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These ''Einsatzgruppen'' (“special units”) were also aided by local populations in [[Ukraine]], [[Lithuania]], and [[Latvia]] who felt the Germans had relieved them of [[Soviet]] occupation as well as sharing a hatred for Jews and other minorities.<ref>[https://youtu.be/SKfGEXwFf9A The Scariest Film Ever Made ISN'T a Horror Film], [Professor Jelkington Reupload], SCP Documentaries, Jun 7, 2024. [[YouTube]].</ref> Making no difference between young or old, male or female, the Einsatzgruppen killed 70,000 Jews at Ponary, near [[Vilnius]], Lithuania; 33,771 Jews were machine-gunned in a ravine known as '''Babi Yar''' near [[Kiev]], Ukraine, between [[September]] 28–29, 1941;<ref>[http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/genocide/yevtushenko.htm]</ref>  8,000 Jews were killed at [[Mariupol]] on October 18, 1941.<ref>[https://collections.yadvashem.org/en/untold-stories/killing-site/14626459 Murder Story of Mariupol Jews at the Agrobaza in Mariupol]. [[Yad Vashem]]. collections.yadvashem.org</ref> 9,000 Jews were killed at the Ninth Fort at Kaunas, Lithuania, on October 28, of which half of the dead were children.  On November 30 in the Rumbula Forest outside of [[Riga]], Latvia, between 25,000-28,000 were killed.

These ''Einsatzgruppen'' (“special units”) were also aided by local populations in [[Ukraine]], [[Lithuania]], and [[Latvia]] who felt the Germans had relieved them of [[Soviet]] occupation as well as sharing a hatred for Jews and other minorities.<ref>[https://youtu.be/SKfGEXwFf9A The Scariest Film Ever Made ISN'T a Horror Film], [Professor Jelkington Reupload], SCP Documentaries, Jun 7, 2024. [[YouTube]].</ref> Making no difference between young or old, male or female, the Einsatzgruppen killed 70,000 Jews at Ponary, near [[Vilnius]], Lithuania; 33,771 Jews were machine-gunned in a ravine known as '''Babi Yar''' near [[Kiev]], Ukraine, between [[September]] 28–29, 1941;<ref>[http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/genocide/yevtushenko.htm]</ref>  8,000 Jews were killed at [[Mariupol]] on October 18, 1941.<ref>[https://collections.yadvashem.org/en/untold-stories/killing-site/14626459 Murder Story of Mariupol Jews at the Agrobaza in Mariupol]. [[Yad Vashem]]. collections.yadvashem.org</ref> 9,000 Jews were killed at the Ninth Fort at Kaunas, Lithuania, on October 28, of which half of the dead were children.  On November 30 in the Rumbula Forest outside of [[Riga]], Latvia, between 25,000-28,000 were killed.

By mid-1941, the [[Ukrainian SSR]] had the largest population of Jews in Europe. The addition of the eastern provinces of Poland in late 1939 (western Ukraine after 1945), as well as the seizure of sections of Romanian territory in June 1940, led to some 2.7 million Jews living within the borders of the newly enlarged republic. About 85% lived in cities. Days after [[Operation Barbarossa]] commenced, Einsatzgruppen squads began carrying out mass shootings during the last week of June 1941.<ref>[https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/timeline-event/holocaust/1939-1941/operation-barbarossa Operation Barbarossa | Holocaust Encyclopedia]</ref> By 1944, 1.6 million of these Jews had died at the hands of the Germans and their allies and auxiliaries. Unlike the majority of the Holocaust's later victims who died in the industrialized mass murder of the death camps, the overwhelming bulk of Ukraine's Jews died in mass shootings during the initial stages of the war.

By mid-1941, the [[Ukrainian SSR]] had the largest population of Jews in Europe. The addition of the eastern provinces of [[Poland]] as a result of the [[Molotov-Ribbentrop [act]] in late 1939 ([[Western Ukraine]] after 1945), as well as the seizure of sections of [[Romanian]] territory in June 1940, led to some 2.7 million Jews living within the borders of the newly enlarged republic. About 85% lived in cities.  

 

Days after [[Operation Barbarossa]] commenced, Einsatzgruppen squads began carrying out mass shootings in the last week of June 1941.<ref>[https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/timeline-event/holocaust/1939-1941/operation-barbarossa Operation Barbarossa | Holocaust Encyclopedia]</ref> By 1944, 1.6 million of these Jews had died at the hands of the Germans and their allies and auxiliaries. Unlike the majority of the Holocaust's later victims who died in the industrialized mass murder of the death camps, the overwhelming bulk of Ukraine's Jews died in mass shootings during the initial stages of the war.

Einsatzgruppen squads were recruited from prisons and mental hospitals - [[men]] generally regarded as unfit for regular [[military]] service. Convicted murderers had their convictions reduced to 8 years. Mental patients were given the opportunity to get outside the facility and a feeling of being useful to [[society]]. Married men were not considered fit because of the [[emotion]]al and [[psychological]] effect of murdering [[women]] and [[children]].

Einsatzgruppen squads were recruited from prisons and mental hospitals - [[men]] generally regarded as unfit for regular [[military]] service. Convicted murderers had their convictions reduced to 8 years. Mental patients were given the opportunity to get outside the facility and a feeling of being useful to [[society]]. Married men were not considered fit because of the [[emotion]]al and [[psychological]] effect of murdering [[women]] and [[children]].