Walther von Reichenau, German field marshal (b. 1884)
Walter Karl Ernst August von Reichenau (8 October 1884 – 17 January 1942) was a high-ranking Field Marshal in the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany, who played a significant and deeply controversial role throughout World War II. As one of Adolf Hitler's early supporters within the military establishment, Reichenau rose rapidly through the ranks, demonstrating both military competence and a fervent embrace of Nazi ideology.
His command responsibilities placed him at the forefront of Germany's aggressive expansionist campaigns. Initially, Reichenau commanded the 6th Army during the swift and decisive invasions of Belgium and France in 1940. These campaigns showcased the effectiveness of the German Blitzkrieg tactics, leading to the rapid conquest of Western Europe and establishing Reichenau's reputation as a capable military leader.
The Eastern Front and Ideological Warfare
Reichenau's most pivotal and infamous command came during Operation Barbarossa, the massive and ideologically driven invasion of the Soviet Union which commenced in June 1941. He continued to command the 6th Army, operating as a key component of Army Group South. Under his leadership, the 6th Army advanced deeply into Soviet territory, capturing vast swathes of Ukraine and pushing far into Russia. This campaign was not merely a conventional military operation; it was characterized by Nazi Germany's explicit goal of waging a war of annihilation against what it termed "Judeo-Bolshevism," aimed at conquering territory, exploiting resources, and eliminating perceived racial and political enemies.
The Notorious Severity Order
It was during Operation Barbarossa in 1941 that Field Marshal von Reichenau issued the profoundly disturbing and notorious "Severity Order" (also known as the "Reichenau Order"). Dated October 10, 1941, this directive was far more than a military instruction; it was an explicit ideological statement that directly encouraged German soldiers to commit atrocities against Jewish civilians, as well as Soviet commissars and partisans. The order unequivocally declared the Eastern Front conflict to be a "Jewish-Bolshevist struggle" and called for the "merciless extermination of Jewish subhumans." By equating civilians, particularly Jewish civilians, with the enemy and legitimizing their murder, Reichenau's order served to dehumanize victims and remove moral inhibitions, directly contributing to the escalating scale of war crimes and genocide perpetrated by German forces.
Complicity in Mass Atrocities: The Babi Yar Massacre
Reichenau's command was not only responsible for issuing such genocidal directives but also actively cooperated in their implementation. His troops of the 6th Army worked in concert with the infamous SS Einsatzgruppen, mobile killing squads specifically tasked with mass murder behind the front lines. A horrific example of this collaboration was the Babi Yar massacre, which occurred near Kyiv (Kyiv, then part of the Ukrainian SSR) between September 29 and 30, 1941. During these two days, over 33,000 Jewish men, women, and children were systematically shot and murdered by Einsatzgruppe C.
While the SS carried out the direct killings, Reichenau's 6th Army provided crucial logistical and security support, including:
Cordoning off the area: Ensuring no escape and preventing intervention.
Transporting victims: Assisting in the collection and movement of the Jewish population to the execution site.
Maintaining security: Securing the perimeter around the ravine during the mass executions.
This extensive military cooperation highlights the Wehrmacht's profound complicity in the Holocaust. Beyond Babi Yar, the 6th Army, under Reichenau's command, assisted with numerous other crimes against humanity and atrocities throughout areas under its control on the Eastern Front, including mass shootings, starvation policies, and the destruction of communities, contributing directly to the systematic genocide of European Jewry and other targeted populations.