The Nizkor Project: Remembering the Holocaust (Shoah)

Operation Reinhard:
Command Staff

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Globocnik, Odiloi - Appointed by Himmler as SS-und Polizei-führer of the Lublin District of the General Government, in late (Oct-Nov) of 1941. Commanded Operation Reinhard.

Höfle, Hans - (Hauptsturmführer), appointed by Himmler as Globocnik's Chief of Operations, in charge of organization and manpower.

Himmler assigned the following tasks to his new Reinhard commander:
    1. Overall planning of deportations
    2. Construction and operation of the death camps
    3. Co-ordination of the deportations from each of the five
       districts of the General Government (Warsaw, Lublin, Radom,
       Krakow, and Lvov.)

Globocnik had a team of 450 Germans at his disposal - at their core was a group of 92 men, headed by Christian Wirth, who had been assigned to Globocnik for the euthanasia program.

It was this group from which key staff were selected for Reinhard, including the camp commanders. Each camp was allotted 20-30 German staff. [Arad, who wrote the Reinhard section of the Encyclopedia, which is paraphrased here, used '20 to 35' in the epilog to his book on the subject, quoted earlier in this document. knm]

Also recruited was a special auxillary unit, consisting of Ukrainian volunteers, most of them Soviet POW's. They were billetted in an SS training camp ( Trawniki) where they were issued black uniforms and weapons. They were organized into platoons and companies, and received brief training. Their unit commanders were German. Each camp was allotted from 90 - 120 of these "Trawniki's," who were also used in deportation and escort capacities. (Encyclopedia, I, 14-15)


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