738.

37 Dallin, Odessa, 1941–1944, 51. “Aussage von N.R.,” November 7, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 5, 706.

38 Reference to Romanian violence litters the postwar German testimony of former Odessians. See, for example, “Aussage von L.W.,” n.d., BAL, B162/2291, 30–31.

39 “Aussage von F.E.,” August 27, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–002, Band 4, 573.

40 Völkl notes that Romanian authorities in Transnistria attempted to marshal local ethnic Moldovans in Transnistria as their own demographic claim to the territory. Völkl, Transnistrien und Odessa, 67, 70. Not surprisingly, Romanian efforts to succor area ethnic Moldovans and German attempts to underpin area ethnic Germans led to conflict between the two powers. For example, in an effort to create homogeneous ethnic German communities, the SS instructed its Volksdeutsche auxiliaries to drive local ethnic Moldovans from their homes in the town of Syewszenko in Berezovka Rayon. “Auszug aus den Beschwerden, die gegen Übergriffe und Eigenmächtigkeiten von SS-Männern, begangen in den Gemeinden Transnistriens, dem Gouvernement zur Kenntnis gebracht wurden,” n.d., USHMM, RG-31.004M, Reel 2, Fond 2242, Opis 1, Ed. Hr. 1081, 212.

41 “Protokol doprosa / A.M.G.,” September 20, 1944, Landesarchiv NRW Staatsarchiv Münster, Nr. 2902, 55.

42 Ibid., 56.

43 “Rundanweisung Nr. 15,” January 15, 1952, BB, R 59/66, 127. “Aussage von J.G.,” July 30, 1962, BAL, B 162/2297, 35–36. “Aussage von E.S.,” November 12, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 5, 739. “Aussage von H.O.,” February 1, 1966, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–004, Band 7, 1268. “Aussage von E.M.C.,” August 6, 1962, BAL, B162/2293, 175. “Aussage von P.M.,” August 29, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–002, Band 4, 578. “Aussage von W.O.,” January 3, 1965, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–004, Band 7, 1179.

44 “Aussage von E.S.,” November 12, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 5, 739–40.

45 Dallin, Odessa, 1941–1944, 135–37, 201.

46 “Deutsche Gesandtschaft / Der Sonderbeauftragte für Wirtschaftsfragen / an Herrn Professor Gheorghe Alexianu Gouverneur von Transnistrien,” July 8, 1942, USHMM, RG-31.004M, Reel 2, Fond 2242, Opis 1, Ed. Hr. 1088, 180.

47 “Verbindungsstab der Deutschen Wehrmacht für Transnistrien Ia. / An den Zivilgouverneur von Transnistrien Herrn Minister Professor Alexianu Tiraspol,” December 25, 1941, USHMM, RG-31.004M, Reel 2, Fond 2242, Opis 1, Ed. Hr. 1084, 16.

48 “Der Zivilgouverneur an den Kommandanten des Verbindungsstabes der Deutschen Wehrmacht für Transnistrien Herrn Generalleutnant v. Rothkirch und Panten in Tiraspol,” January 8, 1942, USHMM, RG-31.004M, Reel 2, Fond 2242, Opis 1, Ed. Hr. 1083, 20.

49 “Aussage von E.P.,” August 23, 1962, BAL, B162/2298, 21.

50 “Aussage von W.B.,” September 5, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–002, Band 4, 627. “Aussage von E.S.,” November 12, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 5, 737. “Aussage von J.G.,” July 30, 1962, BAL, B162/2297, 33. “Aussage von P.M.,” August 29, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–002, Band 4, 582. As Dallin notes, Odessa's residents often squatted in vacant Jewish apartments. Dallin, Odessa, 1941–1944, 113.

51 “Eugen Fritz / Heinrich Fetzer / Josef Fetzer / an den Chef der Präfektur, Herrn Wiltschensku, Odessa,” February 17, 1942, USHMM, RG-31.004M, Reel 18, Fond 2359, Opis 1, Ed. Hr. 42, 13.

52 “Aussage von F.F.,” September 4, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–002, Band 4, 620–21.

53 In early 1942, Romanian authorities began complaining about Volksdeutsche acquiring apartments in Odessa. “Der Gouverneur an Kommandanten der Volksdeutschen Mittelstelle Herrn Oberführer Hoffmeyer in Landau / Betr.: Eigenmächtige Wohnungsrequisitionen durch V.M. in Odessa,” January 26, 1942, USHMM, RG-31.004M, Reel 2, Fond 2242, Opis 1, Ed. Hr. 1084, 99. “Rundanweisung Nr. 67,” September 8, 1942, BB, R 59/66, 61. Dallin, Odessa, 1941–1944, 209.

54 “German Police Decodes Nr. 2 Traffic: 13.2.43,” February 24, 1943, BNA, HW 16, Piece 37, Part 1, 2. “Protokol doprosa / A.M.G.,” September 20, 1944, Landesarchiv NRW Staatsarchiv Münster, Nr. 2902, 45. “50 000 Juden aus Odessa. Tatsachenbericht von Walter Vahldieck,” Holokost i Suchasnist': studiï v Ukraïni i sviti 2, no. 4 (2008): 110.

55 “Aussage von E.P.,” August 23, 1962, BAL, B162/2298, 21. In 1942, Sonderkommando R deployed the Selbstschutz from rural Transnistria to guard the warehouse complex in Odessa. “Vernehmungsniederschrift von L.D.,” July 21, 1962, BAL, B162/2297, 51.

56 “Aussage von A.B.,” October 12, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–002, Band 4, 652. “Aussage von A.J.,” September 3, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–002, Band 4, 601. “Aussage von F.F.,” September 4, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–002, Band 4, 615. “Aussage von M.R.,” September 2, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–002, Band 4, 593. “Aussage von O.G.,” October 19, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–002, Band 4, 688.

57 “SS Offizier Akte Fritz Dankert,” NARA, RG 242 / A 3343 / SSO-035, 1001–17.

58 “Lieferung von Schulmaterial für volksdeutsche Siedlungen,” n.d., NARA, T175/72/2589176.

59 “German Police Activities in the Soviet Union, Summary Covering the Period of 1st May-30th June 1942,” July 17, 1942, BNA, HW 16, Piece 6, 12. Dallin, Odessa, 1941–1944, 200.

60 “Aussage von E.S.,” November 12, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 5, 727–28. “Aussage von F.H.,” July 24, 1962, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–001, Band 2, 181. “SS Offizier Akte Friedrich Hallenberger,” NARA, RG 242, A3343 SSO 055A, 518–62.

61 The newspaper's publishers were under orders to advertise Sonderkommando R's welfare efforts on behalf of local Volksdeutsche. “Rundanweisung Nr. 75,” November 6, 1942, BB, R 59/66, 50. “Stabbefehl Nr. 102,” April 18, 1943, BB, R 59/67, 98. “Auswertung der Zeitung ‘Der Deutsche in Transnistrien,’” n.d., BAL, B162/2289, 29–35.

62 “Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle SS-Sonderkommando BK XXV, Odessa / Herr Zivilgouverneur von Transnistrien Minister Prof. Alexianu Tiraspol,” June 6, 1942, USHMM, RG-31.004M, Reel 2, Fond 2242, Opis 1, Ed. Hr. 1087, 47. “Rundanweisung Nr. 42,” BB, R 59/66, 88. Dallin, Odessa, 1941–1944, 200. Völkl, Transnistrien und Odessa, 91.

63 “Aussage von H.O.,” February 1, 1966, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–004, Band 7, 1266, 69. “Aussage von K.O.,” November 15, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 5, 762. “Aussage von W.O.,” January 3, 1965, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–004, Band 7, 1199. “Rundanweisung Nr. 42,” BB, R 59/66, 88. “Rundanweisung Nr. 67,” September 8, 1942, BB, R 59/66, 60.

64 “Aussage von W.O.,” January 3, 1965, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–004, Band 7, 1199.

65 “Rundanweisung Nr. 92,” January 11, 1943, BB, R 59/66, 28.

66 For a discussion of the VoMi's population transfers prior to operation Barbarossa, see Lumans, Himmler's Auxiliaries, 131–204.

67 Ibid., 244.

68 “Rundanweisung Nr. 11 / Betrifrt (sic) namentliche Erfassung und Registrierung aller Volksdeutschen in Transnistrien,” December 28, 1941, BB, R 59/66, 132.

69 “Rundanweisung Nr. 89 / Betr.: Stellungsnahme zu dem Entwurf des Reichskommissars für die Ukraine II a-2 vom 3.11.42 / Aufnahme der Volksdeutschen in der deutschen Volksliste,” December 15, 1942, BB, R59/66, 32–33.

70 “Aussage von E.M.C.” August 6, 1962, BAL, B162/2293, 171.

71 Völkl, Transnistrien und Odessa, 24. German officials often feared that contact with Jews in eastern Europe had diluted the racial purity of local Volksdeutsche. Bergen, “The Nazi Concept of ‘Volksdeutsche,’” 573.

72 Given that successful voluntary Volksdeutsche evacuation ahead of advancing German forces left little record, much of the evidence for this flight is circumstantial. Nevertheless, both West German and Soviet postwar testimony indicate that these evacuations occurred. See, for example, “Protokol doprosa / Fet Ivan,” May 29, 1948, USHMM, RG-38.018M, Reel 79, 3765–66. “Zeugenschaftliche Vernehmung von A.B.,” August 21, 1962, BAL, B162/2296, 187.

73 Angrick, Besatzungspolitik und Massenmord, 254–94.

74 “Aussage von E.M.C.,” August 6, 1962, BAL, B162/2293, 174.

75 “Reichsführer-SS Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle / Der Verbindungsführer beim Zivilgouverneur von Transnistrien / an das Zivilgouvernement von Transnistrien Verwaltungsdirektion Tiraspol / Betr.: Fahrten der Volksdeutschen ohne Passierschein,” August 3, 1942, USHMM, RG-31.004M, Reel 2, Fond 2242, Opis 1, Ed. Hr. 1088, 140.

76 “Rundanweisung Nr. 11 / Betrifrt (sic) namentliche Erfassung und Registrierung aller Volksdeutschen in Transnistrien,” December 28, 1941, BB, R 59/66, 137.

77 “Aussage von E.M.C.,” August 6, 1962, BAL, B162/2293, 174.

78 “Rundanweisung Nr. 31,” April 7, 1942, BB, R 59/66, 103.

79 Ancel, Transnistria, 1941–1942, vol. 1, 1145.

80 “Aussage von P.M.,” August 29, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–002, Band 4, 583.

81 “Aussage von H.J.G.,” August 1, 1962, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–001, Band 2, 98.

82 Absent Bereichkommando XXV's registration records, it is impossible to determine how many ethnic Germans Sonderkommando R identified in Odessa. Völkl estimates that between 7,580 and 9,016 Odessians successfully registered with Bereichkommando XXV as Volksdeutsche. Based on the numbering of Volksdeutsche identity cards occasionally included in 1944 ethnic German naturalization applications, this estimate appears plausible. Johannes Volk, for example, received Volkstumsausweis number 6,686. “Einbürgerungsantrag Johannes Volk,” July 25, 1944, NARA, A3342-EWZ50-I075, 1298. According to the Russian Empire's 1897 census, Odessa was home to 9,900 Germans, or 2.6 percent of the city's population. Völkl, Transnistrien und Odessa, 88, 24.

83 “Aussage von H.E.K.,” March 18, 1966, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–004, Band 8, 1377.

84 “Aussage von E.F.,” December 15, 1966, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–004, Band 8, 1361.

85 “Aussage von M.S.,” November 7, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 5, 714. “Aussage von N.R.,” November 7, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 5, 707–08.

86 “Einbürgerungsantrag Edith Herrlich,” June 30, 1944, NARA, A3342-EWZ50-C074, 1281–32. Quoted on frame 1232.

87 “Aussage von E.M.C.,” August 6, 1962, BAL, B162/2293, 174.

88 “Rundanweisung Nr. 11 / Betrifrt (sic) namentliche Erfassung und Registrierung aller Volksdeutschen in Transnistrien,” December 28, 1941, BB, R 59/66, 132.

89 Ibid., 132.

90 “Aussage von E.S.,” November 12, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 5, 746.

91 “Aussage von O.G.,” October 19, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–002, Band 4, 687.

92 “Aussage von E.S.,” November 12, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 5, 735. Kirschstein confirmed the embellished rumor concerning Beck's former husband, but denied searching for the child. “Verantwortliche Vernehmung von E.A.H.K.,” February 9, 1965, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 6, 935.

93 Among local Volksdeutsche women, Kirschstein in particular developed a reputation as a womanizer. “Aussage von A.G.,” August 30, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–002, Band 4, 588. “Aussage von O.G.,” October 19, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–002, Band 4, 687.

94 “Aussage von A.J.,” September 3, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–002, Band 4, 601.

95 Photos that Beck presented to the Hamburg police show her accompanying Goerbig to a series of social functions at the German Consulate and the Deutsches Haus. “Lichtbildmappe I gg. Goerbig u.a.,” Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–007, Beiakte 3.

96 “Aussage von E.S.,” November 12, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 5, 751–52. According to wartime documentation, SS-Oberscharführer Franck's duties included acting as a liaison to other German units in Odessa. “Abschrift / Fernspruch / an: Verbindungsstab der Deutschen Wehrmacht für Transnistrien,” April 5, 1942, USHMM, RG-31.004M, Reel 2, Fond 2242, Opis 1, Ed. Hr. 1085, 169.

97 “Aussage von E.S.,” November 12, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 5, 728–29.

98 “Abschrift / Fernspruch / an: Verbindungsstab der Deutschen Wehrmacht für Transnistrien,” April 5, 1942, USHMM, RG-31.004M, Reel 2, Fond 2242, Opis 1, Ed. Hr. 1085, 169. “German Police Decodes No. 1 Traffic: 22.5.44,” May 30, 1944, BNA, HW 16, Piece 41, 2.

99 “Aussage von E.F.,” December 15, 1966, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–004, Band 8, 1360.

100 “RuSHA Akte Herbert Kirschstein,” NARA, A 3343 RS C5436, 1132, 1142, 1190.

101 Ibid., 1132.

102 Focusing on the complicity of the predominantly Slavic local police in Belarus and Ukraine, Bernhard Chiari, Martin Dean, and Dieter Pohl, for example, have examined the crucial contribution of non-German Holocaust perpetrators in the Soviet Union. Chiari, Bernhard, Alltag hinter der Front. Besatzung, Kollaboration und Widerstand in Weissrussland 1941–1944 (Düsseldorf: Droste Verlag, 1998), 160–94Google Scholar. Dean, Martin, Collaboration in the Holocaust: Crimes of the Local Police in Belorussia and Ukraine, 1941–44 (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2000)CrossRefGoogle Scholar. Pohl, Dieter, “Ukrainische Hilfskräfte beim Mord an den Juden,” in Die Täter der Shoah. Fanatische Nationalsozialisten oder ganz normale Deutsche?, ed. Paul, Gerhard (Göttingen: Wallstein Verlag, 2002), 205–24Google Scholar.

103 Harvey, Elizabeth, Women and the Nazi East: Agents and Witnesses of Germanization (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2003), 4Google Scholar.

104 Wendy Lower, “Female Perpetrators and Accomplices of the Holocaust in Ukraine and the Postwar Justice System” (conference paper, American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, Annual Convention, Philadelphia, PA, November 22, 2008). Lower, Wendy, “Socialist Justice? Investigations and Trials of Male and Female Nazi Perpetrators in the German Democratic Republic, 1949–1963,” Holocaust and Genocide Studies (Forthcoming 2010)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

105 Looking at Romanian and German documentation respectively, Ancel and Angrick have provided the most detailed examination of the Volksdeutsche Selbstschutz's crimes in Transnistria. See Ancel, Transnistria, 1941–1942, vol. 1, 292–338; and Angrick, Besatzungspolitik und Massenmord, 254–94.

106 Beck testified that Hoffmeyer presented members of Bereichkommando XXV with photographic evidence of Sonderkommando R's crimes in rural Transnistria. The photos were taken allegedly by SS-Untersturmführer Georg Bauer, Sonderkommando R's official photographer. “Aussage von E.S.,” November 12, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 5, 734. “SS Offizier Akte Georg Bauer,” NARA, RG 242, A 3343 SSO-040, 45324–5. “German Police Decodes Nr. 2 Traffic: 6.10.42,” October 10, 1942, BNA, HW 16, Piece 36, 2.

107 Although Beck testified that she interpreted for Hoffmeyer during his negotiations with the Romanians, she implausibly denied that the murder of Jews was a topic of discussion. “Aussage von E.S.,” November 12, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 5, 734.

108 “SS Offizier Akte Horst Hoffmeyer,” NARA, RG 242, A3343 SSO-109A, 1376–1470. “Dienstanweisung Nr. 2,” September 22, 1941, BB, R59/66, 152.

109 Sonderkommando R's leaders explicitly ordered VoMi personnel in Odessa to avoid antagonizing Romanian officials. “Stabsbefehl Nr. 109,” June 22, 1943, BB, R 59/67, 57.

110 “Rundanweisung Nr. 4,” November 8, 1941, BB, R59/66, 150. “Rundanweisung Nr. 31,” April 7, 1942, BB, R 59/66, 104. “Rundanweisung Nr. 34 / Betr.: Viehaustrieb 1942,” April 7, 1942, BB, R 59/66, 99. It appears that clashes between the Selbstschutz and Romanian authorities were a perennial feature of foreign rule in Transnistria. “Reichsführer-SS Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle der Verbindungsführer beim Zivilgouverneur von Transnistrien Verwaltungsdirektion / Betr.: Feldplünderung im Judet Ovidiopol durch rumänische Soldaten,” October 11, 1942, USHMM, RG-31.004M, Reel 2, Fond 2242, Opis 1, Ed. Hr. 1089, 169. “Abschrift,” September 29, 1942, USHMM, RG-31.004M, Reel 18, Fond 2361, Opis 1, Ed. Hr. 70, 244.

111 As Goerbig noted, Bereichkommando XXV's staff attempted to concentrate Volksdeutsche-related institutions near the St. Pauli-Kirche. “Aussage von H.J.G.,” August 24, 1962, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–001, Band 2, 499.

112 “Aussage von H.J.G.,” August 24, 1962, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–001, Band 2, 95. “Verantwortliche Vernehmung von E.A.H.K.,” February 9, 1965, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 6, 919. “Aussage von P.M.,” August 29, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–002, Band 4, 1268–70.

113 “Aussage von O.G.,” October 19, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–002, Band 4, 686. “Aussage von P.A.,” August 1, 1962, BAL, B162/2297, 24.

114 “Verantwortliche Vernehmung von E.A.H.K.,” February 9, 1965, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 6, 923. Kirschstein served as Bereichkommando XXV's court officer until Walter Valhdieck assumed the position in mid-1943 and Kirschstein continued as his assistant. “Aussage von H.J.G.,” August 1, 1962, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–001, Band 2, 95. “Aussage von H.K.,” January 28, 1963, BAL, B162/2301, 121.

115 Ibid.

116 “Aussage von P.A.,” August 1, 1962, BAL, B162/2297, 24. Kirschstein circulated a certificate of ownership concerning Zimmermann's piano to Odessa's Romanian occupiers in May 1942. “Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle SS-Sonderkommando BK XXV, Odessa / Bescheinigung,” May 13, 1942, USHMM, RG-31.004M, Reel 18, Fond 2359, Opis 1, Ed. Hr. 42, 70.

117 When interviewed by Wehrmacht investigators, Claasen denied his command's responsibility for the theft, and a subsequent Feldgendarmerie search of the VoMi's motor pool failed to turn up the missing truck. “Verbindungsstab der Deutschen Wehrmacht für Transnistrien / an dem Zivilgouverneur von Transnistrien / Betr.: Wegnahme eines LKWs am 7.3.42 durch deutsche Wehrmachtsangehörige,” April 21, 1944, USHMM, RG 31.004M, Reel 2, Fond 2242, Opis 1, Ed. Hr. 1086, 45–46.

118 “Verantwortliche Vernehmung von E.A.H.K.,” June 4, 1962, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–001, Band 1, 136. Wartime documentation suggests that Romanian military authorities tried Volksdeutsche in Odessa for serious offenses. “Übersetzung der rumänischen Schruftschtücke (sic),” n.d., RG-31.004M, Reel 20, Fond 2361, Opis 1s, Ed. Hr. 7, 278.

119 “Aussage von E.S.,” November 12, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 5, 739.

120 “Aussage von F.F.,” September 4, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–002, Band 4, 621.

121 Kirschstein testified that Goerbig authorized his actions. “Verantwortliche Vernehmung von E.A.H.K.,” June 4, 1962, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–001, Band 1, 141. Beck confirms that Goerbig would have had to authorize Kirschstein's involvement. “Aussage von E.S.,” November 12, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 5, 735.

122 Lower, Nazi Empire-Building, 8.

123 Angrick, Besatzungspolitik und Massenmord, 254–294.

124 “RuSHA Akte Herbert Kirschstein,” NARA, RG 242, A3343 RS C5436, 1138.

125 According to Friedrich Hummel's 1944 Wehrmacht application for German citizenship, he began working for the Wehrmacht in Odessa on March 1, 1942. “EWZ Wehrmacht Akte Friedrich Hummel,” NARA, A3342-EWZ-W-H025, 1957. As the VoMi's Volksdeutsche auxiliaries received SS uniforms and provisional ranks in late 1942, their EWZ files frequently refer simply to Wehrmacht or Waffen-SS service to represent accurately their time in grade.

126 “Aussage von E.S.,” November 12, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 5, 744.

127 “Verantwortliche Vernehmung von E.A.H.K.,” June 4, 1962, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–001, Band 1, 125. “Verantwortliche Vernehmung von E.A.H.K.,” February 9, 1965, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 6, 918. “Aussage von H.K.,” January 28, 1963, BAL, B162/2301, 126.

128 “Verantwortliche Vernehmung von E.A.H.K.,” February 9, 1965, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 6, 930.

129 Hummel later conceded to his interviewers that their “Russian” victim was, in fact, a Jew. “Aussage von F.H.,” May 25, 1964, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 5, 897. Although Hummel's admission met the criteria for a murder charge in West Germany, as a Canadian citizen and permanent resident of the United States, he remained beyond the jurisdiction of German authorities. “CM-1 File for Friedrich H,” 1951, International Tracing Service (hereafter ITS), Displaced Persons (hereafter DP) Record Collection, Envelope H-1380. While Hamburg prosecutors concluded that there was sufficient evidence to try Kirschstein on four counts of manslaughter (Totschlag), the expiration of the statute of limitations prevented prosecutors from bringing charges. “147 JS 35 / 67 / Vfg.,” December 21, 1967, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–004, Band 8, 1. Kirschstein's continued denial of racial motives behind the killings apparently dissuaded prosecutors from bringing murder charges against him.

130 “147 JS 35 / 67 / Vfg.,” December 21, 1967, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–004, Band 8, 894.

131 “Aussage von H.K.,” January 28, 1963, BAL, B162/2301, 127. Although both men confirmed the general pattern of events in their postwar interrogations, Hummel denied firing on the man. “Aussage von F.H.,” May 25, 1964, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 5, 896.

132 “Verantwortliche Vernehmung von E.A.H.K.,” June 4, 1962, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–001, Band 1, 126. “Aussage von H.K.,” January 28, 1963, BAL, B162/2301, 130. “Aussage von F.H.,” May 25, 1964, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 5, 894. “Betr: Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit. / Beschuldigter: H.K.,” April 16, 1962, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–006 / Sonderband 1, 3. “Aussage von R.S.” January 29, 1963, BAL, B162/2301, 130–31.

133 “Verantwortliche Vernehmung von E.A.H.K.,” February 9, 1965, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 6, 921.

134 “Aussage von R.S.,” January 29, 1963, BAL, B162/2301, 132.

135 “SS Offizier Akte Erwin Niessner,” NARA, RG 242, A3343 SSO-350A, 512–13. “German Police Decodes Nr. 2 Traffic: 6.10.42,” October 10, 1942, BNA, HW 16, Piece 36, 2. “GML Nr. 140,” n.d., BNA, HW 16, Piece 60, 126.

136 “Aussage von R.S.,” May 9, 1962, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–001, Band 1, 102.

137 “Aussage von E.F.,” December 15, 1966, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–004, Band 8, 1363. “Aussage von P.W.G.S.,” February 9, 1967, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–004, Band 8, 1389.

138 “Aussage von L.L.,” October 15, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–002, Band 4, 667.

139 “Aussage von J.V.,” June 23, 1965, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 6, 1025–26.

140 According to postwar testimony Volk served with Einsatzgruppe D's Einsatzkommando 11b in Sevastopol. “Beschulditenvernehmung von H.J.F.,” July 7, 1966, BAL, B 162/1060, 2656. “Aussage von O.H.D.N.,” February 19, 1968, BAL, B 162/1062, 3190.

141 “Einbürgerungsantrag Johannes Volk,” July 25, 1944, NARA, A3342-EWZ50-I075, 1286. “E/G Karte Johannes Volk,” July 25, 1944, NARA, RG 242 / A3342-EWZ57-U100, 1572.

142 Volk testified that he moved to Odessa around Christmas 1941. “Aussage von J.V.,” June 23, 1965, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 6, 1026.

143 Ibid., 1027.

144 “Einbürgerungsantrag Johannes Volk,” July 25, 1944, NARA, A3342-EWZ50-I075, 1291. Listing his wartime activities as Baden's postmaster until his 1944 evacuation to Poland, Volk applied for Displaced Person status in February 1949 and ultimately emigrated to Canada. “CM-1 File Johannes Volk,” February 24, 1949, International Tracing Service Digital Collection, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, IRO “Care and Maintenance” Program, 3.2.1., 79891081–79891083.

145 Völkl, Transnistrien und Odessa, 35.

146 “Verantwortliche Vernehmung von E.A.H.K,” June 4, 1962, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–001, Band 1, 141.

147 “Verantwortliche Vernehmung von E.A.H.K,” February 9, 1965, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 6, 131–32.

148 Ibid., 131.

149 Dallin, Odessa, 1941–1944, 221.

150 Ibid., 227.

151 “Oberkommando des Herres / Herres-Personalamt Personalakte für Schindler, Johannes,” NARA, RG 242, A-3356, Reel 743.

152 “Aussage von E.S.,” November 12, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 5, 748–49. Independently Kirschstein confirmed Bereichkommando XXV's anti-partisan mission. “Verantwortliche Vernehmung von E.A.H.K,” February 9, 1965, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–003, Band 6, 927–28.

153 Bereichkommando XXV's counterinsurgency operation in Odessa's catacombs was not the first German involvement in flushing out partisans. In December 1941, the Wehrmacht offered their Romanian allies technical assistance in locating and capturing Soviet subterranean forces—an offer that Odessa's Romanian administrators accepted in early 1942. “Verbindungsstab der Deutschen Wehrmacht für Transnistrien Abt. Ia / Betr.: Reinigung Odessas von Partisanen,” December 17, 1941, RG-31.004M, Reel 2, Fond 2242, Opis 1, Ed. Hr. 1083, 130. Dallin, Odessa, 1941–1944, 227.

154 “Aussage von J.G.,” July 30, 1962, BAL, B162/2297, 39. Other postwar testimony confirms this draconian evacuation order. “Aussage von L.L.,” October 15, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–002, Band 4, 668.

155 Dallin notes that the SS's evacuation of ethnic Germans from Transnistria was partially involuntary. Dallin, Odessa, 1941–1944, 243.

156 “Aussage von F.F.,” September 4, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–002, Band 4, 615. “Aussage von J.G.,” July 30, 1962, BAL, B162/2297, 40. Another witness testified that the man mutilated his hand to avoid evacuation. “Aussage von L.L.,” October 15, 1963, Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 213/12 Staatsanwaltschaft Landgericht NSG 0589–002, Band 4, 668.

157 Bergen, “The Nazi Concept of ‘Volksdeutsche,’” 570.