How a military training event became a blueprint for genocide

History · Published 18 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In September 1941, the German Wehrmacht held a security conference in Mogilev. Ostensibly about fighting partisans, it served as a chilling mechanism to integrate regular army units into the Holocaust. By rebranding mass murder as 'anti-partisan warfare,' the Nazi regime turned soldiers into active participants in systemic extermination.

In partnership with the SS and SD, General Max von Schenckendorff from Army Group Centre Rear Area arranged the Mogilev Conference. While its official purpose was to improve rear-area security, it functioned as a venue for escalating violence against civilians. The event brought together 61 officers—82 percent from Wehrmacht units—many of whom had already participated in mass atrocities, such as the murder of 1,000 Jews in Krupki just one week prior.

The conference bridged the gap between 'selective' and 'wholesale' extermination. Because Einsatzgruppe B lacked sufficient manpower to kill the vast number of Jews in their region—including women and children—the Wehrmacht was brought into the fold. Speakers like Arthur Nebe and Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski provided a framework where identifying civilians as 'suspicious persons' or 'wanderers' gave troops a carte blanche for brutality. The conference even included field exercises where police units screened villages, resulting in the immediate shooting of 32 Jewish civilians.

Historian Waitman Wade Beorn argues that Mogilev was a key moment in connecting the Holocaust with anti-partisan warfare. By using euphemisms like 'stranger to the village' and framing Jews as Bolshevik partisans, the regime successfully co-opted the army's combat power for genocide. This wasn't just logistical support; it was an intentional integration where Wehrmacht units assumed direct responsibility for murdering Jews on their own initiative. The conference summary was so influential that its closing text regarding 'ruthless and merciless' action was later adopted into official German army guidelines.

General information, not professional advice. Spotted an error? Flag the card or see corrections and complaints.

Intellect Plus is a visual educational discovery platform for exploring fascinating facts and ideas. Brain Food, Not Brain Rot. What is Intellect Plus?

Related

• How Nazi Germany rebranded mass murder as a legitimate military doctrine called Bandenbekämpfung
• Einsatzgruppen: The Paramilitary Death Squads That Executed Nazi Germany's Systematic Mass Murder
• How a ravine in Kyiv became the site of a massive Nazi atrocity
• The Nazi war machine prioritized genocide even as its military goals failed
• How a Nazi economist justified the systematic murder of over 90,000 people
• The White Revolution: A Modernization Project with a Gendered Blind Spot
• The Romani people: A global history of migration, resilience, and unique cultural identity
• The Kurds are one of the world's largest ethnic groups without a nation-state
• How Two Distinct Jewish Cultures Shaped the Intellectual Landscape of Medieval Europe
• From ancient Berber warlords to modern synagogues, the Jewish presence in Africa is vast.
• The Inca Empire was a vast, sophisticated federalist state built on strategic, reciprocal alliances.
• The Chief Rabbi is a political invention, not a religious one.

More in History by ethnicity · More in History · Latest · A–Z · All topics