Verbrennungskommando Warschau
WWII slave labor unit / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with a Brandkommando or Brennkommando, a type of units of German Wehrmacht or the SS deployed to burn buildings during the destruction of Warsaw.
Verbrennungskommando Warschau (German: Warsaw burning detachment)[1] was a slave labour unit formed by the SS following the Wola massacre of around 40,000 to 50,000 Polish civilians by the Germans in the early days of the Warsaw Uprising of 1944.
Quick Facts Date, Location ...
Date | 1944 |
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Location | Warsaw, occupied Poland |
Cause | Wola Massacre |
Participants | Wehrmacht, Gestapo, SS, Trawnikis, Sonderdienst |
Casualties | |
Approximately 40,000–50,000
Part of a series | |
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The purpose of the Verbrennungskommando was to remove evidence of the citywide campaign of mass murder that took place during the Uprising,[2] by collecting corpses into large piles and burning them in open-air pyres on Elektoralna and Chłodna Streets among others.[3] The squad was directly subordinated to SS-Obersturmführer Neumann and was also earmarked for execution after the completion of their work.