''Rollkommando'' Hamann ( lt, skrajojantis būrys) was a small mobile unit that committed mass murders of

Lithuanian Jews Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks () are Jews with roots in the territory of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania (covering present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, the northeastern Suwałki and Białystok regions of Poland, as well as adjacent areas ...

in the countryside in July–October 1941, with an estimated death toll of at least 60,000 Jews. The unit was also responsible for many murders in Latvia from July through August, 1941. At the end of 1941 the destruction of Lithuanian Jewry was effectively accomplished by Hamann's unit in the countryside, by the Ypatingasis būrys in the

Ponary massacre , location = Paneriai (Ponary), Vilnius (Wilno), Reichskommissariat Ostland , coordinates = , date = July 1941 – August 1944 , incident_type = Shootings by automatic and semi-automatic weapons, genocide , perpetrators ...

, and by the

Tautinio Darbo Apsaugos Batalionas The Lithuanian TDA Battalions ( lt, Tautinio darbo apsaugos batalionas) or TDA, were paramilitary units organized in June–August 1941 by the Provisional Government of Lithuania at the onset of Operation Barbarossa. Members of the TDA were known b ...

(TDA) in the

Ninth Fort The Ninth Fort ( lt, Devintas Fortas) is a stronghold in the northern part of Šilainiai elderate, Kaunas, Lithuania. It is a part of the Kaunas Fortress, which was constructed in the late 19th century. During the occupation of Kaunas and th ...

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

. In about six months an estimated 80% of all Lithuanian Jews were killed. The remaining few were spared for use as a labor force and concentrated in urban ghettos, mainly the

Vilna Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional u ...

and

Kaunas Ghetto The Kovno Ghetto was a ghetto established by Nazi Germany to hold the Lithuanian Jews of Kaunas during the Holocaust. At its peak, the Ghetto held 29,000 people, most of whom were later sent to concentration and extermination camps, or were sh ...

Organization

The group consisted of 8–10 Germans from ''

Einsatzkommando 3 During World War II, the Nazi German ' were a sub-group of the ' (mobile killing squads) – up to 3,000 men total – usually composed of 500–1,000 functionaries of the SS and Gestapo, whose mission was to exterminate Jews, Polish intellect ...

'', commanded by SS-''

Obersturmführer __NOTOC__ (, ; short: ''Ostuf'') was a Nazi Germany paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organisations, such as the SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK. The rank of ''Obersturmführer'' was first created in 1932 as the result of an expa ...

Joachim Hamann Joachim Hamann (18 May 1913 in Kiel – 13 July 1945 in Heikendorf) was an officer of the ''Einsatzkommando 3'', a killing unit of '' Einsatzgruppe A'', responsible for tens of thousands of Jewish deaths in Lithuania. Hamann organized and commande ...

, and several dozen Lithuanians from the 3rd company of the TDA, commanded by Bronius Norkus. The unit had no permanent structure and was called for ''

ad hoc Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning literally 'to this'. In English, it typically signifies a solution for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a generalized solution adaptable to collateral instances. (Compare with ''a priori''.) Com ...

'' missions in various towns in Lithuania. While Bubnys indicates Hamann primarily handed out assignments while not participating himself, post-war testimony indicates Hamann told others of his direct participation. The

Jäger Report The so-called Jäger Report, also Jaeger Report (full title: ''Complete tabulation of executions carried out in the Einsatzkommando 3 zone up to December 1, 1941'') was written on 1 December 1941 by Karl Jäger, commander of ''Einsatzkommando'' ...

documents mass executions carried out by the unit in 54 locations across Lithuania. From July 13 to August 22, 1941, the commando operated out of

Daugavpils Daugavpils (; russian: Двинск; ltg, Daugpiļs ; german: Dünaburg, ; pl, Dyneburg; see other names) is a state city in south-eastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. The parts of the c ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. During this time, the commando murdered 9,102 people, almost all of whom were Jews, from the

Daugavpils Ghetto Following the occupation of Latvia by Nazi Germany in the summer of 1941, the Daugavpils Ghetto (german: Ghetto Dünaburg) was established in an old fortress near Daugavpils. Daugavpils is the second largest city in Latvia, located on the Daug ...

Operations

Usually the unit arrived after the local Jews were already rounded up and gathered in a more secluded area, usually a forest or a distant field, by local Nazi authorities and Lithuanian local collaborators. Sometimes small, temporary ghettos were set up for gathering the Jews from several nearby towns. Jews selected for executions were marched to the location, usually about away from where they lived, and shot. Sometimes men were shot first, while women and children were executed towards the end of 1941. The corpses would be disposed of in pits dug in advance and the loot (clothes and other property of those killed) would be divided among the perpetrators. Such killings became known as "actions" (german: Aktion, yi, Aktsiye).

References

{{SS organizations 1941 in Lithuania The Holocaust in Lithuania The Holocaust in Latvia Lithuanian collaboration with Nazi Germany Einsatzgruppen Generalbezirk Litauen Local participation in the Holocaust