Jakobus und die Einsatzgruppen (S03/E05)
Summary
This episode examines Jakobus Onn, a German teacher identified as the shooter in the iconic 1941 photo of a mass execution in Berdychiv. Historian Dr. Stefan Hörtler details Onn’s transition from educator to SS perpetrator, revealing how reservists were systematically recruited for Einsatzgruppen. The discussion covers the "Holocaust by Bullets," the complicity of Wehrmacht observers, and the institutionalized violence in occupied Ukraine.
Topics discussed
Introduction: The mystery of the shooter in the Holocaust photo
Guest introduction and the challenge of researching Jakobus Onn
Onn's early life, education, and work at the Colonial School
Onn's ideological alignment with Nazism and SA membership
Military career: From police battalion to Einsatzgruppe C
The composition of Einsatzgruppen and 'Holocaust by Bullets'
Onn's role in Einsatzkommando 5 and the Berdychiv massacre
Eyewitness accounts and the documentation of mass shootings
Why soldiers watched executions and orders to stop filming
Onn's later actions, death, and post-war commemoration
Conclusion: Perpetrator mindset and final thoughts
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