Which of the following was the first major effort by the Nazis to "cleanse" conquered territories of "undesirable" populations?
A) the military occupation and punitive massacres in the Warsaw Ghetto
B) the use of carpet-bombing of civilian areas used to corral targeted populations
C) the use of Einsatzgruppen in eastern Europe to "pacify" conquered areas by massacring the Jewish and Gypsy populations of entire towns and regions
D) the use of concentration camps specifically designed for the mass murder of prisoners they contained
E) the use of death squads in western Europe to eliminate communists and labor leaders after France surrendered

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Einsatzgruppen were mobile killing units composed of SS and police personnel that followed the German army into Eastern Europe in 1941. They were responsible for massacring Jewish and Roma populations in the conquered territories, as well as political dissidents, intellectuals, and other "undesirable" elements. This was the first major effort by the Nazis to carry out a systematic extermination of targeted populations, and it foreshadowed the development of the death camps that would follow. The other options listed were also brutal tactics employed by the Nazis, but they were either more limited in scope (A and E) or used for different purposes (B and D).

Which of the Following Was the First Major Effort by the Nazis