Kommando
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A ''Kommando'' (, "unit" or "command") is a general term for special police and military forces in German, Dutch, and Afrikaans speaking nations. It was also the term in the World War II era ''Luftwaffe'' for special units used to test new aircraft for combat readiness (as ''
Erprobungskommando An ''Erprobungskommando'' (EKdo) ("Testing-command") was a variety of Luftwaffe special-purpose unit tasked with the testing of new aircraft and weaponry under operational conditions. Similarly-named ''Erprobungs-''prefixed squadron ''(staffel)'' ...
'' units) and examples existed that only used the "Kommando" name, such as the Luftwaffe ''Gruppe''-sized ''
Kommando Nowotny ''Kommando'' Nowotny was a Luftwaffe fighter ''Gruppe'' formed during the last months of World War II for testing and establishing tactics for the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter, and was created and first commanded by Walter Nowotny, from wh ...
''. In the winter/spring 1945 period, single-plane ''Kommando''-designated units that used the
Arado Ar 234 The Arado Ar 234 ''Blitz'' (English: lightning) is a jet-powered bomber designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Arado. It was the world's first operational turbojet-powered bomber, seeing service during the latter half of the ...
''Blitz'' jet powered reconnaissance-bomber operated from hidden, forest-lined runways in eastern Germany. Before and during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the basic unit of organization of forced labourers in
Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as concen ...
, equivalent to a detail or detachment were referred to as ''Kommandos''. Among the most notable of such units were the Sonderkommandos (), carrying out the
Final Solution The Final Solution (german: die Endlösung, ) or the Final Solution to the Jewish Question (german: Endlösung der Judenfrage, ) was a Nazi plan for the genocide of individuals they defined as Jews during World War II. The "Final Solution to th ...
by guarding the newly arrived inmates, escorting them to
gas chamber A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or other animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. Poisonous agents used include hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide. Histor ...
s, searching the bodies and burning them. ''
Außenkommando Subcamps (german: KZ-Außenlager), also translated as satellite camps, were outlying detention centres (''Haftstätten'') that came under the command of a main concentration camp run by the SS in Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe. The Nazi ...
s'' were external work details that were set up, either leaving from the concentration camp or from outside the camp boundary. In ''
Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...
: A Doctor's Eyewitness Account'', concentration camp survivor Dr.
Miklós Nyiszli Miklós Nyiszli (17 June 1901 – 5 May 1956) was a Hungarian prisoner of Jewish heritage at Auschwitz concentration camp. Nyiszli, his wife, and young daughter, were transported to Auschwitz in June 1944. Upon his arrival, Nyiszli vo ...
(who served on Dr.
Josef Mengele , allegiance = , branch = Schutzstaffel , serviceyears = 1938–1945 , rank = ''Schutzstaffel, SS''-''Hauptsturmführer'' (Captain) , servicenumber = , battles = , unit = , awards = , command ...
's medical kommando) describes the "tooth-pulling kommando". These teams of eight, all "fine stomatologists and dental surgeons" equipped "in one hand with a lever, and in the other a pair of
pliers Pliers are a hand tool used to hold objects firmly, possibly developed from tongs used to handle hot metal in Bronze Age Europe. They are also useful for bending and physically compressing a wide range of materials. Generally, pliers consist ...
for extracting teeth", worked in the
crematoria Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...
. Stationed in front of the ovens, their job was to pry open the mouths of prisoners who had been gassed and extract, or break off, "all
gold teeth A gold crown Gold teeth are a form of dental prosthesis where the visible part of a tooth is replaced or capped with a prosthetic molded from gold. History The academic paper titled "Gold Work, Filing and Blackened Teeth: Dental Modifications i ...
, as well as any gold
bridgework A bridge is a fixed dental restoration (a fixed dental prosthesis) used to replace one or more missing teeth by joining an artificial tooth definitively to adjacent teeth or dental implants. Definitions Fixed bridge: A dental prosthesis that ...
and fillings". Other kommandos depended on the job they were assigned to, such as woodcutting kommandos, factory kommandos or kitchen kommandos.


See also

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Subcamp (SS) Subcamps (german: KZ-Außenlager), also translated as satellite camps, were outlying detention centres (''Haftstätten'') that came under the command of a main concentration camp run by the SS in Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe. The Nazis ...
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Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...


References


See also

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Commando Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...
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Kapo A kapo or prisoner functionary (german: Funktionshäftling) was a prisoner in a Nazi camp who was assigned by the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) guards to supervise forced labor or carry out administrative tasks. Also called "prisoner self-administrat ...
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Language of Nazi concentration camps Language of Nazi concentration camps refers to a common stratum created in various languages of inmates of Nazi concentration camps that described the notions unique to life in the camps and served as ''lingua franca''. One part of the Nazi camp sl ...
Nazi concentration camp occupations {{portal, Spain, France, Poland hy:Կոմանդո (Նացիստական Գերմանիա)