Severity Order Explained

The Severity Order or Reichenau Order was the name given to an order promulgated within the German Sixth Army on the Eastern Front during World War II by Generalfeldmarschall Walter von Reichenau on 10 October 1941.^[1] ^[2]

Text of the order

The order said, in part:^[3] ^[4]

Implications of the order

The order paved the way for mass murder of Jews.^[5] All Jews were henceforth to be treated as partisans, and commanders were directed that they be either summarily shot or handed over to the Einsatzgruppen execution squads of the SS-Totenkopfverbände as the situation dictated. Other dispositions complain about feeding civilians and POWs, which is described as an "equally misunderstood humanitarian act"; indeed, the taking of partisans and women as POWs is criticised. Finally, the civilian population was to be disarmed and buildings which had been set on fire by Soviet destruction battalions were to be saved only when useful to the German Army.

History of the order

Upon enactment

Upon hearing of the Severity Order, Reichenau's superior Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt expressed "complete agreement" with it, and sent out a circular to all of the army generals under his command urging them to send out their own versions of the Severity Order, which would impress upon the troops the need to exterminate Jews.^[6] According to Wilhelm Adam, when Reichenau died and General Friedrich Paulus assumed command of the Sixth Army, both the Severity Order and Adolf Hitler's Commissar Order were rescinded in his command sector.^[7]

After the war

During the Nuremberg trials, Rundstedt denied any knowledge of that order before his capture by the Allies, although he acknowledged that Reichenau's orders "may have reached my army group and probably got into the office".^[8]

Notes and References

Web site: NS-Archiv : Dokumente zum Nationalsozialismus : Der "Reichenau-Befehl": Verhalten der Truppe im Ostraum. www.ns-archiv.de. 2018-09-24.
Web site: 10th October 1941: Secret Order on the 'Conduct of Troops in the Eastern Territories'. ww2today.com. en-US. 2018-09-24.
Craig, William. Enemy at the Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad. (1973)
Book: International Military Tribunal. Trials of War Criminals Before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals Under Control Council Law No. 10, Nuernberg, October 1946-April 1949. 1950. U.S. Government Printing Office. 329–.
Web site: It is difficult to read the Severity Order, must less appreciate its real-world consequences on innocent people. In essence, the Severity Order not only authorizes, the Severity Order actually compels the annihilation - mass execution - of anyone who opposes German rule.. von Reichenau. Walter. 10 October 1941. dead. The soldier in the eastern territories is not merely a fighter according to the rules of the art of war but also a bearer of ruthless national ideology and the avenger of bestialities which have been inflicted upon German and racially related nations. Therefore the soldier must have full understanding for the necessity of a severe but just revenge on subhuman Jewry. The Army has to aim at another purpose, i.e., the annihilation of revolts in hinterland which, as experience proves, have always been caused by Jews. 7 January 2019. 13 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190413222951/https://worldwartwodaily.filminspector.com/2019/01/october-10-1941-reichenaus-severity.html.
Mayer, Arno J. Why Did The Heavens Not Darken?, New York: Pantheon, 1988, 1990 page 250.
Book: Adam, Wilhelm; Ruhle, Otto (2015). With Paulus at Stalingrad. Translated by Tony Le Tissier. Pen and Sword Books Ltd. p. 9. ISBN 9781473833869..
http://www.nizkor.org/hweb/imt/tgmwc/tgmwc-21/tgmwc-21-201-07.shtml The Trial of German Major War Criminals, Nüremberg, 9 August to 21 August 1946, p. 102